Now for …..Sami’s Ramblings about Jesus:



So, I’m sitting here talking to my good friend Kelly. She and I both agreed that the best wisdom for the week is to make sure you set aside time to laugh. That’s why Becky and Kelly and I turned Noah’s burp rag into a swami hat and took his picture. It made us laugh even if he didn’t. But I have found that if I dance, he gets plenty tickled. For a minute anyway. And only if he isn’t tired, hungry, or wet. Which is to say, there are times in life when you have to attend to the essentials or everything else doesn’t matter. Kind of like when you are on a road trip, in the middle of nowhere, the last rest area or pit stop was 50 miles ago, and you have to pee really bad. At that point it doesn’t even matter how far away the destination is or what adventures you’ll go on when you get there. The only thing that is on your mind is finding some facilities (clean ones hopefully).



But sometimes laughter is as big a need in our lives as facilities are. When was the last time you had a good, deep, long, belly laugh? One of my favorite pictures of Jesus is one where His head is thrown back and He is laughing heartily. I know Jesus has a great sense of humor. He created me after all. Sometimes I think my calling in the body of Christ is to be the funny bone. You know, keep things lively. The Bible even supports the importance of letting your hair down. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Notice that it says nothing about our strength being found in how good we are, how rich we are, how much we pray, how much we memorize scripture, etc. etc. Our strength comes from God’s joy. Oh Yeah!



The good news for us is that God’s joy permeates our lives when we allow God to be our all in all. That means for every person who claims Jesus as Lord of their hearts, He brings His joy with Him as He takes up residence. And this joy can be accessed anytime day or night, regardless of circumstances, unblemished by situations, and untarnished by events. It is free to all who desire it.



I don’t know about you, but in the midst of hard living, sometimes I need a joy break. So come on down and join us tonight. Grab a brush and paint some joy into your life.



Blessings,



Sami

One of my spiritual heroes is Henri Nouwen. He was a well-known Catholic Priest who wrote extensively on the Christian life. I guess what I like about him so much is his human-ness. In his writings, he never comes off as someone who knows it all or someone who has special access to God that no one else can attain. Instead, he uses his own real life struggles as the starting point for connecting with God. And he is honest about his vulnerabilities. When I read him, I feel like it is okay to be human, that I am not alone in my own struggles. For instance, in his last book Nouwen says this: “These days I feel strong, alive, and full of energy. Still, I am aware that much of that well-being is the direct result of the loving support of many friends. At the moment I do not experience any anger or hostility directed toward me. I feel in gentle harmony with my family, the people in [my work], and the many friends close by and far away. In situations like this I easily forget how fragile I am inside, and how little is needed to throw me off balance.”



When I read words like that I am thankful for a place like this, the Wesley Foundation. So many people never experience the safety of being loved and accepted for who they are, just the way they are. When I was a student in college attending the Wesley Foundation, this place gave me the courage I needed to begin to discover who I was when I wasn’t desperately trying to please people. And it also gave me the safety I needed to live out of that God-given identity everyday. This is a place of gentle harmony. This is a place of laughter. This is better even than the bar on “Cheers” because you don’t have to be drunk or drinking to experience the joy of being loved and accepted. It is true. “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” This is what the ministry of the Wesley Foundation is all about: connecting students with real love, the love of Jesus Christ, through the community of Jesus Christ.



So come on down. Come and experience what it means to feel strong, alive, and full of energy. Come know what it is to be fragile and off-balance, but okay, all at the same time.



Blessings,



Sami

A Fresh "Faith Lift"

It is amazing what a difference lipstick can make. I know, it sounds odd. But sometimes just making my face look brighter has a way of making my heart feel brighter. Have you ever noticed how the way you dress can affect your mood? I mean, don’t you feel special when you dress up or wear a new or favorite outfit? Sometimes we need to make changes on the outside as a way of jumpstarting changes on the inside. It is kind of like the advice Peter Böhler gave to John Wesley (who was contemplating quiting ministry because he thought he didn’t have faith): “Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.” By the way, John Wesley is the guy who began the Methodist movement. He is considered our founding father. Even he needed to have a “faith lift” every once in awhile.

