Radical February

One of my professors at school is incredibly stylish. If you imagine the stereotype of a French or Italian man dressed to the 9's, even with a scarf and awesome shoes...that would be my prof. Every day he comes in looking like he belongs in a magazine. Every day I come in looking...well, not like I belong in a magazine. I wear my Converse tennis shoes to class most days. But every once in awhile I change it up. One particular day, I wore my favorite heels, and he noticed, then complimented them and said I should wear heels every day.

That same day, one of my classmates asked if I wanted to eat out for lunch. I pondered for a moment how to respond. I really wanted to spend time with her, but I didn't want to spend the money to eat out. The best way that I have found to live sacrificially during this Radical year is to make a budget, a menu, and then stick to both when I go grocery shopping. I'd already bought my lunch food for the week and hadn't budgeted to eat out.

I explained that I couldn't eat out with her, but I would love for her to come eat a meal with me, since I'd already bought food for the week. She asked why I don't eat out, and so with a quick prayer for grace, I explained why I am participating in the Radical Experiment. At first, she stared at me like I was crazy, and then she said, "The thing is, I can tell you are not crazy or an extremist. You obviously don't starve yourself. You wear nice clothes...look at those shoes! So you're telling me that you simply buy what is necessary and give the rest away?

Who knew that the decision to wear those shoes on that day instead of my Converse would give a little bit of credit to what I had to say about giving money to the poor?!

I explained that I don't give the rest away, but yes, a big portion of it. She then stated that she didn't believe that an individual person could do that much to impact poverty. I said, "You're right...one person can't. But I believe in God, and that HE can impact poverty through many individuals like me." I then showed her my Compassion child's picture (that I carry in my wallet), and that I may not be impacting all the poverty in the world...but I hope I am impacting Fanose, and not just by giving her money but writing her letters and praying for her.

The Catalan stood silently in wonder at all of this. She didn't believe in God, and admitted that she didn't take time to think about the poor or anyone but her own interests. She'd had an opinion that people who believe in God and try to live their lives "according to a religion" were either hypocrites, idiots, or something worse. But that day, dressed in my nice shoes while carrying a picture of an orphan who I give money to in my wallet...I appeared sane, intelligent, caring, real, and balanced. Not extreme, as it'd first sounded when I began to explain why I couldn't eat out with her...but it was as if I was normal and she was not.

Well, I'll be. I never expected my shoes to have that great an impact, and I never expected my Radical year to touch an atheist Catalan that I only had class with for four days...

Radical January

Honestly, January didn't feel Radical. It felt hard. By the end of the month, I was asking God for a do-over. I started the month off sick. Then the Chef and his wife left suddenly for the US, and by the end of the month I was missing them. Tunisia fell apart and then so did Egypt. Language school was rough and I felt like I wasn't making any progress at all in language. Every single day felt like a day where I was walking this road of life alone with no one to encourage me to press on, my language teachers only correcting me and never acknowledging the times I got it right, and my whole class treating me like I'm an idiot for my faith and the way I live my life. Emotionally, it was just a rough month.

I didn't pray through Operation World, but prayed for Tunisia and Egypt instead. Speaking of which, click HERE for a great way to pray for Egypt, if you're feeling at lost of how in that area.

In regards to spending and giving sacrificially...this month was interesting.

1. The beginning of the twice-a-year-only SALES in France began. It's 1 of 2 times a year (the other being July-August) when things are affordable here. Stuff gets crazy-marked-down. Clothes for under 10 euros. I mean, crazy. But for the first time in my whole living-in-France existence...I didn't go. I didn't participate. I just held back. Because I don't need anything right now. I may be tired of all my clothes, and they may be wearing out a bit, and it may be the best stewardship of my money to shop for clothes NOW if I needed them...but I don't need them. So I didn't go. And I'll confess--it was hard.

What was hardest was fighting jealousy of those who could shop. Fighting bitterness against other believers who God doesn't seem to be challenging with this Radical experiment the way He is me. Why am I being asked to not buy even one thing for myself during these sales, so I can give that money away, while other believers get to shop all they want? That same attitude carried over into other areas of my heart: Why does God answer others' prayers, but doesn't seem to even hear mine?

