Wondering Thoughts

13

Laughter. Love. Life.
Creating it. Giving it. Demonstrating it to the full.
These you found in Jesus and wore so well. They--and you--remain still.

I miss you so much on this your birthday.  I love you my little girl.

Dada

"Maggie Lee/Best Day" from john henson on Vimeo.

Maggie Lee for Good Day

Today, which would have been Maggie Lee’s 13^th birthday, is Maggie Lee For Good day.  It is a day to do one good deed for someone.  You can learn more about how it started at the Maggieleeforgood site as well as in this morning's Shreveport Times article by Adam Keoloha Causey .  

The idea is that  today we will partner with God in turning good out of the bad and tragic accident involving our youth group and Maggie Lee on July 12.  I give some explanation for this in my sermon (Dreaming of Redemption) from this past Sunday (video is on this blog). Jesus taught (Matthew 5:13-14) his disciples that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world, calling them to make a difference in their world. 

13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

He reminded them of their nature to be a partner with God to bring and preserve good in their world and to allow God to shine in and through them, dispelling the darkness of the world. They were to let their light shine, allowing their good deeds to show and give glory to God. I had the awesome opportunity of getting to have conversations about this with Maggie Lee when she came to me when she was 7 to let me know she had invited Jesus to be her Savior and Lord.  As her Pastor, I was able to baptize her, reminding her of these very same words from Jesus.  She took them seriously and launched a life of salt and light.

Today is a great day to let our good deeds show; to do things that make this world a better place; to help answer the prayer of Jesus for the Kingdom to come in this world as it is in Heaven.  This is our way of joining up with God to bring good out of a horrible situation.  I cannot begin to imagine why the accident happened and why Maggie Lee died and I certainly don't believe God caused it.  What I do know and can see is how God has been at work to bring good out of it. 17, 800 people doing good things is great evidence of that. 

Some ways to keep up with what is happening today:

• If you are on Twitter (its free and easy if you are not), search for maggieleeforgood or follow me at jchensonsr or visit here
• Read posts on jinnyhenson or jchensonsr on Facebook
• Atttend tonight's Maggie Lee for Good party at FBC, Shreveport Parlor, come and go from 5-7 pm

"Dreaming of Redemption"

"Dreaming of Redemption" from john henson on Vimeo.

MLFG Celebration this Thursday

I'm putting out the word here that there will be a Maggie Lee for Good party this Thursday, from 5-7 pm in the Parlor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport.  Come by and find out what good things happened in the day and share your good deed for the day.  It's come and go and everyone is invited, so feel free to pass the word.

Learn more at the Maggie Lee for Good Site.

"Searching for the Right Priest"

"Searching for the Right Priest" from john henson on Vimeo.

Texts this Sunday

The Scripture Readings for this coming Sunday are exciting and full of meaning. We find out how Job's life ends up, how the remnant of Israel will get a God-escort back home, how the world gets an approachable-once-for-all-time High Priest and how a man named Bartimaeus gets his sight. There is a lot going on in these texts, slices of delicate life touched by an intervening God. 

I invite you to set aside time to read them (listed below as well as on the church website) this week, considering how God has been and wants to be involved in the events of your life. 

Job 42:1-6, 10-17 
Jeremiah 31:7-9
 Psalm 126
 Hebrews 7:23-28
 Mark 10:46-52

 I look forward to gathering with others in worship this week as we combine our services and voices together to celebrate baptisms, beautiful music and redemption.

"Getting the Hitch Out of Your Get Along"

"Getting the Hitch Out of Your Get Along" from john henson on Vimeo.

Jog in the Fog

 

I took this yesterday morning while out for a jog.  Running by the church gives me a great opportunity to pray at the beginning of the day for our church.  Seeing it this way in the fog is a reminder of the ongoing presence of our church in this neighborhood and community, here when the sun is shining but also when the fog is thick.

"What's Hanging in God's Art Gallery"

"What's Hanging in God's Art Gallery" from john henson on Vimeo.

New Maggie Lee for Good article

Diane Haag, from the Shreveport Times, published a new article today on the Maggie Lee for Good campaign.  You can read it here. We are blessed to see so many who have signed up and to hear of the things they are planning to do on Oct. 29.

***I do want to clarify the comment about heaven at the end where I was quoted as saying its not about a place.  The context was about the Lord's prayer, of how God's kingdom can be done on earth.  Of course I believe Heaven is a place.  And I believe Maggie Lee is there.  We, however, are still here and we get the opportunity to shine a bit of heaven into this world, reflecting the light of Jesus through our good deeds and words.