HE can change who you are

I know it may seem silly to some, and maybe it is just a sign of me going into middle age, but it doesn't take much to make me cry. One day I was listening to K-LOVE on the radio (and as a total and complete aside, if you don't listen to K-LOVE, I invite you to take their 30-day challenge to listen to nothing but Gospel music and see the impact on your life). And by the way, Ms. Martin, my English teacher from high school, would kill me for that last sentence I wrote, if it is even a complete sentence. Anyway, I truly digress! :)

So I was listening to the radio and this guy came on and gave his testimony. He had been sober for 12 years and he was celebrating his anniversary of being off the bottle. You could hear  him getting choked up, and I could just feel the emotion welling up in my chest as I listened to him talk about his life--the man he was and the man he is now. After that, I just had to turn off my radio and praise God. And then I began to pray for him, thanking God for my brother in Christ and rejoicing that one day in heaven we will get to meet and I can just celebrate with him that work that Christ did his life.

But then my heart grew heavy, and I thought of two others I had learned of recently...one a young lady struggling with addiction, another a young man diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Not likely comparisons in many ways, but here is where their stories intersected for me with the man on the radio.

You can struggle with things in your life, and yes, at the end of it, or maybe I should say, at the beginning or root of it all, is the spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

The power of addiction is something I cannot truly grasp, nor can I truly appreciate the struggle of those who deal with depression, but I do believe that at the root there has to be some desire to live life differently than the one you slog out from day to day.

That choice may not be the one that heals you, or delivers you, or changes your life completely on the first time, but there has to be a decision to take that first step...to get counseling, to get meds, to just honor the people who are in that struggle with you...those in your corner that want to see you well and made whole.

But it could also be other lifestyle choices that keep us in bondage...the decision to stay in a bad relationship, the decision to continue to hang with friends that drag us down, the decision to continue bad  habits and attitudes that are corrosive to our spirits, the decision to disobey the very basic truths of God's Words that He has put in our hearts.

The good news is we can change who we are. We can make that choice. Unspoken has a song that has such a powerful word of encouragement. The chorus says: "You can never fall too hard, so fast, so far, that you can't get back when you're lost. Where you are is never too late, so bad, so much that you can't change who you are." 

We all have that power available to us. And I love how they end that song...it's at the foot of the cross you can change it, who you are, you can change. I believe that anything can be changed at the foot of the cross. We cannot overcome any problem in our lives without the power of Christ to sustain us and give us lasting victory. HE can change who we are. Not matter how large the issue or seemingly insignificant, Christ Himself intercedes on our behalf everyday believing that we were worth dying for. Through His blood, we can change!

WOW...that is a WOW moment...now...back to K-LOVE! :)

Click HERE to watch Unspoken "Who You Are"

An encounter with God

Before I ask you to take this journey with me today, I wanted to remind you why I named my blog "The WOW Moments!" These are the moments you have an encounter with God, and you are so amazed, that you can only say WOW. Sometimes it is something He allows you to experience where you clearly see His hand at work, and sometimes it is something He reveals to you, a truth in His Word that is just powerful. And today's blog is of the second variety....a revelation that brought me to tears.

I remember that there was a time when I finally understood and grasped the words of "Amazing Grace." Before, it had just been an old hymn we sang at church. But after I committed my life to follow Christ and put Him at the center of my life, I realized how amazing it was that God, the Creator of life, would give me such an amazing do-over, in spite of the life choices I had made before making the decision to receive Christ as Savior, and the life choices He knew I would make after. And yet....BUT GOD, in His everlasting love for me extended His lavish grace. WOW!

But this week, God took it step further for me. I was reminded that God does not just take away the penalty for my sin, He takes away the guilt and shame of it as well. It is gone, but why do we still experience it? Why do we hang on to those negative emotions, even while God continues to say...you are forgiven?

And God painted this picture for me. It is like someone who has received a life sentence. They know without a doubt that they will spend the rest of their lives in prison. They know it with such certainty that there is no hope. Hope as defined by Webster's is "to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true." Can you imagine being at a place in your life that you are utterly without hope, you can't even envision the slightest possibility that it could ever happen? They become institutionalized, where they have lived this way so long, they have been conditioned that this is the only way it could ever be.

And then, imagine that this same someone is granted a pardon. Their sins are forgiven. Their debt to society has been erased. They are free. And even though they have been released from prison, they choose to stay in their cell and live their lives. That's what it is like when Jesus says to us as He said to the woman who anointed His feet with oil, "Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace." And we know that we have been forgiven, yet, we are so ashamed of what we have done, we are unable to "go" to put the forgiveness into action. We don't have "peace" which Christ gives when He forgives.

John 8:36 says, "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." We must have the courage to walk out of the cell, and not just accept part of the pardon, but to receive the entire gift that Christ offers. "Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace."

But in this WOW moment, it was the sadness that I imagined in the heart of God to look down upon His children whom He has called, whom He has adopted, whom He loves so dearly...to see that He has bought their freedom with the most precious ransom, the blood of His dear Son Jesus, and yet, we allow our own feelings to override the work He has done for us.

The Son has set you free, and you are truly free indeed....from the penalty of sin, but also from the guilt and shame you feel. Embrace the truth of God's Word: "Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace."

Cross it off the list

I was just having this email exchange with my friend about how people see the world in terms of impacting others around them. Most of us are looking for some BIG way to make an impact, and that paralyzes us and we don't do anything. I'm suggesting that we do something smaller, and then we at least do something.

Well that conversation sparked me to sit down and write this post IMMEDIATELY! There was an urgency that came upon me in that moment. My friend and I went to Haiti this past summer. I am always blown away by the love and kindred spirit I feel with the people, especially the kids. It is a universal. Kids just want to be loved! But this trip I came back with two basic To Dos on my list.

Well you know what typically happens with these kinds of experiences. You get back and you are on a high, and you want to tell everybody about what you saw, and what you did, and how they can help, and all of that. And then life happens, and you fall back into the routine of just living your life, and all of those hopes, and dreams, and plans you had to make a difference, sort of keep getting pushed down on the list.


This is their classroom. You can help these kids.

 Well for me...NO MORE! The very first day we visited an orphanage where the kids' sleeping conditions were deplorable. Some of them had dirty old mattresses on basic bed frames, no sheets, no pillows that I recall. But they were fortunate, because there were so many kids in that orphanage (more than 20) that some of the kids had to sleep on the floor.

We just looked at each other in amazement. And the first thing we thought was, "I'm sure that we know 20 people who can donate a set of sheets so that these kids can at least have that." We both kept hoping to make some big corporate push at our churches to get some donation drive started, but that was the fuel for our email exchange.

We waste time trying to make the BIG appeal, when sometimes we can accomplish a BIG thing with little steps. So I know that I know 30 people through my blog, my Facebook page, my family. I checked walmart.com and a twin sheet set is only $12. I am not even going to ask, "Will you consider?" Please donate $15, $30 if you can. I will make sure these sheets get to those kids that we visited this summer.

The second thing that struck us was a bit bigger, but still very doable when many folks come together. This orphanage director was struggling just to pay the rent, which was roughly $100 a month. (Keep in mind that the average person makes about $2 per day in Haiti.) We asked our translator a couple of times to repeat what he said, because we assumed that we had misunderstood. Yes, for just $1200 a WHOLE year, he could provide shelter to these children and keep them off the streets. I know in my job as a children's ministry director last year, for ONE event, we paid $1000 just for inflatables. So I know that we as churches, and we as individuals, can think more critically about how to use the resources that God has given us to make a lasting impact.

So that is my appeal today. Please give to get these sheets. That is simple. YOU CAN DO IT! If you have a little more and want to give toward the rent, let me know.

Yes, there are more than 350,000 orphans in Haiti....and yes they all have needs...food, clothing, shelter. And if you stop and think about that number, it can be daunting and you can begin to feel like what would one $12 pair of sheets do to make a difference? I am not asking you to change the lives of 350,000. I am asking you to make a difference in the lives of 30.

We CAN make a difference.

So I know my friends and family. You are awesome...so I am expecting to be inundated with responses.

Love you all....

