Sunday, February 11, 2007
What a Surprise!
Well, what do you know? I just checked my e-mail and I had the biggest surprise! Apparently a post I wrote a while back has been selected as a finalist in the Motherhood category on the Hidden Treasure Blog Awards. I'm speechless. Please visit Everyday Mommy and check out all the wonderful other posts that are nominated in all the categories, and to find the rules for voting. I'm truly thankful to be mentioned along with such good writers!
Attitude Matters
Malachi 3:16-18
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name.
‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts,
‘On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.’
Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him.”
It’s amazing how the attitude I bring with me into the worship service is so important. Today was just different. In a really good way. The pastor has begun preaching about seeking God for revival in our church, and, I’m telling you, it was good today. We looked at Malachi 3:16-18, and also at the churches in Revelation and talked about the cycle of sin in a believer’s life and in a church body when we depart from our first love.
Also, after what I posted yesterday, throughout the service I kept thinking about how this same Jesus who spoke to the storm and stilled it is the One we are here to worship. That was amazing. To think that the Creator of all came to earth and lived among us, and submitted Himself to the humiliation of the cross, and was resurrected on the third day to redeem a people to Himself is humbling. That glimpse we are given of Him standing in that boat and speaking to the wind and the sea as LORD, while the disciples cowered in fear. Absolutely amazing. Try thinking of Him in this way next time you pray. And another thing that is revolutionizing my attitude is learning to remember that the humiliation He suffered on that cross is the price He paid for me to even be able to have the privilege of coming before the Throne of Grace at all. Though the gift of grace is free, it is so very costly. It was bought with the precious blood of the Son of God. May I never take that lightly. Amazing love, how can it be, that You, my King, should die for me?
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name.
‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts,
‘On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.’
Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him.”
It’s amazing how the attitude I bring with me into the worship service is so important. Today was just different. In a really good way. The pastor has begun preaching about seeking God for revival in our church, and, I’m telling you, it was good today. We looked at Malachi 3:16-18, and also at the churches in Revelation and talked about the cycle of sin in a believer’s life and in a church body when we depart from our first love.
Also, after what I posted yesterday, throughout the service I kept thinking about how this same Jesus who spoke to the storm and stilled it is the One we are here to worship. That was amazing. To think that the Creator of all came to earth and lived among us, and submitted Himself to the humiliation of the cross, and was resurrected on the third day to redeem a people to Himself is humbling. That glimpse we are given of Him standing in that boat and speaking to the wind and the sea as LORD, while the disciples cowered in fear. Absolutely amazing. Try thinking of Him in this way next time you pray. And another thing that is revolutionizing my attitude is learning to remember that the humiliation He suffered on that cross is the price He paid for me to even be able to have the privilege of coming before the Throne of Grace at all. Though the gift of grace is free, it is so very costly. It was bought with the precious blood of the Son of God. May I never take that lightly. Amazing love, how can it be, that You, my King, should die for me?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
We Worship the One Who Calms the Storm
Mark 4:35-41
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
I love this passage. It's always interesting to see the disciples' reaction when they got a glimpse of just Who Jesus really is. In this instance, He demonstrated His sovereignty over the wind and the sea. And the disciples feared exceedingly at this One who could calm the storm with a word, and they were awed by Him.
As we prepare for worship this Sunday, may we remember Who we worship and come before Him with reverence. May we seek to honor Him as we gather together with fellow believers, and put aside the weights that would take our eyes off of Him.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
I love this passage. It's always interesting to see the disciples' reaction when they got a glimpse of just Who Jesus really is. In this instance, He demonstrated His sovereignty over the wind and the sea. And the disciples feared exceedingly at this One who could calm the storm with a word, and they were awed by Him.
As we prepare for worship this Sunday, may we remember Who we worship and come before Him with reverence. May we seek to honor Him as we gather together with fellow believers, and put aside the weights that would take our eyes off of Him.
Saturday Ramblings About the Slow-Country
So, D.’s parents are moving in to the house they finally found here in town (but not “on the island,” ha, ha - that sounds so weird, it sounds like we live near the LOST survivors or something, speaking of which, by the way, I enjoyed the season premiere and I'm hoping there will be some answers to a few of the mysteries......) this weekend after living temporarily in the next town over since September. We’re glad to have them close – because we love them, of course, but also because they offer FREE BABYSITTING! We went over this morning to help with some of the unloading of stuff, but I had to bring Boo home for a nap. Now D. and the boys are over there, and the boys are on “Pinecone Duty.” D. has told them Gram and Granddad will pay them a penny per pinecone they gather from the yard. There are A LOT of pinecones in the yard! You would think that would be great incentive for two boys who have Legos and StarWars action figures on the brain. In fact, these boys will carry around one of those little advertisement paper things that are in EVERY Lego set or Hasbro/Fisher Price, etc. type of toy until it is just falling apart, and proceed to tell us exactly which item(s) they desire from said advertisement every time they think of it until I feel like pulling out my hair and banging my head against the wall just to not have to hear it ONE MORE TIME.
The house the in-laws found to rent at a very good price (for the area, anyway) is right on the marsh. The boys love it, of course, and are already planning how they can start trapping crabs. Fun for all, I’m sure. But my poor mother-in-law is beginning to see some of the same inconveniences I’ve noticed about the slow-country living here. The house has horrendous peach (no, more like dark salmon) colored walls, and aqua countertops. The management company said, “No-go,” on the owner painting the walls a neutral color, so, she’s either going to have to live with it or paint it herself. And, they were told it was a no-smoking house with good renters, but we smell that distinct odor AND the water company is asking for a hefty (but returnable) deposit due to the fact that the prior tenant failed to pay and had their water turned off. And none of the sinks have stoppers and the walls have holes in them where they were not fixed when prior tenants left and took down pictures or shelves or something, and one of the contractors who came the other day to fix up some of the things that had to be repaired was just a real snot to her - just a rude and arrogant and disrespectful twenty-something year old guy who probably felt he had better things to do than to touch up that ugly paint (yes, owner will touch up, but not re-do, go figure). But, all in all, it’s still a pretty nice house, and they are happy with it for a year until they can find something better.
Ah, the joys of “island” life in the slow-country. But we’re glad they are here, and I hope they will be, too.
The house the in-laws found to rent at a very good price (for the area, anyway) is right on the marsh. The boys love it, of course, and are already planning how they can start trapping crabs. Fun for all, I’m sure. But my poor mother-in-law is beginning to see some of the same inconveniences I’ve noticed about the slow-country living here. The house has horrendous peach (no, more like dark salmon) colored walls, and aqua countertops. The management company said, “No-go,” on the owner painting the walls a neutral color, so, she’s either going to have to live with it or paint it herself. And, they were told it was a no-smoking house with good renters, but we smell that distinct odor AND the water company is asking for a hefty (but returnable) deposit due to the fact that the prior tenant failed to pay and had their water turned off. And none of the sinks have stoppers and the walls have holes in them where they were not fixed when prior tenants left and took down pictures or shelves or something, and one of the contractors who came the other day to fix up some of the things that had to be repaired was just a real snot to her - just a rude and arrogant and disrespectful twenty-something year old guy who probably felt he had better things to do than to touch up that ugly paint (yes, owner will touch up, but not re-do, go figure). But, all in all, it’s still a pretty nice house, and they are happy with it for a year until they can find something better.
Ah, the joys of “island” life in the slow-country. But we’re glad they are here, and I hope they will be, too.
Friday, February 09, 2007
For a Post That Made Me Think A Lot Today......
Wow. I read this post by Dan Phillips at Biblical Christianity this morning, and that's my response. Wow. He talks about how the angels are fascinated by our redemption. I've been thinking all day about how shamefully carelessly we sometimes view our redemption.
He says: "Think of it: angels know nothing of redemption themselves, except as spectators. Some of their number fell into rebellion, and not one of that company will be redeemed. The others stood fast with the Triune God, and not one of them needs redemption. Angels experience nothing of redemption. They either have no chance of it, or they have no need of it."
Go read it. And please don't miss his final zinger of a point.
He says: "Think of it: angels know nothing of redemption themselves, except as spectators. Some of their number fell into rebellion, and not one of that company will be redeemed. The others stood fast with the Triune God, and not one of them needs redemption. Angels experience nothing of redemption. They either have no chance of it, or they have no need of it."
Go read it. And please don't miss his final zinger of a point.
Pressing On
Philippians 3:12-16
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”
Philippians 1:6
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
The things I write here are truly what I hold dear and believe in my heart of hearts. But I find it so hard to live them consistently. Sometimes I look back at something I’ve written and cringe, thinking, “Boy, I need to be living that out better.” For example, as I mentioned the other day, I know that I know that I know that it is vitally important that we parents teach our children God’s word. But far too often I let days go by that I don’t diligently teach them. I know they hear D. and me talking about our faith, but I want to purposefully teach them more consistently as well. We only get to parent them once, I don’t want to waste precious time.
If I believe correctly and write correctly, but do not have enough love for my Savior, my children, my family, my neighbors, and people I encounter throughout life to live it consistently and open my mouth as a witness of His grace when God puts the opportunities in front of me, then all the writing and thinking is in vain. It will be wood, hay and stubble that are burned up. I must, must, must do better at putting feet to what I know is true.
I need to say thank you to my brother in Christ, Rick Freuh. We attended the same church when D. and I lived in Florida, and though I didn’t actually know Rick then, I did know of him and heard him teach a few times. And some of my very good friends were in his Sunday School class at the time, so we know a lot of the same people. Yesterday when I was having a real down day and wrote about it, Rick left a comment that touched my heart. He said:
“Rebekah - If you can only share what you completely perform and never allow the Spirit to lift us all up higher than we have gone than your blog would be nothing more than an earthly narrative. But I have read some of your posts and poems and like me the Spirit has allowed you to be a Spiritual conduit that draws attention to the Savior and not you. Be encouraged, your words glorify Him not you which is the greatest privilege of all! “
I also had a conversation with my dad recently and he encouraged me that we confess what we know is true, and the Holy Spirit continues His work of sanctification in us. It is a process – we are not glorified yet, but when our Lord calls us home, and we see Him face to face, only THEN will we truly know as we are known. Only then will we be able to worship Him completely. Until then, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is a true encouragement for it has helped me to regain perspective on why I write.
My primary calling right now is to be wife to my husband and mom to my kids, so I still write about them and our everyday lives sometimes, too (that’s really all I know right now) – not all my writings are serious.