Well, God is doing some new things here at the Wesley Foundation. There is a fresh Spirit blowing; and there is an invitation to step out in faith in new ways. It is time that our appearance begin to reflect the new thing God is doing. That’s why we are beginning a new ministry here at the Foundation called “The Solid Rock Café.” It is like our version of TLC’s trading spaces, except we’re not trading spaces with anyone; we are just using paint in some creative new ways. We are updating the look of our downstairs fellowship hall (formerly known as “the basement”) into a coffee house atmosphere. This is one of the ways we are fulfilling our mission to create a safe place for students to meet Jesus. Atmosphere is so important. Stark walls don’t contribute to feelings of warmth and receptiveness. It is one way that we can extend hospitality to students who really don’t get into the church thing, but really do enjoy the coffee thing. Jesus doesn’t care what the walls look like as long as He is welcome there and those who need him most feel welcome too. And while this transformation will be a gradual process (dependent upon our money supply), isn’t that the way Jesus works in our hearts too?

BUT before we begin painting, I want to invite you to share in the new heart and new spirit of our ministry, to make sure that Jesus is all over this place. Before we paint you are invited to write your prayer for this ministry on its walls. You can even choose your favorite verse of scripture that you want to see God fulfill through this ministry. It is a way of preparing the faith of the future by standing on the faith of the present. And just think, even though you may not see the words you write today, for as long as these walls stand you will know they are there. Kind of like the way God is active in our lives: while we can’t physically see Him, His presence is steadfast in our lives. So come and leave your mark, your prayers and hopes for this ministry, on our walls.

Stop by this weekend or early next week. Painting begins soon.

Blessings,

Sami

Now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



Sometimes you just have to believe that it works, even if you aren’t feeling anything at the moment. I’m talking about faith, having a relationship with the Lord, trusting that Jesus really is there. There is this wonderful story of how the good news of Jesus Christ was brought to non-Jews for the first time after Jesus’ resurrection. A roman military commander, head of a hundred soldiers (called a centurion), was praying one day to God. He was a man who feared God, prayed continuously, and gave money to people in need regularly. His name was Cornelius. On this particular day, an angel appeared to him and said, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4). It’s not like this happened everyday, because Cornelius was terrified. As it happened, the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter, the apostle. Once Peter spoke the gospel to him, Cornelius and all his family and friends received the gift of the Holy Spirit and were baptized that day.



What so comforts me about this story is that it tells us where our prayers go—straight to the ears of God. In fact, God saves them as precious treasures. When I picked up Noah for his last day of day care before the Christmas break, his teacher had made an ornament for our tree by tracing Noah’s hand prints and foot print onto brown construction paper to make a moose head. Now I have lots of ornaments, some very fragile and pretty expensive. But none can compare to my construction paper moose. To me it is a precious treasure. This is how every word and thought of prayer and heartfelt good deed we do is to our Heavenly Father. God saves them up like construction paper mooses.



It’s hard to always know these things. It’s why we need scripture, and the encouragement of good Christian friends. And it is also why God said that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). We know our prayers are precious to God by faith. In some ways it is like Christmas decorations. Even though I don’t have my Christmas ornaments out year round, they still exist. Even though I don’t see my little moose everyday, I know it is there. Even though we cannot always feel God’s presence, or feel how much He loves us, His presence and His love are very real.



So come on back to school. Start the semester off right: knowing you are loved, your prayers are heard, and your life really does make a difference.



Blessings,



Sami

And now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



I’ve been thinking about family and what that word means a lot lately. On Sunday morning a couple told the story of how God moved them to adopt a 4 year old little boy from another country. It was so moving to hear how an independent and happily childless couple began the journey to adopt someone of a completely different language and culture into their lives. As they spoke of Brian, their son, it was evident that God had expanded their hearts so much to accommodate his presence; the love they felt for that little boy spilled out of their voices and onto ever ear that heard their story. It reminded me of Bill and Kim, my own brother and sister-n-law who have adopted their own baby boy from Russia. Konnor officially entered our family on the day that Noah was born. Soon, he would enter our hearts as well, just as he had already become deeply woven into the hearts of Bill and Kim. It has made me realize how powerful family ties are, and how family is born of love, not simply born.



Certainly the word “family” echoes more deeply in my own heart this Christmas season. As I look at the “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament hanging on our tree, I marvel that just one year ago our hearts were filled with the painful ache and longing to have a child of our own. And now Noah announces his presence in our lives in the most amazing ways: with coos, and laughs, and cries, and lots of dirty diapers! I am constantly surprised at how easily I miss him when we are apart. Last Friday night, as we made our annual Wesley Foundation road trip to Nashville to see the lights, I kept looking into the eyes of passing children wishing Noah could be there with us, dreaming of that day when he will be old enough to enjoy all the decorations of the Opryland Hotel. And while I walked around that winter wonderland, I was poignantly aware that this longing to see my son had to be like God’s longing to see us. I could feel a new awareness of the miracle of Christmas dawning in my heart; because Jesus lives there, that constant communion with my Heavenly Father is always there. God sent Jesus because He wanted to be close to us all the time. I knew being a mother would change me. I just never could imagine the power of that love. While it is the most urgent and powerful feeling I have ever had, it pales greatly in comparison to God’s love for us. His love is unlegislated. Which is to say that it simply comes to us and keeps on coming.