Whiny, I know. Just being transparent here, folks.

2. The other way that spending and giving sacrificially this month was interesting is that, other than the sales, this month was EASY. I made a menu each week, then created a grocery list according to the menu, gave myself a budget...and voila! I spent exactly what I'd budgeted--or less--and ended up with actually a bunch left over at the end of the month. Incredibly easy. Who knew making a menu, shopping list, and a budget would simplify my life so much?

The rest of Radical...I read my Bible daily. I'm still memorizing Ephesians. I'm still watching sermons online. I only went to church twice...eek (skipped because I was sick once and exhausted from French the other time). Again, just didn't feel like a very Radical month.

But perhaps a stale month in a year of 12 months isn't so bad...habits are still being formed, mentalities changed, and perseverance built. But here's hoping that February doesn't make me long for a do-over.

Radical December

I mentioned in my Radical mid-December post that I wanted to blog about the Bible. Well here we are.

One of the challenges in the Radical Experiment is to read the whole Bible in one year. For some people, this is radical. They've never read the Bible all the way through. They don't read the Bible every day. Maybe they just read it on Sundays at church, or maybe not at all. To pick up the Bible on a daily basis and commit to read the whole thing in one year is extreme. It's radical.

For some, it's not radical. But still a little bit of a challenge. They read their Bible every day, but they've never read it all the way through. They do different Bible studies. They camp out in particular books. But Levitcus? Obadiah? Forget about it. (Obadiah, if you can find it, is actually not all that intimidating, because it's only 21 verses long.)

For others, like me, it's not radical, and not a challenge. I began reading the Bible in a year several years ago, and enjoyed doing it so much that I committed then to attempt to do it every year for the rest of my life. Some years (like 2009), I just don't quite finish. Other years (2005, 2010), I finish in plenty of time. This year, I finished on December 15 and just haven't known what to do with myself for the last two weeks!

So as the year is ending, and you are maybe thinking about new year's resolutions, I'd like to encourage you to try reading the Bible all the way through in the year 2011. You'll be amazed at the beauty of God's story and His Word to you that are tucked away in places you never imagined. (Zechariah, anyone? Titus?) You'll be blessed by meeting with the Lord on a regular, daily, basis...and that alone could make 2011 the best year yet! I'd also like to offer a little advice to help you stick to it...

1. Schedule a time and a place. For me, it's 6am on the couch with a pot of coffee ready. I set two alarm clocks to make sure I'm up (at 5:30--so I have time to wake up beforehand). When I'm not in language class, that hour moves to a little later in the morning, but it's still first thing, and it's still on my couch. That's what works for me.

2. Have a plan. Here's where I want to make my Radical December offering to you. In 2010, I used a plan that worked better than any other I'd ever tried. This plan gives make-up days! There are 25 days of scheduled reading per month, so if you miss a few days, it's okay. Sometimes, life happens. Your doorbell rings unexpectedly at 6am, and that scheduled time doesn't happen that day. The problem with 365 day reading plans is that as soon as you're behind one day, it begins to snowball and you feel overwhelmed. This plan, however, gives time every month to make up the days you missed. And if you don't miss any days, then you have a few days at the end of every month to camp out in a passage that really spoke to you.

It also has little boxes for you to check off what you've read. It makes you feel like you've accomplished something. So, if you get bogged down in Hezekiah (kidding), skip ahead and read a bunch in Ephesians, check it all off, then go back to Hezekiah (still kidding).

You can download this plan, called the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan from this website. (It's the third one down the list, but hey! Try whatever one works for you!) Or check out THIS website that has quite possibly every plan known to man, and therefore...one that can work for you!

3. Get some accountability. We all know that we make resolutions and then break them within a few weeks. A great way to stick to them is to have someone hold you accountable. That means, tell someone you're going to read the Bible through in a year, tell them which plan you're going to use, and what you're scheduled time is, and then...have them ask you every once in awhile if you're sticking to it.