To Help Just send Check or Money Order:
Tina Bryson
2108 Walsh Ct.
Lexington, KY 40509
Memo line....sheets for Haiti

Haiti--Contrasts Day 5 (part 1)

What another experience. Today some of us had a chance to go to the market. There were so many things to see. I am always interested in seeing familiar things in a different culture like Coke or Pepsi signs....on one building I saw a crudely drawn Barney and Mickey Mouse...not sure those go together but I totally recognized that was probably a place for kids!

Then there was the pharmacy, the hairdresser, police station, and even a firehouse that looked like it could have been dropped right out of Lexington. Sabrina today had on an EKU t-shirt. That was funny. Had to get a picture. That's Eastern Kentucky University and the shirt even had the Colonel on it.

While at the market we also saw the butcher area....a whole slab of beef hung up, the cow head on the table, raw chicken, all kinds of vegetables and other stuff from the cow....you can use your imagination. The flies were enough to drive us away....not that they were on us...just watching them crawl around on the meat.

But it reminded me a lot of when we went to Korea....the same thing....open air markets with any kind of meat just sold right on the street, but also vegetables and rice and other stuff. And then you could also buy sandals, and dresses, totes, hats, etc.

For a while my group thought they had lost me. I didn't have any trouble finding them, but some people got between me and my group and I sort of blended in....which we all laughed about.

The fact that I am not Haitian has just confused the kids and adults here. Today I went to tell the cook the meal was delicious and she asked one of the staff why she couldn't understand me since I am Haitian. He tried to explain that I am American. So she wanted to know if my mom was white....like maybe I had been adopted from Haiti. Nope!

I'm not sure he was able to explain even after having this debate literally with the kids a couple of days.....they just refuse to believe I am not Haitian! So I am like...."I have to do another trip and bring some more black people with me!"

We also got to hang out with the director's kids and help stock donations in the depot. Oh yeah.....I got to ride in the back of the pickup on the way to the market.

Then here was the contrast. We went out to dinner at a hotel restaurant. Yes....I know...normally when you think of Haiti....you don't think of the Caribbean. But it was stunningly beautiful.....overlooking the coast....it was breathtaking.

And then a little discussion developed about how this could be used to help turn Haiti around. But I think therein lies the problem. You're dealing with corrupt people on both sides. Some Haitians who are only thinking about themselves and not the people, and some American developers on the other side who I could easily see exploiting the beauty of this country for corporate profits with minimal benefit to the people.

But the food was good and we (the folks from down South) had a hilarious time talking to Tim (from Minnesota) about chittlins, liver pudding, pig feet, and the like. We had a great time.

Haiti--Contrasts Day 4

Thought all night about a boy I met here......a little boy who taught me yesterday to sing "God is so good." They thought he might have malaria, he was just taken to the hospital. I just prayed for him every time I woke up and first thing this morning.

I thought of "10 Things" and our support of Malaria No More. This is not the full circle moment that I want unless is it that organizations like that have helped them have the medicine they need to help him. But honestly, I just want him to be OK.

The crazy thing was when the doctor at the Travel Clinic showed me the map of places in Haiti affected by malaria, nearly the whole country was colored in. Now how is it possible that I have now sitting in my backpack medicine to prevent malaria and the likelihood that I will would ever get it or come in contact with it is this 1 week while I am here.

But he lives here and can be impacted any time, he is at risk daily.....yet why am I the one with the medicine? Then all night I thought of our group discussions and how we talked about the utter poverty here and all that we have in the U.S. I guess it is somewhat of American guilt when you come to a place like this.

But then when I thought of kids in Clark County, where I work, or even kids in Lexington.....no child should go to bed hungry, or feel unloved, or not have a place to call home. So I hope that we don't get so focused outward that we miss that there are kids living in poverty right in our own country.

I just finished reading the book "The Mighty Miss Malone" by Christopher Paul Curtis, which dealt with childhood poverty during the Great Depression. But the book is recent and the author mentioned that in 2011 there were 15 million homeless kids in America. I think about reading "The Glass Castle" and kids in America having to eat out of the trash, having to basically make a life on their own.

Now I am not saying we should not care about the kids in Haiti, but I am saying we should be aware that there is work to do at home and abroad. So my perspective is "to whom much is given, much is required."

