Happy Thanksgiving!

A quick list of what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving 2009:

1. KGSR Radio Austin. I've recently rediscovered this broadcasting gem. I'm seriously in love, I listen to it every time I'm in the car now, and even at home. It's exactly my taste in music...and introduces me to new artists (and old) that I have fallen in love with. Thank God for streaming radio, hopefully I can listen to 93.3 in China and be brought a taste of Austin, TX through the radio waves.

2. Faces in Places. As many of you know, inanimate objects arranged to look like a face is the way to my heart. I've been recently spoiled by American Express commercials showing clip after clip of just that, and introduced to a new blog full of these little treasures. Here's a picture of a truck I drove behind on the way to work Wednesday...I couldn't resist capturing it.

3. Texas vs. Texas A&M. I love having a rivalry game to watch on Thanksgiving, and this year is even sweeter having played an undefeated season, and going in as Big XII South Champions! "Texas Fight, Texas Fight, and it's goodbye to A&M!"

4. Black Friday. Normally I think the idea of fighting an incredibly uncomfortable amount of people to save some money the day after Thanksgiving is ridiculous. But my goodness, Wal-mart has an ipod touch for $195 and a $50 itunes gift card to go with it! This missionary will never turn her nose up at 4am shoppers again...

5. Skype and Facebook. With friends and family all over the world now, I am so thankful to have technology that allows me to wish my friend in Singapore Happy Thanksgiving in the morning, and then call my girl in Turkey on skype and see her beautiful face and hear her voice...all for free! Say what you want about social networking sites, but it gets the job done, it keeps me connected.

Most of all, I'm thankful to be home this year. With a big move creeping closer and closer each day, the holidays have a special sentiment this time around. We spent the morning as a family cooking, watching the Macy's parade, listening to the new Norah Jones album, and enjoying this last holiday season together for a while. It's just the four of us this year, but soon enough my best friends will be coming in from Colorado and Connecticut, and start a whole new glorious weekend of eating, drinking, and enjoying time together. I just couldn't ask for a better start to the holiday season, and I pray the same for you this Thanksgiving.

Coming up soon: Christmas Tree shopping!!

Playlist, as of late

Don't Get Hung Up In Your Soul - Richard Hawley

Let Him Fly - Patty Griffin

Good Love Is On The Way - John Mayer Trio

Who Will Comfort Me - Melody Gardot

Superhero Brother - G.Love & Special Sauce

Freedom Hangs Like Heaven - Iron & Wine

Do You Remember - Jack Johnson

You Are The Best Thing - Ray Lamontange

Where The Streets Have No Name - U2

Don't Wait Too Long - Madeleine Peyroux

Let It Be Me - Rosie Thomas

Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan

When I grow up...

Most of us raised in America's education system have a crinkly old paper tucked away in the garage somewhere that starts with these words: "When I grow up, I want to be..."

As little 7 year olds dictate to their teacher what their future aspirations are, there will obviously be the range of sweet, laughable ideas such as "a cat", "an acrobat", or "hannah montana". But there will also be the set of dreams we hope to be repeated by children generation after generation including such greats as "an astronaut", "a fire-fighter", "a mommy", or "the president of the United States".

It's the latter dream that I want to focus on in this post.

Though many of us speak out this dream of becoming president with the utmost faith and belief that it is truly possible, somewhere around middle school the importance of the global economy and getting to throw parties at the white house takes a back seat to wearing the right clothes, getting noticed by the football players, and resolving the latest drama over a shocking facebook update.

The percentage of us that actually rekindle that dream, whether of our own personal interest/conviction, or with the help of family influence and tradition, is dramatically low. Sure, we all know the occasional friend or acquaintance who was active in student council, or who interned in D.C. in college, but the possibility of actually knowing, or even less, actually being a future presidential candidate is slim to none for the average American.

But my point today is that though the literal dream of presidency may no longer be a viable option for most of us, the heart and attitude behind it most certainly is.

Here are some facts: I'm a girl. I have a bachelor's in English from a public university. My parents are middle-class Americans. I'm a practicing Christian. I voted for Obama. And I just sold most of my possessions in a garage sale so I could move to China for a few years to tell people about Jesus.

It's not quite the resume of Hillary Clinton, or Sarah Palin, for that matter. Either side of the aisle would be taking more than a risk backing me as their front-runner, and yet, when I think about my nation, and my place on this earth, I can't help but think like the president.

