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Jun. 27, 2008
VBS 2008 #3 Outrigger Island
Posted in Church God Faith
Pictures from our Outrigger Island VBS Tiki Hut (not great, but the kids liked it) Outrigger Snack made from twinkies cut in half Crafts Flip Flop Cookies, