As most of you may know the hubby and I work for a humanitarian organization. As humanitarians we’ve had the privilege of traveling a lot and seeing a lot…both good and bad.

So it’s easy for us to understand our company’s new mission: to reach the toughest places on earth. Because we’ve been to these toughest places—back roads in Africa, treacherous mountains in Central America, and far away villages in Central America.

But for people like Reed and I sometimes our “toughest” places look different. You see, when Reed and I are stuck in a mudslide, flying a small plane to a remote village, or just experiencing a new culture for the first time we are in our element—we come alive! We get that feeling that overtakes you when you think to yourself, “This is what God created me for!” It’s us at our best…

But what most people don’t know is that we only spend about 10% of our time on the field or “at our best.” The other 90% of the time we must work diligently from behind a cubicle, tracking shipments, designing banners, answering emails, writing reports and so on. And as I think about what the majority of our time as a humanitarian worker looks like I realize that sitting behind the cubicle is our “toughest place.”

And for now that’s okay, because it’s the path God has us on. But there is something you must watch out for when you sit inside the cube world—schedules. As Americans we are taught to obey schedules and of course if you can get ahead of the schedule, well, you’re a better man than most.

Seem ironic, because if you’ve ever visited another country you know that there are very few places that hold schedules to such a high standard as us Americans. Living in South America for a couple years taught me the Latino Time Table, which I’m a big fan of since I was no longer late to anything!

So what do we do with our entrapment to schedules? Well if you’re me, you forget about it and make it happen. You stay late at work, sacrifice your social life, and ultimately your health.

Lately I’ve realized just how much pressure I’ve been putting on myself to stick to my schedule and deadlines. But this week it came to a head.

I’ve been battling stomach problems my whole life, but in the past 6 month they’ve finally irritated me enough to see a doctor. So while I continue to fight the daily routine of pain and fatigue and figuring out the 5 things I can eat that won’t hurt me, I somehow started to come down with sore throat. “No big deal,” I thought. “It will go away,” I said...Ugh, 12 hours later and I’m still pining away for my hot water and lemon essential oils.

Then I realized something. If I won’t stop my schedule God will.

No, I don’t have cancer or need brain surgery as some of my friends are actually facing today, but I do need rest. And not just the kind I get at night. I need time away from work, a chance for my body to heal, and an opportunity to sit still and hear from the Lord.

But it’s hard. When I know I have friends facing more significant health battles than me, I don’t want to acknowledge that I’m weak or need prayer. I don’t want to tell people about my struggles after hearing about co-workers who may not be with us in a couple of months. But that’s selfish. If we do not share our burdens with others then we are depriving them of their chance to intercede on our behalf. And we are also telling God that we can handle this without him.

So I stand convicted and ask for forgiveness. The Lord has my attention as I’m forced to lay on the couch and stop working. So let’s share in each other burdens no matter how big or small. Feel free to email me or leave a comment in ways we can encourage and pray for each other.

I leave you with a segment from The Balanced Wife blog:

“I'm afraid of what will happen if I take my foot off the gas or stop trying to squeeze the most productivity out of the day- it already feels like I'm always behind, and that feels heavy. But He is our respite. Spending time with him will teach me to live freely and lightly. What I know and hold to today is that when my labor on earth is done, I want to have spent more time worshipping my Father than my schedule.”

I have to say, I’ve been surprised to see how much “controversy” has come out of a movie. Then again, am I really surprised…

Normally I don’t jump on the bandwagon of posting my feelings about some issue that really seems trivial in the grand scheme of things, but this time I felt it needed addressing.

Whether you like or dislike the fact that Noah was made by an atheist, played by actors and actresses who aren’t Christians doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing. In fact, I appreciate that it has both of those factors. For one, that means that the writers, producers, directors, actors, and everyone else involved in this movie had to get their head into Scripture…and in case you didn’t know, that stuff is powerful.

And since when did we say that a depiction of a Biblical story could only be done by Christians and for that matter be considered an inerrant word of God? Last time I checked we don’t even use The Message Bible as a word for word translation of what’s really going on. We take it with a grain a salt and extract the Biblical truths…just like we should do with EVERYTHING.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ and have a grasp on the gospel story then you will start to see remnants of it everywhere. In the music you listen to, the shows you watch, and the books you read. Why do so many Christians like Mumford and Sons? It’s not just the hipster cool persona they possess, but it starts with the lyrics, “Awake my soul.” Need I say more?

When we are living out the gospel of grace we will see it dropping hints everywhere we turn. We will either be reminded of our sinful nature caused by the temptations of this world, or we will see a light of grace, grabbing our hearts and making us turn toward our Creator in adoration.

So what does this have to do with Noah? Everything. Because if you choose to not see Noah just because you don’t want to support an atheist trying to tell a Christian story, then you are missing out. You are missing out on a story that accurately depicts sin. As Noah (in the movie) struggles with his understanding of his fellow man he and his family feel entitled to be saved from the flood. They see themselves as followers of the Creator and different than the heathens over there…but then that changes. In a dream God reveals Noah’s sinful nature. It’s original sin at it’s finest. It started with an apple and it made no man innocent. You see, it wasn’t Noah’s good works or obedience that made him different in front of God; it was his faith.

Even the antagonist king in the movie says over and over “I am made in Your image.” He acknowledges that there is a Creator, but he refuses to have faith in him because “he abandoned us long ago.” So the king decides he must take things into his own hands, that man is able to make decisions and take charge of his destiny. But Noah has faith in his creator, faith he will fulfill his promise to his family and faith enough to build an ark. I think you get the picture.

But even more than it’s depiction of sin, the movie portrays a real person. I don’t know about you but the only way I’ve ever heard Noah portrayed me to was with a white beard, staff and some long ‘ol hair. And then he had all those cute little animals with him, you know the elephants, dogs, cats, only the most fluffiest of all creatures. And once that dove came back with the olive branch, well everything was hunky-dory…the end…or was it?

One of the reasons I wanted to go seminary was to explore the Bible in ways that I never did in Church. To learn what was really being said when I read things. And just like numerous stories my eyes were opened when I realized Noah’s story didn’t end when the dove came back that day.

“Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father’s exposed body. When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said, "Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves, a slave to his brothers! Blessed be God, the God of Shem, but Canaan shall be his slave. God prosper Japheth, living spaciously in the tents of Shem. But Canaan shall be his slave. Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.”

I don’t know about you, but what do you do with that?! Oh wait, I know, leave it out…at least that’s what all my Sunday School teachers did. But imagine that, the movie did not. Instead we faced the reality that a man who had to listen to the cries of people die around him while spending 40 days and nights on a ship covered in animal dung might go a little drunk. He was a real person. And even more he was a person that God used because he had faith.

So if you are determined not to go see Noah ask yourself why, and remember, this movie never promised to be the inerrant word of God, but what it did promise was to make you think about the life and story of Noah. And if you open up your heart a little bit you might even pull out some nuggets of truth. Besides wouldn’t you rather spend your money on something that speaks some Biblical truth and encourages others to make well-made movies based on Biblical characters then to have more movies about guys who go to Vegas and get drunk and sleep with strippers? (which by the way out of all R-rated films, a movie just like this one I described is actually the highest-grossed film behind only The Passion of the Christ and The Matrix Reloaded.)

So go see it, learn from it, and then inspire dialogue around it. You might just be surprised.

If you've seen the movie, we'd love to hear what you thought, comment below and let us know.