I have just finished reading Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, a brand new book by Mark Vroegop. And let’s just say, I have had my proverbial cage rattled. Nope, this book is not fun to read, and that’s the beauty of it.
The author is a church pastor, husband, parent, and father of a daughter stillborn. His nearly unspeakable grief in the loss of a child thrust him into an up-close and personal relationship with lament. Out of that came this book. I think we all get a bit rattled at the mention of lament. The word itself represents pain and suffering – what we spend our lives trying to avoid. Let’s be honest, lament sounds dark and scary. It’s about bad things happening in life. Not to mention, lament falls under being angry with God, doesn’t it? And isn’t that a sin or something? So, as I first began reading Vroegop’s story, I thought, “(Thankfully) none of this applies to me” because I have never experienced anything as horrible as the loss of a child. Whew! So, I’m off the hook for dealing with this messy lament stuff! I thought. But, as Vroegop teaches - and his writing style is very much that of a teacher - biblical lament is meant for all of us, no matter the ‘size’ of the hurt, loss, or disappointment. Lament gives a voice to any trouble in life, whether the dark clouds come as a passing shower or a hurricane. Lament is a spiritual discipline critical to our well-being as believers, Vroegop contends. It opens the door to grace, mercy, and peace. The author calls upon readers to identify the hurts in our own lives, those pieces in need of lament, and then encourages us to ‘go there’ in a structured and intentional way. It is clear that Vroegop knows his stuff when it comes to scripture. The book is very well-supported biblically, as the author applies verses directly from the Book of Psalms in creating a framework and formula for practicing lamentation. I like that this book is neither an invitation to a pity party (Vroegop is very clear about not getting stuck in ‘complaint’ mode), nor is it a quick-fix, come-out-on-the-other-side handbook on grief. What it is, is an honest, intelligent, soul-felt guide on why and how the Christian should lament, articulated with realness, compassion, and hope. Vroegop’s approach is practical and user-friendly, and even includes worksheets and sample scripts for the novice lamenter to use when we have no clue where to start or what to say to God. I found myself thinking on the ideas in this book on my drive to work, at times during the day, and before I fell asleep at night. It has made me ‘uncomfortable’ and a bit distracted. I consider these signs of not only a good book, but one that I needed to read. Having just finished, I can’t say I have completely moved out of my “fear and avoid” mindset on lament – the roots of that are life-long deep. I get in my heart what Vroegop is saying about lament. Now I just need to do the work to wrap it around my head. This book’s publisher, Crossway, provided me a complimentary copy of the book through the Blog Review Program. I am not paid for reviewing, advertising, or endorsing this book. If you decide to purchase this book, you can find it online and in bookstores. If you order it through the Amazon link below, know that I will receive a small commission per book that helps support the Faith By Dummy Blog. Thanks.
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3/26/2019 0 Comments Senses of Sorrow Sorrow has been a topic of study for me lately. I just finished reading a book on the grace found in biblical lamentation by Vroegop (Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, 2019). The book really opened my eyes to the inevitability and spiritual necessity, really, of lamenting and fully experiencing sorrow. I just wanted to talk about that for a minute. You can see here I have included the poem “Sorrow”, written and illustrated by an 11-year-old girl named Olivia who lives in New Zealand and happens to be my cousin. Her mom shared this poem with me recently, and I am struck by a couple of things about it. One is that this is written by a child who clearly understands the experience of sorrow, even at a young age. We all experience sorrow. It’s part of being human and part of God’s plan working in our life (that last part is not popular to say). We can expect sorrow. All of us. At every age. Secondly, I'm struck by the fact that sorrow – grief, loss, whatever you want to call it – is not only an emotional experience. It’s physical. It is experienced by all 5 of the senses. I remember when a dear friend lost her son, she told me that her heart literally, physically hurt, like it was going to crack her chest wide open. As I