The India_Log: Of Faith and Planes

Dear Sisters Emily and Abigail,

I woke up this morning to the sounds of international culture. Dogs barking and cows mooing. Cars honking their horns and trucks straining through the streets. Music was playing in the distance - music in a language I couldn't understand. I heard the sounds of children playing together and women speaking loudly as they walked down the streets.

This is India.

I've not been here yet 24 hours and already am in love. The sights. The sounds. The smells. The colors. The chaos. I think you girls would be amazed at the culture here - full of charm and character.

India is far more beautiful than anything I could have imagined.

Last night as I sat on a plane for two hours on the Chicago tarmac I couldn't believe I was finally going to India. I wondered if it would be everything I imagined.

The plane was full of people who seemed just as excited to go as I. I found myself taking in the sight all of the other travelors who surrounded me. Natives. Tourists. Athletes. Businesmen. Families. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation. Together we were on the plane, but individually, we each had our reasons for traveling. Everyone was off on a unique journey.

That journey included traveling 38000 feet in the sky.

This was the "big idea" of my traveling. As I gazed out the window and searched the earth below, I realized that flying takes a great deal of faith; You sit in a seat with nothing but a few feet of plastic and metal surrounding you from the elements. A few laws of dynamics, and a lot of air are all that separates you from a frightfully disturbing end.

I was more astonished by the next thought: I realized that our culture takes flying with hardly a second thought, and yet it is also a culture where faith is looked down upon with disdain. This faith - an extreeme faith we could say - seems to come to us easier than faith in God.

Gazing out the window and seeing the wide scape of rivers and mountians, of houses and roads; it challeged me with an alarming idea: What would it look like to have faith in God that would be similar to the faith I have in flying? Almost immediately I felt uncomfortable. Can I take my faith that seriously, that 30000 feet in the air seems nothing in comparison? Can I daily trust my God to keep me high and lifted up despite the alarming plunge below?

Will I take my faith that seriously? The thought has kept with me these last 36 hours of traveling and settling in here; as I stared out at the skyscape of Jaipur this morning, and walked the streets of the same city late this afternoon. I decided, quite assuredly, that this is the kind of faith by which I want my life to be characterized. I know it may be full of gut droping turbulance, and storm swaying wind, but isn't that what every journey is about?

I hope you girls can grow to desire this kind of faith; this kind of faith that walks its journeys taking courage by the hand, makes resiliance it's guide, and the Savior it's Master.

This is what I pray for you girls tonight.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

Journeying to India

RevMedia is setting it's sights on India.

Land of silks and turbans. Of castes and characters. A place of palaces and princes, and of camels and tourists.

There is also another side to India that most people choose not to see. And that is a Land of oppression and heart ache. Of human slavery and degradation.

RevMedia wants to help you see the needs in this land. We want to help you understand the issues and what is going on. Moreover, we want to show you how Y.O.U. can be the change for these issues - whether that is home or abroad.

Tomorrow, I am getting on a plane, and heading to Jaiper, India.

The entire RevMedia team can't go yet. But that's ok. I am going to work with YWAM and train up another group of philanthropic artists to reach people through art and visual communication. This trip will be preparations for the future, but I also expect this to be a personal learning experience for me.

This trip will also be a beautiful journey for y.o.u; our RevMedia readers and supporters. My commitment to you is that these articles and posts will never waste your time. Rather, I believe they will also send you on a journey to personal discovery. My ultimate desire with communication is to Inspire my audience, to encourage, and challenge them to love in ways they never have thought possible.

I also am going to have a surprise with my posts. I want these posts to be personal and so I am going to write to one particular person in my post. The surprise is that you will never know if YOU are the individual I am writing to, clear from the other side of the world.

This is my invitation. I will post the updates here in this thread. I hope you all will join me for this adventure. And my prayer is that you will find it to affect you in such a way, that you never "see" things the same again.

Look forward to seeing you in India.

- Christina

[Photo Courtesy my dear friend John McPherson]

Read More 6 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

Marks

I am a dreamer.

A visionary.

This may not come as a surprise to most. But recently I took a StrengthFinders test and discovered the degree to which I am those qualities.

