A Little Spiritual Help From Google… By Kim Burke

Rev. Kimberly Burke is the writer of today's blog post. She has amazing insight into all things spiritual. She wrote a series of four posts for Robbinswrites in 2011 about her mission work in Africa. To read these posts, click here.

When I prepare for a sermon I usually ask people questions on facebook so that I can gather real life applications for the biblical text I’m teaching. It’s only preaching when you can connect it to a person’s heart and life.  That is why Jesus used so many parables; it was his way of connecting real life illustrations to very deep theological mind blowing truths of life.

So I often use Google to help me see what others have said about issues out there in the world wide web. I Googled, “The Power and Authority of Jesus Christ."  I received only one hit with this title but over and over what kept coming up was Power of Attorney.  I thought that’s the last thing I need. Then I decided to read the document before me more carefully, so I began reading Power of Attorney with my spiritual eyeglasses on.  Here is the definition: 

A Power of Attorney is a document under which you as the "Principal," give legal permission to another person or entity (an "Attorney-in-Fact" or "Agent") to act on your behalf. You sign a Power of Attorney document so that your Agent will be able to handle your affairs during a period of time when you are unavailable or unable to do so. An Agent is not required to be a lawyer. (Thanks be to God…if you’re an attorney I beg forgiveness but I just had to say it.)

A Power of Attorney may be either general or specific. A General Power of Attorney gives the Agent broad authority to act for you. A Special Power of Attorney grants the Agent limited authority to act only in specified situations.

(hmmm… I’m thinking this is what we often do with God, we invite God into the storms, the really difficult times in our lives, but we can handle things on our own when things are smooth sailing.)  Isn’t that special…

The document goes on to say…

 In addition, you may create a "Durable" Power of Attorney, which means it will remain in effect even if you become incompetent or incapable of handling your affairs. 

( Lord knows, I need that... often)

  

So after a little “aha” moment with God I re-wrote it…with my spiritual glasses on. Lord, I give you full Power of Authority over every aspect of my life.  I give you Durable Power of Authority over my life even when I am incompetent or incapable of handling life on my own.  I shall not fear for my power rests in you.  

Thanks Google!






Linking up with my good friend Laura today at:

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins and Rev. Kimberly Burke

A God-incident

You have heard of a co-incidence? What about a God-incident? A friend of mine recently explained to me that a God-incident is what some would label a coincidence, except that God is at the center of the event. It is not a coincidence at all. For God has purposefully made it happen. Is it from divine providence? Not necessarily. More often, it is through a cluster of people living in relationship with him and being obedient to his voice. 


I have found that the more I pay attention, the more of the God-incidences I have. The one that I had this week involves several friends who do not even know one another, and a stranger I encountered in a book. 


Earlier in the year, Rev. Kimberly Burke wrote a series of four guest posts for this blog about her experiences in Uganda, Africa, while on a mission trip. It was a wonderful, enlightening series. Later, she told me about a book entitled Kisses from Katie: a Story of Relentless Love, about a high school girl who visited Uganda on a mission trip, fell in love with the people there, saw the incredible need and decided to return after high school to teach and continue ministering to help to meet needs. She ultimately began a non-profit organization called Amazima, to help children in Uganda with basic school necessities and sponsorship.

I bought the book, and as I was reading it, I noticed that both Katie and Rev. Burke described Uganda with almost the exact same words. Both talked about the beauty of the lush land being host to some of the most intense poverty in the world. They both also talked about the spirit of the people who know how to truly depend on God for their needs and to be thankful for the smallest, simplest items in life. They experience this thankfulness in a way that we in the United States frequently do not, because of our abundance.

About two weeks after I finished reading this book, I walked into a grocery store owned by a friend and noticed that she had some new newspaper articles on display. They were about her oldest daughter. I walked over to the display to read these new articles and saw the name of the charity started by Katie Davis: Amazima. I was amazed. Here I had one friend who had done mission work in the same country under a different umbrella organization. She had written for this blog and told me about the book.

I read the book and touch bases with another friend who does not know the first and find out that her daughter was doing volunteer work for the organization in the book. I talked to this friend and she explained to me that her daughter had participated in a study on the book Kisses from Katie. She said that she had been so touched, that she decided to go on a mission trip for the Amazima organization. I was so touched, that I took my copy of the book to the store to be added to the display.

