Gracious and Gutsy

JoAnn Leavell
(photo compliments of NOBTS)

I remember the first time I met JoAnn Leavell. We were on the NOBTS campus for Allen's faculty interview back in 1994. Mrs. Leavell hosted me while Dr. Leavell and others were grilling Allen to see if he could play well with others when it came to doctrinal matters and such. I was so nervous to spend time with her alone, and she went out of her way to make me feel comfortable. I remember her commenting on my outfit and asking if I was going to interview to be a newscaster on a local news station. That cracked me up ... one, because my outfit came from a thrift store (I didn't want everyone to know my bargaining ways back then!) and two, because I had actually wanted to study broadcast journalism in college but gave up the dream after freaking out in my first public speaking class.

And, speaking of public speaking, what about the time shortly after Allen, the kids, and I moved to New Orleans that Mrs. Leavell came up to me after I sang in church (notice I said sang, not spoke) and asked if I'd be interested in speaking at a ladies' event at another area church? I don't know what possessed me to say 'yes;' I guess the main reason was, how do you tell Mrs. Leavell 'no'? It was a shake-in-your-boots experience but I kept telling myself through the preparation and presentation, "Mrs. Leavell thinks I can do this, so here goes."

Shortly after this, Mrs. Leavell signed up to be a part of the on-campus First Place class (a Christ-centered weight loss program) I was leading with Jonann Byargeon and Paula Stringer. She kept us in stitches! Her biggest contributions were the recipes she worked on so that we could still eat home-baked goodies, just with less calories. A woman after my own heart (or visa versa).

My first semester on campus as a faculty wife I signed up to take Mrs. Leavell's student wife course titled "The Minister's Wife." I wasn't a student wife but, coming fresh off the church field, I was very curious about content of the course. I really learned a lot from her and her gracious presentation of the material that she thought so important to pass on to young minister's wives. One take-away that still comes to mind is "you don't have to do everything at a church but you have to do something. Find that something you can do and do it with all your might." And, related to that, "if you have to say 'no' to something asked of you, do it with your teeth showing" (meaning, do it with a smile) and "don't feel like you have to give a [lengthy] explanation; just be gracious in your 'no'."

The Leavells retired just a year or so after we came to NOBTS. I wasn't happy about that (it was reminiscent of a staff change at the church we had moved from, but that's a story for another blog). I knew I would miss Mrs. Leavell and the influence she had already had on my life.

But funny thing about influence ... it goes on and on. And even though I still may not get all dressed up to go to the grocery store (I remember Mrs. Leavell pointing out that you never know who you might run into) and I don't wear my hair really short even though I'm over 40 (see Don't Miss the Blessing), I treasure the way she loved on faculty and student wives. She shared her resources (time, money, and experience) to improve our lives any time she could.

On two occasions, I have had the privilege of taking a pair of student wives to Stein Mart to get a wardrobe boost, compliments of the JoAnn Leavell Clothing Fund. Mrs. Leavell started doing this umpteen years ago in an effort to encourage a student wife here and there when she got wind that a woman didn't have anything nice to wear to her husband's new church or for Easter or, well, for whatever Mrs. Leavell thought it would be good for. I love telling the wives about Mrs. Leavell and why this was so near and dear to her heart. The fund is active and welcomes new donors regularly (contact the Institutional Advancement Office at NOBTS if you'd like to contribute).

I won't get to be at the memorial service on Wednesday but I will be much in remembrance of this gracious and gutsy lady who left her mark on my life.



[For more info on JoAnn Leavell and her legacy at NOBTS, see Baptist Press article at http://www.bpnews.net/44346]

Do the Particulars Matter?

Have you heard the story of the two brothers who were convicted of stealing sheep and then branded on the forehead with the letters “ST,” meaning sheep thief? One of the brothers was unable to bear the stigma and tried to run from the shame by traveling to distant lands. He ended up dying far from home, full of bitterness for his situation.