But as I write the more serious things, my desire really is to bring glory to my Savior. The things I write about are what I am striving to be. I want my life to glorify Christ, and I hope that by writing the serious things I write, perhaps, first of all, I will begin to better put into practice what I know is true, and if I can encourage someone else to want to know God's Word better and to live out the faith and seek to honor Jesus, too, then that will make it worth it. But I don’t want to leave the impression that I think I have perfected these things – I write about the goal I am pressing toward. Sanctification is a life-long process, and I’m glad to write about my walk along the journey, pressing ever toward the goal of living a life that brings honor to my Lord.
Please, God, teach my heart to want to do Your will and put into consistent practice what I say I believe – to walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”
Philippians 1:6
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
The things I write here are truly what I hold dear and believe in my heart of hearts. But I find it so hard to live them consistently. Sometimes I look back at something I’ve written and cringe, thinking, “Boy, I need to be living that out better.” For example, as I mentioned the other day, I know that I know that I know that it is vitally important that we parents teach our children God’s word. But far too often I let days go by that I don’t diligently teach them. I know they hear D. and me talking about our faith, but I want to purposefully teach them more consistently as well. We only get to parent them once, I don’t want to waste precious time.
If I believe correctly and write correctly, but do not have enough love for my Savior, my children, my family, my neighbors, and people I encounter throughout life to live it consistently and open my mouth as a witness of His grace when God puts the opportunities in front of me, then all the writing and thinking is in vain. It will be wood, hay and stubble that are burned up. I must, must, must do better at putting feet to what I know is true.
I need to say thank you to my brother in Christ, Rick Freuh. We attended the same church when D. and I lived in Florida, and though I didn’t actually know Rick then, I did know of him and heard him teach a few times. And some of my very good friends were in his Sunday School class at the time, so we know a lot of the same people. Yesterday when I was having a real down day and wrote about it, Rick left a comment that touched my heart. He said:
“Rebekah - If you can only share what you completely perform and never allow the Spirit to lift us all up higher than we have gone than your blog would be nothing more than an earthly narrative. But I have read some of your posts and poems and like me the Spirit has allowed you to be a Spiritual conduit that draws attention to the Savior and not you. Be encouraged, your words glorify Him not you which is the greatest privilege of all! “
I also had a conversation with my dad recently and he encouraged me that we confess what we know is true, and the Holy Spirit continues His work of sanctification in us. It is a process – we are not glorified yet, but when our Lord calls us home, and we see Him face to face, only THEN will we truly know as we are known. Only then will we be able to worship Him completely. Until then, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is a true encouragement for it has helped me to regain perspective on why I write.
My primary calling right now is to be wife to my husband and mom to my kids, so I still write about them and our everyday lives sometimes, too (that’s really all I know right now) – not all my writings are serious.
But as I write the more serious things, my desire really is to bring glory to my Savior. The things I write about are what I am striving to be. I want my life to glorify Christ, and I hope that by writing the serious things I write, perhaps, first of all, I will begin to better put into practice what I know is true, and if I can encourage someone else to want to know God's Word better and to live out the faith and seek to honor Jesus, too, then that will make it worth it. But I don’t want to leave the impression that I think I have perfected these things – I write about the goal I am pressing toward. Sanctification is a life-long process, and I’m glad to write about my walk along the journey, pressing ever toward the goal of living a life that brings honor to my Lord.
Please, God, teach my heart to want to do Your will and put into consistent practice what I say I believe – to walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Where I Am Right Now
*Just so you know, this is the kind of post I often rethink, so if it disappears later, you'll know I decided it was too whiny. So there.*
I may have mentioned that I don’t really like where I live. Honestly? I hate living here. And I don’t use the word “hate” often, mind you. I hesitate to mention this, but I had myself quite a pity party this afternoon. We’ve been here a little over 3 years, and I’ve never lived in a place like this before where it was so hard to make friends. This is a heavily active-duty military town, so people tend to have a short-term mentality here. They know that they are only here 3 years at the most, and most that I meet hate it here, too. We are military also, but the Reserves is a whole different breed. The active duty people have their squadron or unit here for support. Hubby’s unit is stationed an hour away, and it’s his civilian job that has us here. It’s also his civilian job that will keep us here. I tend to be pretty shy, too, so that doesn’t help. And I guess I'm weird because, though I love to laugh and have fun like anyone else, I really like to talk about doctrine as well. And apparently, that makes me weird to most of the other women I know - it always has. I don't get it, because if we say we love Jesus, why wouldn't we want to talk about biblical things? So, anyway, right now, I’m lonely. There. I finally said it. I have tried to reach out to a few other ladies who are home during the day, as I am, but how many times can you ask someone to meet you for lunch and have the answer always be that they are busy, but they’ll get with you soon before you realize they just aren’t that interested? Or maybe they are as wrapped up in their own lives as I tend to be, and we just aren’t able to get out of our little routine boxes. It doesn’t help that I live way out on “the island” while our church is 20 minutes away in town, where most everyone I know lives. And it doesn’t help that we don’t really have very many young families at our church with stay-home moms. My poor boys are sometimes the only kids in their Sunday School classes. I am struggling greatly right now, because there is a larger church we could attend (and, no, it is not Purpose Driven or seeker-sensitive, or any of that ugliness) where there would be women in the same stage of life as me and more kids for our boys to interact with, but D. doesn’t feel a release to leave our church right now. So, I’m praying that I will have the grace to bloom in the place God has me for now.
I have an ambivalent relationship with my blog at times, too. I’m able to articulate what I believe pretty well in writing, but I feel like such a hypocrite in my real life. I want so much to put into practice what I know is true. But so many days I find that I haven’t talked to anyone, other than my husband, who is over the age of eight. And I know that I need to get out of the house more and find a place to plug in. I know all the clichés: to have a friend you have to be a friend, etc. But I’m just saying, I’ve never found that to be as hard anywhere we’ve lived as it is here, for some reason.
So, I’m holding onto my verse: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3. And I continue to confess what I believe and know is true, no matter how I feel today. Because, honestly, I don’t always feel like I do right now, and it is not about how I feel anyway.
And I’m praying that I will get over myself and reach out, again, and find a place to plug in here, in this town, where God has planted our family. And I know He will lead me where He wants me to be, and He will never leave or forsake me – even if I’m in the wilderness for this season.
Psalm 34:1
“I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 33:20-22
“Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.”
I may have mentioned that I don’t really like where I live. Honestly? I hate living here. And I don’t use the word “hate” often, mind you. I hesitate to mention this, but I had myself quite a pity party this afternoon. We’ve been here a little over 3 years, and I’ve never lived in a place like this before where it was so hard to make friends. This is a heavily active-duty military town, so people tend to have a short-term mentality here. They know that they are only here 3 years at the most, and most that I meet hate it here, too. We are military also, but the Reserves is a whole different breed. The active duty people have their squadron or unit here for support. Hubby’s unit is stationed an hour away, and it’s his civilian job that has us here. It’s also his civilian job that will keep us here. I tend to be pretty shy, too, so that doesn’t help. And I guess I'm weird because, though I love to laugh and have fun like anyone else, I really like to talk about doctrine as well. And apparently, that makes me weird to most of the other women I know - it always has. I don't get it, because if we say we love Jesus, why wouldn't we want to talk about biblical things? So, anyway, right now, I’m lonely. There. I finally said it. I have tried to reach out to a few other ladies who are home during the day, as I am, but how many times can you ask someone to meet you for lunch and have the answer always be that they are busy, but they’ll get with you soon before you realize they just aren’t that interested? Or maybe they are as wrapped up in their own lives as I tend to be, and we just aren’t able to get out of our little routine boxes. It doesn’t help that I live way out on “the island” while our church is 20 minutes away in town, where most everyone I know lives. And it doesn’t help that we don’t really have very many young families at our church with stay-home moms. My poor boys are sometimes the only kids in their Sunday School classes. I am struggling greatly right now, because there is a larger church we could attend (and, no, it is not Purpose Driven or seeker-sensitive, or any of that ugliness) where there would be women in the same stage of life as me and more kids for our boys to interact with, but D. doesn’t feel a release to leave our church right now. So, I’m praying that I will have the grace to bloom in the place God has me for now.
I have an ambivalent relationship with my blog at times, too. I’m able to articulate what I believe pretty well in writing, but I feel like such a hypocrite in my real life. I want so much to put into practice what I know is true. But so many days I find that I haven’t talked to anyone, other than my husband, who is over the age of eight. And I know that I need to get out of the house more and find a place to plug in. I know all the clichés: to have a friend you have to be a friend, etc. But I’m just saying, I’ve never found that to be as hard anywhere we’ve lived as it is here, for some reason.
So, I’m holding onto my verse: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3. And I continue to confess what I believe and know is true, no matter how I feel today. Because, honestly, I don’t always feel like I do right now, and it is not about how I feel anyway.
And I’m praying that I will get over myself and reach out, again, and find a place to plug in here, in this town, where God has planted our family. And I know He will lead me where He wants me to be, and He will never leave or forsake me – even if I’m in the wilderness for this season.
Psalm 34:1
“I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 33:20-22
“Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.”
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Bear With Me While I Vent For a Moment...
One of my pet peeves lately has been this:
Five-year-old comes home with "Bible verse" he is to learn for this month in Sunday School. I look at "Bible verse" reminder paper. It says: "Jesus loved people..." Matt. 14:14. Now, I don't happen to have that particular verse memorized, but I'm pretty sure those words aren't verbatim. Here's what the verse actually says: "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
Why do the authors of the children's curriculum think that 5-year-olds couldn't memorize that verse as is? When the conservative revolution happened in the Southern Baptist Convention, we may have won the battle, but we are quickly losing the war. We have GOT to stop dumbing down the teaching and start teaching the truth well from babies to adults. Though we say we believe the Bible is inerrant, we ARE NOT TEACHING IT! My husband teaches a class of young adults, most of whom are at least 10-15 years younger than we are. These young adults grew up in church, went to Sunday School, and do not know much Bible at all. They are the sad product of this watered-down method of teaching. Granted, now that they are adults, they need to be studying the Bible for themselves, but it is extremely sad to me that they were never given more than isolated stories with no context.
In what is becoming something of a theme with me, I am growing more and more convinced that we need to rethink the way we teach the Bible to our children. The Bible is a comprehensive history of God's redemptive plan. To teach isolated stories out of order and out of context and present them with watered down moral lessons is wrong. Our kids need to learn how big God is and how amazing His grace is. We must teach the whole counsel of the Word of God! No wonder these same young adults complain that the Bible is boring, stale, irrelevant. They do not know what a beautiful story of grace it really is!
My husband and I have been praying for our church for a long time now, and I believe God is beginning to open our eyes. First of all, our pastor is encouraging us and teaching us to really begin praying for revival.