In fact, if you're planning on reading the Bible all the way through in 2011, why not post a comment and let me know? I'll ask you how it's coming each time we talk on Skype. I'll get the ball rolling by saying: I am planning on reading the Bible through in 2011. This year, I'll be reading it chronologically, using a 6-day-a-week plan.

Happy Reading!

Radical Mid-December

This month, you're going to be treated to TWO Radical posts. This is the mid-December Radical post, and I'll give another next week sometime, just before the end of the year. Why two? Because I have two things I really want to point out right now, at Christmastime, and before the new year: Compassion and the Bible.

I'll talk about the Bible next week. This mid-December Radical post is dedicated to Fanose.

When I read Radical back in August, I was awed by how The Church at Brook Hills took all the kids-who-needed-homes-in Birmingham into their homes. To me, that is Christianity in action. For a church to say, "there shouldn't be any orphans whatsoever in our city--the Church should take them in," isn't radical. It's what Jesus taught. Loving the poor and needy through action.

But as a single, I don't think I ought to take a child into my home...children need two parents. I knew immediately, though, what action I could take to help poor and orphaned children: I could sponsor one through Compassion. I'll admit that I didn't even pray about it. Here's how that conversation would go:

Me: "God, should I spend $38 a month less on myself and give it to a poor, hungry child?"

God: "Do you really need me to answer this one? Do you think I would say 'no'?"

So I signed up for Compassion. I thought it would be hard to decide on which child to sponsor, but I did pray about that one, and the Spirit led me to Fanose. She's from Ethiopia, and I've already received one letter from her, and sent her two. I keep a framed picture of her by my desk, and a wallet-sized one in my wallet, right by my credit cards, so that when I spend money (online or in person), I am reminded to pray for her, and to consider the poor before I make a purchase.

Sponsoring a child through Compassion is a small way that one can begin to love the poor as Christ commanded us to do. I love the program, because it's not just giving money. You write to the child, pray for them, and become a part of their lives, and they become part of yours. I hope and pray that this Christmas, as you are buying gifts, you might consider a Radical way to spend your money by signing up to sponsor a child through Compassion.

P.S. Since we're talking about giving, I would also like to take this opportunity to all of you who give money to that special program that enables me to be here in France. Thank you for giving so sacrificially. I am deeply grateful.

Radical November

Being Radical this month was mentally exhausting and a bit on the cold side.

First of all, because it meant putting extra thought into everything: planning my time, creating a weekly menu so that I could stay within my sacrificial budget, and evaluating what I could and could not afford to do according to that sacrificial budget.

Oh, the sacrificial budget.

You may remember that #3 of my Radical Year is to sacrifice my money to a specific purpose. The Lord put it on my heart while I was still in North Africa (and before I'd even read Radical) to live off a certain percentage of my monthly income. I'm sticking to that, and thus far, it means that I have 450 euros to live off per month (which includes paying for my non-Radical phone bill). 450 euros is completely workable...

Except this month, it also included my tickets to the south of France for Christmas and a school field trip to Strasbourg. That gave me around 50 euros a week, which was fine except for Thanksgiving week. And I can already tell December will be hard too, what with buying Christmas gifts, throwing a Christmas party, and having fun down south.

But I am amazed at how commitment to the Radical Experiment lights a fire in my willpower to stick to my budget. Its so much easier now to say, "I cannot go to that concert because it's not in my budget." To not purchase food I don't need and that will end up going bad before I get a chance to eat it. I am actually enjoying creating a menu for the week and just buying what I need for it. While in Strasbourg, I was able to just enjoy looking at all the beautiful things without being even remotely tempted to purchase anything...because I don't need any of it. Because it is bringing me joy this Christmas to give MONEY away to those who need it.