According to Gallop, I am an "Activator" and "Achiever". A person who is constantly starting something, simply for the purpose of completing it; The kind of person who makes list just to cross everything off them.

Here's the confession: I like making my mark.

I think in some ways, we all do. We all want to do something that matters. We all want to be a part of something larger than themselves.

Unfortunately, we are often misled by what we think is "bigger than ourselves", and what really is.

It's okay to have dreams about making your mark. The real issue is this: Is your dreaming keeping you from taking action? Are you waiting for the "perfect opportunity" to step out of your comfort zone and make a difference?

If so, you may need to rethink things.

To be completely honest, making your mark is something that can take place in whatever location and capacity you are ready and prepared for. The fact is, there are people in your backyard who need your help. There are people in your city, your town who need you. There are ministries in your area who could use someone with your artistic skills and giftings.

It may be that so long as your busy dreaming, you will miss the best opportunity that you will ever have to make your mark.

So.

Where are your markings?

Where could you make your mark close by?

Just think about that today.

Maybe you will change y.o.u.r. world.

[This post is the fifth in a series of weekly posts designed to inspire and challenge through the stories and thoughts from theRevolutionary Mediabook, "Dear World".Dear World is available for purchase through Blurb, and in November 2009 will be available for digital download by donation.]

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

Belief and Walk

Christianity is full of contradictions.

We live to die. We die to live. We sow to reap. We lay down to take up. We love ourselves to love others. We suffer to find joy. We let go to hold on. To be strong we must be weak.

Yes. Christianity is full of contradictions.

I was not among the team members who had the honor of connecting with Nick, but his beliefs strike a cord in me. For how often do I say that I believe what God says, and yet don't trust that His power is great enough to come through for me? I don't live by what He says, so how can I say that I believe in Him?

I am ashamed to say this is such a commonality in my life. "You are Great. You are Good. You are Provider." I say in my prayers. But as I walk my mind echoes doubts and discouragements. "My dreams are impossible. My challenges are too big for me. My needs are greater than my financial opportunities."

It's as if I hear the words of the preacher in church and nod my head in agreement to His description of God's Greatness. And then as soon as i take my step out the door, I walk on as if I never heard anything.

I may believe one way; but I walk in a different direction.

The actions of my life reflect the words of Nick. "I don't believe God, but I believe what He says."

Maybe then, the contradiction is actually not in Christianity, but rather my own heart.

And so, I must ask myself: Can this be different? Can I change? What would my life looked like if I believed what God said, determined to live by it, and did? Maybe then the contradictions wouldn't be so confusing anymore. Maybe then, life would actually make sense.

Perhaps then, I could be pressed but not crushed;

Perplexed, but not despaired.

Pursued but not forsaken.

Struck down but not destroyed.

Maybe then, the circumstances of my life would not be the measuring stick for God's faithfulness to me. Maybe then, God could be the stability of my life, even when I don't understand what is going on. Maybe in these contradictions I can find a haven - for our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I want my belief to be my walk.

Don't you?

This post is the fourth in a series of weekly posts designed to inspire and challenge through the stories and thoughts from theRevolutionary Mediabook, "Dear World".Dear World is available for purchase through Blurb, and in November 2009 will be available for digital download by donation.]

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

What Do You Offer?

In my experience of spending time with the street teens and homeless of Portland, I was struck by the value these people place on community. In fact, many individuals on the street are there because "street families" are stronger families than they had ever known.

In a community where people don't have much to their name, don't have many possessions, or aren't defined by what they "do", they have an incredible sense of value of human life. Every person in a family matters - not by what they have or do, but simply because of who they are.

Each person is valuable because of what each person brings to the world - by simply being themselves.

Isn't it striking how the opposite is true for most of our culture?

We artists can be among those who fall into this trap most often. We tend to define our artistic gifts as what we bring to the world sole. We place a great deal of merit in our abilities to "do".

You know what I mean. A stranger asks about your work. "Oh, I'm a (fill the blank here). Artist. Photographer. Graphic Designer. Painter. Journalist. Etc. It becomes the first thing you describe of yourself. It becomes that wardrobe you don every morning before stepping out the door. It becomes the glasses through which you see the world.

"Artist" all too easily becomes our identity. In our mind, it becomes the all encompassing description of what we bring to the world.