As for our own family, what we've been doing is taking the scripture reference and teaching the boys the actual verse from the Bible. What a novel concept! And we are also still working through the catechism material we got from the Founders Ministries, but we really need to step that up, I think. So, we are praying for revival, praying God will show us what needs to change in our own lives, and thanking Him for every step we see this church take in the right direction. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about the heart change we all need.
Five-year-old comes home with "Bible verse" he is to learn for this month in Sunday School. I look at "Bible verse" reminder paper. It says: "Jesus loved people..." Matt. 14:14. Now, I don't happen to have that particular verse memorized, but I'm pretty sure those words aren't verbatim. Here's what the verse actually says: "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
Why do the authors of the children's curriculum think that 5-year-olds couldn't memorize that verse as is? When the conservative revolution happened in the Southern Baptist Convention, we may have won the battle, but we are quickly losing the war. We have GOT to stop dumbing down the teaching and start teaching the truth well from babies to adults. Though we say we believe the Bible is inerrant, we ARE NOT TEACHING IT! My husband teaches a class of young adults, most of whom are at least 10-15 years younger than we are. These young adults grew up in church, went to Sunday School, and do not know much Bible at all. They are the sad product of this watered-down method of teaching. Granted, now that they are adults, they need to be studying the Bible for themselves, but it is extremely sad to me that they were never given more than isolated stories with no context.
In what is becoming something of a theme with me, I am growing more and more convinced that we need to rethink the way we teach the Bible to our children. The Bible is a comprehensive history of God's redemptive plan. To teach isolated stories out of order and out of context and present them with watered down moral lessons is wrong. Our kids need to learn how big God is and how amazing His grace is. We must teach the whole counsel of the Word of God! No wonder these same young adults complain that the Bible is boring, stale, irrelevant. They do not know what a beautiful story of grace it really is!
My husband and I have been praying for our church for a long time now, and I believe God is beginning to open our eyes. First of all, our pastor is encouraging us and teaching us to really begin praying for revival.
As for our own family, what we've been doing is taking the scripture reference and teaching the boys the actual verse from the Bible. What a novel concept! And we are also still working through the catechism material we got from the Founders Ministries, but we really need to step that up, I think. So, we are praying for revival, praying God will show us what needs to change in our own lives, and thanking Him for every step we see this church take in the right direction. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about the heart change we all need.
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Hope That Anchors the Soul
I'm so glad my salvation is not dependent on how I feel on any given day. I struggle often with feeling a little blue. Whether it's unneighborly neighbors, a cranky baby with a cold who isn't sleeping well, an 8-year-old who asks endless questions, a 5-year-old who has meltdowns when he's exhausted, or just plain old hormones, I've been a little down today. Our kindergartner had a 20 minute meltdown this evening over something extremely silly. He gives the phrase "hopping mad" new meaning, because he was hopping all around the living room tonight he was so mad that we'd told him, "no," about something he didn't need. I'm so thankful for my husband, who is much, much more patient than I. When M. hopped out of sight for a moment during the tantrum, D. and I looked at each other and almost fell off the couch in silent laughter. D.'s ability to laugh at such things is a blessing, let me tell you. Of course, we didn't let M. know we were laughing. Days like today make me question whether I have the wisdom to be a good parent. And you know what? I don't. But God does. And His grace is sufficient for me - even when all those things I listed up there are part of the circumstances around me.
This afternoon, when feeling blue, I wrote a poem about my hope. I'm sharing it here with you:
Before all time He is the Great I AM.
His glory all creation will proclaim.
We bow before the spotless, risen Lamb.
All praise is due unto His glorious Name.
The Three-In-One in matchless majesty
Salvation grants to sin-drenched fallen race;
By grace, through faith we have this mystery:
That God's own Son did suffer in our place.
By faith my sin and shame I do confess;
The Cross of Calvary: blood-bought ransom paid;
By grace I stand clothed in His righteousness,
And at His feet my sinful burden laid.
Oh, praise His name, Christ Jesus is the King;
To Him all knees will bow and voices sing!
Jesus is the hope that truly anchors my soul. My salvation rests on His righteousness, not my fickle feelings. Praise God for His matchless grace. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Hebrews 6:19 "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
This afternoon, when feeling blue, I wrote a poem about my hope. I'm sharing it here with you:
Before all time He is the Great I AM.
His glory all creation will proclaim.
We bow before the spotless, risen Lamb.
All praise is due unto His glorious Name.
The Three-In-One in matchless majesty
Salvation grants to sin-drenched fallen race;
By grace, through faith we have this mystery:
That God's own Son did suffer in our place.
By faith my sin and shame I do confess;
The Cross of Calvary: blood-bought ransom paid;
By grace I stand clothed in His righteousness,
And at His feet my sinful burden laid.
Oh, praise His name, Christ Jesus is the King;
To Him all knees will bow and voices sing!
Jesus is the hope that truly anchors my soul. My salvation rests on His righteousness, not my fickle feelings. Praise God for His matchless grace. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Hebrews 6:19 "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Overheard At Our House Yesterday...
Granddad: "M., tell your mom & dad why you hit the floor so hard with the bowling ball when you're bowling."
M.: "Because I was killing terbites on the wood floor. I had to bang them."
(You know, terbites, those little bugs that eat wood........)
M.: "Because I was killing terbites on the wood floor. I had to bang them."
(You know, terbites, those little bugs that eat wood........)
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Saturday At WalMart
The problem with being a morning person, and the mother of a baby who is up no later than 6:30am any given morning, is that the stores don't open until 9am. At the earliest.
Let me back up. The list of what each parent is to supply for the big kindergarten Valentine's Day bash came home yesterday. M. needs a Valentine's gift bag by Monday so he can start decorating it for the party. I am assigned to provide 21 party favors for their treat bags. So, since the boys spent the night at their grandparents last night and D. is away for Army drill weekend and we needed formula anyway, Boo and I headed out this morning a little after 8:00 to try to find these items, because the "happy time" window before Boo needs a nap is pretty narrow when she wakes up so early in the morning.
I do have one little digression from a story that basically has no point anyway, which I will interject here. Why is it that on a weekday, when I'm in a hurry to get to piano lessons or a meeting somewhere, everyone on the island drives about 10-20 miles under the speed limit, but on Saturday, when nothing is open anyway, everyone feels the need to ride my bumper and act like we're all trying out for NASCAR and I'm just crimping their style by driving 46 MPH in a 45 MPH zone? I don't get it at all. Because, as I found when I drove to the Dollar General, nothing is open before 9am anyhow.
Seeing that sign on the door, I looked at the clock on my dashboard which said 8:38, and realized it would not do to sit in the parking lot for that long, so I resigned myself to do my shopping at WalMart this morning. Being open 24 hours means it was, of course, hopping. Perhaps all those Dale Jr. wannabes this morning were actually in a race to get the closest parking spot at WalMart. Or it could have been Lowe's. They were open, too, I saw. At any rate, Boo and I found ourselves at my least favorite shopping destination this morning. If Target wasn't in the next town over, we'd go there, but, alas, I'm not sure the rumors I keep hearing of our town getting a Target are ever going to come true.
We found M.'s gift bag, the groceries I needed and some party favors, as well as the required Valentine's cards they will be needing shortly (might as well spare myself another trip out here and get them now!), paid for said items and began our walk back to the parking lot. Because the seat on the WalMart carts is somehow wider than the ones at the grocery store, Boo's carseat will not set on it the way I usually do. This means her carseat takes up all of the cart, while my purchases were placed underneath. This is an important tidbit, because as I approached our car, I noticed that one of the bags was drooping off the bottom of the cart and spilling bananas into the parking lot. I looked behind me and noticed we'd already left a box of chai behind as well. So, looking so put together, I gathered up all the scattered purchases, put them in the van, took the cart to the cart corral, carried Boo in her 500 pound carrier back to the car.....and looked at her feet. One sock missing. I looked back at the corral, there was one purple sock all on its lonesome there where she had kicked it off. Meanwhile, there were two cars waiting for me to hurry up, lady, and get your car loaded already since we had a close spot, but I ran over and retrieved the sock anyway. Oh, I forgot to mention that while loading the bags, it occurred to me I ought to check and make sure I hadn't left anything else behind when the bag slipped. Sure enough, only two packages of party favors when there should have been three. At least I was pretty sure I'd been carrying 3 through the store. I checked the receipt - only 2 "novelties" listed. Somehow the third package never made it through the checkout with me. It's probably still sitting there on the counter, or has already been rung up with whoever came along behind me. Someone is probably at home now putting away their purchases saying, "Why do I have a package of little stretchy hearts???"
By this time, the Dollar Tree was open, so I moved the car closer to it and ran in with Boo. They had the same party favors!! I would only need to buy one!! Then I checked my purse. No cash. None. Back to the car we went and I scavenged through the change holder and came up with $0.17 and a handful of peppermints from Sonic. So close, but yet, so far. Am I pathetic, or what? Then I happened to look in the back seat. J. had left his lunchbox there yesterday afternoon! And he had just enough change in his "just in case there is a bake sale in the cafeteria" pocket for me to run back to the Dollar Tree and buy the last package of party favors (remind me not to reprimand him for his carelessness, just this once). I almost did the dance of joy right there in the parking lot, but decided I looked foolish enough as it was. Though I don't think I looked nearly as foolish as the woman across the parking lot who, it looked like out of the corner of my eye, popped her child in the face (at least, she did something in the child's face, because when I looked up, child was holding her mouth) and proceeded to yell at her. Loudly. Good reminder to watch my own tone of voice with my kids, by the way. And this is why I do not like WalMart shopping. Excuse me, it's "WalMarts" when you live in the south. Have a great day.
Let me back up. The list of what each parent is to supply for the big kindergarten Valentine's Day bash came home yesterday. M. needs a Valentine's gift bag by Monday so he can start decorating it for the party. I am assigned to provide 21 party favors for their treat bags. So, since the boys spent the night at their grandparents last night and D. is away for Army drill weekend and we needed formula anyway, Boo and I headed out this morning a little after 8:00 to try to find these items, because the "happy time" window before Boo needs a nap is pretty narrow when she wakes up so early in the morning.
I do have one little digression from a story that basically has no point anyway, which I will interject here. Why is it that on a weekday, when I'm in a hurry to get to piano lessons or a meeting somewhere, everyone on the island drives about 10-20 miles under the speed limit, but on Saturday, when nothing is open anyway, everyone feels the need to ride my bumper and act like we're all trying out for NASCAR and I'm just crimping their style by driving 46 MPH in a 45 MPH zone? I don't get it at all. Because, as I found when I drove to the Dollar General, nothing is open before 9am anyhow.
