All Heaven and Earth Sing

The past several weeks have been filled with constant busy-ness. From writing and grading exams, packing, then saying goodbyes to an amazing trip to South Africa with my brother Brian(more on that later).

This past weekend Briand and I went to an Afrikaans church in Wellington, SA. Although I couldn't understand the songs or sermon, there is a sort of joy that comes with worshipping with believers in other tongues and nations. Although we speak different languages, we worship the same God. Our same Lord is praised from one end of the earth to another. 

As I was thinking about this today, a thought came to me. We don't just worship God with fellow believers accross the world, we are also joining in a heavenly chorus. I guess I've thought about it before, but it never really registered with me. We sing and join in the chorus with the angels and with those who have gone before us to heaven. All of heaven and earth sing his praises in one giant chorus!

Revelation Song

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Holy, holy is He

Sing a new song to Him who sits on

Heaven's mercy seat

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

Holy, holy is He

Sing a new song to Him who sits on

Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come

With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings

You are my everything and I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows of living color

Flashes of lighting rolls of thunder

Blessing and honor strength and glory and power be

To You the only wise King

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come

With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings

You are my everything and I will adore You

Filled with wonder awestruck wonder

At the mention of Your name

Jesus Your name is power, breath and living water

Such a marvelous mystery

Oh, You're worthy, mystery

You are worthy

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come

With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings

You are my everything and I will adore You, I will adore You"

Funke

Funke is one of the most beautiful people I know, but I'm afraid that the pictures may not do justice to the beauty that she exudes. She will never win a beauty contest. By the world's standards, she could just be at the bottom of the totem pole, but she's at the top of mine.

Not much is known about Funke, she had no home, no known family. No one knows her age or the day she was born. Funke can't speak, so even if she did know about her background, she couldn't tell us. She was found on the side of the street, and since that day as been part of the Jesus Kids family.

Several weeks ago, we had a birthday party for one of the girls, and we could see that Funke was quite jealous, but also upset that she didn't even know when her birthday was.

So we decided to have a surprise birthday party for her today. We started out, just like any normal Sunday morning, with singing and then a Bible lesson. We read to them from the Jesus Storybook Bible, which has such a great way of putting the Bible stories.

I love the way they write the story of the woman who anointed Jesus feet with oil from the alabaster jar. The book makes the parallel to Samuel the prophet in the Old Testament anointing David as King. But there was no prophet to anoint Jesus as king. Instead, God chose a woman and a renown sinner to be the one who would declare that he was the Lord. She understood her sin and came to the Lord for forgiveness, whereas the men that Jesus was seated with considered themselves to be pretty good people.

I had just finished reading to them and said, I want to also recognize another very special woman, and we are going to look at a book about her. I pulled out a photo album I had made, full of pictures of Funke with the rest of us. When she realized what was happening, she just started squealing with delight.

She couldn't stop squealing with happiness for the longest time, as she asked to take pictures with all of us.

 Funke, showing off the new jewelry she got for her birthday.

She was so excited with all of her gifts!

Jars of Clay

Lessons from the Potter

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father,

we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand."

-Isaiah 64:8

These are some thoughts that have been brewing in my head ever since I took my first ceramics class 8 years ago. This past week, I was once again reminded of the amazing picture of Christ's work in our lives as I went back to the pottery village on a field trip with my students.

In order to get clay from the ground and get it to the point that it can be used to make a pot, it must go through a refining process. In its natural state, the clay is nothing more than dirt. It is full of impurities; stones, rocks, roots and other things. First the dirt is mixed with water to make a slushy mud. The slush is then put through a strainer to get rid of the pollutants.

 In the Bible, we are compared to the clay, from the very beginning and throughout. "By the sweat of your brow will you have to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
-Genesis 3:19

During this refining process, the old, former state of the dirt is changed into something new, something that can be worked with and used. In our own lives, Christ put to death the impurities once and for all on the cross.

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would not longer be enslaved to sin"
-Romans 6:6

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come"
-II Corinthians 5:17

The incredible thing about our lives is that Christ looks at that dirty mud, full of sticks and stones, and doesn't see the mess, but the beautiful vessel we will someday become, and that is exactly what he died for.

