what if God...?

There is a second question that has been haunting me in recent months. I thought it appropriate to put it in a post following yesterday's question.

The first question is - am I living my life in a way that is consistent with what I believe or have the words lost their meaning?

For instance, "God is able to do..."

I do believe that God is able to do immeasurable more than we ask or imagine. He is alive and active. He can work miracles. I've seen it. I believe it.

I have some things I have been asking God for, some of them have been a persistent request for years. Do I believe he can deliver? Yes, or I wouldn't keep asking.

This leads me to my second question - what if God doesn't? Not because he isn't able, but because there is some other reason that I don't understand.

I want to be a mother. Previous attempts haven't worked out (including adoption, but not fertility treatments). A couple of weeks ago I went to a doctor to get checked-out. She says I am healthy and we should be able to have children. This news was a mixed blessing. We can, but it still hasn't happened. Why hasn't it happened? An answer to that question would provide some comfort, but it remains elusive.

Being a doctor she of course mentioned my progressing age - she actually said, "you aren't getting any younger and infertility does increase with age."  Thanks, for that line of encouragement.  She said if we are anxious to have children she would refer us out to a fertility specialist. At this time, that is not an option I am willing to pursue.

But, it leaves me asking my second question - what if God doesn't?

What if God never gives me a child - will I praise him anyway?

What if I never get to work internationally again - will I still serve him?

Is my faith strong enough to endure these disappointments? I don't know. I am trying.

I know so many who face life's disappointments - waiting for a breakthrough or fulfillment of their hearts deepest longing.  I am sure they ask themselves similar questions.

I am trying to follow the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel 3: 17, 18
"...our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set-up."


But if not....

Their choice was to remain faithful, even unto death. That was not an easy choice, especially when the outcome was not assured. In their story, God brought deliverance. But they made their choice before knowing the ending.

just Sheri, wanting to choose faithfulness despite disappointment

what if I...?

I recently finished reading the book "Just Courage" by Gary Haugen, founder of the International Justice Mission. If you aren't familiar with this organization...you should be. They truly are a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.  The members of this group fight systemic injustice, often at great risk to their own personal safety.

Gary asks a lot of tough questions in this book.  For instance, "would you rather be safe or be brave? You can't be both."

I finished reading this book a few months ago and have moved on to other readings, but there is a statement in the book that I can't get out of my mind.  No matter how I try, I can't drop it and move on.  It is haunting me.

Gary tells a story in the first chapter of the book about his days in law school.  He was doing laundry and reading John Stuart Mill's essay "On Liberty."  This essay was written in 1859.  According to Haugen, the essay author is attempting to explain how words lose their meaning. He states that the best example of this is Christians:


"Christians, he [Mill]observed, seem to have the amazing ability to say the most wonderful things without actually believing them."


Haugen then provides a list of examples:

• blessed are the poor and humble
• it's better to give than to receive
• judge not, lest you be judged
• love your neighbor as yourself

I have come up with a few of my own examples:

• God is able to do...
• greater is He who is in me...
• all things are possible with God
• His mercies are new every morning

The question that is haunting me is a simple one - how would I live my life differently if I actually believed such things? 

I am trying to implement those things as they come to mind.  For instance, prayer is emerging as an active part of my life again (though still not reaching previous levels). Kindness remains paramount to daily living (though not where it should be).  Where my actions are inconsistent with the above statements - I attempt to correct my steps (lots of corrective action still necessary). 

Do you have examples of wonderful Christian sayings that seem to have lost their meaning?

just Sheri, reminded (again) of the value of living our truth

International Literacy Day

Each year this date (September 8) is set aside to focus attention on worldwide literacy needs. I have posted about this topic recently here and here.

To be honest, literacy was not something I cared passionately about until I experienced it first-hand. I took for granted that I had been afforded educational opportunities. I was blind to my own privilege. Literacy first struck me when I was working at headquarters in a traveling job. One of the orphan care projects our department was involved with included literacy in the project activities. On one of my visits to Liberia to visit the work, I was standing in a field where families had spent grueling hours to cultivate the land. I was impressed by the amount of effort they had put in and how they were sharing their harvest with the vulnerable...but that isn't what left the biggest impression on me.

Not even close. I had an experience that day that left a permanent imprint on my mind and heart. It was given to me by this woman in the picture.

When asked what the project has meant to her, what difference it has made in her life? She didn't talk about food provision or vocational training, instead she said, "I am learning to read." She then described to me with such joy what that gift has meant to her well being and the difference it has made in the care of her children. She stood straight and tall, with dignity and a sense of accomplishment and spelled her name for me.  I will never forget the look on her face (not captured in a photo, only in my mind's eye).  It reduced me to tears. Just thinking about it still makes me emotional. That day, I witnessed the life changing power of literacy.