The other brother came to terms with the consequences for his actions, determining to stay put and work on gaining back the respect of his neighbors. As the years passed, he developed a reputation for integrity. One day a stranger came and saw the old man with the letters on his forehead. He asked a neighbor what they signified. “Oh,” he said, “it happened a great while ago. I have forgotten the particulars, but I think the letters are an abbreviation for saint.”

Our back stories are important in that they remind us and others of the incredible power of God to take a life submitted to Him and turn that life around for His purposes and glory. Mary Riley was one of those people.

I met Mary when NOBTS began its undergraduate program at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW). I visited the prison chapel with Dr. Rhonda Kelley and others to speak with officials about the details of such an undertaking. I was quite surprised to encounter several pieces of intricate hand-stitched banners and sketched art. When I inquired as to the origin of such creativity, I was introduced to Mary.

At that time, Mary had been in LCIW for almost thirty years, convicted for killing two people including her abusive husband. She was a “lifer.” Her journey to that place was not unlike others in the lifer club: orphaned and abused as a child, then resorted to prostitution and crime. She had no children and only one sister who lived in Iowa. LCIW had become her home and, as a result of painting a Bible mural in the old chapel, she said yes to a relationship with Jesus. This relationship didn’t get her out of prison but it changed the way that she faced her time inside the barbed-wire fences.

Mary was in the original cohort of NOBTS students at LCIW but her participation was full of personal insecurity. She questioned regularly whether she could perform up to the par of her peers who were younger and, in her estimation, much smarter. Dr. Kelley recalled a specific time this uncertainty came in play: “I remember walking up to her just after she received a paper back with red marks all over it. She was discouraged and thought she wouldn't be able to succeed in seminary. I had the joy of telling her those red marks were love notes from a caring teacher who knew she could improve and invested the time in her to grade her papers. And, she did succeed.”

As an instructor in several of the NOBTS courses at LCIW, I was continually amazed at how I would find myself forgetting the setting as I taught and processed the class material with the students there. Interacting with Mary filled me with this wonder. Whether dialoguing about course content or admiring her handiwork throughout the present chapel, I wasn’t focused on the crimes that got her there. Instead, I remained humbled by the work of God in her life reflected in her selfless spirit and creative expression.

Mary died just over a week ago. She had stage four lung cancer and had refused treatment. She was buried in a cemetery at LCIW that she was instrumental in getting in place so the women would not be buried at Angola as they had in the past.

Just like the sheep thieves in the fictional story had choices of how they would deal with the consequences of their actions, Mary had choices. And she chose Jesus. I imagine that if she had been branded in some way to reflect the nature of her crimes, a similar statement could have been said of her: “it happened a great while ago. I have forgotten the particulars, but I think the letters are an abbreviation for saint.”

Lessons Learned from Running

NOTE: This was supposed to be posted last May but obviously had some coding issues. Still does. But I wanted to have all of these posts together so that, if I ever finish this series, I'll have all the posts in one place!


I was recently asked to share on Hebrews 12:1-3 at a conference where the theme was "Run the Race." It almost felt like cheating since, well, I've run a bunch of races and also I've enjoyed lots of time in the past studying this passage. However, in true Judi Jackson procrastination fashion, I waited until the last minute to REALLY pull my thoughts together and was very thankful that God gave some order to my scrambled thinking.

After sharing at the conference, a dear friend challenged me to put my thoughts into a blog. So, here I go ... in an effort to pull together a short series from this scripture, I will start at the beginning and eventually add the other five points.

1). Identify your supporters

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses….” (12:1) "

I have always thought of this great cloud of witnesses as the folks from Hebrews 11 (and a bunch more who have walked with God since) standing on the sidelines of my life in true race-supporter fashion, cheering me on to victory.

However, I recently heard a sermon on this scripture in which the preacher pointed out that those mentioned in Hebrews 11 and many of the others whose lives have impacted mine are in heaven, and they certainly aren’t spending their time in glory looking down at me. I mean, they’ve got JESUS right there! GLORY! All eyes are on the Son!

