Author: Adam Mashni

Israel / Palestine: My Story

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It was a few months ago that I was invited to be a part of a team from Willow that would visit Israel/Palestine.  If I was honest, it was a bucket-list trip for me, and when I was asked it was hard for me to contain the excitement I was feeling.

The trip’s purpose was two-fold:  Experience the Holy Land & Experience the Conflict.

What I didn’t expect was to feel overwhelmed with emotions due to my own heritage – being a Palestinian, with roots still in the West Bank (Ramallah).  Both sets of my Grandparents came from Ramallah, as immigrants to the USA.  My dad came to the states when he was 12.  My mom and her sisters were born in Kentucky as first generation Arab-Americans.  As Americanized as I am now – I’m the product of immigration.

Over the next few posts, I’d love to bring you into that trip – what I was thinking and how I was feeling, and how I’m still processing everything I experienced.  But to start, I want to introduce you to some of the people I met while there.

Meet Todd.  He’s the co-founder of the Telos Group.  An organization committed to spreading the “Pro/Pro/Pro” movement:  Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestinian, Pro-Peace.  It’s the organization that we went with – and their perspective has truly helped me change the way I think about the conflict between Jews and Arabs.  Oh…and that’s the Mediterranean Sea.

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This is Jack, and our tour guide for a few of the days (forgot his name – my bad).  Jack works for Telos, and our tour guide gets contracted to show us around.  I post this, because all three of us are Palestinian, with roots stemming from Ramallah.  It’s incredible the connection you feel to someone you just met when you know you share the same heritage.

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This kind man is from the Tent of Nations, a farm sustained by the Nassar family.  The Tent of Nations will be a separate blog post, but this man….oh, the joy he has for life, loving people and serving God.  He’s been through hell and back due to the conflict…but the smile on his face is genuine.  He’s also a Palestinian…and his face LIT UP when he learned I was as well.  It made the connection I was feeling already that much stronger.

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And these people – the team I went with from Willow.  We laughed, we cried, we enjoyed great food, and we journeyed together through what it means to be “pro-humans” in a world that would try and convince us it’s better to create division.

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Group shot on the Sea of Galilee (above on Shore, below on a boat).

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Group shot at the Tent of Nations.

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Reshaping My Mind

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Sometimes, in order to reframe my mind and reshape my thinking, I need to choose a few select tracks to put on repeat.  These can be worship songs, podcasts, or something entirely different.

This video – by Steven Furtick (and Elevation Church) – is one of those tracks.  You can get it on iTunes, or watch it on YouTube.  To me, it’s a great mix of how the Christian life works.  The two-fold truth that Christ is in me and supplying the power and confidence I need…but also I am putting forth effort, using my God-given gifts, to push forward and fulfill my calling.

What are songs, tracks, podcasts, or otherwise, that you listen to to reframe your mind?

Top 3 reasons I Journal (and why you should too)

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I was never into journaling.  Maybe it’s because I was never good at it.  Or perhaps, more likely, I had not developed the discipline it takes to sit down each day and write.  However, since developing the habit, I’ll likely never turn back.

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Here are my top 3 reasons why. And I don’t think these benefits only apply to me.  I truly believe everyone should begin journaling in some way or another.

  1. Allows me to process my thoughts.  I don’t really have a template for journaling…but if I did, it would look a lot like what Michael Hyatt blogged about.  When I open my journal and commit some minutes to it, I gain clarity.  It could be a situation at work, home, or in my own mind – but writing down my thoughts allows me to process them in a way unlike anything else.
  2. Allows me to look back & learn from the past. There are specific journals for this – the 5 year journal is one of them.  I don’t use those – I just have a practice of “every-once-in-a-while” I go back and read previous entries.  Reading something I wrote 365 days ago puts most of life into perspective.  I can read what I was praying about…and then see how God answered that prayer.  I can read the things I was worried about…and then see how it worked out in the end.
  3. It disciplines my time with Jesus. This was actually the reason I started journaling, and it has proven over and over to be effective.  Putting pen to paper while spending time with Jesus has helped me in two ways.  First, it allows me to write down my prayers, which helps me stay focused.  Second, it allows me to write down thoughts about Scripture, which helps me engage with the text more.

So, those are my reasons I’ll likely never stop journaling.

Do you journal?  What “top reason” would you add to the list?

Write on…

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My last post was April 1, 2014.  One could say I “fell off the blogging train.”  And they’d be right!  Call it busyness, call it lack of priority, the fact is I stopped blogging…for over 2 years!

Well, a lot has happened since April 1, 2014.  And I have now, more than ever, desired to write.  Thus the revamp of the blog.

I will admit – it’s going to be a slow start.  You might expect only one blog post a week. In the midst of a new job (just finishing my first year at Willow Creek), and beginning my last semester of a two-year masters program, my plate is quite full.

