Will there be tears in heaven? A look back at 2018

Today makes one year in Senegal. As we are at the end of our first year and the end of the calendar year I am forced to look back at a year that will not be forgotten. Please allow me to get reflective with you. In the end I hope reflection will lead us into a good future.

Survey: What would you ask?

Your participation with Flyleaf Digest makes writing for this blog fun and interesting. My favorite posts always come from the questions you ask me, in the comments or on Facebook. Today I would like to keep the conversation going. I created a short 10 question survey. The purpose of the survey is to explore your exposure to certain spiritual teachings and provide you an opportunity to ask more questions.

What is the Cost?

On the post Update: Welcome Lodgy KateKing90 Asked in the comments,

I am reminded of John 16:33, ‘In this world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!’ Praying that your church sites would see the Lord overcoming their tribulation and feel his hand raising them up over the turbulence. Praying for peace between the church and those who oppose her. Can you share any more about the site and what is going on where people are specifically opposed to building the church?

I am interested by your question because yes there is a specific answer to your question. (however, I will obscure some of the details of the answer just to protect the people who are involved.) The reason I find your question so interesting is that it lends itself to a greater question that we seldom face as Christians in the States.

When Joy Cries

This week Benjamin was born, child number four of four. I am forced to think back to a time in our marriage when things where much different. We sought the Lord in tears and prayer for eight years to have a child. Now we celebrate the birth of our fourth child. You would think, in this moment joy would be simple, and pure, and a bold statement of God triumphing over infertility in big and miraculous ways. Yes and amen, and yet, no.

Life is messy.

Update: Welcome Lodgy - Thank you!

I wanted to take some time to write to you, our faithful friends and followers.  The past few months we have experienced many difficult trials while in the midst of a massive transition between France and Senegal.  The culmination of those trials was the death of my father, a wonderful man, who will be truly missed. I cannot wait to see him again in the presence of Jesus. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who faithfully reads this blog or supports us through prayer and giving.  There was no mistaking the blessing and presence of God during that time.  This trial would have been much more debilitating if it were not for the out pouring of love from the body of Christ.  

God’s Lamentation Story (An Open Letter from David Hahn)

 (The following is an open letter my father, David Hahn, wrote with great physical and spiritual difficulty as he faced his final battle with brain cancer.  His desire was to share his love for God with his church when he could not but type with one trembling hand.  He wrote this letter to his congregation as an explanation of how God was drawing him into a greater intimacy and worship.  Please read and be blessed as I am blessed by his words.)

Don't Waste Your Depression

I recently shared a video, on Facebook, where a YouTuber spoke openly and honestly about his depression.  It was a powerful video, and an important plea for people to seek help. 

Many of you, my friends and faithful followers then asked me, on that thread, or in private messages, how I was doing and about my own struggle with depression. 

So here is my confession. I frequently battle depression.  In the past I have struggled with disordering depression.  At my worst I could lay all day on the floor under a blanket feeling naked and exposed as the spiritual weight of an anchor was pulling my soul out of my chest.  

When God is Quiet.

As I have mentioned before I don’t like to wait.  I don’t know if it is a spiritual flaw or something else, but I avoid waiting.  However, the reality of life is that we will always have something to wait for.  Right now I am waiting for a mechanic.  The vehicle I was riding in decided it did not want to go to the village today.  So we sit and wait. 

In this moment I have had some time to stop and think through the question, Paul Grenier, that you asked on Facebook. 

“Where have you felt the presence of God in your new home?”  

It's Shocking

Early on in our journey one of the most common questions about moving, and living, cross culturally is the question of cultural differences, and the idea of culture shock.  

WE LANDED!

We landed! Welcome to Africa.  We spent the last year, and some change, in France, learning French.  We changed the country of our destination in Africa.  And our family grew by another member now we are a family of 5.  And as the Language learning center in France was the most fertile place in the world we are expecting to be a family of 6 in July.  Ummm yeah, that was unexpected. 

My Contradiction

I am a walking contradiction.  I love to write. I love create.  In middle school I often tried to make cartoon characters and tell their stories.  My life’s ambition was to be a cartoonist. 

But, I had a problem.  I struggled with “learning disabilities” (I think the official term was Perceptually Impaired).  Specifically, my impairment existed in the domain of language (though numbers were affected as well).  Trying to understand language was trying to stop my feet from sinking into the sands of spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and syntax as the tides of education swept over me. I struggled through middle school, high school, and college, gradually finding less and less joy in writing and creating.

The Long Road to Life

Here's the next question from Aaron:

“If Adam and Eve had repented of their sin, would they have still gotten kicked out of the garden?”