I shared the background with my new friend and she couldn’t wait to share the story with her daughter. Now, I am hearing that Rev. Burke will be returning to Uganda in about six months. God is definitely at work there. 


Is this a coincidence? Can’t be! This is my God-incidence for the week. What is yours?

______________________________________________________________________________________


Thanksgiving Challenge and Joy Dare
Today, I am thankful for:


74. My oldest son's birthday.
75. All of my sons.
76. God-incidents-How he works through his saints, piercing one heart at a time.


Linking up with my pal Jennifer today at:

             and with Ann at:
copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Gratitude

Rev. Kimberly Burke

Today, I am honored to feature the last in a series of four guest posts from Rev. Kimberly Burke in which she relates her experiences as a missionary in Uganda, Africa under the umbrella of Tree of Life Ministries. Rev. Burke serves First United Methodist Church in Boerne, Texas as Associate Pastor. I am honored to also call her my friend.


Click on the appropriate link to read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

In Christ There is No East or West

In Christ there is no East or West,

In Him no South or North;

But one great fellowship of love

Throughout the whole wide earth.

In Him shall true hearts everywhere

Their high communion find;

His service is the golden cord,

Close binding humankind.

Join hands, then, members of the faith,

Whatever your race may be!

Who serves my Father as His child

Is surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both East and West,

In Him meet North and South;

All Christly souls are one in Him

Throughout the whole wide earth.

John Oxenham 1908

Finally, there is a sense and practice of gratitude and thanksgiving in the East that I have not encountered before. My sisters and brothers in Africa seem to view everything as a great gift in which they give God the glory.  They truly understand that everything they have comes from God.  I witnessed gratitude and honor to God for things that I daily take for granted.  A potato for the day, an unexpected gift, a visit from a friend, a well in a community that brings fresh water, a child given the opportunity to go to school, a pair of shoes, a mosquito net, seeds for planting, a song for singing, a vitamin, the ability to teach and learn, a bible, a church to worship in, friendship and community.  I wonder what you hope for, what you depend on and what you are grateful for.  I wonder how you express that.  I wonder when you have felt so overcome with joy that you set your feet to dancing.

I wanted to cling to the Eastern way of living a Christian life.  I felt like it would slip away if I left this place, returning to my complacency.  Some might ask, don’t you appreciate all that is so plentiful in the West? I certainly do.  Don’t you think there is enough suffering and poverty here to tend to? Yes I do.  I have read thousands of statistics over the years about poverty, death, infant mortality in the third world.  But I must admit I had a deep sense of shame for all the waste in my own life.  I still don’t understand why some live in a mud hut and some live in a mansion with rooms they never use.  Why some starve while others throw away food? Why one country has so much and another so little.  I think God would ask us the same questions.  I no longer have statistics and national geographic images in my head, because I have spied with my little eye.  In the Gospel of John, Andrew and (Cephas) Peter followed Jesus.  Jesus turned to them and asked, “What are you looking for? “ They said, “Where are you staying?”  Jesus said, “Come and See.” (John 1:37-39) I for one learned more about living a true life of grace, dependence, joy, faith and love in the two weeks I spent on the red planet than I have experienced in my entire lifetime.  I pray that I can hold on to it. I pray that I can truly live it.  I pray that I will not forget that we are one planet in various stages of healing.  I am grateful to my sisters in Uganda for being such great missionaries to me.


Special note: Several of our readers have expressed an interest in donating to this ministry or sponsoring a child. To find out more please visit Tree of Life Ministries here

Dependence

Rev. Kimberly Burke

I am once again honored to feature a guest post by  Rev. Kimberly Burke, Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Boerne, Texas. Rev. Burke resides in Boerne with her husband Danny and son Jordan. This post is Part 3 of her impressions of her experience as a missionary to Uganda, participating with the Tree of Life Ministries. See Part 1 and Part 2.

