Best. Mother's Day. Ever.

This is my 15th Mother's Day as a mom, if you count the one following my first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage. I've received a lot of sweet crafts and cards from my kids, and flowers, chocolate, etc. But this year tops them all.

First, 10 days ago my girls took me on a special early Mother's Day date. Eliana paid for lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory and then the new Cinderella movie. It was a red letter day. We loved the food, enjoyed our time together immensely, and were enthralled by the movie. It was wonderful!

Then, when Mother's Day actually arrived, I had the honor of sharing the podium at church with my delightful 14-year-old daughter. It wasn't originally planned that way, but two events -- my preaching and her announcement -- just happened to find their way to the same day on the calendar. Mother's Day was the occasion for my invitation to preach, but because of Eliana, yesterday was also "Compassion Sunday."

Months ago we received a letter in the mail from Compassion International. Because the child we sponsor shares a birthday with Eliana, all the mail from Compassion is addressed to her. This one invited her to become an advocate for Compassion International by hosting an event at our church. It caught her attention. A few days later, we were on campus together at Multnomah and a volunteer representative from Compassion just happened to be there manning a table. I was busy meeting with a student, so Eliana wandered over to the table to find out more. Without any involvement from me, the correspondence between them continued over the ensuing weeks. Before long a box came in the mail for Eliana with photos of children waiting to be sponsored, a T-shirt for her to wear, and posters to hang at church. She met with the Compassion representative along with one of our pastors to plan the event.

Yesterday I sat proudly in the front row and watched Eliana address our congregation and introduce the Compassion volunteer. She looked completely at ease as she give a stirring plea for all of us to consider. Where did this beautiful, responsible, articulate, and motivated young lady come from? And what happened to our little girl? The best part was that Eliana planned the entire thing from start to finish. What a gift to see God at work in and through our children!

Wait . . . that's not all. By the time we packed up and headed home, 13* new children had sponsors! Way to go, Eliana! That's the best Mother's Day present I can imagine.

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*Update: Some folks took a week to think and pray about sponsorship. By the end of the next week's services, the grand total rose to 20 sponsored kids as a result of Compassion Sunday!

In case you missed the press release in 2013, Compassion International submitted to an independent study by academics in the social sciences to find out if child sponsorship really works. The outcome far surpassed expectations. Compared with un-sponsored kids from the same families and communities, sponsored children grow up to earn more, learn more, be healthier and become leaders in their churches and communities. Sponsorship empowers young people to exit the cycle of poverty. Educating girls is the single most effective strategy for alleviating world poverty.

For related blog posts about inspiring kids to make a difference, click here and here.

a giant heart ... promoted to glory

Gil Woo was a man with a heart, a BIG heart.  We met him and his wife Vivian on our first day visiting what was then known as Northridge Community Church in Milwaukie, Oregon.  They gave us such a warm welcome!  He was so interested in getting to know us, and we bonded right away.  It was only at the end of the conversation that we learned it was their first Sunday there, too!  And that's the kind of guy Gil was.  He had a way of caring that just poured out of him without stopping.  I never knew him to stop and nurse his own wounds.  He was as others-centered as a person can be.

Gil and Vivian have supported us generously since we first became missionaries.  Month after month, faithfully investing in God's work in and through us.  But we never were a "project" to them, just the dearest of friends.  Each time we've traveled back to Portland to see family, friends, and supporters to report on the work that God has been doing through SIM they have graciously opened their home to us and dozens of others who wanted to see us.  Desserts, coffee, gifts for the kids, and the warmest of fellowship were always present in abundance.

Gil gave, and gave, and gave some more.  We were not surprised to learn that even from his hospital bed, without the ability to speak, he wrote messages to ensure that his family and employees were cared for in his absence and knew that they were loved.  No thought for himself.  And today he was promoted to glory.

We will miss you, Gil.  And the tears have flowed.  But we know that you are up there cheering us on like you always have, finding new ways to give of yourself to those you love.  I wonder, how is the View from the Ridge?

bosom buddies

I laid down on Emma's bed this afternoon, and she snuggled up to me, putting her head on my chest. Such a sweet moment of quiet together!

I had just been working through John 1:1-18, and wrestling with the tricky grammar in verse 18. My own translation is this: "No one has seen God at any time. The uniquely beloved God, the one who is nearest to the Father's heart, He made Him known."

I elected not to use the word "bosom" (NAS) since it has become quite obscure. But seeing that word triggered my memory of another unusual verse in John. During the last supper Jesus is preparing his disiples for what is to come. They are all reclining at the table together (in Jesus' day, tables were low to the ground, surrounded by cushions for reclining), but one disciple, the "one whom Jesus loved", is said to be "reclining on Jesus' bosom" (John 13:23 NAS). This has always struck me as so strange! Evidently men's need for 'personal space' was less, and there's no indication that we're to read anything queer going on. But why does John tell us that he and Jesus were, in effect, snuggling?

The "bosom" idea throughout Scripture seems to indicate intimacy (though not in a sexual sense), something or someone held very dear. It can describe the embrace of a husband and wife, or holding a child on a parent's lap. Here it appears to describe a unique friendship.

So why are John and Jesus said to be bosom buddies? I think John was being very deliberate.

Jesus, he argues in chapter 1, is the one most intimate with the Father, and therefore the best person to "explain" Him to us. His testimony can be trusted. John, called "the disciple whom Jesus loved", was the one most intimate with Jesus, and therefore the best person to testify about Him to the church (i.e. by writing this gospel). In case that sounds like bragging, John does remain anonymous in the book. It's clear he's not looking for accolades. But he did leave enough clues about his identity that we can figure it out. And he concludes the book:

"This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24 NAS)

How do we know his testimony is true? Because he and Jesus were bosom buddies. He is the best qualified to "explain" him to us.