Aaron, I find your question interesting and it captures some misconceptions people have about sin and forgiveness.  To answer your question succinctly: yes, God would kick Adam and Eve from the garden, even if they repented instead of trying to hide their sin.  With our western American sensibilities, we cringe at this answer. The moment Adam and Eve reached for that fruit they took the long road away from the garden.  They could never again live in this paradise. 

Now to the work of demonstrating this.  There are several elements of your question we need to examine flesh out the answer.  First, what exactly happens in sin.  Second, what is the nature of repentance.  Finally, what is the nature of forgiveness and restoration.

Un Jour Chez Hahn

Chloe asked:

“What's an average day look like for your family right now? Have you guys discovered any great French food? Are you going to a French church or is there an English service you attend? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? (Kidding, but really, I'm super curious about life-in-general for everyone. We miss y'all!)”

Let me answer the most important and pressing question first.  The air speed velocity of an unladen European swallow is 11 meters per second (or 25 MPH). At least according to this website.  Couldn’t tell you about an African swallow.  And, I still cannot figure out where they are getting all of these coconuts, but that is life. 

Now to answer the rest of your questions. 

Join me in the Ministry of Writing

Over the past several years this blog has been through a few different permutations.  First it was a place where I would digest my sermon notes into blog length content.  Then when God called us to the mission it changed to an easy place for our updates with meaningful (at least I hope) theological reflection. 

Now I would like to tweak the content of the blog a little bit more.  I am inviting you to participate in our blog.  You see, I do not want this blog to be just a quick place to write some perfunctory updates.  I want this blog to be a ministry to those of you who read regularly.  So I need your participation. 

Counting Loss

Last week marked the end of our second month in France.  Although it feels like six months crammed into two.  To begin this post, I want to say that God is good.  We are now settling into a good rhythm of life.  Hannah is enjoying school (even though she is sad to have a “boy” teacher).  Amelia is enjoying the constant stimulation of city life and her language is exploding (mostly English but French as well).  The girls and I just caught a Mr. Mime in Pokémon GO. Finally, Jen and I are active in both formal and informal language learning.

Next Update France!

Drum roll please!  We would like to announce that our next update will be, wait for it, in France.  Yes, we went down to the embassy yesterday.  Our purpose was to pull out our passports and give-up on this application, and reapply for our visas elsewhere.  We arrived at the time allotted for picking up passports, and the men working the gate said, “The visa section is closed today.”

ARRRGGGG! My internal dialogue said, “Why didn’t you put that on the website.  This is the advertised time to pick up passports.”  I just wanted to cut my losses and get my passport.

Don't Waste the Wait

I want to thank everyone for praying this past week.  Sadly, we still do not have our visas.  We are not in France (yet).  Still, God is good. For us this has become a season of waiting.  What we thought was a commission, to the front line of God’s will for us, is a season of sitting on bags in the assembly area (1 Samuel 30:21-25). 

To confess, I hate to wait.  Take for instance a 2-day shipment from amazon.  It takes too long.  During those two days I will check package tracking like 100 times just to see where my package is. 

Please Pray This Week

Today I ask for your help. As most of you know Jen and I experienced a clear call from God to serve him internationally.  So after a long season of prayer, we were called, by the Christian and Missionary Alliance, to serve our Lord in Mali.  This meant leaving our home in Wellsboro , PA and prepare for our new life as international workers. 

Over the past spring and summer we have been busily preparing for our first flight on the journey, to language school in France.  Here is where I am asking for your help.  We need prayer.  Classes at the French school start on Tuesday and we do not have our visas yet (we have been waiting for over 11 weeks).  If we do not get our visas by the end of this week, there is a good chance that we cannot attend the French school this term, drastically affecting our preparations. 

The Hands with the Nails

Listen to This Sermon Here

Imagine if you will, for a moment, you are in a market and you come across a vender who you’ve seen before.  You recognize this man because he was in the gathering of the new sect of Judaism called Followers of the Way.  What is more, despite the man’s old and wither exterior, he still carries himself as a veteran of the Army.  A soldier of the Roman guard never loses the stature.  There is an intangible way in which he stands and presents himself so that you know he served his country well.  But today he serves you by selling you fruit from his stand.

He Rides a Donkey

Listen to this message here

I want tell you a story.  Specifically, I want to tell you the story of when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey.  I want you to turn on your imagination.  What would it be like that day?  What would you be doing?  Where would you be standing?  What would you be shouting?  What would the road feel like on your feet?  What would the crowd smell like?  What would the shouts of hosanna and crucify him sound like to you?  How would they sound as the came from your mouth?