prudychick.com

A few thoughts on my prayer to live more missionally this year.

Probably about two years ago Shawn and I started learning about Missiology and living missionally.  It was a new concept for the both of us.  In a nut shell, missional living means you live as a missionary to the community you live and work in.  No longer did being a missionary mean you moved to Africa (or another third world country).  Needless to say I’m still learning.

My biggest obstacle is really myself.  1.  obviously getting rid of my pride, but also 2. the personality that God made me with.  I am an extremely introverted person.  Going up and talking to people – even those I know – is extremely difficult.  So engaging strangers who need to be loved on in conversations about life is rather difficult.

I’ve started praying in this way about this:

Lord, you created me and designed me including my personality and the introvertedness.  You wrote these into my DNA knowing that today I would be challenged to reach out and love and engage people.  Please show me how to do this despite what I view as hurdles.

It’s pretty much the only thing I know to say.  All I know is God has sent me to love people He loves, He will enable me to do it.

If you struggle with being introverted and engaging people how do you overcome your fears?  I’d love any insights and of course prayers.

Missio Vitam – Latin for Sent Life

I had insomnia last night and decided to perpetuate it even more and thought of goals I’d like to accomplish, get closer to in 2010.  I don’t care for resolutions.  I think that is just setting yourself up for failure.  I also don’t think I like goals.  To me it sounds like it is me trying to do it in my own strength, when I can tell you right now I’m going to need some serious God help in all of these.

So here we go, in no particular order, my prayers to God for 2010:

• Become a woman of prayer.  Yes, I’m praying that God would make me a woman of prayer.  I’ve experienced that prayer does move mountains.  I want to be a mountain mover.
• Live missionally.  Last May I got a tattoo on my wrist that says “Missio”.  It is Latin for sent.  I was thinking the other day that it’s taken me about 18 years of being a Christian to actually learn what being a Christian means.  God sent us to be missionaries to our friends, family, society, culture.  I didn’t endure an immense amount of pain in my wrist for pretty lettering, I did it as a reminder of how I’m supposed live – sent.
• Drop 15-20 pounds.  I’ve lost 32 pounds over the last two years (I got unmotivated at times).  I need to lose more.  This means changing my eating habits and exercising.  Since I’m still recovering from foot surgery I’m not sure what exercise is going to look like for a while.  I plan on asking my dr. what I can do when I see him next.
• Passion for my marriage (in all aspects).  God created us to be passionate people, why wouldn’t He want to bless in this way?
• Passion for the Bible.  I know me.  I’m not expecting to read it everyday (gasp I know).  I’d like to at least have more passion for reading it.  If that ends up being everyday that my spiritual growth will be better because of it.

I’m sure there are more but this is all I can think of/remember at the moment.  What are you praying that God would accomplish in your life in 2010?

In April my husband turned me onto Anne Jackson’s blog, Flowerdust.  I instantly fell in love with her.  She is a phenomenal woman and has a passion for God and people.  She inspires me as a speaker, writer, etc.  Brad Ruggles made over her site and it premiered tonight.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that my submission for Permission To Speak Freely was featured on he scrolling marquee.  Thank you Anne.  You touch many lives.

Yesterday, for the second day in a row, my wonderful husband worked a 12 hour shift. This isn’t normal for him but the pastor of the church he works at is on a deadline to get his latest book to print and Shawn needed to get some time with him for the graphic design part. I’ve been trying to eat better and start losing weight again. Needless to say by 5:30/6:00 I was really hungry. I went to get a small snack to ward off the pangs of hunger and started to say, “I’m so starving!” I immediately stopped myself. I’m not starving. I’m just really hungry.

So I’m making an effort to weed “I’m starving” out of my vocabulary. It isn’t a healthy statement for me because I really am not starving. Thousands of people in desperate poverty are, I’m not.

The end of April Shawn and I sponsored a little girl in India.  It is something we’d talked about doing, but never actually took the steps until we read the blog postings by the Compassion Bloggers that were in India at that time.  I prayed that God would give us the girl that he wanted for us to sponsor.  We chose Nikita.  A beautiful nine year old girl.