I know this is true because I feel His love move through me for each person He has placed in my care as a pastor. And as I enter into God’s love for you, I am deeply changed. I will jokingly say sometimes that before I had Noah, I had the students at the Wesley Foundation. But in a very real way it is true. The love of Christ that dwells in my heart for this ministry and for each of you is purely unlegislated. We are not related by blood, but the bonds certainly are as lasting. We belong to each other. Because of this calling on my life, I belong to you. It breaks my heart that anyone could live their entire lives without knowing this kind of love. It breaks my heart that there are those on this campus who don’t know this kind of belonging.



If I could give anything in the world to people I cared about, I would give them the experience of the Wesley Foundation. What this place did for me years ago as a student, it is still doing. It is a place where the love of Jesus Christ becomes real in the most amazing, funny, and meaningful ways. Nothing else tops it. Especially for those who really need to belong. We belong to each other in the miracle of becoming Christ’s body. We are family.



Christmas is really an adoption story. It is the story of a loving Father who reaches out to His estranged children through His Beloved Son. It is the story of an eternal adoption, by which those who were far away from the Father’s love are brought near by a tiny baby boy who would one day lay down His life for us. It is the story of that glorious reunion of our hearts rejoicing in the love of our doting Father, who gives us His all so that we can have all He is.



This is the miracle I experience everyday at the Wesley Foundation. Come experience it with me.



Blessings,



Sami

Now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



I just put up pictures on my walls. On my message board is a card that says Enjoy the Journey. Underneath the caption is this quote: “Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.” As a friend of mine from seminary would say, “That’ll preach!” So many people are so miserable. It’s like they live their lives thinking, “if I could only have . . . .” And then they get that golden egg, just to discover some other void or obstacle that keeps them from being satisfied. I love the wisdom that Paul shares towards the end of his life: “ . . . . I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phillipians 4:11-13).



Not exactly a scripture we hear a lot at Christmas time, but it is so appropriate and so needed. As a child I rated Christmas on how good the gifts were. And even the old clay-mation specials seemed to equate happiness with getting toys. But what is beyond the stuff? I mean, stuff breaks; it gets lost or misplaced; stuff eventually gets old and boring. The “if I could only have” mentality is only a cruel illusion. We are all searching for that something to fill us up. This is natural. But that longing we feel was put their by our Maker. It is a longing to know and be known by Him. This is what Christmas is all about. God gives Himself to us in a way we can understand. The God of the universe, who cannot be seen by human eyes, came to us as a human child, living in the world we live in, growing as we grow, struggling as we struggle, knowing intimately what it is to be frail and human. This is Jesus, the only one who fills up that ache that keeps us up at night. Know Him, love Him. He already knows and loves you. And when you receive the One who offers Himself to you in all His fullness this Christmas season, you will never again say, “if only I could.” You will know happiness, not as a fleeting feeling, but as the true joy that is a method of life, a gift that never leaves, that never breaks, that never gets lost or misplaced, that never gets old and boring. You will have discovered the true meaning of Christmas.



This is my prayer for you. You are all the best gifts. I praise God for the opportunity to know you and serve you.



Blessings,



Sami

Now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



I was standing in line at Sears today waiting to purchase some things, when I overheard others in line complaining about Christmas because of the lines. Of course I had Noah with me, and he began to need some attention. As I knelt down to find his pacifier (hoping to postpone all out wails for a couple of minutes), I overheard the gentleman behind me say, “Now that’s what Christmas is all about.” Isn’t though?



Christmas is all about a baby boy, and a new mother, crazy crowds, and crowded inns. Over the summer I spent time musing about what it must have been like for Mary as I walked uphill during my last weeks of pregnancy. I imagined her discomfort riding a donkey (the car was bad enough for me once I had been there more than half an hour). And I can almost hear the sound of her voice saying, “You want me to have this baby where!?” After 2000 years worth of idealizing it, our nativity scenes have become somewhat sanitized. We quietly sing, “All is calm; all is bright.” Try telling that to a woman who just found out her delivery attendants can only moo, bahh, or bray.



