Saturday, September 13, 2014

In A Sky Full of Stars



It’s Saturday morning, and I am sitting on a hard wooden bench, watching my son’s swim lesson.  I’m a bit uncomfortable.  The seat numbs; the bench is backless. I sit with my macbook on my lap, trying to concentrate as I hear a plethora of Estonian and Russian words, flowing in out and out of my consciousness.  But, I came determined to write something in the one free hour this weekend affords me. 

I sit here, wave at Oliver through the glass as he completes a lap.  I’m trying to think back on my week- what inspirational things did I observe or experience?  After such an eventful weekend (with the start of Focus Church), I actually felt pretty tired and a bit too emotional to write any thing normal. 

But, yesterday, as I was walking home through one of Tallinn’s parks, Coldplay’s “Sky Full of Stars” played through my earbuds.  The song spoke to me in a new way.  And, as I sat on that bench amidst all of the other parents spending their Saturday morning at a swimming pool, one line came to me….and this poem emerged. 


When shadows are long,
At the end of the day.
When barely a song,
From lips can escape.

When tears puddle deep,
And muddle one’s sight.
Toss and turn sleep,
Wake at dawn’s light.

When one minute’s joy,
Turns into doubt.
Try to employ
A strength when without.

When trying to serve
All but yourself;
Straighten the curve
That leads one to tell

Of sorrow and loss,
Of hope unsustained,
Of crossroads uncrossed,
Of silent disdain.

I look to the hills,
From where comes my help.
My heartbeat it stills,
My lips tremble; tell

I’m not strong enough
To run this race well.
I’m not good enough
To silence and quell

The doubt in my soul,
The fear in my bones.
Dark takes its toll,
I question alone.

You speak to me now,
Quiet but sure.
You tell of a pow’r
Destined and pure.

“In a sky full of stars;
Of brightness alight.
I chose your beams
To break through the night.

In a sky full of stars,
Each one in its place.
I chose your light
To softly embrace.

In a sky full of stars,
Burning for years.
I chose your side,
To dry all your tears.

In a sky full of stars,
Each one has its place,
But You, my bright one,
Illuminate grace.

Yes, years will come,
And tarnish your beams
Hurt will devour;
Dissipate dreams.

Your core remains strong,
Designed to remain
A light in the wrong;
A shelter in rain.

I carry you through,
I whisper my love.
Your hope I renew,
We shine far above

The road underneath
With its pits and despair
Created for more,
Your home is not there!

Shine in the pain.
Shine in the sun!
Shine your strong rays
On everyone.

When darkness comes,
Shine even brighter!
Not by yourself;
My love is your fire.

And watch other stars
Learn from your beams
To blaze from afar
Amidst their own dreams.

In storms that will come
To vanquish their light,
They, too, stand strong-
A beautiful sight.

Keep shining, my suns,
And never forget.
In a sky full of stars,
Your beauty’s unmet.

In a sky full of stars,
Each one has its place,
But You, my bright one,

Illuminate grace.

______________________

To all you stars out there, keep shining and illuminating grace.
Now, after a morning spent in melancholy poetic land, I'm off to find some dance music to lighten my mood.  Even stars gotta dance sometimes....Take a moment to enjoy life this Saturday.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Curtains Are About to Open

This Sunday, September 7, the curtains will open and we'll be standing on a new stage of life.

When I met Nick at the age 14, he knew he wanted to be a pastor.

When he was 17, he knew that he was supposed to minister outside the borders of our home country, America.

When he was in university, he knew that he was designed for a difficult work - starting a church from nothing.

The road has been quite long and wonderful.  After university, we worked for an intense year to pay off $26,000 in school debt to have the freedom to move overseas.  I taught group piano classes while Nick volunteered at a church, valeted cars for tips at a fancy restaurant on the weekends, and substitute taught in the inner city schools of Minneapolis.  Our date nights consisted of going to a restaurant that had lots of free chips and salsa, and we'd make an excuse to the waiter.

"We're not that hungry, so we'll share a meal."   And then, we'd proceed to consume two or three baskets of chips - proving to our waiter that we were, indeed, just frugal.

We served in Armenia for eight years. We helped start a university for pastors.  We invested in women and the hungry.  We helped Armenian pastors start churches.  We oversaw the translation of many important books and tools into the Armenian language.  But, the dream of starting a church was not possible.

We've spent a total of three years traveling over 180,000 miles to hundreds of churches in America - fundraising for the dreams God placed in our hearts.

We've lived the past two years in Estonia - attempting to learn and prepare as much as we can.

And now, we stand waiting on the side of the stage.  We hear the audience slowly taking their seats.  The music is starting to play.  The blinding stage lights are about to be flipped on.  We hold hands nervously, hoping that we prepared well enough for the journey.  On September 7, our wonderful team will pull open the curtains and Focus Church will begin.  A 17 year old dream will debut.

And fortunately, this church is not about us - how well we perform, remember our lines, or enunciate our words.  It's about God reminding people of His love and purpose for their lives.  It's not about a boring existence or rules.  It's about a real joy and freedom that comes when we realize that we don't have to be good enough, strong enough, wise enough to make it in this life alone.  It's about grace and love.

My little family's life is about to change in five days.  We walk on to a new stage that we've spent years dreaming about and preparing for.  And we want this church to be a new staple in the landscape of Estonia- a church that is so giving and loving in the community, that if Focus Church were to ever disappear, people would notice and miss its presence.

In honor of starting this new journey, I am allowing the electronic version of my book (that details my former journey in Armenia) to be free for download for three days!  You just need a Kindle or a kindle app (free download) to read it.

Our wonderful Armenian friend, Marina, has been here the last two weeks to help support us as we live the most stressful and hectic days of our lives.  She has been priceless.  She cooks, cleans, folds laundry, organizes my cabinets, laughs with my children, and listens while giving life-changing advice.  You can find a special chapter dedicated to her in my book, "Remember Marina."  Also, there is a story based on an interview I did with one of her family members.  That can be found in the chapter entitled, "Life Without Love:  The True Story of an Armenian Woman."

Marina, thank you for standing with us from the first day of our Armenian journey and for being there when we go LIVE on the first day of our next.

Thank you to everyone - our team who has sacrificed so much, our leadership, our supporters, our Estonian partners, our family and friends.  You are with us in our hearts, in our nervousness, and you are sustaining us every step of the way.

There's no going back now.  The opening day is upon us.  Let the lights shine!

Download a free copy of my book here.  It will be available September 2 - 5, 2014.