“I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” –Matthew 26:13
I was reading the story of the woman anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume today, and the impact of verse 13 struck me in a whole new way. What she was doing seemed completely ridiculous to every one else there. She was looked down upon because she was a woman, and some say that the fact that she owned this jar of perfume pointed to prostitution being her trade. It seems to me that for her to be so grateful to Jesus that she would do something crazy, something that would cause a lot of people to laugh at her and scorn her… He must have had a radical impact in her life.

He tends to do that.

In John 11 it says that this woman, who anointed Jesus, was Mary, sister of Martha -the girl that we celebrate for sitting at the feet of Jesus. That story is another instance of Mary doing something that seems ridiculous and impractical to onlookers.

But Jesus said…

…that wherever in the world His story, God’s story, the most important story of all time was told, for the rest of earth’s history, what Mary did would also be told. What she did meant so much to Jesus, that He wanted her memory to live on for as long as His gospel is preached.

And it has.

In fact, I’m writing to you about her right now. You’re reading about her and her beautiful act of worship wherever you may be right now. Maybe it’s Newnan, Georgia. Maybe it’s Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Maybe it’s Jordan or Laos or Kentucky or Florida.

That’s pretty amazing.

So I challenge you…to stop doing things the way you think they should be done…the way you think other people think they should be done. Stop worrying about how you come across to others. Stop glancing around to make sure people are not going to think you are ridiculous. Stop worrying about the time your wasting and the other things you “should be doing.”

“Waste” time listening at His feet.
“Waste” money to wash His feet.

“Waste” your life on Him.

Writer's Block

It's not that I don't want to write for you all. I desperately do. The last few weeks I've just been experiencing that strange phenomenon we call writer's block. With me, writer's block is always a spiritual thing. When I'm feeling the desert, my ability to express my feelings with words shuts off. That's what I've been feeling. Don't get me wrong, I have experienced some incredible God encounters the last few weeks...He always knows when we need a drink from the canteen to refresh us and keep us from growing weary, but for the most part, those have been very private, intimate encounters, and sporadic. I have felt like God has been playing Hide and Seek with me. I'm desperate to find Him, and I know one day soon I'll see His radiant face again, but for now, I just thirst, and wait for Him to speak. Whenever I go through those writer's block times, I tend to have this insane desire to write, and get my feelings out, I just can't find the words or initiative to do it. I usually turn to writing poems during those times. Basically, because I don't have to worry too much about grammar, or making my sentences make sense, or anything like that.

On the practical front...the women's ministry at my church has decided to make me one of their missions projects this year! They have a $5000 pledge to the LIFE offering projects for the GA district, but anything they raise over that amount is going to help me in my quest to get to Cambodia. I'm both humbled and honored that they would come behind me in such a tangible way. I have no doubt that the women of my church will go well above and beyond $5000, so this is very good news! I can't wait to see how God is going to work through this.