But one post a week…that I can probably do.  Hope to see you here!

The “Noah” Train

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I saw “NOAH” last week. Here are my thoughts:

I went in expecting a story about Noah.
And a flood.
I got both.
But not in the way I expected.
A few things that other bloggers have right…
First, it obviously wasn’t true to the Bible.
Duh.
Second, it wasn’t the best movie in the world (by hollywood movie standards).
Also, duh.
But what was it really missing from this movie?
The covenant.
The movie did get some things right.
God was angry at mankind and he wanted to destroy the world.
That was true (Genesis 6:1-8)
But what was also true is where God calls Noah out for being righteous and blameless (Genesis 6:9) and says ahead of time that the covenant will start over with him (Genesis 6:18).

I see it in 3 steps.
First, the world is evil.
Second, God’s angry.
Third, God shows favor to one family in order to begin again.

It is no surprise that the movie missed the third part.
The director camped on the first two.
Even to the point of making Noah realize his own depravity.
A depravity so dark that he believed even God couldn’t (or wouldn’t) spare him and his family.

It’s actually sad that the third step wasn’t emphasized.
That’s what the world needs to see!
We see enough of how we’re all messed up and twisted.
We need to see more about how God, in his grace and mercy, looks down and offers forgiveness through Jesus.
Hebrews 11 says that it was “by faith” that Noah was given righteousness.
The same can be true of us.
By faith, we can turn from our depravity and embrace the covenant that is offered to us by through Jesus.

In conclusion, Hollywood will always be there to distort what God was actually trying to say.  Let’s not get caught up in bashing them.  Let’s get caught in raising up the light we do have and showing the world that darkness is not the only option.

The ‘S’ Words that Suck

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One of the greatest tools of the enemy is to make you believe you’re all alone.
That you have to fight this battle by yourself.
He uses two very key ideas/words.

Shame and Secrecy.

If satan can get you to feel shame about your sin, then he’s got you.
If he can get you to keep your sin a secret, then he’s got you.
That’s the bad news.

The good news?
When Jesus enters the picture, you realize that He already PAID for the shame…it’s not rightfully yours anymore, he took it from you.
When Jesus enters the picture, you realize the incredible freedom that comes from TRUTH and living in the LIGHT.  There is power in confessing your sin to God and to one another.

We must daily live in the grace that Jesus died for.
It is then, and only then, that shame and secrecy will have no power of you.

The extra mile…

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Have you ever felt like you’re on the brink of something great?
That something will take you to the next level. Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally.
That something will enable the kind of discipline you only dream of.

You could be closer than you think.
Sometimes all it takes is going the extra mile.

What area of your life do you need to go the extra mile?
Do you need to step it up at work?
Take the first step towards mending a broken friendship?
Go without something for a few days in order to gain a greater sensitivity to God’s Spirit?

I encourage you,
Go the extra mile.
It’ll be worth it.

Lessons from John Q

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A few weeks back I caught “John Q” on TV.
Denzel Washington is the main character…hence my fondness of it.
To sum up the story:
John’s son collapses at a baseball game.
Turns out he needs a new heart.
John can’t afford one.
Amidst taking the hospital hostage in order for his son to get a new heart,
John decides to kill himself in order to give the son his heart (spiritual undertones, I know)

And that’s where the lessons come in.
He is about to end his life so his son can live,
but he wants a few more words with his son.
Here is what John Q tells his son:

Listen to your mother
Treat girls like princesses
Don’t get caught up in the bad things

Now, life is more complicated than those three things.
But if you do those,
you are on the right track.

 

Go ahead. Walk out.

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A friend of mine explained this analogy to me the other day. I had heard it before, but this time I heard it with fresh ears.


It’s based on Romans 6:20-23. We are no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves to God!
Romans 8 goes on to say that we don’t have to give in to our sinful nature anymore…we can live by the Spirit, through the power of Christ.

Yet so many Christians, myself included, don’t live in this newfound victory. It’s like we are in our own prison cells.  But the doors are not closed…instead they’re wide open. There are no guards keeping us in the prison cell.

We just won’t walk out.

Sounds crazy right? Yep.  And we do it everyday. We are FREE from sin. Yet we willingly walk back in the prison cell of sin and sit down.

What causes us to do that?  From my personal experience – shame and doubt.  I’m ashamed of what I’ve done, and I doubt anyone would “get it” or understand enough to forgive me.

The daily task of Christians is to walk out of the prison of sin, clinging to the power of Christ in us. So, go ahead. Walk out.

Who are you becoming?

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As I was reading the Gospels this month, I came across this subtle phrase.

…and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor

He became a traitor.
Which means he probably didn’t start out being a traitor.

Just a short reminder today to watch who you are becoming.
What influences are you letting in?
What false assumptions are you allowing yourself to believe?
What fears are you allowing to grow?

Who are you becoming?