Letters From Aunt Michelle

Celebrating Life

Dear Nieces & Nephews, We had been home schooling your cousins for several years when I decided our days had become too mundane, and “Adventure Days” were born. Once a week, I’d wake everyone up with a mysterious list of items to pack, then we’d drive off into the great unknown. The study desk for the day might be a new library, the top of a bluff, the base of a waterfall, a waterpark in its off-season, a donut shop. Kids had only to trust, follow along and have a great time. Some of them loved these days and still talk about them today. Some chafed and battled. Why? I still ponder my way through the psychology of it. I’d suspect there were two elements at work: pride (“I have better ideas than you; I want to do mine instead.”) and insecurity (“My trust broke when I was a baby and I can’t trust you unless you’re utterly predictable.”) Both demonstrate an insatiable appetite for being in control. And I relate to both. It amazes me how diligent God is in refining the skill set I need to trust Him in each day’s unpredictability. It’s finally dawning on me that the angst in the pit of my stomach won’t dissipate until I let go of my pride and insecurity and stop battling for my own way, which sounds like this: “I want adventure, but it needs to be of MY choosing, in MY timing. I need YOU to be steady and predictable and safe. YOUR job is to (please) make it comfortable and fun, and (please) make sure I look really good to everyone else along the way.” God doesn’t usually go along with requests like this. He loves me too much. He loves YOU too much too. If you feel like you’re drowning today, please learn this alongside me: The very life circumstances that are drowning us can also make us float. The difference is in our response. Lightness and ease will not come from being in control of our own adventure, but in surrendering and trusting the One who loves us so very much. He is trustworthy, even when others haven’t been. Peace will not come when the unpredictable stops. It will come when we learn to float in it. How do we learn this skill? Ask the Holy Spirit for swimming lessons. He will teach you. He will . Just ask. Even if you don’t think you know how to hear His voice, I guarantee He will not give you a snake when you ask for bread. (Matthew 7:9.) He’s the One who knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13.) He knows every thought before it even enters your mind. (Psalm 139:2.) He certainly knows your language. Pay attention. Make Him your focus, not the circumstances that are making you panic. Then respond. We’re on the adventure of a lifetime together, you and I. Let’s enjoy it! Love, Aunt Michelle

Dear Nieces & Nephews, “Grandpa Dave” has been God’s gift to our family since both sets of grandparents left early for heaven. We don’t live super close, so most of our contact lately has been over the phone, talking about challenges and breakthroughs and what we see God doing through them. Yesterday he told me that while thinking about how dismal the world is looking these days, he was reminded of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. “God is getting ready to release an equal and opposite reaction to all that the Enemy has been unleashing,” he said. I had to wrestle through the concept of “equal” when it comes to God and Satan, but eventually it made sense. God’s not wasteful. I think He uses just enough of his bottomless resources to meet each action with its equal reaction. And here’s another scientific truth we see everywhere: When opposite and equal forces collide, there is a burst of ... shall we say ... productivity ? When it’s opposite electrical charges, there is a spark or release of energy; the intensity depends on the magnitude of the charges involved. Varying air temperatures collide to create a storm. (I could go on, but I'll stop before my simplicity brings laughter to the true scientists among you.) That’s where my encouragement for today is coming from. My life has been a fierce, ongoing storm for some time now. (I’ll bet I’m not the only one.) Every day there is either cataclysmic disturbance with flying debris, a respite of sunshine and rainbows, or darkening clouds as another onslaught forms. The main goal of my quiet times is to lift my chin, focus my attention on the Savior, press on, and hold onto peace. Bill Johnson says, “We only have authority over the storms we’ve learned to sleep through.” Jesus has a cushion laid out for me in the bottom of the boat beside Him, and I intend to use it. Then I'll wake up occasionally to watch the lightning display or pull others to safety. This morning I studied all of Newton’s Laws of Motion, and there is a boatload of spiritual truth hiding in all three. I plan to dive deep and learn as much as I can from them about my Creator because the more I grasp how He thinks naturally , the more I’ll understand Him supernaturally . Without this, I’m sure I will sink. With it, I’m in for the ride of my life. Hoping to find you resting there alongside, Aunt Michelle