I believe whole-heartedly that Heaven knows President Obama's name and mine. And what might shock you, is I also believe that God sees the same kind of potential in both of us. In fact, I think He sees it in all of His beloved children.

Our purpose as the priests of God, is not to simply live on this earth and think about heaven. Too many believers have thrown up their hands at politics, and community involvement, and neighborly responsibility in the name of "I'm just an alien here, Heaven is my home".

Well, we do have our citizenship in Heaven, but for whatever reason, God has entrusted us with authority here on earth, and that means it's our world to change. (See Gen. 1:28, John 14: 11-13, John 17:18). So therefore, we must no longer use 'an eternal mentality' exclusively; we are also responsible to bring Heaven to this earth.

The greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor" Not just God, not just our neighbor, but both. And what is scary for one side, is realizing that loving your neighbor means caring about local politics, the environment, and the state of world hunger and poverty. And scary for the other side, is that loving God means we must trust Him, submit to His Lordship, and actually do what He says.

No, we may not all get to be president, but we were never meant to give up on our dream and become another 'cog in the wheel'. The president, at least in our society, is only as strong as the unity he has with the people. No matter his level of faith and ambition personally, if a house is divided, it cannot stand. And we, like it or not, are under his earthly leadership, and if we don't rekindle our own hearts to see our nation and our world change, we can't expect results of our current president, or any future office-holder.

Maybe instead of throwing away that dusty old school project and resigning from our campaign to influence the world, we can rewrite it in more accessible words:

"When I grow up..."

"I want to defend the defenseless."

"I want to eliminate poverty."

"I want to lead people to truth."

"I want to be a positive influence."

Though these new dreams may not have all the pomp and circumstance of "hail to the chief", I can promise you that in God's eyes, they are just as important, and just as necessary.

The challenge is to rise once again, put on the full armor of God, and step into the world not as someone pushed around by 'the powers that be', but to enter as one who was created in the image of God, sealed with His creativity and wisdom, His capacity to love and forgive, and His Holy Spirit to guide and to teach.

Who knows, maybe in 20 years, America will be ready for DAHLSTED 2028, but whether that day comes or not, I know my call. And it is not to settle for a lesser dream, but it is to run with my Creator into dreams beyond all I can ask for or imagine.

When I grow up, I want to be a world changer.

Freely you received; freely give.

So my friend posted a note on Facebook the other day that sparked a very interesting discussion about the progression of America...and other past super-powers. He quoted what's called the Tytler Cycle and the jist is that over a 200 year period, nations go through this progression:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.

Kind of haunting isn't it? Well, it definitely stuck with me and it's been rolling around in my head, and really bothering me...I've been asking myself, "Well do I have to give up then? Are we all just going down? How do we stop this?"

Then I realized, this progression is not a sure thing. This doesn't HAVE to happen. It does follow a logical sequence, but let us not forget that at each step a choice is involved, and in this case the wrong choice is presented. You see, It clearly veers off of the biblical, godly progression of things when it enters complacency. We predict that abundance leads to complacency, which is true in most cases (e.g. Israel throughout most of the OT) but there's no need to be fatalistic here. Complacency is NOT the only option. In fact, it's not what God says should happen at all...

God's mandate has always been (and always will be) "I will be your God, and bless you, SO THAT you will be a blessing to the rest of the world." (See Gen 12:1-3, and, like, every old testament convenant with God ever). We are graciously blessed by God because He's just that good (see my last post), but then in turn, we are instructed to give it away. We are called to represent His character and His nature towards others through sacrificial love and giving, not to mention He knows our selfish and sinful hearts and how much we loveeee comfort.

Don't you ever wonder why He was always so upset with Israel for being ethno-centric, greedy and complaining all the time? He created man in His image, and choose the Hebrews to be His representatives on the Earth. They were instructed to be a royal priesthood that the world could go to receive love, affirmation, and acceptance from the One True God. And it's the same mandate today...His people are being called to give themselves away.

But do we learn this in church? Hardly- God wants you to happy and healthy and full of cash, right? Do we learn this in school? No way- take all you can get, babe, look out for number one. Do we learn this in politics? Well, there are two sides to this beast: "It's mine and you can't have it" OR "I feel bad for making so much money, so I'll just throw it at broken systems that don't require me to care about whether or not the money is properly being used".