Seeing that sign on the door, I looked at the clock on my dashboard which said 8:38, and realized it would not do to sit in the parking lot for that long, so I resigned myself to do my shopping at WalMart this morning. Being open 24 hours means it was, of course, hopping. Perhaps all those Dale Jr. wannabes this morning were actually in a race to get the closest parking spot at WalMart. Or it could have been Lowe's. They were open, too, I saw. At any rate, Boo and I found ourselves at my least favorite shopping destination this morning. If Target wasn't in the next town over, we'd go there, but, alas, I'm not sure the rumors I keep hearing of our town getting a Target are ever going to come true.
We found M.'s gift bag, the groceries I needed and some party favors, as well as the required Valentine's cards they will be needing shortly (might as well spare myself another trip out here and get them now!), paid for said items and began our walk back to the parking lot. Because the seat on the WalMart carts is somehow wider than the ones at the grocery store, Boo's carseat will not set on it the way I usually do. This means her carseat takes up all of the cart, while my purchases were placed underneath. This is an important tidbit, because as I approached our car, I noticed that one of the bags was drooping off the bottom of the cart and spilling bananas into the parking lot. I looked behind me and noticed we'd already left a box of chai behind as well. So, looking so put together, I gathered up all the scattered purchases, put them in the van, took the cart to the cart corral, carried Boo in her 500 pound carrier back to the car.....and looked at her feet. One sock missing. I looked back at the corral, there was one purple sock all on its lonesome there where she had kicked it off. Meanwhile, there were two cars waiting for me to hurry up, lady, and get your car loaded already since we had a close spot, but I ran over and retrieved the sock anyway. Oh, I forgot to mention that while loading the bags, it occurred to me I ought to check and make sure I hadn't left anything else behind when the bag slipped. Sure enough, only two packages of party favors when there should have been three. At least I was pretty sure I'd been carrying 3 through the store. I checked the receipt - only 2 "novelties" listed. Somehow the third package never made it through the checkout with me. It's probably still sitting there on the counter, or has already been rung up with whoever came along behind me. Someone is probably at home now putting away their purchases saying, "Why do I have a package of little stretchy hearts???"
By this time, the Dollar Tree was open, so I moved the car closer to it and ran in with Boo. They had the same party favors!! I would only need to buy one!! Then I checked my purse. No cash. None. Back to the car we went and I scavenged through the change holder and came up with $0.17 and a handful of peppermints from Sonic. So close, but yet, so far. Am I pathetic, or what? Then I happened to look in the back seat. J. had left his lunchbox there yesterday afternoon! And he had just enough change in his "just in case there is a bake sale in the cafeteria" pocket for me to run back to the Dollar Tree and buy the last package of party favors (remind me not to reprimand him for his carelessness, just this once). I almost did the dance of joy right there in the parking lot, but decided I looked foolish enough as it was. Though I don't think I looked nearly as foolish as the woman across the parking lot who, it looked like out of the corner of my eye, popped her child in the face (at least, she did something in the child's face, because when I looked up, child was holding her mouth) and proceeded to yell at her. Loudly. Good reminder to watch my own tone of voice with my kids, by the way. And this is why I do not like WalMart shopping. Excuse me, it's "WalMarts" when you live in the south. Have a great day.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Reverence
When I hear similar messages from several writers or speakers, I begin to think God is leading them to say something He especially wants His people to hear. If so, I desperately want to listen. I’ve been reading and hearing about revival in several different places in the last few days, and I’m growing more and more aware of how needy we are in this respect. Nancy Leigh DeMoss has been talking this week about revival and she’s been sharing about some of the great movements of God that have been seen in fairly recent history – like the Great Awakening and the Welsh revival. She was talking today about how when the Spirit of God moves, people begin to be broken over their sin. Oh, how we need that again today. Oh, how I need that today.
In all the talk about prayer recently, I want to be sure that in my zeal to be doctrinally correct that I never lose sight of a right passion for worship. I want to worship my Lord by believing correctly, yes, indeed. And I want to worship Him with all my being, as well. By how I pray, how often I pray, for what I ask when I pray – I want to be worshipping Him. I have heard the people who tend toward the contemplative prayer methods ask what we are afraid of; they say there isn’t anything wrong with reading the Bible then sitting quietly and pondering what we’ve read. And that is true. But only so long as we approach the Bible as God’s Word, His complete revelation to us, through His Son. Nothing that we ponder in that quiet must contradict the settled Word. And we must be thinking intelligently on what we’ve read and what it means and how to apply it correctly, not just vainly repeating a phrase and waiting for a mystical revelation.
I do think that we who are doctrinally conservative need to put into practice what we know to be true. We need to be on our faces in repentance before our holy God. I need to be on my face in repentance before our holy God. When Isaiah was given a vision of God on His throne in all His holiness, he recognized his sinfulness, his total unworthiness to be there. We need to be praying that God would instill us with such a sense of awe for His holiness, and such a passion to obey Him at any cost, that our lives will be transformed. I am talking to myself here. I know that I stand on God’s Word as my sure foundation. Where I falter, however, is that, though I know the truth, far too often I allow the distractions of the everyday to encroach. I do not spend the time praying and meditating on the Word (and I mean that in the plainest meaning of the word – thinking deeply upon what I’ve read and pondering what it means) that would transform the way I relate first to God and then to those around me. And for me, to know the right thing to do, and to do it not, is sin.
I am beginning to cry out to God to show me any wicked way in me that is hindering me from living the Spirit-filled life I so want to live. I am beginning to cry out to God to grant me not just a desire, but a passion to obey His Word. I do not want to just be a hearer of the Word, I want to obey it! I am beginning to cry out to God that He would grant me the kind of longing for revival that I would weep and pray with dedication that my heart would be filled with a passion for His holiness and glory. Only through His power will we see the change we so desperately want to see. When He brings conviction of sin, then people will begin to come to the Savior.
Before those great revivals, God moved in the hearts of His people to pray. Some of those believers sowed prayers in tears for years before they ever saw fruit. May I be faithful to pray and seek His face, and seek to live a holy life before His face day by day. May I not be distracted by the tyranny of the day to day things, but may I do those day to day things to His glory.
When Moses saw the burning bush, and God spoke to him, he hid his face when he realized that it was Yahweh who spoke to him. When Solomon finished the temple, and the Ark was brought in, when the priests came out of the holy place, “…the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:11) When Isaiah saw the LORD, he said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5) After God revealed Himself to Job and spoke, Job said, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:4-5) John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) And when John the beloved apostle saw the risen, glorified Lord Jesus in Revelation, he fell at His feet as though dead. (Revelation 1:17)
When we recognize Who God really is, we cease striving, and know that He is God. Our pride is brought low to that poverty of spirit that Jesus spoke of. Our vain arguments are silenced before His supreme holiness. I pray that we will begin to hunger and yearn for that kind of understanding of our King, our Savior, and our Lord. He is not our buddy, boyfriend, homeboy, copilot or any of that. He is LORD. I pray that He will bring the conviction to our hearts to fall on our faces before Him, confess our sin, and passionately obey out of a heart of reverent fear, love and worship.
In all the talk about prayer recently, I want to be sure that in my zeal to be doctrinally correct that I never lose sight of a right passion for worship. I want to worship my Lord by believing correctly, yes, indeed. And I want to worship Him with all my being, as well. By how I pray, how often I pray, for what I ask when I pray – I want to be worshipping Him. I have heard the people who tend toward the contemplative prayer methods ask what we are afraid of; they say there isn’t anything wrong with reading the Bible then sitting quietly and pondering what we’ve read. And that is true. But only so long as we approach the Bible as God’s Word, His complete revelation to us, through His Son. Nothing that we ponder in that quiet must contradict the settled Word. And we must be thinking intelligently on what we’ve read and what it means and how to apply it correctly, not just vainly repeating a phrase and waiting for a mystical revelation.
I do think that we who are doctrinally conservative need to put into practice what we know to be true. We need to be on our faces in repentance before our holy God. I need to be on my face in repentance before our holy God. When Isaiah was given a vision of God on His throne in all His holiness, he recognized his sinfulness, his total unworthiness to be there. We need to be praying that God would instill us with such a sense of awe for His holiness, and such a passion to obey Him at any cost, that our lives will be transformed. I am talking to myself here. I know that I stand on God’s Word as my sure foundation. Where I falter, however, is that, though I know the truth, far too often I allow the distractions of the everyday to encroach. I do not spend the time praying and meditating on the Word (and I mean that in the plainest meaning of the word – thinking deeply upon what I’ve read and pondering what it means) that would transform the way I relate first to God and then to those around me. And for me, to know the right thing to do, and to do it not, is sin.
I am beginning to cry out to God to show me any wicked way in me that is hindering me from living the Spirit-filled life I so want to live. I am beginning to cry out to God to grant me not just a desire, but a passion to obey His Word. I do not want to just be a hearer of the Word, I want to obey it! I am beginning to cry out to God that He would grant me the kind of longing for revival that I would weep and pray with dedication that my heart would be filled with a passion for His holiness and glory. Only through His power will we see the change we so desperately want to see. When He brings conviction of sin, then people will begin to come to the Savior.
Before those great revivals, God moved in the hearts of His people to pray. Some of those believers sowed prayers in tears for years before they ever saw fruit. May I be faithful to pray and seek His face, and seek to live a holy life before His face day by day. May I not be distracted by the tyranny of the day to day things, but may I do those day to day things to His glory.
When Moses saw the burning bush, and God spoke to him, he hid his face when he realized that it was Yahweh who spoke to him. When Solomon finished the temple, and the Ark was brought in, when the priests came out of the holy place, “…the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” (1 Kings 8:11) When Isaiah saw the LORD, he said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5) After God revealed Himself to Job and spoke, Job said, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:4-5) John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) And when John the beloved apostle saw the risen, glorified Lord Jesus in Revelation, he fell at His feet as though dead. (Revelation 1:17)
When we recognize Who God really is, we cease striving, and know that He is God. Our pride is brought low to that poverty of spirit that Jesus spoke of. Our vain arguments are silenced before His supreme holiness. I pray that we will begin to hunger and yearn for that kind of understanding of our King, our Savior, and our Lord. He is not our buddy, boyfriend, homeboy, copilot or any of that. He is LORD. I pray that He will bring the conviction to our hearts to fall on our faces before Him, confess our sin, and passionately obey out of a heart of reverent fear, love and worship.
Writer's Blah
Feeling the writer's block beginning again....I have a serious post I'm wanting to write, but can't seem to get the thoughts that have been rolling around in my head the past few days to settle out. I need to go read my Bible and pray on it some more, I think.
Also, I had a great post about something I'm dealing with one of my kids about, but took it down, too. I started thinking about how I would feel if all my dirty laundry had been aired by my mom when I was growing up. I wouldn't have liked it a bit. So, I'm rethinking how much I wanted to say, and it's probably going into the blogging netherworld of the delete button. So, for this moment, that's all I've got. Must go be about the business of real life now. I'll get back to the blog as time permits.
