Scripture Encouragement for the day

I read this today and it very much encouraged me and is what I need to hear in this season:

Luke 6:20-26


²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God. 
²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied. 
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh. 
²² Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you 
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.

²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, 
    for you have already received your comfort. 
²⁵ Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry. 
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep. 
²⁶ Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Addendum to My Last Post...

So upon further review (and my friend Lawrence who said he is 6000000 percent sure I'm an INFP), it turns out that I'm pretty sure my personality type is actually still INFP, not ISFJ. Its funny though, I'm pretty sure that in taking the test again a few weeks ago, I was answering out of what my job pushes me towards. I am more of an N personality, which focuses more on big picture rather than small details, but in my job I am often forced to look at details. I am also more of a P, but as my job often forces me to be more timely and organized, professionally I am forced to be a J. Also, American culture tends to be more S and J, and so culture also presses me towards those types rather than what I truly am as an individual. Obviously it is all very nuanced and each type is on a spectrum, and I'm definitely on the border of P and J.
But I have always thought of myself as a strong N, so it was surprising to me to see when I took the test a few weeks ago that I was an S. I am definitely a big picture person, I'm not very good with details. Although I do think that the descriptions of ISFJ fit me fairly well, I think INFP fits me a little better.

About INFP's (me!):

Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. Although they may be reserved in expressing emotion, they have a very deep well of caring and are genuinely interested in understanding people. This sincerity is sensed by others, making the INFP a valued friend and confidante. An INFP can be quite warm with people he or she knows well.

INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. If they must face it, they will always approach it from the perspective of their feelings. In conflict situations, INFPs place little importance on who is right and who is wrong. They focus on the way that the conflict makes them feel, and indeed don't really care whether or not they're right. They don't want to feel badly. This trait sometimes makes them appear irrational and illogical in conflict situations. On the other hand, INFPs make very good mediators, and are typically good at solving other people's conflicts, because they intuitively understand people's perspectives and feelings, and genuinely want to help them.

INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. In the face of their value system being threatened, INFPs can become aggressive defenders, fighting passionately for their cause. When an INFP has adopted a project or job which they're interested in, it usually becomes a "cause" for them. Although they are not detail-oriented individuals, they will cover every possible detail with determination and vigor when working for their "cause".

I don't know why I so much love the Myers-Briggs, but I think it is fascinating and very helpful in understanding myself and others.

My New Personality

For the past 5 years I have lived my life thinking that my Myers-Briggs Personality Type was INFP. Thats Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving. I really like the Myers-Briggs, and I think it pretty accurately gives a framework for understanding who you are, particularly in relation to other people. I was pretty happy about that type, and I felt like it fit me. But then yesterday, just out of curiosity, I retook the test online (you can take it here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp) and I found out I'm an ISFJ! Whaaaat! But then I was reading the description of an ISFJ, and it seemed like me as well. Or perhaps the new me, because its pretty fair to say that I've probably changed in the last 5 years.
Ali's paraphrase of ISFJ'S description:
ISFJ's have a strong desire to serve others, but dislike conflict and controversy so they tend to focus on personal rather than large corporate forms of care. They have a huge value for loyalty and quality work, but tend to keep a low profile, which causes a tendency for them to be under appreciated. They don't like being doormats, but they dislike tooting their own horns more, and all of this can lead to a tendency towards being overworked. They prefer small groups and one on ones, and are very patient and sympathetic when dealing with others. Family is very important, and they are very warm and caring towards those they care about, and can be possessive about their loved ones. They like a few close friends, and are ready to provide practical and emotional support at a moments notice. They hate confrontation, and tend to have difficulty hiding or articulating any distress they may be feeling, and therefore need those who are close to them to initiate when they see warning signs, such as moodiness.
I feel like that is a fairly accurate description of me, but I am a little confused about my switch from Intuitive to Sensing, as that is the one personality description that I have the hardest time understanding, and I always thought of myself as highly intuitive. I must learn more about this! I'll ask my friend Lawrence, as he is a Myers-Briggs expert.

Read This Today...

I started reading a book called "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. A little girl is taken in by a foster family, and I loved this description of her foster father:
"Trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man's gentleness, his thereness. The girl knew from the outset that Hans Hubernmann would always appear midscream, and he would not leave."

A Deep Prophetic Word

From March 6-9 I joined 400 other InterVarsity Staff in Long Beach, CA for the Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference. Normally this conference happens every 3 years, but due to changes in upper-level leadership it hasn't happened in 5 years. I am certainly glad it happened while I'm on staff!
I was somehow asked to join the prayer team, not knowing I would be walking in to a room of older InterVarsity big shots who are very, very spiritual. I was very, very intimidated. But as usual God used it to bless and challenge me.

