Dear Lindsey at 12,
You don't know it yet, but your life is about to change drastically. In a few months you and your family will pack up and move far away from the only life you have ever known. You will leave your friends, your school, and the only church you can remember being a part of and move to Montana. Yes, I know you don't even know where that is (where were you on that day of geography class?), but let me fill you in: it's very cold. You will meet people who are nothing like those you grew up around. This will shock you. You will soon discover that there is a world of characters who don't think or speak or look like those you knew in little Columbia, TN.
I'm asking you to be patient. One day you will realize that this was an important time. No, you won't live there forever. In fact, in the scheme of things, you won't really live there very long. But these are important years. You will even start to act like a Westerner in a lot of ways. You will learn how to be very honest and how to accept the honesty of others. You will learn to be tough. You will learn to be self-sufficient. You will learn to not wear your heart on your sleeve, and just trust me here, that's going to help you in the future more than you realize.
Never forget that this is not your parents' decision. They are following the will of God, and that is for the best of every one. They deserve your respect. As hard as this is on you, you can't imagine all they gave up for this move. They will leave a thriving church and a promising career to go where God sends them (and your whole family) and that is honorable.
Soon you will have to start a new school, and it will be rough. You will make a few friends, but you will feel lonely a lot of the time. I hate to break it to you, but your going to be the target of a lot of people's insecurity. You will be bullied relentlessly, by not only peers, but teachers as well. Honestly, I can't give you a good reason why they pick you. Yes, you're an easy target (told you you'd end up being brutally honest.) You don't talk like the other kids. You don't look like the pretty girls all the boys like. You are uncoordinated and feel lost most of the time. But none of that is a good reason for the hurtfulness you will encounter. Only know that this mistreatment will develop you into a bright, sharp, quick witted woman, and then the joke will most certainly be on your enemies.
You will be labeled as very ordinary-but that is a lie. Here is a truth I want you to learn very early: people keep you down not because you aren't great, but because the light in you exposes their inadequacies. You will be mocked because they know that if you recognized your greatness, you would put them to shame. Don't be a victim. Remember who you are. These sad creatures only identity is that they have to pick on others to make themselves feel better. It's really sad if you think of it.
You are talented, you are intelligent, you possess wisdom. Some day you will find out just how "ordinary" your bullies really were, while you make something of yourself. These people will try and suppress your voice, but the day will come when people ALL AROUND THE WORLD read about your opinions. Crazy, huh? When that day comes, don't be arrogant, it has nothing to do with you, God is with you. He has always been with you and He will always be with you. He will be with you when you leave your friends. He will walk with you when the bullies follow you down the hall harassing you. He will speak life in you when you just want to give up. Don't let go.
Love,
Lindsey Schreiber (yeah, that's right, you're gonna get married someday! And have a kid! let that sink in)
Monday, March 31, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Lady Gaga, Jamaica, and the Church
One of the reasons my husband choose to visit Jamaica for our honeymoon was that he is a huge reggae fan. We were told by friends who had visited before that the music would permeate our entire trip, that we would encounter native Jamaican music from the time we landed until we went home. I'll admit, I wasn't really relishing the thought of being surrounded by a million songs that all sounded the same, but Andy was, and I was chalking this up to doing things you don't like for people you love.
Imagine our surprise when every where we went in Jamaica we heard not Reggae music, but a familiar, painful noise-Lady Gaga. Literally, every location we visited we heard "telephone", "just dance", and "bad romance". She was repeatedly referenced by Jamaicans we met. Even when we went on our dolphin encounter, where we swam with the dolphins (again, a show of my love for my husband), the trainer claimed the dolphin liked to dance to Gaga music and instructed us to sing one of her tunes.
I realized what they were doing. They were trying to give the Americans what they thought we wanted. The referenced her because they assumed we were fans and wanted what we could get at home. They were wrong. We were expecting something different. I mean, if we wanted to be submerged in American culture, we would've spent less money and stayed in the states. And seriously, if we stayed in the U.S. we could've gotten much better music than being subjected to whatever it is she does. But I digress...
It occurs to me that the Jamaicans were doing something that our churches do on a weekly basis. They were giving us what they thought we wanted, instead of giving us the authentic experience we were seeking. This is what happens in churches that try to pattern themselves after the world. Don't get me wrong, I am all for progress and modernization, but I've sat through enough services that were turned into concerts in churches where a sanctuary was turned into circus tent to watch a preacher behave like a ring master to know that this is a real situation.
We will never be as good at entertaining as the world, that's a fact. So why are we wasting time, money, and energy chasing things of this world? I often hear people say they have to create this type of environment to woo the "secular crowd". Stop kidding yourself. Given a choice between paying a flat rate for a ticket to an over the top experience or attending a church that will look like a second rate version and then being prodded for an offering once, twice, or even three times in a service, any "worldly" person would pick the former.
If they want a show, they will go to a show. If they come to your church it's because they are seeking something different, something authentic. Again, there is nothing wrong with making some changes, but the problem becomes when we forget what the church's purpose is.
We are not entertainers.
We are not rock stars.
We are not magicians.
We are a chosen generation.