Why then are these ‘witnesses’ mentioned? How about so that I can look at them and learn from their lives? Knowing that each of them walked through difficult challenges and made it to the Hall of Faith tells me that there’s hope for me.

My supporters are those that I am encouraged by, whether they are walking with me step-by-step in real time or if they have walked the Christ journey a while back. They build me up, call me out, and point me to the One who promises strength, sustenance, and a hope for tomorrow.

A big memory for me while running the Boston Marathon lots of years ago was the amount of people who came out and lined the streets of the different towns we ran through. I was thrilled to see so many supporters but knew that none of them were there for me. I cheated a little and wore something on my shirt that people could see and use to cheer me on: "Go New Orleans. You got this, New Orleans. Don't give up yet!" It wasn't the same as them calling my name but it still mattered, especially during those late mile, my-feet-are-killing-me stretches.

Regularly, I hear believers (especially those in ministry) say, “I'm so lonely. Where can I find friends? Who can I trust?”

Consider three groups, starting with who are already your friends? Who do you already trust? Nurture these relationships! They may not be living in the same town as you know but, with Facebook, Facetime, and whatever else who use to communicate, you can stay connected.

Also consider who's a little further (or a lot further) down the road of the Christian life than you that you want to get to know? Seek out these people. Some of them would love to join you for a cup of coffee. Others will teach you through their books, podcasts, and blogs.
Finally, who needs your encouragement and influence? Initiate these friendships. It’s amazing how much we can gain from focusing on giving to others. When we turn our attentions away from our personal pity parties and start celebrating someone else’s existence, we may find a deeper sense of purpose and meaning than we ever dreamed possible.

Truthfully, if I'm not careful, I give the air of being a self-sufficient, got-it-all-together, busy-doing-important-things high achiever. But I’m not. Most days, I feel more like a crawling-in-the-dark, what-should-I-do-first, do-we-get-points-for-getting-out-of-bed imposter.

I need my supporters and I need to support others. What about you?

Where are the Scouts when you need them?

As we move into Week 6 of the semester, we’ve had plenty of time for the seminary acclimation process to set in. We’ve survived orientation and convocation and, thank the Lord, haven’t had any hurrica-tions (yet).

But still many of us are juggling so many responsibilities and deadlines that our stomachs are tied up in knots. We need some Boy Scouts to show us how to UN-tie these knots so we can continue into the semester with a sense of peace and purpose.

In Hebrews 12:1, we’re encouraged to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” so that we can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” In a previous blog, I wrote about the importance of identifying what hinders you or what’s holding you back (http://nobtsgatekeeper.wordpress.com/nobtswomen-archive/). In this one, I want to throw out some thoughts on dealing with knots and entanglements.

THREE: Identify what ties you up in knots.

So let’s brainstorm. What gets tangled? Hair. Christmas tree lights. Necklace chains. Shoelaces.

When any of these things gets tangled, we find a way to work out the knots. Rarely do we just cut off our hair, throw out the light strands, or toss the gold. Instead, we give the situation some patient attention and see what we can accomplish. Occasionally, we call in the big guns … like when I ask my hubby to use his special little tools for getting the knots out of my necklaces.

We do some very intentional things to deal with the physical ‘knots’ in our lives, and we need to use the same determination when we encounter people, commitments, and other things that get us tangled. In order to “throw them off,” we need to deal with them intentionally.

Have you heard the phrase ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’? One choice or decision that seems good or manageable at the moment can reap a consequence down the road that you aren’t prepared to deal with.

A friend recently told me about accepting a proofreading assignment that would earn her a quick $75. Who wouldn’t jump on that? But the timing of the opportunity is in the middle of her own school deadlines. Yikes! This knot certainly can be untied but not without careful attention to the other tangles around it.

Someone coming through a drug recovery program may finally admit that he or she never dreamed life could get so tangled. Separating the high of the drug from the reality of wasted money and relationships makes the knot bigger and bigger. And, for some, that knot can get really big before the inevitable fall.

