God in the Byline
By Jennifer McClure | February 5, 2009
Along with writing articles, I write music. Many times when writing songs it’s as if God just whispers in my ear the direction the melody should take and the next set of lyrics. An hour or so later, there’s a song sketched out on a piece of notebook paper in front of me.
When it comes time to share it with someone, I’ve always felt odd when answering, “Did you write that?” with a simple, “Yes.” How can a pitcher take credit for the water being poured out of it? Was the water not first poured into the pitcher from a greater source?
Recently when providing someone with the lyrics of a song for a PowerPoint they asked if I had written it or if someone else should be credited in the byline. I responded “Just me.” And a little later added: “And God, I suppose, but that might be a little presumptuous to add to the byline.”
On one hand, I know God gave me the song. It was a sung prayer that I simply sought Him for the lyrics and melody line as I sang. If a friend were to provide lyrics and suggest the melody line that ended up being the song, I would credit them as co-author. Why isn’t it the same with God? But on the other hand, who am I to say God wrote my song, that He chose me over someone else to inspire?
I suppose the truth is, as a Christian at least, no matter your art form, God is the source of your inspiration and creativity. And regardless of your religious orientation, no songs would have ever sprung into existence, let alone my small contribution, without Him having first created music or the ability within us to recognize and create music.
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV).
“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3, NIV).
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Christmas Memories
By Jennifer McClure | December 15, 2008
For some reason, memories don’t come easy to me without a photo, video or someone sharing a story to trigger the remembrance. As I reminisce past Christmases, the details blur but the big picture pops off the page. For me the memory of Christmas is always having one. The consistency of traditions, the consistency of loving parents and family, the treasures in faith, hope and love and the delight of the season.
But I can’t speak of Christmas memories without mentioning one very significant event.
My favorite Christmas would have to be when my husband proposed. As silly as it may seem, a couple of weeks before Christmas Day he was walking me home through the snow when he pointed out a shooting star and told me to make a wish. Though I knew he wasn’t going to propose until later the next year, I still wished he would propose on Christmas. And that Christmas my wish came true. He successfully surprised me, masking the ring as just another Christmas gift that I had to close my eyes for him to present.
I share that just to open the door for you to share. Leave a comment and share your Christmas memories or thoughts on the season.
Merry Christmas!
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Called to Follow
By Jennifer McClure | November 3, 2008
Saturday my husband and I added insulation to our attic. He took the difficult job of being in the attic, which for the most part requires being in an army crawl position, while I loaded the blower. Needless to say, we were glad when that job was done.
In celebration, and also because we felt like we’d neglected our puppy for most of the day, we took our cockapoo, Hopper, to a local park. Though this park does have a playground and a pavilion, the main attraction is the forested trails. A walk through this park is more comparable to a light hike through the woods.
Though we started down the trails early in the evening, it was late in the day as far as daylight is concerned. No more than 30 minutes into it, we found ourselves navigating a deer trail without sunlight searching for a safe place to cross back over the creek in order to reconnect with the main trail and return to our vehicle.
Once we realized we were too far out to get back before dark, my husband occasionally would run ahead to see if a trail would lead to a place to cross. If there was a potential way across, he would venture out and check the stability of the makeshift bridge before encouraging me to step out. Eventually, two large fallen trees and a few unstable steps on a loose log provided a way across.
Though I’m often inclined to lead, it was nice to just follow the path Shawn chose and trust his judgment. Following his lead allowed me to not worry about finding a way out.
In both the secular and church worlds much discussion is given to leadership, but what about the call to follow?
Jesus said, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27, NIV). Being a leader is sometimes so ingrained in me that I forget the importance of following. It is my following Christ that enables me to lead, or as Paul put it: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Jesus should be the One leading us through life, not us trying to drag Him along. When life is lived that way, so much peace and joy is forfeited. Perhaps God doesn’t command us to live by faith because He thought it’d be an effective method to refine us as Christians, but just perhaps He has commanded us to follow Christ and to live by faith because it’s in our best interest.
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9/12 - Do You Remember?
By Jennifer McClure | September 12, 2008
I was in college at the time of the 9/11 attacks. That Tuesday students clustered around TVs in common areas to hear the latest. Teachers forwent their lesson to facilitate open discussion to help process the emotions following the attacks. But though fear lingered days after, it soon began to give way to something else.
Patriotism became popular, even cool. On 9/10/01, there weren’t too many people in my collegiate world who wore their American pride on their sleeve. But in the weeks that followed, hoodies, T-shirts, hats and any apparel with the American flag or the letters “U.S.A.” stitched on them were in abundance. I even remember one group of students in particular who drove around town the Sunday after 9/11 waving a large American flag out their window, soliciting honks from neighboring vehicles in support of the U.S.A.
The surge of patriotism that swept over our nation, for many, carried into prayers. Many gathered to pray for our nation, our troops, our president and for those who lost loved one in the 9/11 attacks. In remembering 9/12/01 and the surge of prayer and patriotism, may we be reminded to pray for our troops, our nation, our leaders, the upcoming election and for those who have lost loved ones in service to our country.
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One Piece of Paper
By Jennifer McClure | August 19, 2008
Take a sheet of paper. Not the length or width, but observe the thickness of that paper. Now imagine the distance from the piece of paper and the next room, the street outside, the next city. The distance, as far as you can imagine, is like eternity, whereas our lifespan is like the thickness of that piece of paper. Joe Zickafoose would often use this illustration to teach the concept of eternity and how our lives truly are but a vapor. Today, many gathered to celebrate Joe’s thin sheet of paper.