Let me be clear in my opinions: I think we can change the world. I do not think God intends for things to get worse and worse and then He's going to come back. I think God has given the stewardship of the WHOLE earth (that includes government, education, nature, economy, recreation, media, family, and the church) into our hands. And it's time we stepped up and did something responsible.

We've missed a very important link here, and I think it's time for a bit of optimism. We were never meant to be trapped in a vicious cycle of doom and gloom, and live with the mentality that "we're screwed cuz we were born at the wrong turn of the century".

No, I think life is always hard. There is always opposition to the ways of God. And there is always a right and a wrong choice to make. (Makes perfect sense if you believe in the God of the Bible, because that means there's also a Devil with His own plan for things...)

But, I'm thinking, if our founding fathers could make the right choice from spiritual faith to great courage, and great courage to liberty, who says we can't make just as good of a choice? And we don't even have to cross the ocean, start up a new country, and fight for her survival while being up against all odds.

You know, some even might say, the hardest part of the battle is over for America, and our only job now is spread the love. I for one am willing to try, are you?

Let's pray that within the next 10 years, the progression looks something like this:

abundance to RESPONSIBILITY.

responsibility to generosity (to those OUTSIDE ourselves):

Those receiving generosity, then in turn begin a new cycle:

gratefulness to self-worth.

self-worth to spiritual faith. (IF someone is there to tell them why they matter...yay missions!)

spiritual faith to great courage.

great courage to liberty. etc, etc.

....and the multiplication of God's blessing continues as His people have finally heard the call to not only be blessed by God, but to BE a blessing to the nations of the earth..

P.S. Bono has a few things to say as well, if you're interested: This is his Op Ed piece from Sunday's NY Times.

What do you do with a God like that?

In my previous post I mentioned that though I was back in familiar territory, I was completely different. I'd like to expand on that a bit, and reassure you that I am not entirely changed; I am still Shannon, I still love crosswords, a cup of black coffee, and Texas football - but I do feel I have returned to Austin as more of a whole person, and the stories behind that statement, I am more than willing to explain.

Throughout my time away, I was challenged in my view of God; how I saw Him and how I believed He really was.

Is He really all that He claims to be? Does He really love me no matter what? Can I truly stand on His promises in the Bible? Are His ways really the best ways? Is He worth giving my life to?

Everyone knows the Sunday school answers to these things, but when your only options are to trust God or continue life in pain, those simple questions become pretty important. And I made some decisions.

I decided that I did not have to have God completely figured out before I trusted Him. I decided to believe that He loves me unconditionally and that there's nothing I can do to change it. I decided I should receive His love in gratitude and awe. And I decided that He is real.

He is so real, it's ridiculous.

Think about Jesus: He holds all power and all might in His hand, and yet every word He speaks is true, every motivation and intention of His heart is good and loving. Do you know anyone like that? I mean, I know we all grew up in a Christian country and culture, so the idea of a 'good' God is not entirely foreign, but think about it...it could have gone another way for us.

We could be at the mercy of an all-powerful being who is greedy, selfish, forceful, manipulative, cruel, and unjust. (Which is, I might add, how much of the world lives it's life under other religions...).

Can I ask you something? If you had all the power in the universe, which God would you look more like? And don't automatically assume you're awesome, really think about how you live your life, and how you treat those actually under your influence: your family, friends, co-workers, and peers.

Do you love without judgement? Do you fight for others even when they hurt you? Do you offer up your very precious clothes, movies, jewelry, or salary to anyone who has need? Too materialistic? Ok, how about your time, your skills, your friends, and your family, would you give them up to make sure someone else had the best, and do so without bitterness and pride?

I'll ask you (and myself) again, if you had everything in the world at your disposal, would you trust yourself to be entirely pure and good? I know where I stand, and if you took my life right now and made me 'God'...lemmie tell ya, not people would trust in me for very long.

And I think this was something I dealt with while I was away, I was looking at God as though He was me. I was trying to fit His ways of doing things through my lens of understanding, and obviously I can't picture myself being completely loving and holy, so I had a hard time picturing God that way. We base our image of God off so many things: parents, leaders, teachers, government, kings, and even ourselves. But you know what, people mess up, then we put those accusations right on God as if He does the same things...why don't we actually form our image of God from the scriptures, from what He says about Himself?

So I decided to take the God of the Bible at His word, and trust that though Jesus was fully man, He was also fully God.