Oh, the fall. Last spring, I fell twice in a one month while running. The first time I was running on a stretch of pavement I had run over many, many times before. But I was distracted, pressed for time, and a bit bored. Boom, down I went. The second time I was in an unfamiliar area and tripped over my own feet. Down I went again. Needless to say, even five months later, I am very aware of my potential to fall … to get tangled … and so I run more carefully. Notice I didn’t say ‘I stopped running.’ Nope, I just try to eliminate the entanglements by staying intentionally engaged.

What ties you up in knots? What helps you work through the tangles? You don’t need a Boy Scout to get you out of this jam. Invite the Holy Spirit to do His work in your life. And don’t forget those supporters you identified a while back … they’re wanting to see you run (and finish) your race well. 

What's holding you back?

Anybody else tell yourself that you’re going to do something and then not follow through? It’s not that it wasn’t important or valuable, it just wasn’t urgent. Ugh! This happens in my life all the time … prioritizing the urgent over the important.

Early in the summer, I started a blog series on Hebrews 12:1-3 called “Lessons I’ve Learned from Running.” My first point was taken from the first phrase of the first verse: identify your supporters. To read about this, go to http://nobtsgatekeeper.wordpress.com/nobtswomen-archive/.

Preparing for the Saints’ Back-to-Football 5K this Saturday has me processing my running again so it’s time to jump into the next point:

TWO: Identify what’s holding you back.

We’re already into Week 3 of the semester and, I don’t know about you, but I’m behind. Actually it’s more like I’m getting a late start. I wasn’t ready for school to kick off two weeks ago so I feel like I’m still walking toward the ‘start line.’ This will make sense if you’ve ever been in a large race like the Crescent City Classic or the Peachtree Road Race where the really fast people get to start right at the line but the rest of us thousands are amassed in timed bunches (or corrals) for blocks and blocks behind. It’s not usual for the frontrunner to have already completed their first mile or two before I even run under the starting banner.

In Hebrews 12:1, the writer tells us that we need to “throw off everything that hinders” (NIV) or “lay aside every weight” (NASB). Basically, this implies that we need to consider anything that hinders or impedes the runner’s progress. First century runners would enter a stadium in long flowing robes but, just before the race, they would lay them aside – throw them off – and run naked.

Spiritual implications, anyone? No, I’m not suggesting we start running naked; this would not be a pretty sight! However, I do know that I’ve already begun thinking about what I will wear or carry with me at this Saturday’s race so that I can have the most freedom to run my best.

And what does this look like as we seek to run the race God has marked out for us? Each believer needs to ask, “What is hindering me from being and giving my best to God?” No, we can’t lay aside or throw off our children, churches, or spouses, but we can consider the things we have cluttered our lives and schedules with. What needs to go? What needs to stay?

Sometimes I say, “My YESes have collided.” I try to manage my schedule carefully but there are times that my YES to teaching a weekly Sunday morning Bible Study collides with my YES to be available to visit and support my young adult children who live in different cities. My YES to prepare for and teach seminary classes may distract from my YES to going to bed early enough to get the amount of rest I need. I could go on and on but the point is for all of us to consider what is most important to fulfilling God’s call on our lives and to do this! I’m not saying giving up your downtime and recreation … goodness, I’m all about cheering on the Saints and shopping a good sale … but, in the big picture, if these seemingly harmless activities are hindering me, then I need to re-evaluate their place in my life.

And before we give all the blame or attention to our busy schedules, don’t forget that our attitudes can be a hindrance to our running as well. Author Tommy Yessick once said about running that the hardest part was tying one’s shoes and the best part was the shower afterwards. We’ve got to get our attitudes in line with our desires … it’s not enough to want to be a runner; to be a runner, you have to get out there and run!

Do you have some ‘bad’ attitudes you need to lay aside or throw off? In Philippians 4:8, the Apostle Paul gave us quite a checklist for where our thought life should focus. If we’re letting our minds go anywhere but to what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, then we’re off course and need an attitude check.

So, have you identified anything that’s holding you back in your life race? I pray that this week you open your heart – and schedule and attitude – to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to help you lay aside and throw off anything that’s hindering you. Why? Because it’s only Week 3 and we’ve got a long way to go!