So Christmas is chaotic. The truth is that it always has been. Jesus’ birth was not idyllic. It was real. He came here real, covered with blood, peach fuzz, and vernix. The clean, smiling six month old we see gently cooing in the hay on our mantles is a bit overdone. However, there is some good theology in the real life drama of Jesus’ birth. The good news is we don’t have to clean up and sanitize our lives before we invite Him in. The best Christmas gift did not arrive on this earth neatly wrapped in a ribbon. He probably was red-faced, squirmy, fussy, and could really use that set of lungs His heavenly Father equipped him with.



I’m so glad that Jesus is right at home in the midst of crazy, chaotic moments. There are so many of them that we would never survive if His blessed presence wasn’t in them. I am so glad that somehow Jesus makes His home in the realness of our lives, but then begins making real the peace of His presence. I am so glad that inviting Jesus into our hearts has a way of settling down those things within and without, so that we are transformed by His calm love, becoming catalysts of transforming love wherever we happen to be. Oh He is so great and awesome! I am amazed at His incarnation, that He wanted to join the human race and that He still wants to join us where we are.



We can feel guilty about the chaos in our lives, guilty that there is more of the season than there is of us to go around, guilty that once more time slips away and we failed to experience that picture in our head or the scene on our mantle. Or we can stop right this moment and pray, “Even so Lord Jesus, quickly come.” This is my Christmas prayer. There is not enough of me to make life something other than it is. Sometimes I just have to shrug my shoulders in apology, and invite Jesus into, not just the good, but also the bad and the ugly.



Funny thing. He’s always happy to enter in.



Blessings,



Sami

Now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



In my office I have this ceramic angel lamp that is made in such a way that she is always looking upon you, no matter where you are in the room. It kind of reminds me of the Amy Grant song that came out while I was in Jr. High “Angels Watching Over Me.” Amy would fervently sing, “Got His angels watching over me, every move I make. Angels watching over me. Angels watching over me, every step I take. Angels watching over me.” The only verse I can remember goes something like this: “God only knows the times my life’s been threatened just today. A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my. Near misses all around me; accidents unknown. Though I’ll never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home. But I know they’re all around me, all day and through the night. When the enemy is closing in, and I know sometimes they fight. To keep my feet from falling, I’ll never turn away. If you ask me who’s protecting me, then you’re gonna hear me say. . . .”



This morning I was reading in Acts about Paul’s trip to Rome. He was a prisoner being taken to see the emperor. The ship he was sailing on encountered heavy storms that threatened to kill them all. And yet in the midst of the turmoil, Paul continues to pray and seek the face of God. One day he says to everyone on board with him, “I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told” (Acts 27:22-25).



Looking back over the past year, I see so many reasons to keep up my courage. There have been so many people who have been angels in my life. I think of chance encounters with people of faith who had just the right word of hope I needed to hear. I think of the perfect timing of events where things just fell into place with a precision that had God’s fingerprints all over it. I think of those unanswered prayers that, had they been answered, would have been disastrous. God’s help for our circumstances is always close at hand. One of the angels in my life I am especially thankful for right now is Becky, our intern. For those of you who don’t know her, she really is worth getting to know well. The timing of her becoming a part of our ministry here at the foundation is such a blessing. I know that once again God’s hand is at work.



It is so easy to be in the midst of a storm, with the ship breaking up all around, and forget that God’s providence and provision are close beside us. We look at our losses and feel devastated. We forget those miracles that bring us safely to shore so that our lives may be restored. Sometimes it is helpful to simply recall all the ways God’s grace has saved the day in our lives. From the very beginning, remembering God’s goodness throughout the past puts a new perspective on our present and our future. Like Amy Grant says, we rarely see with human eyes the hands that lead us home. We only recognize the grace of God’s help by its results.



As you travel this coming week, as you eat turkey and dressing, as you share the love of family and friends, remember that God’s grace is with you. As invisible as air, and yet sustaining you just as much as your next breath. God loves you. God hears your prayers. God sends His mighty help.



Thank you for sharing this journey with me.



Blessings,



Sami

Joy Fest

There is this really great episode of “Friends” where Phoebe and Rachel go running in Central Park. Rachel runs like everybody else, but Phoebe has a special way of running. She just lets loose and throws her arms and legs everywhere while she runs as fast as she can, the way she did when she was a little girl. Phoebe simply explains that if she is going to have to run she is going to have fun doing it. After being very judgmental about Phoebe’s “form,” eventually Rachel gives in to that childlike delight in running at breakneck speed with arms and legs flailing in the wind.