It was only for a few short years I had the blessing of being involved in a Chi Alpha under Joe’s leadership. Joe amazed us weekly at XA with his ability to communicate in an easy-to-understand-way wonderfully deep spiritual and Scriptural truths. With all the seriousness that comes with addressing such issues, Joe balanced it all with a great sense of humor and a love to have fun and to laugh. With hundreds in attendance, today’s funeral only confirmed what I had previously believed to be true: Joe’s life — only 50 years long — was one well lived and one that impacted hundreds for Christ, inspiring many to pursue full-time, vocational ministry.
Most recently Joe was an Assemblies of God missionary to Scotland, working at a local church and on the campus of the University of Aberdeen. Before he answered God’s call to the foreign mission field, he was my Chi Alpha campus pastor. I’m so thankful for having had the privilege to know Joe and am so grateful for the impact he made on me and especially that which he had on my friends who came to know Christ because of him. Now in his absence, I pray the Holy Spirit comfort and bless his wife, Jayne, and their two sons.
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Musician on a Mission
By Jennifer McClure | August 8, 2008
Last Thursday, Christian singer/songwriter Kathleen Carnali came through town to do a concert at our local fair. (Picture to the left was taken at the fair.) I met up with her, her husband, Brett, and band members Hans and Stevie. From our conversation and her show that night, I saw that this 27-year-old is not just a creative songwriter with a powerful voice, but she is an anointed minister. Look for the official TPE interview with her in an upcoming edition.
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Beautiful Transformation
By Jennifer McClure | August 4, 2008
A couple of weeks ago I visited Dillon, Colorado. Of course the mountain ranges were magnificent, but on a closer level, butterflies were in abundance, gracing the area with their delicate beauty. One particular butterfly was all black with white lacy trim. It fluttered away from the trail before I could digitally capture its beauty with my camera. However, the one pictured let me take several photos of it before it flew to another leaf where it could sunbathe in peace.
This past spring, I saw a large, bright green caterpillar with a stinger eating away on a plant at Lowe’s. I doubt those butterflies looked anything like that when they were at the caterpillar stage, but it made me wonder what a remarkable transformation they had undergone.
My understanding of the caterpillar’s metamorphosis is quite rudimentary, but as Christians, what a lesson there is to be learned from these fascinating creatures. As caterpillars, they crawled along, somewhat conforming to the item upon which they moved. But as butterflies, they no longer inch along; they fly.
In Romans 12:2, God calls us to our own beautiful transformation: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (NIV).
Can you imagine what change would come about if even 50 percent of Christians, myself included, in the U.S. sincerely strove to obey that command? Not only would there be beautiful individual transformations, but the Church as a whole, I believe, would be radically transformed.
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Freedom
By Jennifer McClure | July 3, 2008
This Fourth of July week there is much talk about freedom. Isn’t it interesting the idea of someone dying in order to allow another to be free is embraced regardless of religious creed or ideology?
So our jaws are still dropped after this most recent gas hike — well at least mine is. Aren’t you glad the “terms of salvation” are constant, never changing based on need and demand?
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Celebrating the Gift of Life
By Jennifer McClure | June 20, 2008
Within the last three weeks, I’ve known a baby to be born, a niece to graduate from high school, family members to add a year to their age, and a beloved former high school English teacher to pass away after a hard battle with cancer. Thanks to the common bound of Christianity, though, even the funeral was a celebration of life — of the one she lived and the one she is now experiencing.
As Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us, there is a time for every season of life. [And of course it’s hard not to think of the song “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To everything there is a season).”] These events also remind me of how precious life is and how much potential one life holds.
For some reason I was thinking of my niece the other day and her heading off to college this fall and wondering what she’ll end up doing with her life when it really clicked with me that this life truly is a gift. My existence is a gift, and just as the talents given in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 were to be invested and used wisely, so is my life. What will I do with my gift? When I reflect on my time here at the end of my days, what do I hope to see? As my story unfolds, who will my life impact and in what ways will it impact them?
Will we take our lives into our own hands or seek out the Father’s wisdom and guidance and give the gift He’s given us back to Him to protect, make strong and use?
It brings to my mind a father giving a child a gift that needs assembly and is beyond the child’s years of understanding how to assemble or even properly use the assembled gift. If the child were to refuse to let the father build it and instead try to assemble it on his own, months later the gift will probably still be little pieces scattered about the house or at best somewhat put together but not at all in such a way so that it can be used for its original purpose.
The gift of life — for some reason it’s just taken on a deeper meaning for me.
Topics: Devotional, Goals, Random Ramblings | 1 Comment »
Quoting Scripture Banned at Ohio Library
By Jennifer McClure | June 13, 2008
Recently, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a complaint against a county library in Ohio for not allowing a couple to reserve a community room for a financial seminar because they planned to quote the Bible. (Read more about this story at the Alliance Defense Fund Web site or here.)
At the heart of the matter is the argument that this ban is unconstitutional.
“Any government policy denying equal access rights to a group simply because it intends on quoting Bible verses does not comport with the Constitution,” says ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “This is a financial planning seminar, and the library has previously allowed meetings that discuss financial planning. The fact that they may quote Bible verses during the meeting does not legally matter.”
But beyond the legal questions lie some that I cannot ignore: If such a ban is allowed to stand, what’s next? Why target the Christian faith? Why target the quoting of only one sacred book rather than all sacred books? Why, in a culture preaching tolerance, are the Christian faith and its holy book not tolerated?
Granted I have my own viewpoints concerning the answers to these questions, but that would give way to much discussion, now would it? If you haven’t given thought to such questions you should. And if you have, the topics are open for discussion thanks to the comments section.
(To read more about Christians taking legal action, check out the TPE news feature “Christians in Court: It often takes legal help for religious liberties to prevail.”)
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