see it, sorrow is about loss. Any loss. The loss of a person, a relationship. Loss of a job, income, home, lifestyle. Loss of health, status, reputation. Loss of a dream, of hope. Loss of peace. Loss of joy. All of us can find something to relate to here. Maybe you’re in a time of sorrow right now. I just wish I could wrap this post up in a nice little package, in some witty, pithy comment, or a shiny, happy bow. Tell you to “just do this” and you’ll feel better in your sorrow. But, I can’t. Because that’s not how it works. But, here’s what I do have: Jesus gets it. He gets sorrow. So much so He is often referred to as the “Man of Sorrows”. Isaiah 53:3 says Jesus was: “familiar with pain” (NIV) “acquainted with deepest grief” (NLT) “intimately familiar with suffering” (ISV) Jesus “knew what sickness was” (CSB) His life was “filled with sorrow and terrible suffering” (CEV) Jesus is our partner in sorrow, taking in every sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound that we are. We were never meant to do sorrow alone. Mercy. It's a thing. Tee Shirt, XL
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This summer boho headwraps are designed and handmade by Abby from recycled vintage fashion and fabrics, mostly from the 70s. Fabric is polyester knit with some stretch. While One Size fits all, there is some variation in the size of each one due to the amount of stretch. This one would be considered a Medium. These are unique, one-of-a-kind headwraps for the beach and around town this summer. This Letter is about Christian virtue, specifically, the virtue of humility. It seems the patient, the young man in the story, is in a dance with humility as he continues to get his spiritual legs under him. There are a bunch of moving parts in this Letter. Let's see if we can pull it all together. Part 1: For the Christian to have a humble heart is pretty standard, Christianity 101 stuff. The Bible talks about our being humble a whole lot, so it must be a pretty big deal to God. "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 18:4 (HCSB) "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted". Matthew 23:12 (HCSB) Arguably, I think most of us get that we're to be humble. Truly humble - honorable, compassionate, respectful, temperate, gracious. Nothin' wrong with any of that, right? But, Screwtape is suggesting here that humility gets to be a problem (in a good way, for the demons) when we become proud of it. "Proud of our humility". Wait a minute. What? Pride. It's clear from the scriptures that pride - self pride - is not Godly. It's destructive. It causes us to fall. It's a disgrace. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall". Proverbs 16:18 (NIV) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+16%3A18&version=NIV "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom". Proverbs 11:2 (NIV) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+11:2&version=NIV So, how could it happen? How could good humility go bad? Well, according to Screwtape, humility becomes pride when..... Our focus leans inward and away from God We become impressed with our ability to be humble Let that sink in a minute. Now, Part 2: I'll kick it off with a question: Since we're supposed to be humble and pride-less, then that means we are to think very little of ourselves, right? Answer: Not exactly. First of all, to think too little of ourselves would be an opinion. And frankly, we are not entitled to an opinion on our worth. Only God is qualified for that. Secondly, a low self-worth can morph into self-contempt and, as Screwtape says, "self-contempt can be made the starting-point for contempt of other selves". Who knew that hating yourself hurts other people? Bottom line: Because God loves us so incredibly, unbelievably much - even Screwtape acknowledges this - we are Significant. Prized. A hot property, A big deal. We should think highly of ourselves, because we are cherished by the Most High. However..... I'm not a bigger deal than you. You're not a bigger deal than me. Our MSRP's are exactly the same. Pretty much everybody is familiar with the scripture: “....Love your neighbor as yourself.[a] There is no other command greater than these.” Mark 12:31 (HCSB) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+12%3A31&version=HCSB Absolutely. And, thanks to this new insight from Screwtape, I would also suggest we love ourselves (the same) as our neighbor. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