The theme of the Conference was Continuing the Journey: Recharting our Course for Multiethnicity in Mission- and God did a lot of stirring up new things in me and I believe in the other participants- and not all of it was very fun. But I am so thankful that multi-ethnicity is a value for InterVarsity, and that InterVarsity as a movement is willing to go into new and uncharted places.

Here is a video from the last night of the conference- and it is deeply prophetic. Lisa Espinelli Chinn calls out our need for dissonance and how it points us to Jesus, and Scott Bessenecker totally calls out our old wineskins in the West and in InterVarsity. It is completely prophetic. Just watch it, seriously.
http://vimeo.com/38209607

Love the Foreigner as Yourself

During Lent this year, directors of LaFe, InterVarsity's Latino student fellowship, presented the opportunity for staff to pray and fast for undocumented students. This is a significant and growing population of students, and the director's brought to my attention the sadness, loneliness, and lack of opportunity felt by undocumented students- many of whom discover their undocumented status for the first time when applying to college. I have interacted with students and others who are undocumented, and know a little bit of the struggle they endure, but there is always more to learn if God has anything to do with it.
Obviously immigration is a very politically charged issue, but what is most important is what God's heart is for the people involved. The LaFe directors have sent out weekly devotionals for those of us who have chosen to fast and pray, and what has been most eye opening for me has been the Scriptures they have had us read and the guided prayers they wrote.
Especially in the first five books of the Bible there are quite a few verses where God repeats "Care for the foreigner who lives among you". Today I was reading Leviticus 19:9-34, and I was kind of bracing myself for some weird and rigid laws (I guess in my mind that is the on the surface connotation Leviticus has...there it is, full disclosure). But, as I have been most of this week as I've been preparing to teach the second half of Mark at Spring Break Camp, I find myself saying "Dang God- that is deep!" God has a habit of blowing my mind when I don't expect it. Throughout the Leviticus passage, God is backing up the people that no one else is backing up: the poor, the foreigner, hired workers, female slaves, women in general, the elderly, foreigners again. He also talks a lot about loving your neighbor in general, and being fair towards them. He ends a lot of these laws with "I am the Lord your God", like He's saying "I, God take this seriously, so why shouldn't you?"
 I was hit especially by verses 15, 17 and 18, and 33 and 34.
15, because God says to not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich. The part about the rich kind of took me aback, because I didn't expect to be reminded that the rich can't be ignored either. I think I tend to lean towards partiality towards the poor, but God wants to love and do work in rich people as well. It just seems like sometimes its a little more difficult for Him to get into the hearts of the rich. But Jesus doesn't ignore the rich. One part of Mark that I was prepping for this week was about the rich young ruler who Jesus tells to sell all he has and give to the poor. I don't think Jesus told him to do that because Jesus didn't want him to be rich, but because Jesus knew what was in his heart, and what was in the way of the man following Him. Money tends to do that, I guess.
17 and 18, because God is pointing out what hatred and grudges do to the one who holds them. Dang God.
33 and 34, probably because it brought to mind how much we in America are not doing what God is asking. The foreigners among us are definitely not treated as those who are native born. The stigma and poverty surrounding most undocumented immigrants makes that clear. Way to go us. But I can't go blaming other people before looking at myself and the ways that I might not be loving the foreigners around me, the ways that I am a contributor. For that I need to pray these prayers:

God of the Disenfranchised, guide me today in empowering the powerless so they might know their salvation in You.

Lord, give me a place to call home, in the deepest sense. Teach me to offer my "home" generously, especially to those who are pushed into unfamiliar places.

(Helpful articles also found here: http://undocumented.tv/)

Lenten Encouragement

I realize that pretty much everything I've been posting has been quoting someone else, but at this point in my journey I feel that encouragement from others (books included) has been what has kept me going. For Lent I borrowed a daily devotional from my dad by Henri Nouwen called "From Fear to Love", and it challenges and speaks to me every day. Today's was especially encouraging.

"Everything I Have is Yours"
Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. -Psalm 138:8


"So often people grow resentful and bitter as they grow older. With time their image of an ideal life is disturbed because painful historical, political, personal, family, or financial realities break through.
Your pain, seen in the light of a spiritual journey, can be interpreted. The great art is to gradually trust that life's interruptions are the places where you are being molded into the person you are called to be. Interruptions are not disruptions of your way to holiness, but rather are places where you are being molded and formed into the person God calls you to be. You know you are living a grateful life when whatever happens is received as an invitation to deepen your heart, to strengthen your love, and to broaden your hope. You are living a grateful life when something is taken away from you that you thought was so important and you find yourself willing to say, "Maybe I'm being invited to a deeper way of living.
-Father, I trust that you are molding me into my truest, best self. Help me to accept the changes in my life."


I know that God always leads me to deeper and wider places, and I am learning what it looks like to keep holding tightly to His hand.