How about you? When was the last time you gave in to the simple delight of being alive? I love going shopping for the Wesley Foundation with Becky, our campus missionary intern, and whoever else happens to be there. It is always an adventure. And something about the delight of being out of the office and in a place with lots of cool stuff sets in. I’m worse than a kid in a candy store. Funny, it’s not as fun shopping by myself. There is no one to share the joy with. No one to show all the cool stuff to. No one to be a witness to the silliness that is part of my childlike delight.

I believe that Jesus was, is, full of delight. I believe that He takes great pleasure in the simple things of life. I believe that He regularly laughed out loud on earth, and I believe that He regularly laughs out loud in Heaven. We have heard the scripture that says, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” But how seriously do we take that Word of the Lord? Maybe this is why so many Christians are so “not strong.” It seems we have gotten so serious about belonging to God that we have left the parts of God that aren’t “serious” out. Those are important parts! The JOY of the Lord is my strength. Not the discipline of the Lord, not the rules of the Lord, not the determination of the Lord, not the power of the Lord, not the wisdom of the Lord, but the JOY OF THE LORD.

My prayer for you is that you experience the Lord’s joy. It is a precious, precious thing. It “takes a lickin’, but keeps on tickin’.” God’s joy cannot be taken away. It is the gift of His presence which is with us always. Only we can squelch it. Only we can put it out of our lives and pretend it is not there. So many Christians live a miserable existence, but this is not, and never has been, the Lord’s intention for any of us. So do something harmless and crazy and fun. Fill your life with delight. Let the Lord show you how to really laugh again. Allow Jesus to give you His strength.

Blessings,

Sami

Now for Sami’s ramblings about Jesus:



I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. The Halloween party we had last Thursday was so much fun. Once again Jason wins best costume. You should ask to see the pictures. He makes a good Jesus. I can’t help it. I love Halloween. Ever since I was a kid I have loved dressing up in a costume and going from house to house to get candy. I loved singing the songs of the season: “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!” Even though I don’t go trick or treating now, I love to be the first one to answer the door when the goblins, ghosts, and ladybugs come by. (Yes, we had an adorable lady bug stop by.) I so enjoy the fun of seeing kids all dressed up and the joy of giving away treats that make them smile. Lord knows I can’t wait till Noah is big enough to go around the neighborhood.



I think the fascination for me has always been the opportunity to pretend to be something or someone else, to exercise my imagination in creating a fabulous new identity. It was always so much fun to dress up. One of the things I have learned over time is that many of us expend a lot of energy playing “dress up” everyday. I know I have. It’s not that we put on costumes before going to class or work, but we do make sure we project an image of ourselves that we want others to find attractive and believable, or at least an image that is acceptable to ourselves. I used to do this with a smile. My motto was, “always be nice, never be mad, and always look happy.” People would comment on how I was the happiest person they knew. In reality, the smile I wore often hid my real feelings. It was easier to put on a smile than to admit to myself and others that I didn’t have it all together. That’s just an example. People hide all kinds of things about themselves for all kinds of reasons.



I think of Mr. Rogers. When I was in seminary I would come home everyday from class and watch his show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” I think it was therapy for me. I was finally having the mask of happiness peeled away and was very uncomfortable with what I was seeing in its place. But everyday I would hear those words from Mr. Rogers, “I like you just the way you are.” I was learning that it was okay to feel sad, mad, and drab. It was okay to need help. And I was also learning that while not everyone is like Mr. Rogers, some people are.



I like to think of the Wesley Foundation as a part of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. We’re not fancy, but everyone who comes through our doors is important. It is a place where “Just As I Am” is more than an altar call song, it is the invitation to the family. Come just as you are. Come and share your burdens. Come and share your boredom. Come and share your real self. Because once you don’t have to spend so much energy pretending to be something you are not, you miraculously find the strength to really experience true joy.



By the way, the real Mr. Rogers is Jesus. In His neighborhood, or shall we say Kingdom, everyone is important and highly treasured. Every person’s feelings are respected. And each one of us has the space needed to learn how to be like Him. There are no unreal expectations of us in the Kingdom of God except the ones we bring with us.



I pray that today you will feel the joy of being accepted for who you are. I pray that you will experience the freedom to just be yourself. I pray that you will know you have a home you can come to where you will be liked. If you don’t come to the Wesley Foundation, I pray Jesus will lead you to another place that is also part of “the neighborhood.”



Blessings,



Sami