Another area that was a sacrifice this month was in clothes. Specifically: a winter jacket. In the spring of 2009, I bought two winter coats that I planned on being my "new" coats when winter 2010 came. I left them in Marseille thinking I would be back in Marseille by the time winter 2010 came. It is now winter 2010, and I am not in Marseille. And thus, I don't have an appropriate winter coat, especially since it started snowing on Thanksgiving and has barely stopped. It's been a week and a half and there is still a foot of snow on the ground. It is currently 26 degrees outside (and that's with the sun shining!), and yesterday, in Strasbourg, it was 15 degrees. Those are some cold temps for not having an appropriate coat.

The things is, I can afford a new, good winter coat. But I know that (a) I have two new winter coats that I can pick up in just two weeks in Marseille and (b) there are those who have no winter coats and need them. I can't justify buying a new coat. I just can't.

So I have been bundling up like the Abominable Snowman. And praying that the money I didn't spend towards my warmth and comfort will mean warmth and comfort for someone who has no means for it.

In non-financial areas of being Radical...I am almost finished with my reading through the Bible this year. I should finish on Dec 17. I am almost finished memorizing Ephesians 4. Despite having to get up at 5:30am on school days in order to get my quiet time (which includes my Ephesians study), the Lord somehow enabled me to be faithful to that early hour to meet with Him before school this past month. I actually find myself looking forward to it each morning.

I also have begun attending a French church regularly. I'm not really involved yet...just don't know how to find time for that what with language study. But the Radical commitment gets me there every Sunday, which is a step for me.

There you have it. My Radical November. It'll be interesting to see how December, the most expensive month of the year, is impacted by Radical...

Radical October

I mentioned in THIS POST that I was taking the Radical challenge put up by David Platt in his book. It's been a little over a month now, and I thought I would give a progress report.

First off, I struggled with forming the habit of going to Operation World every day to pray for a country of the world each and every single day. Part of the reason I struggled with that was that the first three weeks of October included my last week in America (no routine), my first week in Besancon (some routine), five days on a farm (no routine and no internet access), and then finally, some forming of a routine as I settled into the hotel.

As I began making a normal morning routine before leaving for language school at 8:25, it was easy to just begin incorporating Operation World into my quiet time. Then...Operation World changed their website. I like the new layout. I don't think, however, that they are finished putting all the info from the newest version of the book (published in October) on the website. So yesterday and today's countries have only their names listed...with no prayer info. Hopefully that will get fixed soon. (***After digging, I did find a way to find the prayer info.)

I enjoyed the days I did get to pray. I learned about many of the countries that begin with S and T, and the most interesting was Tonga, which is in the Pacific Islands. Anyway... Perhaps November will see the routine be firmly established.

I'm right on track, if not a little bit ahead, to finish reading through the Bible this year. I'm also still on track with my Ephesians study. I'm currently right in the middle of chapter 4, and have been greatly challenged to live out vs.1-3 with everyone all the time. "I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Now, on to sacrificial living. Hmmm... It's interesting that I made a commitment to do this at the very same time that I was moving to another country and during a year when I will be setting up an apartment. There are things I have to buy, like a skillet, but I don't want to buy a cheap one that will burn all my food and frustrate me and I'll eventually have to replace because it was so cheap. So it has felt, at times, like I wasn't being Radical because I bought an expensive...but-should-last-the-rest-of-my-life...skillet. (Which, by the way, if it's possible to be in love with a skillet, I am in love with mine. I'm glad I paid the money for it.)

But because of the Radical commitment, I have stopped and given pause to what I am purchasing. Do I need it? Or do I simply want it? Could I live without it? Would something else, or something less, do in its place?

The biggest time this train of thought came into play was when I bought my cell phone. If I could go back in time, I would have waited a few more days and prayed through whether I really needed a smartphone (which is more expensive than a SIM card phone). Time will tell if I made an unRadical decision by getting the smartphone. However, I did make one Radical decision that day.

I wanted an iPhone. I am a Mac girl, and I love all things made by Apple. I knew, without a doubt, that I would love my iPhone. Even now, I sort of wish I had one. I could sync my calendar directly from my computer to my phone. No need for retyping. My music and my photos would also cross over. I would know how to search for apps. The list goes on and on.