There are a few observations that I made in relation to our two planets; the planets of the East and West.  The first is how the two come to view hope.  In a world that from a western perspective seems devoid of hope.  Hope abounds!   Hope is alive! Hope is all there is.  I realized how often we cast our burdens yet so readily pick them back up, roll around in them and make them part of our being.  They are like ghosts that follow us around year after year stealing our joy and happiness. They whisper lies…you’re not good enough, you’re weak, you’re less than.  The faith that my Eastern sisters have isone of necessity, it is day to day-moment by moment-breath by breath faith.  In the West we often lack this kind of faith because we are driven back to the belief that we can fix our situations that we are the creators of our lives.  We believe our doubts and doubt our faith.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Jesus tells us, “My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely.”  For those of us in the West with a plethora of distractions, quick fixes, and self-reliance we lack what the East has at its disposal…trust.  Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God; one that has been tested over time and one that has not come up lacking.  The West is a culture of instant gratification and we have often learned to trust in the things of this world to fill us up other than God; relationships, food, sex, money, success, alcoholism, materialism, consumerism, workaholism…and any other “ism” you can think of.  When we reach for something other than God we lose the one thing that directly relates to joy and faith and that is dependence on God and God alone.  I’m not saying that addictions do not occur in the East, they do, but people do not have the means to rely on purchasing their reliance as consistently as in the West.  The women I met only have God and each other.   It is the same reality that led the psalmist to proclaim, “I have no hope except in you.” (Psalm 25:5)

Total dependence for our every need humbles the heart and it is particularly difficult for the Western world for there is an abundance of resources to depend on and it creates in us a false sense of independence which limits our relationship with God and with each other.  The women I met actively expected God to be present with them and they had eyes to see and ears to hear which were not drowned out by the world.  Simply put a life without total dependence is a hopeless end but with Christ in all things it is an endless hope. 

To read the final post in this series, please go here.


Special note: Several of our readers have expressed an interest in donating to this ministry or sponsoring a child. To find out more please visit Tree of Life Ministries here.

Joy, Joy, Joy

Rev. Kimberly Burke

I am once again honored to feature a guest post by  Rev. Kimberly Burke, Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Boerne, Texas. Rev. Burke is a recent honors graduate of  Southern Methodist University/Perkins School of Theology, where she received her Masters Degree. This post is Part 2 of her impressions of her experience as a missionary to Uganda, participating with the Tree of Life Ministries.  Click here to read Part 1 of this four part series. Part 3 is here.

I was overwhelmed the day of my first visit with the women’s ministry.  I was greeted with singing and dancing, clapping and praising God.  I had never experienced such raw joy, such unabashed gratitude.  I began thinking these women had no problems.  So in an attempt to get to know them, actually in an attempt to get over my nervousness of not knowing how to express such joy, I asked if they had prayer requests.  It now seems like such a typical Methodist thing to do.  But in the very back of the room a hand shot up and a beautiful glowing woman stood up and said please pray that I might be empowered to spread the gospel and the wisdom to do so.  In that moment God’s words came flowing back to me…there are women there who want to spread the gospel.  I was so thankful that perhaps I did have a reason for being here at this time and at this place and with tears streaming down my face I asked her to come forward and all 26 women gathered around. Those who could reach her laid hands on her and everyone another gathered in a grand spirit filled circle.  I prayed with a power that was not my own, for God to anoint and consecrate this woman to service, to give her courage and wisdom, guidance and authority and the tears began to stream down her face as this white woman from the other planet with no real power other than to say the words she had longed to hear by the power of the Holy Spirit, flowed over her.  And one by one their hands waved in the air to be prayed over and I realized in the midst of all of the joy I had just witnessed there was such suffering as I had never witnessed in one place.  Women who had babies die in their arms, husbands addicted to alcohol (demons they called them), women who had lost husbands, one woman whose Muslim family had abandoned her because she was a born again Christian.  Yet 17 women came forward to profess their yearning to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to be anointed. To go forth on bare feet, down dirt roads, to places where the gospel has never been heard, facing danger of persecution and isolation.  After confessing all of these horrible tragedies, many of which I realized could be cured by simple, ordinary things like clean water, antibiotics…simple ordinary things.  These women yet again leaped to their feet to praise God! To sing praises, to dance and to laugh together.  Their worries were seemingly carried away like a wisp of smoke from the very real conclusion that in the midst of it all God was there. They laid their burdens down and refused to pick them back up for tomorrow there would be more.  This moment was fresh with joy.

