The Shepherd Boy Sings in the Valley of Humiliation

I ran across this poem that I used in a sermon a couple years ago. It challenges and encourages me, and I’m thinking of sharing it with students this weekend at a training conference.

The Shepherd Boy Sings in the Valley of Humiliation

He that is down needs fear no fall,
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.

I am content with what I have,
Little be it or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because Thou savest such.

Fullness to such a burden is
That go on pilgrimage:
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age.

John Bunyan

for Twins fans

To all my friends who cheer for (and likely groan at) the Minnesota Twins:
I know it's been a rough season. But I thought you would like to know that here in Belgium you can buy a counterfeit Twins hat. In my book that means the Twins are like the Ray-Ban or Rolex of major league baseball. Congratulations.

roller coasters and apple trees

This summer I had the pleasure of taking my wife and four kids on a fun, kid-focused holiday in the Netherlands. We spent two days in Efteling amusement park, a day at Beekse Bergen Safari Park, and a couple of days swimming. We tented and about half of us got cold and wet from a heavy rain on our first night. Hurray for the camp owner who dried our sleeping bags for us.

My kids loved Efteling. My son rode Vogel Rok, an indoor roller coaster, about 10 times. My two younger daughters both found some of the rides too scary (and if you don’t think a carousel can be scary then you haven’t ridden the steam carousel). But we all had fun and didn’t run out of things to enjoy in our two days in the park. Another day we enjoyed walking in the safari park. They also provided us with a nice boat ride through the park. But the highlight came when we were in our own car on the driving route. We watched a cheetah cross the road a few cars in front of us. We saw some hooligan camels trap a tiny car by standing in front of it and to the left and right (the line of cars that followed insured the car could not back up). But neither of those were the top moment of the day. That came when a giraffe... actually, I think I will make you email me if you want to know.

It was a great holiday, but not a relaxing holiday. Making sure four kids ages 2, 5, 7, and 9 are healthy, rested, fed, and having fun is hard work. But one thing any parent can tell you is that some of our greatest joys come from watching our kids enjoy life.

A few days ago just as our summer (which in addition to holding our little holiday was also full of conferences) was ending and school was just a couple days from beginning we walked to the center of Gent. We had a little shopping to do (back to school time, you know) so we walked down the Veldstraat (Gent’s most famous street of shops). A little after 6:00 when the shops all closed we had a picnic near Gravensteen Castle. On the walk home the kids were tired. They were a little frustrated, too, because we didn’t buy everything they wanted (and I suppose their mother and father were a little frustrated, too, because we still had shopping left to do).

There is a small orchard near the Bijloke, not far from our house. There is no playground equipment and usually no people, either. It is lower than the street and sidewalk, and when you go down the steps it is like walking into your private garden. There are a few apple and pear trees among others. Here my children (and their mother and father) forgot all about the days stresses. There was running and jumping, hiding behind trees, taking of silly photos, and picking of apples.

Picking apples was the tricky part. Most of the apples were still green. And they were also too high to reach. The system that worked was me lifting my 7 year old daughter over my head on my fully extended arms (picture figure skating). She would drop apples to my son. We baked (and ate) apple crisp the next day.

Back in South Dakota we had two amazing apple trees. We had the sweetest apples around. And they were big and crunchy like an apple should be. Although the apples in that orchard in the city were not ripe and not as good as the apples we carefully tended back in our days of country living, they still allowed me to fondly remember something great. It was also interesting for me to think about the fun we had on holiday (with all the required budgeting, planning, and effort) and compare it to the joy we experienced in the simplicity of the orchard. There are two lessons for me in that orchard.

Lesson 1: Sometimes the special moments in life are special because they remind us of something. In my case I was reminded of two homes—one that I loved and another for which I long.

Lesson 2: Joy is available to us in the simple moments of each day. It doesn’t require batteries, agendas, budgeting, or even roller coasters.

Hamilton Kids in Belgium (2)

Here is video number two.

Hamilton Kids in Belgium (1)

Two of our supporting churches in South Dakota are praying for us during their vacation Bible school. This gave me a good excuse to get to a couple of video projects I had been wanting to do. Here is the first video.

video update

We recently marked our second anniversary of life in Belgium. That means there is one year left in our three year commitment. It was nice to be invited by Ichtus to extend our stay, but we have decided three years is the right time. Here's a video message.