But the iPhone was 219 euros. The Android that I bought was 29 euros (after a mail-in rebate). I stood in the store, torn for a moment, between what I wanted and the commitment I had made. Maybe David Platt wouldn't call my decision to get a cheaper smartphone exactly Radical or sacrificial living. But I knew in that moment that I just could not buy an iPhone. It went against the whole idea of trying to live sacrificially for a year.

What I carried away most from that day, besides a cheaper phone, was the understanding that I need to wait and pray through any more big financial decisions I will make in this next year. I don't need to buy a washing machine the same day I walk in the store to look at them. I can find out all about them, sit on it for a day or two, and make a well-informed as well as Radical decision. And perhaps, when the day comes to buy the big things like the washing machine, I'll pay the higher amount, like I did for my skillet, and feel 100% okay about it...because the washing machine will last longer than the Radical year. Or perhaps, I'll buy something more on the sacrificial side, like I did with my phone, and be stretched to grow until I feel 100% okay about it.

Or maybe, by then, I'll have learned more about actual sacrificial living, and I won't buy a washing machine at all, but go hang out at the laundrOmat, where other people who can't afford a washing machine are hanging out too.

And that was my Radical October.

The Radical Experiment

(Warning: Long post ahead...)

I am not sure exactly when my thought process about leaving behind my personal culture in order to embrace Biblical culture began; I suppose that it goes back to the end of graduate school when, as I was looking to move overseas and not be able to take much with me, I began to get rid of most of my earthly possessions. I hoped to own very little so as to be owned by nothing tangible. I sold nearly all my books. I gave away most of my clothes. I left school with just a footlocker or two of possessions. I still have days where I miss some of those items, and yet, I have not lacked without them since then.

There were other baby steps along the way: the decision to get rid of all credit cards, the ceasing to watch certain forms of entertainment, the increasing of giving money away, letting my gray hair show. Each of those steps always had something of the same reasoning behind them: not seeing how my personal culture had taught to me live matched up from what I understood from scripture.

As I said in a recent post, I began studying the book of Ephesians in-depth this year. One of the first things the Lord pointed out to me through it was a call to walk differently than I had walked when I was in darkness, to walk different than the non-Christian world around me.

While in North Africa, I met someone who used to be Muslim and had become a Christian long before I ever came on the scene. As I observed this national friend, I began to see them make many decisions that didn’t seem to match up with what I understood from scripture from how we should live. One day, I mentioned it to a friend, who responded by telling me that what my national friend was doing was 100% in line with local culture and I could not expect them to stop doing those actions.

Even if they aren’t Biblical?

I went to the Lord about this very question. He responded by reminding me of the anthem of post-modernism, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” But Jesus didn’t only say, “don’t judge” when He taught this now most-quoted-verse in the Bible. He went on, “condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you…Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” (Luke 6:37-42)

The Lord’s answer to me about the culture my national friend ought to leave behind was to remove the log from my own eye. I needed to look at my own American cultural practices that I was still embracing even though they were not necessarily biblical, and see what the Lord would have me remove. David Platt said in his book, Radical, “In the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and desires. As a result, we desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical. And in the process we need to examine whether we have misconstrued a proper response to the gospel and maybe even missed the primary reward of the gospel, which is God himself.” (pg. 28).

All of these things put together—the national friend (who has given up more than I can ever fathom in order to live a radical life for Christ, even though she's still learning how to do so more and more), the scriptural exhortations from Ephesians and elsewhere, the challenges to be radical by Francis Chan and David Platt—lit a fire under me. I began to really evaluate my life like never before. I desire to live a radical life of faith AND grace, and so I have been careful to not embrace legalism as I allowed the Lord to prune American cultural habits from my life. I also cannot judge any believer who is living differently than He has led me to begin to live. He has asked me to give up certain things…but I must follow the teachings of Paul in Romans 14 on this matter, especially verse 22, “The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment of himself for what he approves.”