Also, I had a great post about something I'm dealing with one of my kids about, but took it down, too. I started thinking about how I would feel if all my dirty laundry had been aired by my mom when I was growing up. I wouldn't have liked it a bit. So, I'm rethinking how much I wanted to say, and it's probably going into the blogging netherworld of the delete button. So, for this moment, that's all I've got. Must go be about the business of real life now. I'll get back to the blog as time permits.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Why the Last of the Baby Weight is So Hard to Lose
I have a membership at the local YMCA. I had to put it on hold while expecting little R., however, for my sciatic nerve hurt so badly I wasn't able to use the treadmill. Sorry if that's TMI. Anyway, now that Boo is 8 months old, I finally had the hold released. Problem is, the child care is only open from 8am-12pm, then opens again at 4pm. If I don't get to the Y by 8:45 at the latest, there is no more room for infants, and I don't get to exercise. Keep in mind that the boys have to be at school at about 8:10 (they are late after 8:30, but teachers want them there early to do their morning work, and I aim to please), and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the Y from there. Also, most mornings I like to walk the boys into school rather than dropping them off at carline, so I try to leave the house by 8:50 am. Try to, anyway. The boys do not have the same sense of urgency as I most mornings, to say the least. When they move too much like pond water on my gym days, they do get dropped off at carline so I can join the Amazing Race to get to the child care door at the Y before the other supermoms who do not have older kids to deal with (most of whom are also pencil thin, go figure). I am not trying to be pencil thin, just healthier, by the way.
So. I made it to the Y twice last week. Yes, twice. Here's how this week has gone: Monday morning I opened the formula can to make Boo's first bottle and realized we were precariously low on that necessary commodity. Meaning, I'd be going to the grocery store after visiting the school rather than the Y that morning. I got theturtles boys to school that morning, went back home to finish baby's breakfast which she hadn't eaten well beforehand and noticed my answering machine light was blinking. The message was from my weeping oldest child asking if I remembered that the awards assembly was that morning, was I coming? Bummer. No, I hadn't remembered. For the record, communication (or lack thereof) is a constant headache with the school, and I'd never gotten notice about what time this assembly was supposed to be, and most parents don't come anyway since it's during the school day. But it is extremely important to this child that his mom be one of the three that do show up, and I desperately want his memories of his childhood to be that we were there for him. As I finished listening to the weepy message, the phone rang again, and caller ID showed the school number. Great, I hope no one is sick. It was J.'s teacher apologizing profusely, but J. is very upset, and the assembly is in the cafeteria in 10 minutes, would I talk to him? So, I did, and I told him I'd bring R.'s breakfast and be there as soon as I could. And I was. Then I hung around 20 minutes after his assembly so I could be there for my 5-year-old's assembly as well. The look on both their faces made it all worth it. And at 10am I managed to drag baby to the grocery and get back home without any meltdowns on her part. So, no exercise on Monday.
Tuesday: Well, you can read some of that in my goofy poem. Better to laugh than cry, I always say. After driving back home for lunch box, then back home again for a jacket and carrying it into the school, in a fit of optimism I drove to the Y. The other contestants in the Amazing Child Care Room Race must have been a little slow that day, for R. got the last baby slot at 9am. I was so tired from all the running around I really didn't feel like doing much, but I managed 30 minutes on the treadmill and the legtorture devices weight machines. R. was just beginning to scream when I arrived, so, all in all, not a bad trip to the Y.
Today: Baby wakes up with nasty, nasty snotty nose. After three, yes count 'em, three trips to the Y since reinstating my membership, she caught a cold. Not surprising, I suppose. Then oldest son woke up saying, "My stomach hurts. It really hurts." No temperature, no vomiting (thankfully!), but I let him stay home. This is the most honest kid I've ever known, and he absolutely hates missing school (he's weird like me), so if he says he feels too bad to go, I tend to believe him. But there's also no TV or computer games. This is NOT a fun day for him, and he just finished the mountain of homework his teacher sent home for him to do today when I stopped in after walking younger son to class. So, I'm home today. No Y. And it's ok. It's not like I really wanted to go today anyway.....But just in case anyone wanted to know why it's taking me so long to lose the 20 pounds I said way back a long time ago that I wanted to lose, that's a big reason right there.
So. I made it to the Y twice last week. Yes, twice. Here's how this week has gone: Monday morning I opened the formula can to make Boo's first bottle and realized we were precariously low on that necessary commodity. Meaning, I'd be going to the grocery store after visiting the school rather than the Y that morning. I got the
Tuesday: Well, you can read some of that in my goofy poem. Better to laugh than cry, I always say. After driving back home for lunch box, then back home again for a jacket and carrying it into the school, in a fit of optimism I drove to the Y. The other contestants in the Amazing Child Care Room Race must have been a little slow that day, for R. got the last baby slot at 9am. I was so tired from all the running around I really didn't feel like doing much, but I managed 30 minutes on the treadmill and the leg
Today: Baby wakes up with nasty, nasty snotty nose. After three, yes count 'em, three trips to the Y since reinstating my membership, she caught a cold. Not surprising, I suppose. Then oldest son woke up saying, "My stomach hurts. It really hurts." No temperature, no vomiting (thankfully!), but I let him stay home. This is the most honest kid I've ever known, and he absolutely hates missing school (he's weird like me), so if he says he feels too bad to go, I tend to believe him. But there's also no TV or computer games. This is NOT a fun day for him, and he just finished the mountain of homework his teacher sent home for him to do today when I stopped in after walking younger son to class. So, I'm home today. No Y. And it's ok. It's not like I really wanted to go today anyway.....But just in case anyone wanted to know why it's taking me so long to lose the 20 pounds I said way back a long time ago that I wanted to lose, that's a big reason right there.
Thank You, Jules!
Wow! A very special thank you to Jules at Everyday Mommy for the beautiful new look she's given this blog! It looks wonderful - so refreshing. Thank you so much!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Day I've Had
I wear several hats at my house it’s true
But today, I’ll discuss with you only two.
The first hat’s title that comes to mind
Is “Rememberer of Things That We’ve Left Behind.”
This morning as toward school we did drive,
I asked, “Have you lunch boxes?” Then, oh, man alive,
The answer from middle child was, sadly, "No."
So, a big u-turn I did and home we did go.
When at school we arrived with lunch boxes in tow,
I looked up at second son and said a bit madly,
“M., where’s your jacket?” This morning had started badly.
He shrugged, and I sent him on to class with the statement
I’d return with said jacket, for winter cold showed no sign of abatement.
Back home I returned to retrieve clothing piece,
And drove back to school with jacket of fleece.
But that first hat is just one of my many addresses.
The next we discuss is “She Who Cleans Up All Our Messes.”
Yes, this one is relentless at times it does seem,
But this is what it takes to make this house gleam.
One thing that I ask, with forehead awrinkle,
Is why my two boys can’t hit potty with tinkle?
Bleach is my friend when cleaning that room,
How in the world does he get toothpaste all over bathroom?
And also, I’ve managed to get laundry folded and stacked
And delivered to boys’ room, wondering, will it be unpacked?
There’s something about little boys and clean clothes,
They’ll walk round that basket asking, "Did you wash those?"
And really I’m not meaning to whine,
For now my clean house is smelling of pine.
(Well, not pine, exactly, more like bleach and Mr. Clean, but it had to rhyme!)
That was really bad, I know.........
But today, I’ll discuss with you only two.
The first hat’s title that comes to mind
Is “Rememberer of Things That We’ve Left Behind.”
This morning as toward school we did drive,
I asked, “Have you lunch boxes?” Then, oh, man alive,
The answer from middle child was, sadly, "No."
So, a big u-turn I did and home we did go.
When at school we arrived with lunch boxes in tow,
I looked up at second son and said a bit madly,
“M., where’s your jacket?” This morning had started badly.
He shrugged, and I sent him on to class with the statement
I’d return with said jacket, for winter cold showed no sign of abatement.
Back home I returned to retrieve clothing piece,
And drove back to school with jacket of fleece.
But that first hat is just one of my many addresses.
The next we discuss is “She Who Cleans Up All Our Messes.”
Yes, this one is relentless at times it does seem,
But this is what it takes to make this house gleam.
One thing that I ask, with forehead awrinkle,
Is why my two boys can’t hit potty with tinkle?
Bleach is my friend when cleaning that room,
How in the world does he get toothpaste all over bathroom?
And also, I’ve managed to get laundry folded and stacked
And delivered to boys’ room, wondering, will it be unpacked?
There’s something about little boys and clean clothes,
They’ll walk round that basket asking, "Did you wash those?"
And really I’m not meaning to whine,
For now my clean house is smelling of pine.
(Well, not pine, exactly, more like bleach and Mr. Clean, but it had to rhyme!)
That was really bad, I know.........
Monday, January 29, 2007
My 100th Post!
Well, I’ve made it to my 100th post. Somehow, it's kind of fitting that I've hit it the same week my kids hit their 100th day of the school year. So, while they've been getting their 100th day projects done, I've also been working on my post. I have to say, I’m glad my husband encouraged me on this blogging venture, though I still get nervous when hitting the post button, especially on my “weightier” topics, and I probably always will. I have a deep desire that what I write be honoring to God - even the lightweight things - and I’m actually by nature very shy and reserved, so becoming a blogger has been a little scary for me. I was going to post a picture of me with my family on this one, but we can’t seem to take one that doesn’t come out blurry. It must be time to look into a new digital camera. I’ll have to save the picture for a future post, I suppose. In what seems to be a bloggy tradition, I’ve written 100 things about me to share with anyone who may be reading. I’m not promising they are all interesting things, mind you, so if you plan to read this, you might want to grab a tea, coffee, Diet Coke or other caffeinated beverage to aid in staying awake! Here goes:
1. I am a child of the King. By God’s grace, I was 5 years old when He granted me the faith to pray to receive Jesus as my savior. My parents wisely prayed with me and then waited for God to continue to lead in my life.
2. At the age of 7, I grabbed my mother by the hand and dragged her down the aisle, because I was ready to be baptized. I went through a “Precious Lambs” class our church offered to disciple children making a profession of faith, after which I was baptized.
3. God continued to hold me, and at about the age of 12 I began to more fully understand about Jesus’ Lordship and to understand how to study my Bible and learn about Him. I’m not sure how much I understood at 5, but I know that God kept me and allowed me to grow in understanding and grace, and I know that today I am trusting in Christ’s righteousness and His sacrificial death on the cross as the basis of my salvation. Thank God, He is still holding me and I am still learning and growing in faith, by His grace, and He has kept me from ever straying too far, though I have, on occasion, done some dumb things and sinned for sure. By His grace, He will grant me the faith to persevere to the end, for my hope is in His righteousness, not my own.