I am glad to be American. I could have been born in Haiti, or Ethiopia, or Darfur, or South Africa. But I was not. I am grateful.....now what is my response? Why has God blessed me to have so much and what does He expect that I will do with it? How does this change how I approach life, how I live it? What I do now?

I can do something today whether big or small. I can love on these kids. I can serve them and their caregivers and be open to God's leading. The boy I mentioned at first just walked by......

Boy....did that bring a smile to my face. I was so happy to see that child!!! God is faithful. He does answer prayer. So today.......go HARD....or go HOME!

To support Malaria No More, visit www.malarianomore.com

 

A portion of each English copy of "10 Things Every Kid Should Know About God" that we sell goes to Malaria No More. We have been able to donate more than $500 to this cause. Thanks for your generous support of these efforts. We can change the world!

Haiti--Contrasts Day 3 (evening)



WOW...today was another good day. Just hanging with the kids and loving on them. Each one is different and have their own way. Some will come up and sit on your lap or want to be picked up. And some shrink back like "Who are you strange person?"

The big kids have been great to teach us Creole. Then we had a discussion about me NOT being Haitian, although they still don't believe me. But that was interesting and funny and of course I tried to go into my Africans in the Diaspora lessons to explain the answer to their question of "If I'm not Haitian, then why is my skin the same color as theirs!" So Yvonne and I made up a song and dance about African ancestors and I'm sure at that point we both just became crazy Americans!

We also got to see several children from HAF dedicated today. That was cool. Always a reminder of why any of us who work with children in ministry do what we do....to see them given back to the Lord, to see the adults commit to raise them to know the Lord, and ultimately to see those children one day give their lives to Christ.

Then we got to go to church and hear a service in Creole, then later we went to a church service on the beach with other missionaries. It was beautiful to sit in such an awesome location. Beverly, one of my roommates, told how watching the waves crash against the rocks reminded her that no matter what obstacles come our way or crash against us, we just need to stand on the Rock--God is our solid rock.

Then I met this brother and sister. I went to talk to the girl thinking she was Haitian and she spoke perfect English. She told me she was from Canada....WOW....talk about blowing my mind. She and her brother are both adopted. Their adopted parents bring them back to Haiti so they get to see their birth parents. The kids were great---Sophia and Jesse. We were talking and he said, "we have 4 parents." When I asked him how did they come to have 4 parents, they told me their story.

Then we came back and hung out with the kids some more...and oh wait....there was the football coach who shared at Church on the Beach. When he was in high school an old man gave him this advice and he shared it with us. "Whenever you face obstacles in your life....1) Pray about it 2) Do something about it and 3) Rest! Then the coach really did come out in him and he reminded us of what he tells his players. "Go hard! or Go Home!" OK! So I choose to Go Hard.

One of the funny things was at dinner that night. It was supposed to be a treat for us because it was going to be an American dinner. It was funny because before I came, I just kept thinking, what if they serve goat head stew or something like that. I can't eat that I thought, but I wouldn't want to offend anyone. OK....goat head stew? Don't know where I got that idea from.

Anyway, I had loved the Haitian dishes we'd had...rice with some kind of red Haitian sauce, chicken, and some kind of spicy coleslaw. Loved it! One day for breakfast was oatmeal and bananas. We also had fried plaintains, Haitian Kool-Aid (pineapple flavor). Breakfast this morning was great....eggs, bacon, and jelly toast. Teressa and I managed the bacon, some pork and some turkey bacon....We laughed about why call it bacon if it's not made of pork. So we cooked the turkey bacon in the pig grease!

So the only dish so far I haven't liked was the American meal, but dessert was carrot cake cupcakes and the buttered toast for dinner was the bomb. So I just went to the fridge, grabbed a piece of ham, and slapped it on the buttered toast. Voila!

Later, we broke out our electronics...I-Phones, mp3 players, even digital cameras...which the kids all loved. I even got a request for Justin Beiber. I was glad I had some to share. So tomorrow I'm supposed to bring it out again because the kids had to go to bed.

After that we had our sharing/devotions time with the team. One of my roommates shared a heartbreaking story. It broke her heart and when she told it, it broke mine too. We had chicken for lunch and there was a plate for the bones. I thought it was for Drake, the dog. But later, the kids lined up and they were eating and sucking on chicken bones. I did not pay it a second thought.