One of them . I don’t think God said it that way. I imagine the Trinity in a family conference, discussing the plight of their beloved fallen creation, stressing a different word in the phrase. One of them. “I’ll become one of them,” Jesus offered. It’s all in the italics. If Jesus had said “one of them ,” it would have pulled Him down into our shame. Instead, He lifted us up into His glory. And so He became one of us. He lived our life, pain and limitations with us, and then had the connection He needed to pull us out of it. I’ve found myself knocking on a lot of doors these past few years. Introducing myself. Offering an apology, a request to pray together, a box of donuts, a grocery gift card. All to people I would have once considered a them , but through unexpected (and unasked-for) twists in my life path, I find myself one . This is where I choose to either look down on them as a beneath-me people group, or see them as created treasures on a difficult life path. This is where I choose to enter their shame or pull them up into my glory. The glory which is mine because Jesus pulled me up into His . This, my dear nieces and nephews, is the heart of The Gospel. And it will be the theme of our quarterly Camp Fire event this Sunday. “Winter Embers, A Beach Party” is a 6-hour sample of our summer camp. We’ll heat up the house, wear shorts and play beach games. Then we’ll worship till we encounter the Holy Spirit and let Him challenge and equip us to live the Great Commission. The teaching will be Rated G in content but not in Holy Spirit. Kids don’t need watered-down challenges. Their young hearts ache for the full-on opportunity to love and be loved. You can sign up for it using the following link if you’re Age 7 or up. (Yes, older is fine as long as you’re not offended by simplicity; we just might put you to work.) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0548A8A72CABFE3-54544043-winter When I was little, my parents would lead us in singing the following song at our home church in Cambridge, and it has gripped my heart ever since. It begins with the Father asking this of Jesus: “Will you be poured out as wine upon the altar for Me? Will you be broken as bread to feed the hungry? Will you be so one with me that I may do just as I will … To make you light and love and life, my will fulfilled?” Jesus then responds: “Yes, I’ll be poured out as wine upon the altar for you. Yes, I’ll be broken as bread to feed the hungry. Yes, I’ll be so one with you that you may do just as you will To make me light and love and life, thy will fulfilled.” Then Jesus turns to us and asks us the same question His Father asked Him . And he gives us the chance to respond in kind. When I’ve said yes, it’s because I’ve had no idea what it was going to look like. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had the courage. But I’m glad. As much as I’ve disliked the process of becoming one of them, I’m grateful for how He’s used it to make me more like Him. Hope to see you Sunday! Aunt Michelle

The social worker called us about “Brianna” the same week our 19-month twins were returned to their mom. She was just shy of three years old and needed someone to adopt her. Her parents, Missy and Gerry, had just declared they would no longer work to get her back if they had to give up drinking. Then they disappeared. “I’ve never met anyone so resilient,” Karen, her second foster mom, said of Brianna as she introduced her to us. She told us how Missy and Gerry had strapped 14-month-old Brianna into their car at a bar in Middleton, then gone in to drink for several hours before someone discovered her and called the police. That’s when social services stepped in.

Dear Nieces & Nephews, Your Grandpa Clark ran a home-remodeling business when I was growing up. There was a season in my early childhood when Mom filled in as a substitute teacher for the Cambridge schools, and I would go to work with Dad. Those were special days, and memories of them were playing through my mind as I wrote the following entry in my prayer journal this morning. All my love, Aunt Michelle Good morning, Holy Spirit! Here I am. I give you all my confusion, weariness, ruts, fears, worries and overwhelm. What are You saying today? What are You doing today? Would you bring me along? It's Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work Day. Can I go? Can I go? I want to see what You do at work. I want to help. I want You to put my hands on your project and guide them with your own as You do what You do. I want to stop periodically and eat a snack from your lunchbox, right there in the presence of whatever enemy we're facing. I want to make You laugh when I say and do cute things out of my partial understanding and limited skill. I want to hear You proudly telling people about my earnest attempts. And at the end of the day, I want You to hoist me up on Your shoulders, grip my ankles with Your big strong hands, and carry me home. I want to eat from Your dinner table before You take me on Your lap and tell me a story and tuck me into bed. That would be a perfect day. Can I go? " This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, "What's next, Papa?'" (Romans 8:15, The Message )

I hope you don’t find this sacrilegious, but I’ve always wanted to be included in the Bible. Even if it’s just a line summarizing my life, or a list of unlikely heroes-of-the-faith I'm included in. Or maybe I could help record it. Is it possible the story doesn’t end with the New Testament, and that God’s in the middle of writing “The Newer Testament” right now? That would make the Bible a trilogy. Isn’t God all about 3’s? I could see it starting out with “Second Acts” about the here--and-now training process we're in. This would by followed by a whole series of books that center on the glorified Church ruling and reigning over the currently unexplored universe. Think about it. Would stories of super-heroes and wars among the stars capture such a passionate and timeless part of mankind’s heart if there wasn’t a seed of Truth in them? Why would they resonate so deeply if it wasn’t a foretaste of the destiny God has planned for us? And these stories would be necessary for whatever layer God is preparing after that . Eternity will be layer upon layer of endless increase. "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." (Isaiah 9:7) “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him and are called according to His purpose. But He has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” (I Corinthians 2:9)

Join the Hart Family as they discover deep mystery hidden in the abandoned camp they recently purchased on the shores of Lake Paradise. Five foster kids, while learning to get along with each other, discover clues that lead them into a secret world. Will they be able to find the hope they need? And how will this hope affect the ... Well, I'd better not give too much away. I hope you can enjoy reading this alongside others who are with you on your own adventure!

I want to reflect God clearly in my life. But maybe someone somewhere needs to see only a reflection of a reflection in me for now, because it’s all their eyes are ready for.