4. I was born on Memorial Day. My birthday is May 31, so whenever that falls on a Monday, it is Memorial Day.
5. I grew up on the Space Coast of FL – just a short drive from Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach, and only 45 minutes from Disney World.
6. I loved going to Disney World when I was a kid!
7. I have one brother who is three years younger than me.
8. My parents still live in the same house they’ve lived in since I was one year old.
9. When rockets would launch from Kennedy Space Center, our windows would rattle, it was that loud.
10. When the Space Shuttle would re-enter the atmosphere on its way to land at Kennedy Space Center, the sonic boom would startle me so badly I’d jump about 5 feet every time.
11. On January 28, 1986, I was sitting in my 9th grade biology class when we heard the distinct rumble of the Space Shuttle Challenger’s lift off. We in the class ran to the window when someone yelled, “It’s the shuttle!” It didn’t take long for us to realize something had gone terribly wrong when we saw that smoke trail bloom from the straight line it should have been into two big, deformed clouds. As we could see debris falling away, someone in the class kept saying, “They must be parachuting out, they must be okay.” Tragically, they weren’t. That was a sad day.
12. That was also the year we all wore neon. It was the 80’s, notoriously known for some tremendous fashion mistakes. I remember the neon, because I remember how everyone looked that day when it was so eerily silent during the class changes as we could still see that abnormal smoke trail in the sky.
13. I went through the spiral-perm, big-hair phase that seemed to be required in the 80’s.
14. I played the clarinet in the junior high and senior high marching bands.
15. I took 3 years of high school Spanish, but I haven’t retained enough to be able to understand much more than “por favor” and “gracias.”
16. I was on the staff of the creative writing magazine for our high school during my junior and senior years. I really enjoyed learning how to put together the layouts, and I learned a great deal from my writing teacher, whose two favorite phrases were, “No schmaltz!” and “Show, don’t tell.”
17. During that writing class I started writing a book that has been shelved for, lo, these many years. My husband still says I need to write it. Maybe I will when the kids are grown, Lord willing. We’ll see.
18. I walked to high school until my best friend got a car, then we drove together most days.
19. After I graduated from high school, I went to the University of Florida. Go Gators!
20. I majored in Communication Processes and Disorders. Try saying that 10 times fast!
21. I met my husband at Northwest Baptist Church in Gainesville, FL when I was a junior and he had just come to UF for his graduate work.
22. He had to ask me out at least 3 times before I realized he liked me as more than just a fellow student at the university.
23. I can be a little dense sometimes. See number 22.
24. D. asked me to marry him Easter weekend of 1993. I said yes, obviously; I'm not that dense!
25. After graduating with my B.A. degree in May of 1993, I completed one semester of graduate school, specializing in Audiology.
26. D. and I got married on December 18, 1993, just one week before Christmas. I was 22 and he was 24.
27. We went to Disney World and Sanibel Island, FL for our honeymoon.
28. I quit graduate school after we got married because I was stressed out about school and we thought it might be hard to be newlyweds and both of us writing a thesis.
29. I tend to work too hard when it comes to school. I can’t seem to stop studying, and I stress myself out.
30. I got a job working for an HMO, first as a clerk and then as a claims examiner.
31. I really did not like working the phones during that job. Some of the customers and medical office managers were downright mean.
32. After D. finished his Master’s degree, he had to go to San Antonio, TX for three months of Officer Training School for his Army commitment. We drove out to Texas together, then I flew home alone and cried the whole way.
33. While D. was in Texas, I packed up the house to get ready for our move to Tampa, FL, where his new job was waiting for him.
34. We lived in Tampa for a few months before moving on out to Brandon where we’d been going to church. You can read a little about that time here.
35. We bought a miniature schnauzer and named him Oliver. He still lives with us, but he’s neurotic as can be and drives me up the wall sometimes. But he’s really snuggly and cute, too. He’s my dog.
36. We bought our first house in 1997, and it had a grapefruit tree in the backyard. That is about the only thing that would grow back there. Everything else we planted died. We thought the soil might be toxic.
37. I’m not good with plants. I forget to water them and they die.
38. I tried to go back to school and work part time as an apprentice speech pathologist, but I felt so not cut out for the job and stressed out that I threw up every morning before going to work. We decided that it was time for me to quit school for good, and to look forward with no regrets, and I went back to work for the Lutheran ministry in Tampa where I had been, and I stayed there until a month before our first child was born.
39. We went to Cancun, Mexico for our last vacation without kids in May of 1997.
40. In October 1998, our first son, J. was born.
41. In June 2000 I miscarried at 10 weeks and we grieved the loss of a baby we never got to know.
42. In April 2001, we welcomed home our second son, M.
43. On September 11, 2001, I was preparing breakfast and taking care of our two little guys while watching the Today show that morning. I stopped everything when they showed the footage of a plane flying into the World Trade Center. I was holding my little 5-month-old in my arms and watching the TV in disbelief, thinking, “What is happening?” when the second plane hit. And I cried as I watched the buildings collapse into rubble and thought of all those people who had just entered eternity, and grieved that many probably didn’t know the Lord. My friend, Charla, called right then and said, “Are you watching the news? What’s this going to mean for D.?” I hadn’t even thought that D.’s Army National Guard commitment might be called upon, but, it certainly did look like we were under attack.
44. What it meant for D. in the early days was a call to 3 months active duty guarding the Armory on the night shift. So, while he technically was still at home, he was gone all night (12 hour shift) and sleeping all day. I took the boys to the park, the mall and Chick-fil-A a lot those days, because keeping two very small children quiet all day is very hard!
45. In July 2002, D. accepted a new job in southern Indiana, and we packed up and moved. He was hoping to have a little free time to go back to school and perhaps do some teaching eventually.
46. In October, 2002, D. told me he’d quit his new job. The work environment was such that I understood he’d absolutely done the right thing. But it was scary, all the same.
47. Two days after quitting, D. got the call to go to Bosnia for a year with a Kentucky Army National Guard unit that needed someone with just his qualifications. Though I cried many hours over the impending separation, we definitely saw God’s hand in providing a job for my husband.
48. I spent that year in Indiana, found a church home, made some good friends and got as involved as I could there. I enrolled J. in preschool so that he would meet some friends, too. During what could have been a very lonely year, God used that time to teach me and grow me and strengthen my dependence on Him. I praise Him for this, too.
49. When D. came home in October 2003, we packed up the house and moved to the southeast, to our current home, because, once again, God had led him to just the right job at just the right time.
50. In September 2004, I suffered a second miscarriage at 11 weeks, and we, again, grieved the loss of a baby we would not get to meet.
51. A week before Christmas that year, D. got a call from his commander that he was slated to go to Kuwait/Iraq for 6 months.
52. I had just learned the day before that I was expecting again.
53. In January 2005, D. left for Kuwait.
54. One week later, I suffered our third miscarriage. This one was the hardest, because we had told the boys before D. left that we were expecting another baby. We told them earlier than I would have liked to because we did not want them to be confused later on when they remembered that while Daddy was gone, Mommy’s tummy got bigger and a baby came along, since I wasn’t showing yet when D. left. They had not known about the others. I had to go through 5 long, painful days of the miscarriage effects while trying to keep it together for the boys and not let them know what a hard time I was having.
55. I still get weepy when the boys ask about “the baby that died.”
56. I got to welcome my husband home in June 2005. Because he was returning from Iraq, the airline gave me and the boys special permission to go all the way up to the gate so we could meet him as he deboarded the plane, and the boys waved the "Welcome Home" signs they had made. He looked so handsome coming off that plane in his uniform.
57. In September, 2005, we again learned I was expecting.
58. Our sweet little girl, R., was born in May 2006, and what a little blessing she is!
59. I don’t like to decorate.
60. I’m not sure I’ve ever bought a pair of drapes for my house. Every house we’ve had, I’ve just lived with what was already there, because it’s always been nice enough.
61. I don’t like clutter.
62. I like my walls to be wallpaper-free. Really, my tastes are pretty simple.
63. I really like Coke Slurpees from 7-Eleven, and whenever we are in Florida, I have to get one.
64. My second favorite drink is a Diet Coke with cherry from Sonic. Love their crushed ice.
65. Oh, and tea. I drink lots and lots of tea – cold, hot, flavored and not.
66. My favorite food is Italian food – pasta, pizza, you name it. I hope we get an Olive Garden close by soon.
67. My second favorite food is nachos with cheddar cheese, refried beans and good salsa. That’s our favorite snack around here. Not the healthiest, I know.
68. I’m right-handed.
69. I really enjoy reading – especially mysteries.
70. I spend way, way too much time on the computer. Blogging has become a small obsession – does that get any better now that I’ve reached the 100th post??
71. I struggle with patience. A lot.
72. I don’t like bananas by themselves.
73. But I could eat a whole loaf of banana bread in one sitting. I don’t, but I could!
74. I used to really like music, but lately I’ve found I climb the walls if I have it on all day.
75. I love to listen to good preaching on the radio when I’m cleaning house. Two of my favorites are John MacArthur and Alistair Begg.
76. I’m a morning person. I absolutely cannot stand to stay in bed or in my pajamas late into the morning. Once I’m awake, it’s time to seize the day and get moving. Drives my kids nuts.
77. I get kind of loopy when I stay up too late.
78. Some TV shows I enjoy when I have time to watch are: LOST, Jericho, Monk, Psych, and House. I don’t watch any daytime TV at all.
79. Because neither of us are night owls, we tape most of them and watch later if we have time.
80. I like strawberries.
81. I consider eating watermelon to be an excellent way to hydrate my body. I could eat half a melon in a sitting.
82. When I’m pregnant, I can’t stand to eat chicken.
83. Green beans with butter and Creole seasoning are another favorite.
84. I don’t like going to the gym, but I love the way I feel once I’ve finished exercising for the day.
85. I don’t like taking my dog for a walk because he winds his leash around every mailbox.
86. One of my biggest fears is finding a frog or snake in the house. Gives me the willies.
87. I really like to type.
88. I always feel I’ve said too much.
89. One of my favorite phrases from a song is: “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.” I find myself saying that a lot.
90. One of my favorite Bible verses is: “You will keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3
91. I have lots of other favorite Bible verses, too.
92. I’m too serious a lot of the time.
93. My husband tells me often, “Lighten up, Beck.” But he says it with a smile.
94. While I love and enjoy my children greatly, I am finding that I don’t think I’m a “kid person.” I have to really work at remembering where they are coming from and not treating them like mini-adults.