Then I was afforded another powerful learning opportunity.  I lived in a foreign land where the alphabet looks like this:

I always found it beautiful to look at, like a work of art, but I had no hope of being able to read and understand it.  I experienced the challenges of being illiterate - the struggles to get through daily tasks, the coping skills that must be developed in order to function, the feelings of vulnerability at not understanding and the frustration of it all.

I hope to NEVER forget these lessons that life has afforded me.  It is why I give time each week to a student as part of the Literacy Volunteers of America program.  It is why I am dedicating today's blog post to the topic of literacy.

Help someone learn to read, write or do arithmetic...you will change their life for the better!

Do you have a story about literacy that you would like to share?

just Sheri, no longer blind to my privilege in the area of literacy

life without television?

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.  

~ Ann Landers (1918-2002)

Some may think that in our modern world it is impossible to live without a television.  Most homes in western civilization have not one, but many televisions.

For many years I lived without a television. I wasn't trying to make a social statement. Circumstances in my life had led to a place where there was no TV in my home and I just hadn't felt an urge to change that. In fact, I kind of liked not having one. I felt as if I had gained hours in my day...more time for rest or to do things that mattered.  I felt soooo productive!

My dad came for a visit (when I was single and living in Kansas City) and decided this was a necessity I could not do without any longer, so he graciously bought me a TV. He would have paid for any TV my heart desired. Large flat screens were (and are) all the rage. I chose a 23". I liked it better because it didn't seem to dominate the room. I unpacked the TV, but it required a cable connection and I never quite got around to doing that. So, a few more years passed where a TV was set up in my home, but only operated when watching movies. After Kenyon and I got married, he moved in to my place. We got cable and I didn't like the results.

Once the TV was hooked up to some programming. Gone were the nightly dinners at the dining table. Gone was conversation over dinner. Time seemed to get away from me. I spent less time on things that mattered.

We have now returned to the States.  The TV my dad bought those years ago was stored in my friends home while we were overseas. Once we moved in, it stayed in the box for months. It is now set up for video watching, but can't run any programming as we missed the free adapter phase of the digital implementation and don't have any paid programming set-up.

I feel no desire to change our circumstance in regard to television.  We follow our favorite shows online - CSI and Amazing Race.  I get the news through an app on my phone or online.  Sometimes in the evening we will watch a movie rented from Red Box or the local library.

Without a TV in the home, I read more. I get outside. We converse more. We find other, more productive ways to spend our time.

Life without a TV was a product of circumstance before.  I think it is going to become a lifestyle choice.

just Sheri, a journalism major (and American) with no working television

The Summit - unexpected influence

Speaker: John Dickson

Have you heard of John Dickson? If not, it's okay, I hadn't either.  One of the great things about the Summit is the wide variety of speakers - they come from all walks of life and all parts of the globe.

John is from Australia. He is a college professor, an author, and a Christian - which is rare in the largely secular Aussie culture. Now, some of my best friends are Aussie's. I will have the pleasure of spending time with one of them soon and being part of her families Australia Day celebrations.  But, that is not the subject of this post.

John spoke on a topic I have been studying for years, actually over a decade.  It is a topic that engages my mind with it's mystery and challenges me to the core of my being. What is it? Humility.

John was asked by his superior at Macquarie University to research the topic as part of his role in the Department of Ancient History. He went at it in a very scientific manner and his finding is worth noting.

Modern western culture does hold humility in high esteem, but that wasn't always the case. In the ancient Roman empire it was looked at as incredibly weak. Granted, there are still those in our modern time who hold this view; but I suspect they would still be disgusted by blatant arrogance which hints at some value given to humility. There was a time that I viewed humility as weakness. That has changed.

What changed the perspective an entire culture from looking down on humility to valuing it? John's conclusion is that "western culture is profoundly shaped by the cross of Christ. A teacher from Nazareth inspired a humility revolution." WOW!

Those who have been exposed to Christian teaching for a while should be familiar with the inversion principles of Christ's message.  This one is nicely summarized in Matthew 20:24:

You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.

I love that an academic researcher of ancient civilizations found Christ's message of humility sparked a revolution that still influences our culture today.


He spent the majority of this talk at the Summit highlighting the benefits of humility in leadership. It was a convincing argument, but I don't have space to outline it here. If you are interested in learning more, he wrote a book on the topic titled "Humilitas."  I have purchased the book. When I get through some of the stack I am currently working on, I will read this and possibly post a review on this blog.


John defines humility as "the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself...the humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in the service of others."


What do you think of John's definition of humility? Accurate? Is it missing something?


just Sheri, continuously discovering how much character counts