His Name Shall Be Called.....

His name is Jadon Kenneth Wooddell. 11 more weeks until he's here!

-AW

A Healthy Dilemma, part one.

For the past few years, some friends and I have been building relationships with some of the homeless and poor in our county. Because of this, I've seen and learned things that have opened my eyes up to different perspectives-and some of these perspectives are stories of health care. I'd like to post a few of these stories this week, especially since most of the nation is talking about medical insurance for those who are uninsured.

One of these friends, I'll call her "G", got off the streets with some help from some of these people. She and a couple others found an apartment in a Section 8 housing area close to downtown. For those who don't know how Section 8 housing works, it has rent that varies based on your income level (with government subsidies making up the difference). So if you make very little each month, the rent you pay out of your pocket isn't much, and the gov't picks up the rest. Conversely, the more you make, the more your rent is, with the gov't subsidizing less.

Anyways, we were so happy to see G and her friends get off the streets! No more sleeping behind a parking garage on the grass or on a cardboard box. For us and for her, this was an amazing step in the right direction. After a week or two of being off the streets, my wife asked G if we could help her find a job now (she had been using her disability income to pay the rent). She shocked us when she told us that she wasn't interested in working.

What?

We didn't understand what she meant. Didn't she want to better herself, move out of that neighborhood one day and so forth? This clearly didn't make sense to my wife or those who were there with us, so we asked her why she wouldn't want to get a job and make some money. Her answer was surprising. She told us that if she started working, she would lose her government help (housing subsidies, food stamps and healthcare that was free for her). So by working a job, she would actually make less and lose her healthcare benefits.

And for the last year or two, she hasn't had to work. Each month, G has lived on a government check and food stamps. She has a cell phone she pays for with her check, and spends most of her time around the neighborhood, getting involved in the local gossip and hanging out. True to her word, she doesn't want to ever work because she would lose all her freedom and benefits.

It's a weird dilemma for those who are in "G's" situation-those who are unemployed and collect disability money and benefits, because she could easily work in a variety of jobs. But many lose any interest in bettering their situation, because in the short term their life gets harder before it gets better.

We've heard a lot lately about the millions of uninsured in our country. But we aren't often reminded that those who are extremely poor and those who are listed as disabled already get health insurance in our country today. I didn't say free health care, because those who pay taxes are covering the costs for those who are without jobs. But some of these unemployed adults aren't part of the millions of people who are without health insurance.

Um, the Emperor has no clothes. And he's dancing.

**Video note-sometimes when you are in front of a crowd and you are passionately celebrating, people laugh at you.**

The Bible is full of some great stories-some inspire, some reveal sin, and some are just awkward when you stop and think about it.

One of the stories that is a bit awkward always comes up when you talk about passionate worship. It's from 2 Samuel 6-what's happening is the Ark of the Covenant is being brought up to Jerusalem after being in the enemy's hands and David is so passionate about the Ark coming back that he can't stop sacrificing, singing, praising and dancing before God. It's a huge celebration, with many of the Israelites taking part in the festivities!

We know that something happened with David's clothes because of the exchange between him and his wife Michal at the end of the chapter. She was angry with him because he had "exposed himself" to the maidens that were there while he was dancing and singing. Scholars believe that although David probably wasn't completely naked (wearing a linen ephod, at least), he probably wasn't wearing very much and because of the spinning and dancing he either took some of his clothes off in the process or because of the intensity of his sweet moves, his robes exposed too much of his legs (a no-no for the king). And honestly, who wants to see that? :) (I wish I could post a picture of my JV basketball uniform here).

What's even more interesting is that in the exchange between Michal and David, God takes David's side! We don't usually question this story because it's biblical, but many evangelicals would probably do what Michal did if it happened today. Imagine if (insert dignified person here) was dancing and leaping so much during a national celebration or church service that clothes came off. How many of us would do what Michal did and say that it was inappropriate?

And in our modern church settings we usually stay far away from this example of worshiping God. But what if in a church service a time was set aside for dancing and celebrating what God had done? Not couples dancing, but joyful spontaneous jumping around for our salvation! Would we be able to dance like David danced?

I think God was most pleased in David's embrace of vulnerability over dignity. David was so passionate about God that he wasn't afraid to publicly lay aside his dignity (e.g. pride) in celebrating and worshiping God. Something spiritual happens when we embrace vulnerability and lay aside our pride before the Lord. Over and over, there are biblical examples of God intervening on behalf of His children, but almost without fail it wasn't until someone stepped out in faith and became vulnerable that God moved.

Sometimes vulnerability means leaving your safe zone. Sometimes it puts you in the cross hairs of gossip and finger pointing. And I'm pretty sure the point of the story here isn't for us to wear less clothes during worship. :) But maybe, just maybe, God is asking us to become vulnerable, lay aside our pride, and to step out in faith.

Watch and see-He'll move.