95. I really like to go to the movies, but I’m finding there are fewer and fewer worth going to see these days. (Aside: We did really enjoy Night at the Museum .)
96. I like to cook, but don’t like coming up with what to cook each day. I get into a rut sometimes.
97. I’ve always wished I could be a runner, but have never wanted to do what it takes to get over the hump of learning how to run.
98. I like to have lots of big windows on my house. I don’t like feeling like I’m in a cave. Lots of light, please.
99. Sunny days can really perk up my mood.
100. I like to take the kids to the beach.
Wow. That is probably way more information about me than anyone could possibly want. If anyone is still here, thanks for reading!
Friday, January 26, 2007
How Should Christians Pray?
I’ve read a lot recently about contemplative prayer on several blogs, and after reading the storm going on over at Everyday Mommy's blog regarding an article about contemplative prayer practices, I’ve been doing some thinking and biblical searching. Before I start, I need to say that the area of prayer is one that I am working on. I am not trying to say I know everything about prayer. I also am very convicted while doing this study that I do not take concentrated time to pray often enough. Being a mom with two school age children and a baby that is up before the sun most days can make finding blocks of time for prayer challenging. But I am working on that area of my life. I do take the time every day to read my Bible, and I know I ought to be praying more as well. This is not a theological dissertation level presentation on prayer. This is one stay-at-home mom’s honest attempt to be like the Bereans and search the scripture during a time when many differing methods and ideas about prayer are being brought into the church, and we need to be discerning.
People in our culture today seem to be searching for “spirituality.” That can have all kinds of definitions depending on who is using the term. Something that is becoming more and more mainstream within the evangelical community is the idea of contemplative prayer. I’ve looked at some of the discernment ministries’ discussions of this phenomenon, and I am concerned by how similar it is to the transcendental meditation methods of the Eastern religions. Many of these ministries’ articles are written by people who were heavily involved in transcendental meditation before coming to Christ and being delivered from error, so they are more aware of subtle meanings of terms being used by the contemplatives that I might miss, having no experience with mysticism or New Age practices. Specifically troubling to me are the discussions of “breath prayer” and “entering the silence” and focusing on one word from a passage of scripture and finding the unique meaning of that word for you personally and meditating on that one word and using it as a sort of mantra.
While I wonder if some of the Christian people who use some of these terms may not mean the same thing that Eastern mysticism does by them, I believe they are playing with fire. We need to be precise with our vocabulary. If we are using the same terms that pagan religious practices use, we’d better be very clear what we mean. So, in light of these concerns, I have gone to the Bible to see what our Lord taught about prayer.
During the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6, Jesus first instructed his disciples in some things not to do while praying: 1.) Not to be like the hypocrites, praying standing in the synagogue or on the street so that they would be seen by men (this was the primary motivation). He said, rather, that they should go into their room and pray in secret, get alone with God, motivation is praying to God, not being seen by others (there are times in the Bible, too where corporate prayer is modeled, but this is specifically addressing personal prayer); 2.) Not to use vain repetitions as the pagans do. I believe the mantra type of clearing the mind of all but one word (even if that word came from a Bible passage) and repeating it over and over falls in this category. More on that in a minute.
Then Jesus gave His disciples a model prayer: (All the scripture references I use are the NKJV)
Matthew 6:9-13
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Not to belabor the fact, but nowhere here does Jesus begin to go on and talk about “breath prayers” or “breathing God in and my sin out” or anything like that. He simply modeled for His followers how to talk to God, for that is what prayer is. First, He focused on to Whom He prayed. Then He spoke words of praise and recognition of His holiness and sovereignty, and our prayer that God’s will be done. He acknowledged that our sustenance for daily life comes from God. He modeled that we are to ask forgiveness for sin (though Jesus had no sin of which to be forgiven, He showed us how to ask for our forgiveness), and He stressed that we are to be forgiving of others. He modeled that we are to recognize that we are vulnerable to temptation and to ask God to deliver us. Then the prayer ends with acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and glory. This prayer was given as a model of how we are to pray. Not that we are to vainly repeat these words like some mystical formula, but that we would know how to talk to God.
Something else I’d like to point out is Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” Notice, we are to love Him with our MIND. This implies active involvement, not an emptying of all thought, as is taught in the contemplative model. When we pray and think on God’s word, we ought to be using our mind and learning what the passage we study means. Along these lines, I add that words have meaning, and they have meaning in context. We must understand the context of a passage we are studying, not focus on one word alone. The passage always goes with its context. There is nothing biblical about saying a word over and over and over until we have gone into another state of consciousness. I do not see this advocated anywhere in scripture! (Not all Christian authors I’ve read take their methods this far, but with imprecise language, the door is left open a crack for less discerning people to be led into error when teachers come along who do advocate a deep meditation that opens up the practitioner to spiritual deception.) Instead, in the book of Acts I see believers being encouraged to be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to see if what they were being told was true. No where does it say they took a passage and read it slowly to wait for one word to jump out and then focus on that one word and search for meaning in it alone. I do not mean to imply there is anything wrong with reading a passage slowly or rereading a passage to try to get your mind around what it means. I’m talking about approaching a passage with some mystical expectation of enlightenment meant only for you. I know that God can and does use passages to teach us things we need to hear, but it is not through taking one word and repeating it over and over. It is through conviction that in some way our life is not lining up with what we’re reading and we need to change or that we need to put into practice what we are reading in our daily life.
I have read the verse in Romans 8:26 that says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This, however, is not in response to our entering a mindless silence and waiting on His groanings. Rather, it is an ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit on our behalf because He knows we do not know what we should pray. This is a glimpse of His mercy and grace, for even in striving to pray as we ought, we do not know how, so He intercedes for us. There have been times in my life, also, when I’ve been distressed and unable to pray a coherent prayer, and quoting scripture was a great comfort at those times, and sometimes all I could manage to say was, "I will bless the Lord at all times," or "Help, Lord, I feel so overwhelmed." I know that the Holy Spirit did intercede for me, even when I couldn’t voice my prayer, but I did not look for some mystical experience from the words of scripture He used to comfort me, I just expressed my faith that He is in control. I am deeply grateful for the grace He grants us, and that I don't have to word every prayer exactly right. But I do want to be careful to avoid areas that I know would not be pleasing to Him or that would seek to incorporate pagan methods to come to Him.
Also, as I’ve looked in the Old Testament, anytime prayers are recorded or talked about we don’t see someone repeating a mantra and going into a silence of emptied thought. The Psalms are also recorded prayers. In none of them do I see the type of meditation advocated that is being taught through the contemplative prayer movement, which basically looks to be a form of transcendental meditation with Christianized terms layered on top. Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The first part of this verse is often used by those advocating we “enter the silence.” But I am looking at the context of this verse, and it is not the silent, empty the mind of all thought kind of stillness that is being talked about. For the context, read all of Psalm 46. It is a discussion of how God is the refuge of His people, while the nations are raging. As the nations war and rage, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Point being, He is sovereign even over the nations, and He will still their rebellion. Another point being, His people do not need to panic, for He WILL be exalted in all the earth. Again, to use this as an invitation to enter the silence of Eastern meditation is a faulty reading of this verse.
As to the idea of “breath prayers,” I admit I’m not sure what some of the Christian authors mean. If all they mean is praying quick prayers throughout the day as God brings things to mind, then I don’t see a problem with that. I do pray that way often. When the name of a friend I’ve been praying for crosses my mind, I often stop what I’m doing and go to God again. Or when I see a beautiful sunset, I might stop and thank God for the beautiful world He has made. And I often quote scripture verses and pray throughout the day. But there is nothing mystical in my breath, and I don’t quote them with a supernatural belief that the words themselves have power over my situation like a magical charm. I’m just talking to God throughout the day, trying to maintain an attitude of prayer and to order my thoughts biblically. However, if something else is meant, then it warrants closer scrutiny. I think this is one area we need to be very specific about what we mean.
Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
Because our God is a consuming fire, it is important that we offer acceptable worship and not allow ourselves to partner with darkness that would masquerade as light. The contemplative prayer model is basically repackaged Eastern mysticism, and that opens people to real spiritual forces of darkness. We must steer clear of paganism and offer undefiled worship to our God. I believe many Christians who are exploring this method have good intentions and really want to be closer to God, and I also think that not all of them have totally advocated the emptying of our minds, for many talk about filling the mind with scripture (which is a good thing to do), but I pray they will do some searching and look at the roots of the contemplative method. I’m just saying we need to be very careful to define our terms scripturally and not yoke ourselves with questionable practices or open the door for error by not being careful. Uzzah had good intentions, too, when he put out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant as it slipped from the cart on which it was being carried (not God’s prescribed method of transporting it, by the way), but God struck him dead for touching the Ark. Read it for yourself in 2 Samuel 6.
Also, it seems in reading about some of the contemplative models that the practitioners are seeking closeness with God and inner peace. In Philippians 4:6 it says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding , will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Again, we're not being taught some mind-emptying approach to prayer. We're being taught to come to Him with thanksgiving and bring our requests before Him. And He will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I am so thankful that He will guard my heart and mind, for I know my heart can be deceitful. We are not being taught to adopt some method for finding "stillness."
So, as for me, I will seek to pray as our Lord taught us and diligently seek to avoid all appearance of evil. And I’ll try to be careful in the terms I use, as well. I’m also not saying we will all look and sound like little robots in our praying. There is much freedom within the model we are given to express our prayers from our various personalities, so long as we do not engage in practices that would mix false worship methods with true. I do believe that prayer is just talking to God. I don't think we have to narrowly follow a formula each time we pray, but we should keep our prayers within the parameters of what the Lord taught about it. I don't think there is anything wrong with short prayers throughout the day, but we must always, always approach God with an attitude of reverence and thanksgiving for His awesome grace, recognizing that it really is all about Him. When I began thinking seriously about the high cost Jesus paid on the cross that allowed me, through faith in Christ, the privilege of entering the court of Heaven with my prayers, it changed how I thought about prayer. It has made me much more reverent in how I come before Him, but I am also thankful for His grace which allows me to talk to Him personally and to be able to know Him as my heavenly Father. I also freely admit that there are things about prayer I don’t understand, and I want to keep learning, within the bounds of scripture.
People in our culture today seem to be searching for “spirituality.” That can have all kinds of definitions depending on who is using the term. Something that is becoming more and more mainstream within the evangelical community is the idea of contemplative prayer. I’ve looked at some of the discernment ministries’ discussions of this phenomenon, and I am concerned by how similar it is to the transcendental meditation methods of the Eastern religions. Many of these ministries’ articles are written by people who were heavily involved in transcendental meditation before coming to Christ and being delivered from error, so they are more aware of subtle meanings of terms being used by the contemplatives that I might miss, having no experience with mysticism or New Age practices. Specifically troubling to me are the discussions of “breath prayer” and “entering the silence” and focusing on one word from a passage of scripture and finding the unique meaning of that word for you personally and meditating on that one word and using it as a sort of mantra.