But friends, this is simply not true.

What we bring to the world is not what we "do". We are n.o.t. our work. We are not our abilities. We are not our gifts. These things are only elements of our identity - only parts of the whole.

In fact, we are n.o.t. our art.

What we bring to the world is simple: Ourselves.

If you were paralyzed in a hospital bed, unable to take pictures or draw, or use a computer, or pick up a paintbrush; if you had no external outlet of "doing", what would you still bring to the world?

As scary as this setting may sound, the things you discover about yourself in this imaginary environment are the most important elements you bring to the world: Your smile. Your heart. Your expressions. Your words. Your touch. Your gaze. Your laugh. Your dreams. Your perspective.

In our world, so much worth is valued by "what we do". As artists we get caught in this trap, defining ourselves and our merit in "what we do" as artists, or "who we are" as artists, or "what we create" as artists. But the truth is this: if we can capitalize on the understanding that what we bring to the world is o.u.r.s.e.l.v.e.s. filtered through the love of God, we will fulfill our role here on earth; for that is something no one else can fulfill for us.

Today, heed this challenge. Don't dress up in the "artists" garb before heading out the door. Don't step into the world with your camera or pen or laptop being the first things that others see. Fulfill your calling by filtering your gifts through the love of God and being the person He has called you to be.

The world will miss out if you don't.

[This post is the fourth in a series of weekly posts designed to inspire and challenge through the stories and thoughts from theRevolutionary Mediabook, "Dear World".Dear World is available for purchase through Blurb, and in November 2009 will be available for digital download by donation.]

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

Take a Dare

He looks like a young Heath Ledger, before dark cares started to trouble his soul. His blond curls and clear cheeks make him appear cherubic, innocent and carefree. The rimlight plays up the effect, making a halo out of his golden crown. He shouldn't be on the street.

But he is.

I wasn't with the team when they met him. I was off in another part of the city, on another adventure, completely oblivious of the contradiction of this boy. When I saw the black and white picture of him, all I could do was stare. He shouldn't be on the street.

The population of the street is getting younger. It isn't just high-schoolers but jr. highers who are making their way downtown. Some of the newbies are as young as ten or eleven. In generations past, the homeless were older people who were down on their luck.They had lives and had somehow messed them up. In the American belief system of self-made people, it seemed like their own choice. They had had their chance at a good life and wasted it. This kid hasn't even gotten in all his permanent teeth. His life should still be rosy and he should have parents who dote on him. He's far from being an adult but his heart already bares heavy scars, a sign that he is on his way to becoming a veteran of the street.

I don't know his story. I know that he's barely scraping the double-digits but I don't know why he finds refuge on the streets. Is home really that bad? Does his heart hurt that bad that he has to leave his family to numb the pain? In the second picture, his eyes are becoming hard. Like an older man who has seen the world and been disgusted with it. Bitter. Cynical. Innocence not only lost but ripped out and trampled on.

I hate what I see. I don't want him to have a tragic ending.

When God looks at people, I think He sees some of the same things. He sees beautiful, troubled people in desperate need of rescuing. He sees where they are headed and wants to change their ending. He wants good to triumph and people to live, really live. He doesn't want them to have to scrape by in life, just trying to survive, but He desires people to live exuberantly. To enjoy life to the fullest. He doesn't want souls to be cast down but to live in constant hope.

That is what this kid is missing. Hope. In a world where the word has become cliche, the reality of hope is long overdue. Hope for hope's sake is stupid and hollow. It's like training to swim the English Channel in your bathtub -- it's not going to get you anywhere. It just makes a mess of things. True hope, realistic hope, is different. It's knowing that God has your back, that He loves you, and that nothing you can do is going to change that. It's trusting in that and living your life around it. It alters everything. Even when the pieces of your life are crashing down you like glitter in a snow globe being kicked around, God is the constant center. He's the fixed point. He's the constant.

Some things will never change in live. People will always need love. Hearts will always be breakable and lives will never be fully shatter-proof. Kids like this one will end up on the street. It's the glory and pain of being free to make choices, to choose your own destiny, and impact the lives of those around you.

When I see this kid, I still see the possibility of innocence regained. I see a kid in need of a hug, but more than that, of constant, overwhelming, no-holds-barred love. Do you know what I don't see in his pictures? Other people. His life is empty. There is no one to give him that hug. No one to make him dinner. To drop him off at school. To tuck him into bed at night. No one to laugh at his jokes. To be a shoulder for him to cry on. To speak encouraging words to him. No one to hold him accountable. Tell him to make the right choices. Pick him up when he makes the wrong ones. No family. No friends. No one.

See the need. Be the change. Think about it. If you don't dare, who will?

- Written by RevMedia's freelance journalist, Caitlin Muir

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

We all Cope

"Yet we know that nothing is compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day...with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day with it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth up to this present time..." - Romans 8:18-22

Let's face it.

Life is hard.

Life is really, really hard.

Each of us experience this challenge. Each of us face the difficulty of an imperfect humanity; a fallen creation. Each of us has to find the strength and grace to endure, even when we don't want to go on any more.

The truth is, we all cope with the challenges and pain of this life. The fact of the matter is that we weren't made for overwhelming pain and hardship. And when the harsh realities of this world rear its ugly head in our face, often times we don't have the ability to handle it ourselves.

We need help.

This "help" comes in a variety of forms, it shows itself in different ways. Sometimes the help may be a shoulder to cry on, a friend to listen, a lover to embrace. Sometimes the help may be in a false reality, a drug, or another destructive outlet.

Of course, the most true and real help we can have is One who will never let us down or let us go.

For many people, for those who have not discovered the joys of Christ, the grace of this Savior is an unknown comfort. Because they do not have grace, they must cope with other things, and in other ways.

How do you cope when you have nothing to hope for? No expectation that things will get better? No reason to believe the change will come? How do you bear with the knowledge that you are on your own and can do absolutely nothing about your circumstances and situations?

It's not easy to cope when you are lying there on the floor.

We all cope in different ways.

Jesus gives us the grace to cope best.

Some people just don't know that yet.

So do we believers give up on these ones? Do we disregard them because the harsh realities of their circumstances which have left them disillusioned? Perhaps a better question would be: How did Jesus respond to those who were caught in their own coping mechanisms, too distracted to open up to Him?

What about the story of Thomas? This man had just lost a brother, a leader, the greatest inspiration he had ever seen. How did he cope with loosing Jesus?

Doubt.

It was easier to say he didn't care, than to feel such deep pain and disappointment, discouragement and disillusionment. It was easier to just not let any hope in, than to embrace hope and be let down. How often do we feel that way? How often do we respond negatively to such responses from those around us?

Jesus had no such response.

He reached out to Thomas, where he was standing with raised eyebrows and all. He gave Thomas another chance to believe.

Because really, we all know when we just "surviving" and not really "alive". And how many of us, like Thomas, want to stay miserable? How many of us, when we get a chance at hope, really do want to turn it down?

People without hope don't want to stay there. But sometimes it takes a little bit of time for that hope reach through the skepticism and hurt.

Maybe Jesus can help us forget to judge the way people cope, and start helping them give hope a chance.

- Christina N Dickson

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

We are All the Same

Not too long ago, I learned a big lesson. A hard lesson. A lesson that shook me to my core and opened my eyes to such a great flaw.

After being in missions and philanthropy for so long, I had developed a syndrome. If I sat down and was honest about this syndrome, I would admit that it should be called the "respecter syndrome". You can only imagine what would mean.

I started seeing people differently.

I started seeing some people as more important than others. Starving orphans as more worthy of my attention than prospective clients. Girls in the sex slave as more important an investment of my time and energy than those in the church. I still can't target exactly when my perspective become so screwed and out of focus.

I don't understand why I became a respecter of persons.

And yet, it seems to be an age old issue. The rich prefer the rich. The poor prefer the poor. The intellectual prefer the intellectual. The artist prefers the artist. The religious prefer the religious.

And suddenly, we each begin to judge.

Somehow, somewhere in our minds comes a whisper that life experience gives us the ability to judge someone else. We make determinations in our spirits, and ideas in our heads, that cause us to view people differently. Suddenly, some people become more important than others. And of course, some people become less important than others too.