We are a peculiar people.
We are God's possession.
Romans 12:2 pleads, "don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."
If you want a church that knows the voice and will of God, start by having a church that doesn't produce cheap copies of the world, and instead give them the authentic experience they are craving that can be satisfied no where else.
Imagine our surprise when every where we went in Jamaica we heard not Reggae music, but a familiar, painful noise-Lady Gaga. Literally, every location we visited we heard "telephone", "just dance", and "bad romance". She was repeatedly referenced by Jamaicans we met. Even when we went on our dolphin encounter, where we swam with the dolphins (again, a show of my love for my husband), the trainer claimed the dolphin liked to dance to Gaga music and instructed us to sing one of her tunes.
I realized what they were doing. They were trying to give the Americans what they thought we wanted. The referenced her because they assumed we were fans and wanted what we could get at home. They were wrong. We were expecting something different. I mean, if we wanted to be submerged in American culture, we would've spent less money and stayed in the states. And seriously, if we stayed in the U.S. we could've gotten much better music than being subjected to whatever it is she does. But I digress...
It occurs to me that the Jamaicans were doing something that our churches do on a weekly basis. They were giving us what they thought we wanted, instead of giving us the authentic experience we were seeking. This is what happens in churches that try to pattern themselves after the world. Don't get me wrong, I am all for progress and modernization, but I've sat through enough services that were turned into concerts in churches where a sanctuary was turned into circus tent to watch a preacher behave like a ring master to know that this is a real situation.
We will never be as good at entertaining as the world, that's a fact. So why are we wasting time, money, and energy chasing things of this world? I often hear people say they have to create this type of environment to woo the "secular crowd". Stop kidding yourself. Given a choice between paying a flat rate for a ticket to an over the top experience or attending a church that will look like a second rate version and then being prodded for an offering once, twice, or even three times in a service, any "worldly" person would pick the former.
If they want a show, they will go to a show. If they come to your church it's because they are seeking something different, something authentic. Again, there is nothing wrong with making some changes, but the problem becomes when we forget what the church's purpose is.
We are not entertainers.
We are not rock stars.
We are not magicians.
We are a chosen generation.
We are a peculiar people.
We are God's possession.
Romans 12:2 pleads, "don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."
If you want a church that knows the voice and will of God, start by having a church that doesn't produce cheap copies of the world, and instead give them the authentic experience they are craving that can be satisfied no where else.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Jenelle
Recently, I started watching a show again that had been on my weekly "must watch" list. The show is "Teen Mom 2". This reality show follows the lives of four young women who had children when they were just teenagers. Without a doubt, the most jaw dropping participant is a 22 year old name Jenelle Evans. Jenelle has had a turbulent ride over the past four years. The child she had in the parent show, "16 & Pregnant", is now being raised by his grandmother because Jenelle is an admitted drug user. Since then, she has been on a roller coaster of arrests, court cases, and multiple boyfriends.
In the premiere episode of the fifth season, we learn that Jenelle has become pregnant with her estranged husband, who is now in jail. She decides that it would be "selfish" to have another child when her first child is being raised by her mother, and decides to have a "medical abortion". In this procedure, a woman takes a pill to break down the lining of the uterus. Then, as Plannedparenthood.org states it, she is given a pill that "causes the uterus to empty." As hour by hour ticks by, the woman begins to cramp and bleed as her baby is "expelled" in a form that looks like blood clots mixed with tissue. While discussing the impending abortion, her mother tells her it's "just like a miscarriage" and that she may feel "weepy", but it's a "wise decision".
Within a matter of days after her abortion, Jenelle meets a new boyfriend, whom she moves in with very soon. They decide that they want a baby, and soon Jenelle has a positive pregnancy test. When she calls her doctor, she is informed that it is probably a false positive brought on by the recent abortion. This is the part that made my stomach turn. She takes her boyfriend to breakfast and tells him she doesn't know if the test was positive because "there's a dead fetus inside of me [the product of a side effect known as "incomplete abortion"]or if it's because I'm pregnant with your baby."
Probably no one else watching caught that, but it pierced me. The child that she did not want, who would be months older than the second child she possibly conceived was called a "fetus", but the new child, because of the change in circumstance, was called a "baby".
My first instinct is to despise her words and actions. As I grieve for the child she threw away, I can't help but think of my friends and family who either can't conceive, or have suffered miscarriages, and imagine how badly they would want that baby she treated like rubbish. While it would be easy to hate this young woman and her attitude, something happened just two days after I saw this episode that turned my heart.
Thursday was my eight weeks OB appointment. During my visit, we had an ultrasound done of my child. There he (or she) was, the size of a raspberry and seemingly the shape of a gummy bear. Joy filled the room as my husband, mom, and I were enthralled by the image on the screen. It looked like he was dancing as the ultrasound instruments came close. That's my baby. I've been talking to him for weeks, even though I know he can't hear me. I rub my stomach even though I know he can't feel me. There is a connection that I can't explain because it makes no sense.