So, today, on my birthday, as I embark on my 35th year of life...I also am embarking on accepting David Platt's challenge to the Radical Experiment. He has challenged his church (and whoever else will accept) to do the following five things for an entire year.

1. Pray for the entire world using the book Operation World. (Don't worry...I won't break my new year's resolution to buy one...there's a free copy online!)

2. Read through the whole Bible. (I already do this, but have my Ephesians study on top of this too...)

3. Sacrifice my money to a specific purpose.

4. Serve outside of my context for 2% (approximately one week) of the year.

5. Commit my life to a multiplying community (a local, growing church).

As I've been evaluating American culture in my life, the Lord has shown me some other areas that need some pruning, and so I have five other areas I will be focusing on as well this year. For right now, I won't be posting those to the blog. (Not everything needs to go on the internet, you know...!) But I will be writing here from time to time about stuff I'm learning, doing, experiencing because of the Radical Experiment.

Here's to a Radical year with God!!!

Ephesians Study

Last fall I was in NYC for a couple of weeks, and got to attend Apostles Church while there. The pastor wrapped up a several-month-long series on the book of Ephesians, where he just preached through each verse of the book. I enjoyed what I heard, and Princess William encouraged me to download the podcasts in order to listen to the entire series. I decided to do just that.

Then, around the new year, I began praying through what the Lord would have me focus on in Scripture this year. He answered, "Ephesians." And so I came up with a plan during January, and started it on February 1st. I'm a little more than halfway through my year of digging deep into the book of Ephesians, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Alot it beginning to come out of such a deep study, and so I hope to be writing more about that in the weeks/months to come.

Here's what my plan looks like, for any who are curious.

1. Read through the entire book of Ephesians every single day for the entire month of February.

2. Read a chapter a day from the book of Ephesians six days a week, every week, for the rest of the year.

3. Always read it from the same translation that I will memorize it from (ESV), so as to have the readings help prepare my mind for the memorization.

4. After five months of reading the book over and over, I began the memorization process in July. I memorize one verse a day, with review days at various natural breaking points in the passages, and at the end of each chapter.

5. Starting in July, as I was beginning to memorize, I also began the in-depth study of the book. On Sundays, I would listen to the sermon podcasts from Apostles that correlated with the passages I would memorize that coming week. I have a commentary on the book of Ephesians, and I read the chapter in it that correlates to the passage I am memorizing as I approach that passage. I also read Piper's sermons that correlate to the passage I am memorizing. Lastly, I have three Bible studies that I work on throughout the month that help me apply what I am learning from the Word to my daily life.

6. Originally, I came up with a schedule that had me focusing on one chapter from Ephesians per month from July through the end of the year. But my travels of the last month threw me off of my schedule a little bit, and I realized I needed to schedule in some review and catch up time. So, at this point, I should be finished with the memorization and in-depth study by the end of January, and will probably take February to look back in reflection of the year in the study.

Someone asked me recently how much time all of this takes. Well, my daily Scripture reading (I follow a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan, plus one chapter from Proverbs a day, and one chapter from Ephesians a day) takes me about 15 minutes. The memorization, even with review, takes about 10 minutes. The reading of a commentary, sermon, or Bible study (which isn't every day, but maybe 3 days a week), takes anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Lastly, listening to the sermon podcast once a week takes 45 minutes.

An hour a day in the Word--which is double what I used to spend--plus an extra 45 minute sermon on Sunday, has started proving to be one of the most rewarding exercises I've ever done. I want to encourage any of you reading this that if you aren't reading God's Word at all right now, to try spending a few minutes every day looking at what God has to say to you. And if you are in the habit already of reading God's Word daily, to consider upping, or even doubling the amount of time you spend in it.

So, obviously, Ephesians has been shaping many of my thoughts over the last few months. I've been thinking through, praying through, having some conversations about, and researching about how to make some changes in my life so that I'm living out more of what Ephesians, and the rest of Scripture, talks about. As I figure some of this out, I'll be posting about here on the blog. I figured, after six months of being knee-deep in my study, it was time to write on the blog about it. :)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.