Bo Stern

I’m glad you found me here at WordPress! As I was hopelessly trying to sleep last night, I was thinking about what a weird amount of money fifteen dollars is. It seems like way less than $20, which seems like real money. I tried to think of things that would really fall under the 15 mark, but would also be tremendously wonderful treats for my life. So, for your hypothetical reading enjoyment, we open with my thoughts on: What to do With $15

1. MAC Lip gloss. $14. (Smashbox is my favorite because it doesn’t smell like cake batter or 7th-grader, but it’s outside the range by 3 bucks.)
2. A plate of calamari at Deep. $13.
3. The Zondervan Bible Handbook. $14.99. I LOVE this book! It’s loaded with maps and charts and commentary and all kinds of great stuff for those looking to unravel the mystery locked in the pages of the B.I.B.L.E.
4. Six Dozen Life-changing Donut Holes at Richard’s Donuts (except I’m not going there anymore. I’m not. No.)
5. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero. How much therapy could $15 save you? Read this book and find out!
6. This cute necklace at Forever 21. $12.99. I love jewelry that’s cheap enough to date – you don’t have to marry it!
7. Lonely Planet’s Travel Guide to Mexico. Only about 10 bucks and I get to spend the day on the beach!
8. It won’t buy you a cute little baby, but it definitely will feed, clothe & educate one for two weeks.

So…that’s my list. What would you do with $15 bucks?

Luke 5:18-20 Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, He said, “Friend, I forgive your sins.”

>Strong’s word for crowd is “multitude” and it means “rabble” or a low class of people.

While I have often been just as paralyzed as this guy: no direction, no vision, no hope of forward motion with Jesus, my issue in reaching Him is just the opposite. It’s not the rabble pressing in on Jesus that limits my proximity…it’s the rabble pressing in on me. While I have this awesome and every-day opportunity to seek and find Him, to ask for healing from my immobility…I let the crowd hold me back. Not everything in the crowd is “rabble” ( a low class of distraction). My family, my home, my job are all certainly worthy of my attention, but lots of things are not. All of these pieces of the crowd – in varying degrees of intensity – push in to absorb my time, my day and even my desire to find a way in to seek Jesus. Actually, I think a LOT of people – especially Americans – give up too quickly when seeking Jesus gets hard to do.

So I love how this guy and his friends just will not give up.

They don’t.

They won’t.

They devise a plan to get him in and quite a plan it is…it’s a gutsy move. He could get hurt, he could be rejected by the angry mob – or even an angry Jesus. Somewhere, it’s clear that this guy developed such a desperation for healing that the risk was worth it. Of all the characters in the enormous Word of God, I think I may identify with this one the most. Somewhere inside of 2007, I got desperate to find Jesus. Desperate to be built by Him…even if that meant being taken apart first. Even if it meant risking everything.

For so many years, I have stayed hidden in the crowd and suffocated by – yet secretly thankful for – their company. Finally, I decided to find a way through the roof. Though it would have seemed ridiculous and impossible a few years ago, the tile that had to be moved was the tile called: MORNING. The very small door labeled “before sunrise” was the opening through the roof that I needed to get through the crowd. In fact, I’ve discovered that the streets are pretty quiet and the ordinarily busy and bustling world is nowhere to be found at that time. The only one pressing in for time with me at that hour is the very One I’ve been desperate to talk to. And finding Him here has been the best thing in my life.

Absolutely the best thing ever.

Steve’s brother, Jon, and his family live in Kenya, where they run Kings Kids Village – an orphanage for children who have lost their families to AIDS. Please pray for them as they are in the middle of rampant violence and unrest and are responsible for many children and workers. Here is the latest update from Jon Stern – it’s long, but important in understanding the scope of the situation. Our God is GREAT and His power will prevail…but I believe that prayer is going to be the key that turns the lock. Here’s the letter from Jon:

Hello everyone, and sorry we haven’t written an update
lately…….we’ve heard from some of you that you are hearing the news
and following that way – you are probably getting as much as we are –
EXCEPT for what’s on the ground here at KKV……so that’s why we are
writing an update today. The unrest is getting worse and worse, and
there is talk that now things will be really bad for the rest of the
week……and it has slowly encroached on to Nairobi and anarchy
ensues. The country is shaken to it’s very foundations.

Here at KKV, like I said before, we have been in a haven of peace. But
today, the unrest comes close. Many of our workers who live in this
area are fleeing their homes with only what they can carry – threats are
coming that whole housing areas will be burned. We have taken in all
of our employees and their families from these areas……..today, we
went and bought mattresses for the floor and a good stock of food to
cover the extra mouths…..hopefully, enough for a whole week…..and we
are yet to see if more will still come – as many went home early to get
their children out of the schools and to see if their area is
threatened.

The saddest thing is the tension that is here – right here
among us……pointing of fingers and accusations and side taking. WE
told them ALL that if they are to come here to stay, they must leave all
that outside…..we are Switzerland – TOTALLY NEUTRAL, both tribally and
politically.

Otherwise, i don’t know how to tell you to pray – just pray in the
Spirit and let Him guide you…..but please DO pray – we need God’s
protection and KNOW we will have it AND we believe that God has the
only answers……no one else seems to get to the real bottom of the issues.

Thanks and blessings,
Jon and Molly Stern

This is my friend, Janna Meyen, who’s life is a clear picture of the strong & beautiful grace of Jesus. She’s totally famous and was in TWO newspapers this week – here’s the link to the one that quotes ME! 🙂 http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/SPORTS05/801240427/1013/SPORTS&nav_category=SPORTS

I’m so proud of you, Janna.

I get frustrated with women who don’t know anything about politics…seriously, friends, you live in the greatest country in the entire world, take a little time to get to know it! I actually LOVE the political process and have been continually surprised to run into women who know nothing about what’s going on in the nation they call home. Many have asked me to write a political blog, but every time I try it just sucks the fun out of it for me. SO, instead of a blog, I give you this post!

A few things that will help you in this pursuit:

1) West Wing -Tori and I watch it on DVD and have converted Whitney and Corey and many others. Whether or not you agree with the political bent of the series (I don’t), you will definitely be captivated by the clever dialogue and suck-you-into-the-story plot lines. You can pick up a whole season (22 hours of episodes!) for about $15 at Costco or you can find it on www.half.com for a little more than that. Great stuff to kill a rainy Saturday, especially as we head into a full-blown election year. If you like An American President or A Few Good Men, you’ll love West Wing. If you don’t know either of those movies, you gotta get out more!

2) www.polichicksonline.com. It’s a relatively unbiased site for women who want to know some – but not ALL – about the political process. Also, it took some time of weeping in my office to get over the fact that I didn’t think of that clever domain name first!

3) www.realclearpolitics.com TONS of information – most of it slanted one way or the other. Still, if you read a couple of commentaries each morning, you’ll get a fairly good idea of what people are thinking and saying about the elections.

One thing I’ve found: women who know even a little about politics are given an automatic 20 point bump on their AIQ (Assumed IQ). Go for it – you may be surprised to find that you like it and then you’ll be running for president instead of Hillary someday.

And hey – if you find any great sites for the lowdown on politics, let me know!

AND…here is my favorite political moment this week: