Monday Musing - Sharing Mom's Banana Bread

A couple of days ago I made a batch of zucchini banana bread in hopes of not letting ripe bananas and zucchini go to waste. This morning I sat down with a cup of coffee to savor every bite. I enjoyed the texture, smell, and taste... with a sip of hot coffee between every mouthful.(Message me for the recipe!)

As I was eating I had a flashback memory to the kitchen counter of my childhood home in Nebraska. My mom was pulling, what I would call, "the world's best banana bread" out of the oven. You see, when my mom made banana bread, the smells traveled to every inch of our house, inviting the whole family to the table. It was always best right out of the oven and made for a great gathering moment for us all to savor. My mom had a way of making bread that was firm and crispy on the outside and soft, butter melting on the inside. I have not come across a piece of banana bread that remotely compares.

Flash forward. I looked up from the table to see my baby Lily, nawing on her grapes and tapping her foot from the bumbo. Warm tears were a welcomed old friend as I have often pondered what it would be like for Lily to have the chance to meet, be held by, and experience my mom's banana bread in her kitchen. Another moment of gratitude and loss was so thick I was breathing in wet tears.

I thanked God for the glimpse of hospitality and adventure my mom showed me. These moments are always best shared with others and especially those of your family. As I learn more about friendship and being a mom/wife, one conclusion that I have come to is that our family is a unite. We will share in life's "messy" together.

I look forward to sharing coffee, toys, and banana bread with the community we find ourselves in now and in Bulgaria. Together we walk in the saving grace of our humble King Jesus.

Together. United. One mind in Christ. Sharing this belief-

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.(Philippians 2:1-2;5-8)

- Britney Sue Hagsten

Summer Camp Highs

The late 90's were an excellent time to be a Christian teenager. There was a huge surge of Christian subculture including music, movies, clothing, and accessories (heavily featuring crosses and W.W.J.D.? embroidery). If you lived it, you know what I'm talking about. Another huge part of that era of life was summer camp.

Summer camp was the highlight of the Christian youth's calendar. From dawn to dusk and well into the night, youth like me would do little else but eat, sleep, pray, play, and worship. It was awesome, and we'd commonly come back from the week super-hyped about whatever the speaker had challenged us to do.

As time wore on, I began to notice a pattern with these weeklong summer camps. The first night was always about getting saved. Night two was God's plan for our lives. Night three was the big picture of how to fulfill that plan. Night four was what we needed to do once we got back to "real life".

Night four was always the worst. While each of the other nights were a glorious escape from reality, night four reminded us only that reality was right around the corner. Most of these sermons centered around two main ideas: that we were about to go back to our normal lives, and that it was probably going to be hard and painful.

Fast forward about fifteen years to March of 2015. I'm on my fourth Key West Bike Ride--a 300 mile journey by bicycle from Fort Myers, Florida to Key West. One afternoon, my dear friend Sean McIntosh and I are running together. We were discussing the "high" of the KWBR and the subsequent "crash" after we returned home. I'm not quite sure how the idea originated, but we realized the formula that makes the KWBR so powerful is: 

Mission and togetherness.

When combined, these two things make for seriously incredible community--unlike anything else I've ever experienced. Maybe you've experienced it too. Like on a short term mission trip, for example. Or a Habitat for Humanity day. Or even in the military. Something happens when people come together to accomplish a cause bigger than any one individual. And it's indescribably powerful.

Mission.

Togetherness.

Back to camp and that fourth night. So much of night four was how difficult and different life would be after we returned home, and how we needed to brace ourselves for the inevitable spiritual crash. It was almost as if the past three days of spiritual ecstasy were looked at with scorn. Anyone can get excited about Jesus at camp... Let's see how you do at home. Or at school. All by yourself. With nobody alongside you.

To be fair, I get the point. Jesus is still enough and we're never truly alone. But maybe we had things backwards. Maybe real life isn't the isolated desperation many of us have grown accustomed to. Maybe camp was amazing precisely because for one week we came together on a mission and believed we could change the world. And we believed it because we saw how we ourselves were changed and empowered by the community around us and the God we worshiped.

Mission together.

If you've been feeling aimless or isolated, ask yourself: Do I belong to a community whose purpose exists outside of itself? Many of us belong to organizations. Many of us feel passionate about a cause or our life's goals. Yet precious few have experienced mission together. Where these two intersect, behold, the kingdom is there in the midst. 

One reason we go to Bulgaria, then, is how few local youth know Jesus. While these students have a strong and clear mission--to reach their classmates--they often miss the critical component of togetherness outside of camp gatherings. There is simply, to few of them and their lives don't intersect on a day to day basis. So, while we go to make disciples, we intend to do so by helping to start youth ministries where students can find these two vital components of kingdom life. Jesus said it was not good for us to be alone. And he also taught that we have a mission to make disciples of the whole world. The two go hand in hand. And where you find them together, there you find the purpose behind Jesus and the church.

Monday Musing - Mountains Seem So Big

Over Labor Day Weekend, Matt and I were able to unplug and travel up to the family cabin. It was time much needed for me to put my mind at ease with everything that seems to demand my time and energy.

As think about returning back, I am met with what seems like a mountain before us as we continue to raise support. 

It was like this familiar song lyric-

"The mountains seem so big 
and my faith it seems so small.
So hold me Jesus, 
'cause I'm shaking like a leaf.
You have been King of my glory.
Won't you be my Prince of peace."

I was comforted by how Jesus was with me. He has never left me, especially in my weakness. He's held me. I am in awe. 

Today I embrace the completed work of Jesus on the cross as my only hope for the transformation of my heart. He is worthy of my adoration. And He is the hope and adoration of the youth of Bulgaria.

Sometimes I think that God is taking us on this journey of support-raising to help me understand more personally and deeply the message of hope that we are bringing. And that I, each day, would hold fast to Jesus as the answer to every circumstance.

- Britney Sue Hagsten

Lily and the Canada Sunset