As we drove home, I thought about Jenelle. I wasn't angry with her, I hurt for her. I hurt that she has been brought up in a culture and a home that calls life merely a group of cells. At eight weeks, I would be eligible for the same type of abortion she had. As I looked at those pictures I couldn't imagine how anyone could see this as anything other than a miracle.
Don't misunderstand me. I have always and will always be staunchly pro-life. I believe we have a responsibility to care for these babies who have no ability to protect themselves. I vote for pro-life candidates. I have offered monetary support to crisis pregnancy centers. I make no excuse for what she did, or her cavalier attitude about it.
I know that some of my friends will read this and think I'm too liberal. That I should call her a killer and be done with it. But I am asking us, as the body of Christ, to learn how to help young women like Jenelle, whose minds are warped by a culture that demeans life. Do we say abortion is anything less than murder? No. Do we pacify young people by telling them it's not a big deal that they had one? No. But we have to learn to reach out to them. We have to understand that in their mind that has been twisted by society, that they think they did the right thing. Let us take the time to learn how to counsel with these young ladies beyond just holding signs calling them "murderers" and "whores".
Below is the link of a crisis pregnancy center located in Cleveland, TN, which I have become familiar with over the past several years which offers many services including information on abortion as well as post-abortion counseling. I would encourage you to find a center in your area that specializes in helping young women who find themselves in such situations and support them if not monetarily, then in prayer. This is a serious battle and most tactics haven't been working. Let us pray for wisdom in our fight against this culture that has poisoned the mind of so many young people and left millions of unborn children in its wake.
http://www.newhopepcc.org/index2.htm
In the premiere episode of the fifth season, we learn that Jenelle has become pregnant with her estranged husband, who is now in jail. She decides that it would be "selfish" to have another child when her first child is being raised by her mother, and decides to have a "medical abortion". In this procedure, a woman takes a pill to break down the lining of the uterus. Then, as Plannedparenthood.org states it, she is given a pill that "causes the uterus to empty." As hour by hour ticks by, the woman begins to cramp and bleed as her baby is "expelled" in a form that looks like blood clots mixed with tissue. While discussing the impending abortion, her mother tells her it's "just like a miscarriage" and that she may feel "weepy", but it's a "wise decision".
Within a matter of days after her abortion, Jenelle meets a new boyfriend, whom she moves in with very soon. They decide that they want a baby, and soon Jenelle has a positive pregnancy test. When she calls her doctor, she is informed that it is probably a false positive brought on by the recent abortion. This is the part that made my stomach turn. She takes her boyfriend to breakfast and tells him she doesn't know if the test was positive because "there's a dead fetus inside of me [the product of a side effect known as "incomplete abortion"]or if it's because I'm pregnant with your baby."
Probably no one else watching caught that, but it pierced me. The child that she did not want, who would be months older than the second child she possibly conceived was called a "fetus", but the new child, because of the change in circumstance, was called a "baby".
My first instinct is to despise her words and actions. As I grieve for the child she threw away, I can't help but think of my friends and family who either can't conceive, or have suffered miscarriages, and imagine how badly they would want that baby she treated like rubbish. While it would be easy to hate this young woman and her attitude, something happened just two days after I saw this episode that turned my heart.
Thursday was my eight weeks OB appointment. During my visit, we had an ultrasound done of my child. There he (or she) was, the size of a raspberry and seemingly the shape of a gummy bear. Joy filled the room as my husband, mom, and I were enthralled by the image on the screen. It looked like he was dancing as the ultrasound instruments came close. That's my baby. I've been talking to him for weeks, even though I know he can't hear me. I rub my stomach even though I know he can't feel me. There is a connection that I can't explain because it makes no sense.
As we drove home, I thought about Jenelle. I wasn't angry with her, I hurt for her. I hurt that she has been brought up in a culture and a home that calls life merely a group of cells. At eight weeks, I would be eligible for the same type of abortion she had. As I looked at those pictures I couldn't imagine how anyone could see this as anything other than a miracle.
Don't misunderstand me. I have always and will always be staunchly pro-life. I believe we have a responsibility to care for these babies who have no ability to protect themselves. I vote for pro-life candidates. I have offered monetary support to crisis pregnancy centers. I make no excuse for what she did, or her cavalier attitude about it.
I know that some of my friends will read this and think I'm too liberal. That I should call her a killer and be done with it. But I am asking us, as the body of Christ, to learn how to help young women like Jenelle, whose minds are warped by a culture that demeans life. Do we say abortion is anything less than murder? No. Do we pacify young people by telling them it's not a big deal that they had one? No. But we have to learn to reach out to them. We have to understand that in their mind that has been twisted by society, that they think they did the right thing. Let us take the time to learn how to counsel with these young ladies beyond just holding signs calling them "murderers" and "whores".
Below is the link of a crisis pregnancy center located in Cleveland, TN, which I have become familiar with over the past several years which offers many services including information on abortion as well as post-abortion counseling. I would encourage you to find a center in your area that specializes in helping young women who find themselves in such situations and support them if not monetarily, then in prayer. This is a serious battle and most tactics haven't been working. Let us pray for wisdom in our fight against this culture that has poisoned the mind of so many young people and left millions of unborn children in its wake.
http://www.newhopepcc.org/index2.htm
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