Good News

Blake and I go together like peas and carrots. Or like Pringles and brownies, because that combo sounds so good to me right now. Anyway, we really do complement each other nicely...except for our blood types. Let me explain: I am a negative blood type and Blake is positive.

Women with negative blood types can develop antibodies against babies they carry who are positive. That happens if the mother's and baby's blood mixes, like with a miscarriage or at birth. To prevent this, moms like me are given a shot with antibodies. Our bodies think their job is done in fighting off the unfamiliar blood type. If I would develop antibodies, however, my current baby could be at risk for anemia and I would be at risk for miscarriages later on down the road with future babies. 

Enough with the medical babble...

As most of you know, we had a miscarriage last August. I was given that shot of antibodies just in case our little Zoe had Blake's blood type. With this pregnancy they tested me again and, to my dismay, they found antibodies in my blood. We prayed that God would do a miracle and remove them (it had been so long since my last antibody shot that it was unlikely that there were traces of it still in my system). However, we got a call on Friday that my most recent blood test came back negative for antibodies!

We are so thankful that God heard our prayers and that He does care about our anxieties. Even if the test had come back positive again, we know that He is a healing and protecting God. He holds our hands and walks with us through any challenge we come across. 

Hookup Culture

We recently co-hosted an event in a campus pub at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) called God on Tap. Partnering with the Methodist Chaplain at TCD, our goal is to build relationships with university students from diverse backgrounds. This past evening, one topic stuck out more than anything this...the "hookup culture".

The boundaries of sexuality are becoming more and more ambiguous, and it is no different on the college campuses of Dublin. Not only is it common for students to have casual sexual encounters with friends/acquaintances, it is encouraged. What's more, there is an atmosphere of peer pressure towards these activities. 

We’ve come to realise that most students don't actually want casual sex. They want longterm, meaningful relationships with someone they love and trust (not necessarily confined to marriage). While they’re fine with others participating in the hookup culture, many don't want it for themselves. However, there is ever-growing pressure for them not only to approve, but to participate.

During our conversation I shared what I understand to be the Biblical boundaries of sex and relationships. I also shared that Katy and I waited until marriage. Surprisingly, most of the students around the table were positively curious toward our experience and expressed a desire to take some of our principles into their own relationships.

Please pray for the students of Dublin (and all across the world). They are under immense pressure. Social norms that develop culturally will come and go. What has not changed is the Word of God and a call to make Jesus first. That means boundaries and holiness, but it also brings the joy and peace of the Lord.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Together we are impacting the universities of Dublin and Ireland. I will close with a brilliant quote.

The Horse and Rider

As I (Blake) was prepping for my annual worship course I teach at AGI's SALT school, I ran into a wonderful story by Henri Nouwen in his book Creative Ministry. It ties in to last weeks post about the importance of understanding our "why".

"...a Vietnamese Buddhist monk came to Holland and one day walked into the house where I lived. He was a thin man whom you would be afraid to touch...While he looked straight into my eyes, he said: “There was a man on a horse galloping swiftly along the road. An old farmer standing in the fields, seeing him pass by, called out, ‘Hey, rider, where are you going?’ The rider turned around and shouted back, ‘Don’t ask me, just ask my horse!’ ” 

    The monk looked at me and said: “That is your condition. You are no longer master over your own destiny. You have lost control over the great powers that pull you forward toward an unknown direction. You have become a passive victim of an ongoing movement which you do not understand.”

We must all always seek to understand why we worship the way we do and test these methods, first and foremost, with the Word of God. Secondly, we must test them against our culture. Our private worship will drive our public worship. In public (or corporate) worship, participation is the key. If we are riding a horse that no longer communicates to our culture and encourages those in our culture to participate in worship, then we must be open to changing directions...even possibly changing horses.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. As I begin teaching next week, together we are impacting students and churches literally all across Ireland.