Since that time we have become interested in the goings on of this very large nation.  India covers 1,269,210 square miles.  The estimated population for 2009 is 1,198,003,000.  When most of us think of India we think of Bollywood or those hour long conversations with a call center for our computer’s hardware or software OEM.  We don’t generally think about the residents that make up the rest of the country.  According to The World Bank, India has the highest concentration of poor people in he world.  According to The World Bank 42% of India’s population lives on $1.25 or less a day (http://xrl.in/34sy).  That means that at a population of 1,198,003,000 approximately 50,316,126 people live on what we pay for a soda at a fast food joint.  India also has a higher malnutrition rate of than any other country in the world!!

So, I’ve tried to think of India in this way.  Forgetting the call centers and the movie musicals and focusing on that 42%.  God has really been laying on my heart to pray for India when I pray for Nikita.  This is her home for the next dozen years at least.  I want it to be a place that cares for it’s people.  That seeks the welfare of all it’s population not just those who are in a caste that they feel deserves their respect and time.  Through prayer I know that God can change a nation.

Lovely Nikita

Statistics taken from here, please visit the site for more detailed citations.

It was about a year and a half ago that some changes happened in my heart and life as well as Shawn’s. We started to see things differently.

For me it all started one night on my computer. At that time I was on MySpace and was browsing my friends pages. I started looking on Hillsong United’s page and their different friends. My heart broke. Here were people who are fighting daily for the poverty stricken, for those who are enslaved for sex trade, etc. And what was I doing? Sitting at home on my computer, in a nice home, living a cushy lifestyle.

Tonight I made a comment to Shawn about 9/11. He had a profound observation. He said that his mindset has changed regarding it. I asked in what way, and he said, “We memorialize and remember 3,000 people who died that day, but we do nothing to remember the 25,000 children die in poverty everyday because the common person and the government doesn’t care because they are just the least of these.” His observation caused me to stop and think. I recently heard a pastor say that we can’t have the gospel and not fight for social justice. Part of the Gospel is fighting for those who are down trodden, who can’t help themselves. I want to be someone who fights for these people. Who doesn’t forget the thousands upon thousands of people who die every day simple because they can’t get fresh water or medicine or mosquito nets.

This is a late in my day post.  Quite unexpected.  I’ve been grappling with how my life transfers into living on mission for God.  Monday I was listening to Hillsong United’s latest CD “a_CROSS//the_EARTH”, the song Tear Down The Walls has hit me before but that morning I just felt a cry arise in my heart. (View lyrics here)  That evening Shawn and I watched the I Heart Revolution: Hearts As One DVD.  It is an amazing DVD that Hillsong United put together while ministering and leading worship in several areas across the world.  My heart cried out for those that don’t know God and rejoiced for those who do.

Yesterday and today my heart’s cry has been, “What can I do to change the world?”  I’m really at a loss.  I was praying tonight, revealing my heart to God.  It isn’t a profound prayer.  Last year I got into the habit of writing out my prayers in a journal.  As I was praying/writing I felt that I needed to publish this prayer here.  I ask that as you read that you would examine your own heart and what you can do.  I ask that you would pray for guidance for me and an open heart and ears to what God wants not only me but Shawn and I both to do.

August 05, 2009

Lord, I feel and am so insignificant compared to you.  I am just one person with a heart that to serve and obey you.  You have been opening my eyes to see the world as you do, and oh how it breaks your heart.  This world that you created has turned its face from you.  Has chose sin and separation over obedience and intimacy.

I wonder, Lord, what can I do to change the world for you?  To right social injustices.  To see Isaiah 58 accomplished.  I am nothing Lord.  I am a vessel filled by you.  Nothing in me can accomplish anything.

I WANT to be used by you.

I WANT to change this world for you.

Lord, you have not given empty desires that are for your will.  You are faithful.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

In some ways the past two years seem to have flown by and in others I feel that the road has been long.  In nine days the next step of all that we have prayed for occurs.  We partner with what are now dear friends to be part of a core group that helps plant a church here in Phoenix.  A missional community of followers of Christ who long to see lives changed for Him.  The next eight days we spend fasting and praying that God would move in our lives and prepare us for the calling He has brought us to.  I am extremely excited to be a part of this and to see what He is going to do.