Lost in the shuffle is the truth that God Himself is no respecter of persons. I think of any individual alive, He certainly has the right to do so. And yet, He doesn't. In fact, Jesus came for the poor who curses and raises a fist in His face just as much as the rich who ignores the One who blessed Him with much. He loves and set to redeem those who would ignore and deny Him, as much as those who would love and embrace Him.

For artists in philanthropy, it seems that this is an issue - not to judge, but to determine how time will be best invested. Somehow, if we spend most of our time helping the misfortunate, we see ourselves as more worthy or honored. In fact, this is hardly the case.

When we invest our time to love - whether the rich or poor, the intellectual or artist, the orphan or the independent rebel - the investment is worthy of God's praise.

If we remember that before God, we are all the same - regardless of status or accomplishment, ability or financial state - maybe then our lives can reflect the work of an all loving God.

Maybe then we can start loving as Jesus loved.

Maybe then we can accept that we are truly all the same.

[This post is the first in a series of weekly posts designed to inspire and challenge through the stories and thoughts from theRevolutionary Mediabook, "Dear World".Dear World is available for purchase through Blurb, and by November 1st, 2009 will be available for digital download by donation.]

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Christina N Dickson |

Calling All Lovers

[The following post is the first in a series of weekly posts designed to inspire and challenge through the stories and thoughts from the Revolutionary Media book, "Dear World". Dear World is available for purchase through Blurb, and by November 1st, 2009 will be available for digital download by donation.]

As artists, we invest a great deal of time and energy to develop our skills. In fact, the majority of our time is centered around building of techniques and developing of tools to be "Successful" in our art. We hunt. We practice. We plan. We play. We collaborate.

And yet sometimes, it's easy to forget the one thing that matters most. We may have talent, skills, success, and achievement, but in the end, none of those things really matter. Strip everything in life down to the most basic thing and we are left with this:

Love God.

And love others.

It's cool to be an artist. Creative opportunities. Dynamic impact. But being an artist is n.o.t. the point of your life or my life. The point of life is to be a l.o.v.e.r. A lover of God, and a lover of others. Unless your skills are tools to love God and others, your work, effort, and talents will be for naught.

This may seem harsh. But the passage from I Corinthians 13 details this very clearly. If we have love, our work, our life, are for nothing.

Why is it so easy to forget that the core of life really is all about love? Why is it so difficult to strip everything down and focus on this for even just a little bit?

What if we were to identify ourselves - not as artists, or photographers, graphic designers or portraitists....What if we identified ourselves as lovers? Lovers of God, and lovers of others?

How deep would our love be? How unconditional? How true? How enduring?

"Then the King will say to those on His right, COME, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me...then the righteous will answer, "Lord, when did we?"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these...you did it to me..." Mt. 25:33-40

Is there any other passage that illustrates a more authentic display of love? Through grit and grime, cold and hardship, True Lovers continue to love undeterred. Clearly we shall be judged of Jesus by our love for Him and others. If this is truly the case, then we must ask ourselves a hard question, and answer honestly:

How far would I go for love?

- Will I feed the hungry, the destitute, when no one else will?

- Will I hydrate those who need it, even though it is the simplest most unglamorous task anyone could do?

- Will I welcome the strangers, put your arms around those who have no friends, no family, and no home?

- Will I clothe the naked and face embarrassing situations without shame because Jesus would?

- Will I comfort the sick and risk your own health and happiness to care for the untouchables?

- Will I visit the prisoners and go to the hardest, darkest, most uncomfortable places to bring the light of Jesus?

I call on my fellow Lovers and ask: when everything else is stripped away...

How far DO YOU go for love?

[Written by RevMedia coordinator Christina N Dickson of www.BrideInspired.com]

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Christina Dickson |

REVOLUTIONARY MEDIA

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The goal of Revolutionary Media is to affect the world with artistic media and messages of "Rescue the Beauty" which imparts hope, encouragement, and vision; both at home and abroad.

Multimedia. Social Media. Social Change.

The India_Log: Of Faith and Planes

Journeying to India

Marks

Belief and Walk

What Do You Offer?

Take a Dare

We all Cope

We are All the Same

Calling All Lovers

REVOLUTIONARY MEDIA

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