Once the clay has been cleaned from its impurities, it has to be wedged, before it can be used on the wheel. This is to mix the hard clay with the softer sections, but also to take out any air bubbles that may have formed. Even if you can't see the air bubbles, the final pottery can be cracked and ruined by the smallest air bubble.

Back in college when I took a ceramics class, I had to learn how to throw pots on a wheel. The instructor kept reminding us to keep an even pressure at all times on the clay in order to get it centered and to keep it from flying away. In the same way, God has his hands on us, constantly keeping an even pressure, so that our lives do not get off centered.

Centering the clay is just one step, but the potter cannot stop there. A centered lump of clay is not good for anything, it is absolutely useless. The potter then must begin to pull the clay by stretching it upwards, all the while keeping a hand on the clay, guiding it continually to keep it centered.

"So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good for the potter to do."
-Jeremiah 18:3

When the clay gets off centered, or messed up(which happened often when I did ceramics) the pot is ruined, and had to be remade into something better. I used to try to salvage the pots that I knew were slightly off centered, but if I continued to pull the walls of the pot up, the mistake was even more visible. There was no other choice, but to crush the clay back into a ball and start over. The same thing has happened to me in my own life. At times, maybe from the outside my life has the semblance of being OK, but continuing on the course I was headed became detrimental. God has taken me to places where I have felt utterly broken and pressed on all sides. However, in the crushing, pressure of the world around me, my life was made more whole and God's presence even more evident.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsake; struck down, but not destroyed."
-II Corinthians 4:7-9

Our lives are a constant refining. The stretching hurts in our lives. No one wants to be pulled and pressed, but the final vessel is worth it. The amazing part is, even when the clay feels stretched thin and being pulled, the potter's hands are constantly guiding and keeping the clay centered. He never lets go!

"Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?"
-Romans 9:20-21






















No one looks at a beautiful vase and praises the vase itself for being pretty.  Instead you will praise the one who made it. The Creator who lovingly crafted it into something beautiful.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
-Ephesians 2:10

Birthday Parties

This past week I got to go to two of the most extravagant children's birthday parties that I have ever seen. The first one was for a 10 year old and the second for a 2 year old.

The ten year old is one of my 4th graders, a Nigerian student. I thought at first that her party was going to be at her house, but then realized that it was at "The Fun Factory," a party center with games and blow up castles and slides. I got to the party in typical Nigerian fashion, an hour and a half after the party was supposed to begin. When we got there things were in full swing. I could not believe how many people were present! There had to be at least a hundred people, if not more.

Tents were set up to eat under and the decorations included a 7 ft. banner wishing my student a happy birthday.

There was a DJ, several different catering companies, a face painter, a man dressed in a Scooby Doo costume(despite the heat index of around 102 degrees), and a clown directing different games for the kids.

 I've always been just a little bit creeped out by clowns, and one that has been under the direct sunlight for several hours with her face paint dripping down her face, is no exception.

A cute little girl I found wondering around the party. And I promise, she was smiling on my lap right up until this picture was taken when she realized her mom was behind me.

Most of these girls are students that go to our school.

The second party also had a clown. Imagine that. It must be "the thing" to do here. "Quick, honey, call the clowns, we're having a BIRTHDAY PARTY!"

This party was for one of our Lebanese students who's turning two. The entire party was tastefully decorated with a jungle theme. Jungle blow up animals and a beautiful jungle cake. Although it was located at the family's house, it was no less extravagant. No caterer, but the food had been brought in from Lagos.

The family also had several blow-up bouncy houses around the yard. There was a craft area for the little kids and jello shots for the adults.

Kika, my boss, Karen's grandson. 

And I'm holding her granddaughter, Momo. 

Going with the jungle theme, the mom had worked hard to make two beatiful pinatas, something that you can't just buy here.

The food was delicious and both parties a blast. 

And on a side note, I was not trying to dress like a clown, but the teachers and I did dress a little crazy today for April Fool's Day. Mismatched clothes and one side of my face was made up and the other was not. One side ponytail and the other a bun. 

Happy April Fools Day!