3/3/2019 0 Comments Hymns and HerI love music. All kinds of music. Country, rock, R & B, classical... if it's good, I like it. But, here's the deal. I think we all need to spend some of our listening time - when the world is screaming at us from all directions - listening to Christian (gospel, contemporary Christian, hymns, praise & worship, whatever you want to call it) music. For Believers, a Christian song can affirm our faith, lift us up, bring peace to our heart, hammer home a scripture, reveal a truth - pretty much whatever we need in that moment. Look, I love me some Eric Church, but not as much as Jesus does. And Bon Jovi may be livin' on a prayer, but that doesn't cover me, you know what I’m sayin’? I NEED to take in some Christian music every single day. That’s not to mention, it's just plain fun to get my personal worship jam on in the car, in the shower, on the exercise bike. Major stress reliever. (True story: Good thing I was on a stationary bike this morning, instead of a real one, when I closed my eyes and threw up my hands listening to Casting Crowns' "Voice of Truth", or there could've been a serious accident.) So, OK. This post is an encouragement to you to work some Christian music into your daily routine, if you’re not doing that already. It can rock your world, I’m tellin’ ya. I also wanted to share with you my current Spotify playlist of Christian songs. Some are old, some are new. These are some of my favorites – some because I just like the song, and others I have found the message incredibly powerful during certain times in life. Maybe one of them will really resonate with you, too. And, if you would, feel free to share (Reply) here – with me and other Faith by Dummy Blog readers, some of your personal, go-to Christian songs. I’m always looking to add more to my playlist. Link to my Spotify “Christian” Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/…/sinymxnb8mojl1kpsvgt97srh/playli… Oh, and one more thing…… While you’re in Spotify, I would love it if you would check out my Faith by Dummy Podcast. Let me know what you think! Thanks! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.😁 Rugged Cross Distressed Recycled Tee Plaid Green Denim Large
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The Rugged Cross Tee is handmade, distressed, frayed, from recycled fabrics. Shirt is brand new. Unisex Size Youth XL. 100% Cotton or Cotton/Polyester Blend. Recommend machine wash inside/out. The crosswill continue to fray over time (after each wash) and get better (more ‘rugged’) over time. In the last few Letters, the young man had been starting to slip a bit, getting more lax and relaxed in his daily walk, particularly in comparison to his fervency at the time of initial conversion. And the demons were loving it. Well, in this Letter (13) there seems to have been somewhat of a spiritual renewal, and it’s making the demons crazy. Screwtape is really giving it to Wormwood for letting this happen. Apparently, the guy has experienced “repentance, renewal and grace” which, as Screwtape says, constitutes a “second conversion” that is probably “on a deeper level than even the first”. To me, this characterizes the complexity and depth of our spiritual growth over time, through life experiences, crises, ups, downs – all the things that, perhaps ironically, make us more receptive to (and more serious about getting ahold of) God’s care and grace. (Screwtape talked about this in an earlier Letter, in how we are closest to God when we are in a spiritual ‘pit’, yet none of us ever pray to be in a pit). The dude in the story, it seems, has spent some time lately in commune with God - whether intentionally or inadvertently is not made clear. But, through this actual ‘quiet time' in reflecting and soul-searching, he has reached a point of spiritual renewal and re-focus. And – this is the best part – his assigned demon could do absolutely nothing to stop this from playing out because the Holy Spirit was present with the guy. Booyah! I love this! Now, I should say this is my interpretation of what happened. You see, Screwtape describes this “asphyxiating cloud” that prevented Wormwood from “attacking” the patient during this quiet and thoughtful time. This cloud, according to Screwtape, is well-known to the demons as God’s “most barbarous weapon” that appears when He (God) is “directly present” with a human. I'm saying this has got to be the Holy Spirit. And this “certain mode not yet fully classified”, as the demons call it, is driving them nuts! They hate it. They don’t completely get it, but they absolutely know that they have no strength, no power, in the presence of the Holy Spirit (I'm picturing the spirit world equivalent of kryptonite). Screwtape laments, “Some humans are permanently surrounded by it (the Holy Spirit) and thereby inaccessible to us”. Too bad, demons. You lose. So, going back to why Wormwood is in trouble with Screwtape..... The ‘patient’ has been able to experience this quiet spiritual renewal because Wormwood has allowed (hasn't been able to stop) him to indulge in some real and “positive” pleasures. Godly pleasures. Not sensual pleasures, but those things that feed the soul. Like reading for enjoyment instead of because you need to be "well read". Or like spending some quiet time – alone, literally – in the middle of nowhere because you love it. The demons’ agenda for us is the exact opposite - to keep us busy, vain, in pursuit of “the best” things, detached from ourselves (existentially) and from God. But now, the patient has what we might call “re-found” himself and who he is in God, and Wormwood was supposed to prevent that from ever happening. Whoops. I like when Screwtape laments that once this happens - once we become “wholly” God’s - we are “more of (our)selves than ever”. This tells me that the things of this world are more than distractions – they are barriers to being what God made us to be. What we can be. What we are. Screwtape ends this Letter by telling Wormwood that the only thing to do at this point is keep the young man from acting on his newfound ‘repentance’. “Let him think about it all he wants”, Screwtape tells Wormwood, as long as he doesn’t "convert it into action". My prayer: Lord, help me to find and then lose those distractions in my life that are barriers to being who you made me to be. Amen. Oh, and P.S. Thank you, God, for sending us the Holy Spirit, the ultimate super hero. Rugged Cross Distressed Recycled Tee Lime Polka Dot Large
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The Rugged Cross is handmade, distressed, frayed, from recycled fabrics. Shirt is brand new. Unisex Size Large. Cotton or Polyester/Cotton blend. Prewashed. Recommend machine wash inside/out. The shirt will continue to fray over time (after each wash) and get better (more ‘rugged’) over time. Note: Sizes Small & Medium tend to run a bit small. Rugged Cross Distressed Recycled Tee Burgundy Gold Medium
$25.00
The Rugged Cross is handmade, distressed, frayed, from recycled fabrics. Shirt is brand new. Unisex Size Medium. Cotton or Polyester/Cotton blend. Prewashed. Recommend machine wash inside/out. The shirt will continue to fray over time (after each wash) and get better (more ‘rugged’) over time. Note: Sizes Small & Medium tend to run a bit small. Rugged Cross Distressed Recycled Tee Hawaii Check Small
$25.00
The Rugged Cross is handmade, distressed, frayed, from recycled fabrics. Shirt is brand new. Unisex Size Small. Cotton or Polyester/Cotton blend. Prewashed. Recommend machine wash inside/out. The shirt will continue to fray over time (after each wash) and get better (more ‘rugged’) over time. Note: Sizes Small & Medium tend to run a bit small. 12/23/2018 0 Comments Christmas Makes No SenseWell, I guess, since this is a Christian blog, I really should have a "Christmas" post. After all, Christmas is kind of a big deal when it comes to our faith. And I totally get that - God sending his Son to earth to be our Savior, all of that. I get it, and to say I'm grateful is an understatement. Yet, in full disclosure, I have to tell you that, personally, Easter gives me the biggest bang for my buck as a Christ follower. Jesus defeated death! Booyah! The Christian Super Bowl! Anyway... Christmas.... I've reflected a bit on what really strikes me, spiritually, about Christmas. And it is this --- The virgin birth. The fact that a woman, hand-picked by God, was impregnated without having been with a man. That totally makes no sense. Scientifically impossible. Unbelievable. Certainly, the virgin birth lends to the purity of Jesus, as God could have just as easily chosen an already married woman to bring the Savior into the world. But, I think there's an even deeper insight here. As I see it, God made the virgin birth of Jesus purposely unbelievable because our entire faith is, pretty much, unbelievable. Let's see..... Well, first of all, God sent and sacrificed his SON. His child. I don't know about you, but I'm not sacrificing my child for anybody or anything. Unthinkable. When God forgives our sin, He forgets it. For. gets. it. Gone. Like it never happened. Unfathomable. The God of the universe takes the time to even care at all about us unworthy bunch of whiners. Preposterous. Jesus lived, suffered, and died for people who treated him like crap. Irrational. We can communicate directly with the God of the universe through prayer in Jesus' name. Unimaginable. Suddenly, the virgin birth doesn't seem all that far-fetched. I kind of see Jesus' birth as God's way of saying, "Hang on, I'm fixin' to blow your mind". |
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