Having a Radical Heart and Living Normal is FRUSTRATING!!!

I am attracted to the radical way of life. I always have been. Maybe that is because my life was anything but boring growing up, maybe it is because I have lived in the valleys and on the mountaintops, maybe it is because God made me that way. I don't really know, but what I do know is that living to acquire stuff doesn't interest me at all. Stuff seems to get in the way. I am reminded to what Denver Moore said to Ron Hall in Same Kind of Different As Me when he saw his keyring filled with keys..."Do you own something for each one of those keys?" to which Ron replied, "yes." Then Denver said, "Are you sure they don't own you?" Mother Teresa said our possessions separate us from God. I have worked to buy the next newest thing, only to have that thing be out of date within a couple of months. Stuff breaks, get's old, get's in the way, must be dusted and organized. Stuff drives me crazy.

What excites me is relationship. Serving the poor, serving the brokenhearted, serving those who think that they are not worth the doormat they walked over. Looking into someone's eyes and reminding them of their value to God, their value to community, their value to the people around them. That's where I want to invest.

I am drawn to people who live radical; Mother Teresa, George Mueller, St. Francis of Assisi, Henri Nouwen, Shane Claiborne,...and today I just heard that Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God) is selling all of his possessions and he and his family are moving to India. My favorite books are reading true stories about people who have loved Christ so much that they don't let anything get in the way of sharing that love and grace with others. My favorite stories to read in the Bible are those of Paul and Mary Magdelene. Two very different stories, but once each of them had a taste of Jesus, they held on. They were two of Christ's greatest messengers. Two of the great redemption stories.

I pray often that God will show me what He is calling me to. What is He readying me for. As I am a wife and a mom, the decisions are not all mine to make. They must be balanced with respect and honor to those whom I love.

Right now I know my calling includes being the best mom and wife, serving my family and filling them with love. My love and Christ's love. I am taking classes to get a degree to work in an area where I can pour the love of Christ into the poor and needy.

Having a heart for radical can be frustrating when you are living normal. God help me.

I read this today... ..fight the middle ground...