I decided to trust that I was made in His image, and that He was NOT made in mine.

In getting to know the One true God more and more over this past year, I have found Him to be nothing short of perfect. He is completely trustworthy. He is not a man, that He would lie, He is not a man, that He would have to repent. The angels and cherubim sit around His throne watching every decision He makes and witnessing His every move, and what do they have to say?

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and who is to come." (Rev 4:8)

He's real, guys. And whether you are understanding this for the first time, or you've believed it for decades, take a moment right now and thank Him. Thank Him for being a good God. For loving in perfect purity, for being a measuring point of morality and truth, for having mercy and forgiving men and women who don't deserve to be forgiven, for giving up His very life so that you might have the chance to know Him and live forever with Him.

So what do you DO with a God like that?

Well, I suggest you worship Him, and give your life into His worthy and waiting hands. I've come to find that there is simply no better option out there.

Back in the Great State.

Well, I'm back in Texas, and grateful for it. I was officially overwhelmed last night as I drove home with my family through this city that I have taken as my own. Coming home to a room that lingered with teaching memories, and going for a drive around the block in my old neighborhood was a bit crazy feeling...everything was just as it was, and yet I was completely different.

I just kept thinking of one of my favorite verses in John 3: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

I once read that our generation is one of world-changers, ones who write their addresses in pencil because they don't know where they're going to be next. I like that. As unsettling as that may be for some, I have found that the security we all look so hard for in houses, and jobs, and spouses, is really found in something much, much better. It is found in a God who is both as stable as a Rock, and as fluid and mobile as the Wind. He is above all, and through all, and in all...and yet He calls to us by name.

As most of you know, I will only be in Austin until the end of January and then I take off again, blown by the Spirit halfway across the world, but right in the center of God's heart. This blog will no longer exist there, but I still do have three months to write. I look forward to keeping this up again.

See you soon,

Shannon

Chun Meets World.

I wrote this segment for the upcoming YWAM GO Manual, and thought I'd share it with you all:

Kathmandu, Nepal. It's the beginning of spring for this city of 800,000. There are Hindu men and women lighting up the drab, dusty brown of the crowded streets with bright-colored punjabis and red and yellow markings on their foreheads. In the nearby slums, however, the picture is quite different. One could say that winter has never shaken off its frost and left these places. The bright colors fade to images of dirt and poverty, to smells of waste and stray animals, and the atmosphere shifts drastically and undeniably to the 'lowest caste' of society - the forgotten, the ignored- it's the dwelling place of the untouchables.

And this is where Peter Chun, one of 21 students on the Compassion DTS from YWAM Perth, finds himself. This particular slum has a population of hundreds and is filled with Nepali people from the countryside hoping to find work in the city. Slums are thought of as 'temporary' housing by those living there, but often end up being their residence for years and years due to lack of work and acceptance from a caste-driven society. On this day, Peter noticed a man begging in the middle of the road. There were people everywhere, walking past to their homes, talking with one another, mingling with the foreigners who just descended with bibles and tracts and translators, yet this man was completely alone.

He could not walk, and was lying directly on the dirt road. He could not talk, and was simply groaning as people walked by, holding out a hand for help, for money, for anything.

Peter heard the voice of the Father, and like Jesus, was moved with compassion when he saw this beloved child like a "sheep without a shepherd". The slum community watched in stunned silence as Peter walked towards this man, knelt down, and scooped him up in his arms. He carried him out of the road and sat with him as his fellow man. He stayed with him, held him, prayed over him, and granted him the dignity and acceptance that runs through the veins of every created child of God.

This was the gospel.

Some continued staring, some sneered in disgust, and some asked questions. Without one word, a testimony of God's compassion was manifested in that place, and the stage was set for the greatest love story ever told to be shared in power. Peter remained with that man, and the rest of the school proceeded to hold an evangelistic event and present the gospel. The presence of God was thick that day, and it came not from the sound system, the dancing, or the passion of the preacher. It came from the real life context of love shown by Peter as an ambassador of the Holy God.

We have all been given the authority to represent Jesus Christ on this earth, and in the same way that Peter simply obeyed the voice of the Father and impacted a whole community, you too can change this world as you continue to get to know God, and with the greatest of joy, make Him known.

*Peter has his own blog which I encourage you to check out as well. It's on the blog roll to the right...