While I wonder if some of the Christian people who use some of these terms may not mean the same thing that Eastern mysticism does by them, I believe they are playing with fire. We need to be precise with our vocabulary. If we are using the same terms that pagan religious practices use, we’d better be very clear what we mean. So, in light of these concerns, I have gone to the Bible to see what our Lord taught about prayer.
During the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6, Jesus first instructed his disciples in some things not to do while praying: 1.) Not to be like the hypocrites, praying standing in the synagogue or on the street so that they would be seen by men (this was the primary motivation). He said, rather, that they should go into their room and pray in secret, get alone with God, motivation is praying to God, not being seen by others (there are times in the Bible, too where corporate prayer is modeled, but this is specifically addressing personal prayer); 2.) Not to use vain repetitions as the pagans do. I believe the mantra type of clearing the mind of all but one word (even if that word came from a Bible passage) and repeating it over and over falls in this category. More on that in a minute.
Then Jesus gave His disciples a model prayer: (All the scripture references I use are the NKJV)
Matthew 6:9-13
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Not to belabor the fact, but nowhere here does Jesus begin to go on and talk about “breath prayers” or “breathing God in and my sin out” or anything like that. He simply modeled for His followers how to talk to God, for that is what prayer is. First, He focused on to Whom He prayed. Then He spoke words of praise and recognition of His holiness and sovereignty, and our prayer that God’s will be done. He acknowledged that our sustenance for daily life comes from God. He modeled that we are to ask forgiveness for sin (though Jesus had no sin of which to be forgiven, He showed us how to ask for our forgiveness), and He stressed that we are to be forgiving of others. He modeled that we are to recognize that we are vulnerable to temptation and to ask God to deliver us. Then the prayer ends with acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and glory. This prayer was given as a model of how we are to pray. Not that we are to vainly repeat these words like some mystical formula, but that we would know how to talk to God.
Something else I’d like to point out is Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” Notice, we are to love Him with our MIND. This implies active involvement, not an emptying of all thought, as is taught in the contemplative model. When we pray and think on God’s word, we ought to be using our mind and learning what the passage we study means. Along these lines, I add that words have meaning, and they have meaning in context. We must understand the context of a passage we are studying, not focus on one word alone. The passage always goes with its context. There is nothing biblical about saying a word over and over and over until we have gone into another state of consciousness. I do not see this advocated anywhere in scripture! (Not all Christian authors I’ve read take their methods this far, but with imprecise language, the door is left open a crack for less discerning people to be led into error when teachers come along who do advocate a deep meditation that opens up the practitioner to spiritual deception.) Instead, in the book of Acts I see believers being encouraged to be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to see if what they were being told was true. No where does it say they took a passage and read it slowly to wait for one word to jump out and then focus on that one word and search for meaning in it alone. I do not mean to imply there is anything wrong with reading a passage slowly or rereading a passage to try to get your mind around what it means. I’m talking about approaching a passage with some mystical expectation of enlightenment meant only for you. I know that God can and does use passages to teach us things we need to hear, but it is not through taking one word and repeating it over and over. It is through conviction that in some way our life is not lining up with what we’re reading and we need to change or that we need to put into practice what we are reading in our daily life.
I have read the verse in Romans 8:26 that says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This, however, is not in response to our entering a mindless silence and waiting on His groanings. Rather, it is an ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit on our behalf because He knows we do not know what we should pray. This is a glimpse of His mercy and grace, for even in striving to pray as we ought, we do not know how, so He intercedes for us. There have been times in my life, also, when I’ve been distressed and unable to pray a coherent prayer, and quoting scripture was a great comfort at those times, and sometimes all I could manage to say was, "I will bless the Lord at all times," or "Help, Lord, I feel so overwhelmed." I know that the Holy Spirit did intercede for me, even when I couldn’t voice my prayer, but I did not look for some mystical experience from the words of scripture He used to comfort me, I just expressed my faith that He is in control. I am deeply grateful for the grace He grants us, and that I don't have to word every prayer exactly right. But I do want to be careful to avoid areas that I know would not be pleasing to Him or that would seek to incorporate pagan methods to come to Him.
Also, as I’ve looked in the Old Testament, anytime prayers are recorded or talked about we don’t see someone repeating a mantra and going into a silence of emptied thought. The Psalms are also recorded prayers. In none of them do I see the type of meditation advocated that is being taught through the contemplative prayer movement, which basically looks to be a form of transcendental meditation with Christianized terms layered on top. Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The first part of this verse is often used by those advocating we “enter the silence.” But I am looking at the context of this verse, and it is not the silent, empty the mind of all thought kind of stillness that is being talked about. For the context, read all of Psalm 46. It is a discussion of how God is the refuge of His people, while the nations are raging. As the nations war and rage, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Point being, He is sovereign even over the nations, and He will still their rebellion. Another point being, His people do not need to panic, for He WILL be exalted in all the earth. Again, to use this as an invitation to enter the silence of Eastern meditation is a faulty reading of this verse.
As to the idea of “breath prayers,” I admit I’m not sure what some of the Christian authors mean. If all they mean is praying quick prayers throughout the day as God brings things to mind, then I don’t see a problem with that. I do pray that way often. When the name of a friend I’ve been praying for crosses my mind, I often stop what I’m doing and go to God again. Or when I see a beautiful sunset, I might stop and thank God for the beautiful world He has made. And I often quote scripture verses and pray throughout the day. But there is nothing mystical in my breath, and I don’t quote them with a supernatural belief that the words themselves have power over my situation like a magical charm. I’m just talking to God throughout the day, trying to maintain an attitude of prayer and to order my thoughts biblically. However, if something else is meant, then it warrants closer scrutiny. I think this is one area we need to be very specific about what we mean.
Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
Because our God is a consuming fire, it is important that we offer acceptable worship and not allow ourselves to partner with darkness that would masquerade as light. The contemplative prayer model is basically repackaged Eastern mysticism, and that opens people to real spiritual forces of darkness. We must steer clear of paganism and offer undefiled worship to our God. I believe many Christians who are exploring this method have good intentions and really want to be closer to God, and I also think that not all of them have totally advocated the emptying of our minds, for many talk about filling the mind with scripture (which is a good thing to do), but I pray they will do some searching and look at the roots of the contemplative method. I’m just saying we need to be very careful to define our terms scripturally and not yoke ourselves with questionable practices or open the door for error by not being careful. Uzzah had good intentions, too, when he put out his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant as it slipped from the cart on which it was being carried (not God’s prescribed method of transporting it, by the way), but God struck him dead for touching the Ark. Read it for yourself in 2 Samuel 6.
Also, it seems in reading about some of the contemplative models that the practitioners are seeking closeness with God and inner peace. In Philippians 4:6 it says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding , will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Again, we're not being taught some mind-emptying approach to prayer. We're being taught to come to Him with thanksgiving and bring our requests before Him. And He will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I am so thankful that He will guard my heart and mind, for I know my heart can be deceitful. We are not being taught to adopt some method for finding "stillness."
So, as for me, I will seek to pray as our Lord taught us and diligently seek to avoid all appearance of evil. And I’ll try to be careful in the terms I use, as well. I’m also not saying we will all look and sound like little robots in our praying. There is much freedom within the model we are given to express our prayers from our various personalities, so long as we do not engage in practices that would mix false worship methods with true. I do believe that prayer is just talking to God. I don't think we have to narrowly follow a formula each time we pray, but we should keep our prayers within the parameters of what the Lord taught about it. I don't think there is anything wrong with short prayers throughout the day, but we must always, always approach God with an attitude of reverence and thanksgiving for His awesome grace, recognizing that it really is all about Him. When I began thinking seriously about the high cost Jesus paid on the cross that allowed me, through faith in Christ, the privilege of entering the court of Heaven with my prayers, it changed how I thought about prayer. It has made me much more reverent in how I come before Him, but I am also thankful for His grace which allows me to talk to Him personally and to be able to know Him as my heavenly Father. I also freely admit that there are things about prayer I don’t understand, and I want to keep learning, within the bounds of scripture.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Because My Brain Feels Like Mush, I've Written a Poem
Today I’m feeling slightly off and glum.
My writer’s block has made my mind go numb.
Our little one won’t take a nap this day,
And I must get my chores out of the way.
I dusted, swept and mopped, while round the room
Boo rolled and fussed and screamed at the vacuum.
She finally sleeps, I hear no peeps
I take some time to write this rhyme.
What’s this I see through yonder window pane?
The sun is bright, gray skies begin to wane!
When Boo awakes I think we’ll walk a while
Our trips outside can always bring a smile.
Perhaps a sunny jaunt is what I need
To fix my mood and bring me up to speed.
For now this post will have to do
My brain is tired today, it’s true.
My writer’s block has made my mind go numb.
Our little one won’t take a nap this day,
And I must get my chores out of the way.
I dusted, swept and mopped, while round the room
Boo rolled and fussed and screamed at the vacuum.
She finally sleeps, I hear no peeps
I take some time to write this rhyme.
What’s this I see through yonder window pane?
The sun is bright, gray skies begin to wane!
When Boo awakes I think we’ll walk a while
Our trips outside can always bring a smile.
Perhaps a sunny jaunt is what I need
To fix my mood and bring me up to speed.
For now this post will have to do
My brain is tired today, it’s true.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Enough, Already....
If you knew how many times this conversation took place at my house, you'd cry with me:
J. "Curious George is a monkey."
M. "No, he's not. He's a chipmanzee." (Spelling error is intentional. This is how he says it.)
J. "The man in the yellow hat calls him a monkey."
M. "He doesn't have a tail. Chipmanzees don't have tails. He's a chipmanzee."
J. "He's a monkey."
M. "Chipmanzees are part of the monkey family, but he's a chipmanzee."
J. "No he's not. Everyone calls him a monkey."
M. "ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH."
I'm going slowly out of my mind. I've stopped intervening in the great debate, for it Just. Never. Ends.
J. "Curious George is a monkey."
M. "No, he's not. He's a chipmanzee." (Spelling error is intentional. This is how he says it.)
J. "The man in the yellow hat calls him a monkey."
M. "He doesn't have a tail. Chipmanzees don't have tails. He's a chipmanzee."
J. "He's a monkey."
M. "Chipmanzees are part of the monkey family, but he's a chipmanzee."
J. "No he's not. Everyone calls him a monkey."
M. "ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH."
I'm going slowly out of my mind. I've stopped intervening in the great debate, for it Just. Never. Ends.
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