The 'trappings' don't change the 'execution'

(Oops, wrote this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it!)

With college football ramping up into some feverishly-competitive match-ups this weekend, it’s hard to ignore the hype, even if you’re not one of those who ‘Love Purple Live Gold,’  ‘Roll Tide,’ or even ‘Sic ‘Em, Bears!’ Each of these teams – and many more – are working hard to prepare a game plan that will outwit, outsmart, and outscore its competition. But even with the best laid plans, on any given night, it’s anybody’s ball game. Yep, even the underdog can upset the favorite and wreak havoc on the BCS standings.

            So, who really has the advantage? If everyone knows the underdog is capable of an upset, how does a team maximize its preparation? While listening to some ESPN Game Day interviews last Saturday, I heard the previously-unbeaten Miami Hurricanes coach address the issue of playing still-unbeaten Florida State in Tallahassee in the loud and intimidating Doak-Campbell Stadium. Al Golden said he wasn’t worried about facing the Seminoles with their home field advantage (what he called “the trappings”), Instead, he surmised, “It all comes down to execution, two acres, and a ball.”

            Thanks, Al, for reminding me that it’s not so much WHERE I’m pursuing my God-calling as it is HOW. How well am I executing the plan I’ve been taught and have practiced, wherever I am? Sure the ‘stadium’ and ‘fans’ (or lack thereof) can impact my performance but neither of these trappings should be the deciding factor in the consistency of my obedience.

           

            Well, as we know, it didn’t turn out so well for the Hurricanes; FSU blew them away with a final score of 41-14. But neither team knew what the outcome would be when they started. Thus, the players hit the field with the expectation that, because of intense preparation on both sides of the ball, their efforts would pay off. May you too have a game plan of obedience that focuses not on the WHERE but on the HOW so that you can faithfully execute the call of God on your life both now and in the future. And THAT’s worth cheering for!

Pink It Up!

For some, orange is the color of October. But the Breast Cancer Awareness people have us seeing pink here, there, and everywhere! So let’s join the party on Thursday, October 24, and PINK IT UP! Throw on a pink tee or pink jeans or pink hair bow or whatever pink thing you’ve got, and help spread the word.

To some on the NOBTS campus, breast cancer awareness takes a personal turn. One student shared a prayer request recently for her aunt who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. At least one staff woman and one administrative council wife are celebrating remission from the disease. One alum’s wife, hailing from Fayetteville, GA, is a two-time survivor and another’s mother-in-law is six-months post-surgery and finishing up her chemo treatments.

However, not all women with the disease have this outcome. One such gal was Kim Wilson, a 2000 graduate of NOBTS. Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35 while serving with the IMB in Southeast Asia. She returned home and spent the next two-and-a-half years going through treatment and recovery, including a double mastectomy, multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, and breast reconstruction surgery. Kim returned to Southeast Asia in the spring of 2005 but was diagnosed with a brain tumor just a few months later, and returned again to the states for treatment.

In March 2008, Kim returned to the NOBTS campus one last time. During her visit, she was able to share her story in classes as well as a special gathering of campus women in Carey Hall. Her signature testimony revealed her solid and sold-out trust in God: “My Lord is the greatest. He has remained my rock through all of this and will continue to strengthen and guide me through all of this. We all are praying for complete healing.”

Her good friend (and NOBTS media director) Vanee Daure believes Kim got her complete healing when she went home to be with the Lord on May 20, 2008. Several years ago, Vanee started the Kim Wilson Scholarship Fund in memory of her friend to help women who were coming to NOBTS to study missions. In hopes of raising more funds for this missions scholarship, we will be accepting donations through the month of October in the Dean of Students office but especially on October 24, PINK IT UP DAY. Stop by between classes and show your support. Those giving $1 or more will receive a pink Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet with your choice of the words FAITH, HOPE, STRENGTH, or SURVIVOR.

Thanks for helping to keep Kim’s mission fresh and growing!