(And, yes, Trina has been using my desk for a sewing table.)

IFES

Both InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, USA and Ichtus Vlaanderen are member movements of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). Here is a video that gives a sense of both the values and worldwide scope of IFES.

videos about Ichtus

One interesting facet of our ministry in Belgium is that we have 3 supervisors.
1) Renee from InterVarsity
2) Tom from Ichtus
3) Edith from IFES Europe

I won't explain these dynamics any further, but I wanted to give you a chance to check out Edith's blog. She has video interviews with me, the kids, Tom, and my colleague, Sem.

not the end

Easter was a week ago. I was not ready. Many of you know and practice the traditions of Lent. My church loved Easter Sunday. We had fantastic music—a great choir, talented soloists, and congregational hymns full of the inspiring images of the resurrection. As a teenager I often got to play my trumpet. But...I learned nothing about Lent. I saw a few kids at my school with smudges on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday. And I knew that McDonald’s sold more fish sandwiches than usual. I never gave much time preparing my heart for Easter.

In twelve years of student ministry I have met students from various church backgrounds and I have worshipped in churches of various denominations. I gained an appreciation for Lent. I

t makes sense to me to take the weeks before Easter to reflect on the Gospel. I find that Sunday morning even more spectacular when I have done that.

This year the days before Easter were very busy. We spent a week in England and Wales visiting friends and camping in a national park. And we prepared for a visit from my wife’s brother and his family. They arrived Easter Sunday morning. So it was exciting for me to drive to Zaventem to get them, but even the morning of going to church my mind and heart were not focused on the Gospel.

One day while hiking in Wales we came across a massive rock stood on its end in the middle of some rolling hills. It was no Stonehenge, but it was very interesting. It must have been carried quite a distance by those ancient people because there were no other boulders to be seen. When my 5 year old daughter saw it she became very excited and shouted, “It’s the stone from Jesus’ grave!” It was amusing of course, but I admired my daughter. Her heart was focused on Easter and on Jesus.

Sometimes we treat Easter as the end of some amazing story. And on Monday or Tuesday we go back to life as usual. How about Easter as a sort of beginning? This year I hope Easter is the starting line of a great race. The starter’s pistol has been fired. Now “...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” [Hebrews 12.2-3 (NIV]

a new world record

On February 17 Belgium will set a new world record for the longest time a country has gone without a government (beating the record 248 days held by Iraq). You can see a countdown timer at http://www.belgiumworldchampion.be/ .

Most Belgians are unaffected by the whole process. On a personal note, I will be going to city hall on Saturday to renew my residence card. The bureaucracy keeps on grinding away.

There will be some countdown parties the eve of the record. Any excuse I guess.

harder to believe than not to

I want to draw your attention to an interchange between Jesus and his follower and friend, Peter. In John 6 Jesus teaches some difficult things, including the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Some in the crowd say, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Then we read, “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

Jesus said many hard things. Some are difficult concepts to grasp. Take these for example:
-If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
-Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)

Other sayings are hard not because we don’t understand, but because we do, and the demands they place on us seem too great. Take for instance the following:
-Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… (Matthew 5:43)
-If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

There are many people who believe Christianity is for the weak-minded or those needing an emotional crutch. What they don’t understand is those who bear the name Christian in its truest sense are people who have made a costly choice. American novelist, Flannery O’Connor, wrote, “What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe.”

I wonder if sometimes we as Christians forget that. Do we think faith is that “big electric blanket,” that our lives should be blessed (and by blessed we mean “comfortable” and “easy”)? Do we think our trains should always be on time, our cars should never break down, we should never need major dental work, and our friends should always respond positively to the Gospel of Christ. And are we disappointed with God when life is not like that?

Sometimes the Christian life feels great and everything seems to be in order. But I hope that when life is confusing or we have doubts we can respond like Peter did in John 6. After many of Jesus’ followers left he turned to his chosen twelve and asked if they, too, were going to leave. Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” I pray that no matter what happens in life that confuses or disappoints you will always remember that whatever God is working on, it’s ultimately for your good. And that no other way of living is so true and satisfying as life with Christ.