But this was the heartbreaking part that was shared. Who were we to eat the chicken, but the kids got the bones. WOW! Who indeed? I get the kids sucking on the bones....my kids do it....chicken, ribs, etc. But I think it was the thought that we sat there and feasted like kings and queens and they got the scraps. I did wonder if my reaction was a little bit of American self-righteousness! Like...."Well, I never....."

Now, let me say that the kids had already eaten dinner...and I'm pretty sure that they had the same thing because I had talked to one of the kids earlier about what we were having for dinner, but I think it was the contrast.

One of the staffers reminded us that it is good that our hearts hurt so that we don't forget. So that is my take away today coupled with the coach's advice. God does do a work in our lives, but it is not enought to hurt or feel sad...now we have the responsibility to do something about it. It may be something big or it may be something small, but God never gives us a revelation just for knowledge's sake. It is always a call to action. I am reminded of James 1:22 "But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says."

So what are you going to do with what He has revealed to you?


I just love the expression on his face! Sadly, I realized as I was writing the caption that the little girl over his right shoulder is Junette. On August 11, less than 4 weeks after we met her, Junette died while playing at the beach. Life is short. Treasure each day.







Stephania was one of the kids who was dedicated at church. The abundance of baby powder reminded me of my own mother and grandmother who doused us generously with talcum powder in the summer too!

Teressa and I put the smack down on this bacon. It was a great breakfast. Thanks Sharon for putting it all together.

I got to hang with Sophia and Jesse at Church on the Beach.

What a beautiful location to have Church on the Beach.

How is God going to write you into this story?

I have learned reccently that I really do see food differently, to sort of borrow the line from Red Lobster's new campaign. I first became aware of it when chaperoning field trips with my children at school. I would watch in horror as they threw whole school-packed box lunches in the trash. Or I would see kids eat one thing out of the box, and all of the unopened, pre-packaged veggies, unopened bags of chips and cookies, fruit cups, and the like would be collected and thrown in the trash.

It bothered me so much that I figured something had to be done about it. I contacted the principal, then the superintendent's office, the my state and representative and state senator, and finally I even sent a message to the First Lady Michelle Obama. And everyone told me the same thing, there are rules that govern that, but it seemed to me that this was such a tremendous waste.

And now,  a recent visit to my daughter's class reminded me again of what we take for granted. The exercise was supposed to help each child try vegetables and fruits they may have never tasted. What resulted was bowls and bowls of salad---lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, and so on. Now the fruit went much better, but at clean up time, at least at one table, there were 7 full bowls of salad that were thrown away. Look at how much food was thrown away! And this was just at one table in an activity that included 50 students.

We live a lavish life in America, and it is so abundant that we truly take most of it for granted. According to a recent report, "forty percent of food in the United States is never eaten, amounting to $165 billion a year in waste." Read the Study

Seeing that news story has made me more conscious. When we go out to eat, I try to see if there is platter that we can order as a family because we can never individually eat the ginormous portions they bring to each of us. When I fix my kids plates at home, I try to be more consertave on the size of their servings so that we don't get to the end of they just can't eat it all.

And when I saw all of that food that the kids picked over being thrown away, I thought of Mark Stuart, whom I had met again for the second time a few days before. Mark is someone who's life intersected mine and changed the narrative. I recently attended a worship service where Mark and others shared miraculous stories of survival and God's intervention in the lives of children in Haiti. And a quote that Mark shared stayed with me, "God has an amazing narrative that is playing out in this country. The only question is how is God going to write you into this story."

God is doing amazing things every day. And people like Mark and those who serve alongside him through Hands and Feet really are the difference between life and death for many children in Haiti. And what are you giving your life? What is it that is greater than yourself that God is calling you to?

Mark challenged me when I met him the first time to come to Haiti and see what they do. I did. And I was amazed...and I was transformed. Because it did change the lens through which I see and experience the world.

My heart is for the kids of Haiti, but is is also for the kids I get to serve in Clark County and Fayette County, and Scott County...and wherever God leads here in Kentucky and elsewhere as well. No child should go hungry, while we casually throw food away. No child should want for love, or security, or basic needs. We can do better. What will you do?How is God going to write you into this story?