I wonder if you have ever experienced this kind of joy. What was the catalyst?  Can you imagine how perspectives could be changed if we actively looked for reasons to be joyful? 


(Go here to read Part 3.....) 




Linking to Jen at Finding Heaven Today

East and West

Rev. Kimberly Burke

I am honored today to feature the writing of Rev. Kimberly Burke, who shares her impressions from a recent trip to Uganda. Kimberly currently serves as Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Boerne, Texas where the congregation and outreach team are involved with Tree of Life Ministries. This is a ministry of the First Baptist Church in Boerne.Through this involvement, Kimberly was called to attend a mission trip to Uganda in Africa  What follows is the first in a series of four blog posts. This is her story…..

I've struggled for almost a month now to form words around the images and emotions I experienced on my journey to Africa.  From the moment that I felt the call to go I knew this trip was more about changing me than changing or helping anyone else.  That may sound a bit egocentric but I knew that Tree of Life Ministries was doing great things to assist and empower the communities in Uganda that we were partnered with.  I was constantly evaluating my inadequacies for mission. I have no medical knowledge, no nursing skills; I couldn’t speak the language and to top it off I had no clergy rights in this country as a woman.  I knew there was a women’s ministry and God spoke boldly to my heart that there were women who were waiting to be empowered to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I left all my comforts, was properly immunized, sanitized and set off with my companions.

I’m quite sure my eyes were wide as quarters as we made our bus journey through the burnt orange dirt roads outside of Ginga.  I thought that I was prepared.  I had been to poverty stricken cities in Central America but I had never been to a place so different from the United States.  I felt as if I had journeyed to another planet rather than another continent.  A planet made of red dirt, mud huts, smoky cooking pots and a cacophony of cars, buses, bota, bota’s (motorcycles) and people walking dangerously close to all the moving objects, which by the way are all going the opposite direction at top speeds.  This was a planet with no traffic lights, stop signs or directions and vehicles which spoke their own honking language of warnings, curses and acknowledgment.  People moving with purpose to unknown places, selling mysterious foods and all eyes seemed to be on us, curious eyes, questioning eyes, children laughing and running alongside calling up to us…Muzungu, Muzungu, which is apparently the name for the white faced humans from the other planet.  Evidently Muzungu’s don’t frequent the planet often and we were quite a spectacle of intrigue with celebrity status.  Yes, I was not at all prepared for this other world or how it would profoundly change my life.

Africa is a place of extremes; extreme poverty and pain and extreme spiritual abundance and joy.  Africa is rich in beauty; flora, fauna and the human spirit and it is poor in basic human needs and opportunity.  It spins to its own rhythm which is raw and wild, yet respectful and proud.  In contrasting the East with the West I realized that of course there is poverty and suffering in the West but it is overshadowed by a pre-packaged neatness and a sterility that is predictable.  There is no way to hide the poverty in the East.  It is systemic.  In the West, it is often hidden away in pockets and patches far from the major roads and guarded against by gated communities and neighborhood safety patrol signs.  I am convinced that we suffer from spiritual poverty in the West brought on by our rugged individualistic nature.  We are self-made humans in the West but in the East the motto of life is I am because “we” are.  Community is vital for survival.  We in the Christian church are organized around the community model but I wonder if we could tap into just a bit of what the East has to offer we might find what is lacking in our constant search for affirmation, purpose, fulfillment…peace.  We seem to be searching for something just outside of our grasp and because we can. We seek to fill our empty spiritual voids with the things of the world, and even the quest for spiritual highs; highs that leave us wanting more but never seeming to sustain.  I couldn’t understand why the people of Africa were so joyful and filled with the Holy Spirit, and I don’t say that lightly.  It is a Spirit that can be felt. God is truly in this place because God is visible.   In the midst of so much suffering I imagined I would find a people so depressed and despondent yet I found just the opposite... 




(To be continued next Wednesday.... Go here for Part 2)
  
Linking up with Jen at Finding Heaven Today