Let's make two cities into one

Drove through SE DC on my way down to my parent's house in VA yesterday afternoon with my last load of stuff. We are now on our way to Colorado....but I wanted to pray over this part of my city as I'm driving through it one more time. The "two DCs" that my pastor always talks about are so real and it is heartbreaking to see. And we as the Church cannot be ok with it. Thankful to have been a part of a church community the past five years that talks about this reality and the injustices that exist in our city, and that seeks to change things. Thankful for the example of so many who are breaking barriers and cycles, seeking to make one DC, where all have the same chance and all know about the full life God has for them.

Friends, let's not grow weary in doing this work. As the Church, we are called to lead the way in fighting the evils that keep 50% of the kids in our nation in poverty, that cause so many to live lives of hopelessness. My heart is so burdened for the kids I know personally, and for so many others. In any neighborhood in our country, there are kids lost in cycles of darkness and anger...who do not know the full life God desires for them so they turn to gangs, violence, ISIS....continuing cycles of darkness and anger and poverty and abuse. We must continue to cry out for these kids. Intercede on their behalf. And ACT to show them the hope that exists, the hope for a beautiful life and a glorious future....the hope that they can know their Maker and help change the world. Let's be willing to go out of our comfort zones and know these kids in the "other" parts of our cities. Let's bring them this message of hope. 

I will always be praying for this city that will always have a special place in my heart....and for my friends who are continuing to do amazing work to break down walls and bring more of God's Kingdom to earth. Excited to continue this work in Colorado.

Offer HOPE

What makes me the most sad/angry/scared about ISIS is that they are better at making death look attractive to young people than we are at giving them hope for life. Let's invest in our communities, in our neighbors, in our schools, internationally (if that's where God calls us) and give our kids HOPE for the life God has given them - and for true life beyond this world. My heart longs to show the hopeless kids all around me - and the ones I see on the news joining ISIS in droves - that there is such an exciting, wonderful life they can have NOW, that they are part of an adventure and a calling beyond themselves, that they are made for a better world. As CS Lewis puts so well, when his characters finally get to the new world (heaven):
 

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this...Come further up, come further in!”

Let's show the hurting, angry hopeless kids in our world that they are made for more in this life - that they are made for LIFE and not for death. And let's invite them further up and further in to the beautiful, eternal story of which they were CREATED to be a part.

The Planned Parenthood video and what makes me angry

The other day, right after I had a conversation with a friend about the fact that there are children living in unsafe situations right now because there are not enough good foster homes to place them in, I got on Facebook and saw my newsfeed covered with angry status' on Planned Parenthood and abortion - but nothing about the everyday state of so many children in our own neighborhoods. Why don't we get as fired up about the number of children who are living in abusive situations this very moment, who are going to sleep lonely and hurting, who are dying of hunger, as we do about a video on Planned Parenthood?

Why is there this inconsistency? If we call ourselves pro-life, we must be pro ALL life. I do not think abortion is ever God's desire- but if we're serious about stopping it, an angry post on Facebook isn't going to do it. It takes going out of our comfort zones, forming relationships with those in our community, getting to know families and mothers and dealing with the messy, hard root issues that exist all around us.

Friends, I am angered by abortion as well - but I am just as angered by the issues that lead so many women to get abortions in the first place, and our failure (especially as the Church) to recognize that we MUST address these issues whenever we address abortion. And I am just as angered by the fact that there so often seems to be an inconsistency in what we get fired up about. We cannot get fired up about abortion but not the fact that there are THOUSANDS of children in our own country who are not being removed from unsafe situations simply because there are not enough good foster homes in which to place them.

Especially if we call ourselves followers of Christ, we must get angry when ANY life is not protected and given the chance to live life to the fullest. As Christians, we must be posting and talking and ACTING on our calling as the Church to mentor, to provide safe homes for children, to invest in teen moms, to partner with hurting families in our neighborhoods. And we must be honest about our failure much of the time to care about these realities as much as the reality of abortion, and pray seriously about how we can change this. I am so encouraged by so many who are leading the way in showing what it looks like to care about all life equally, from conception to grave, and my earnest prayer is that we as the Church would continue to move in this direction, following God's heart as we work for justice and show compassion for ALL life. I pray that we would not be manipulated by our media or culture as they so often try to politicize one issue over another, but that we would see the full picture of what it means to be pro-life -  to love children before they are born and after.

I would love any thoughts or reflections on this - but I'm not posting this to start a debate. I'm posting this because I felt compelled to share some of the things I've been reflecting on the past couple years, as I've grown increasingly convicted about the fact that we (very much including myself here) - especially those of us who claim to walk in the love of Christ - must think deeper about what it looks like to be pro-life in all areas.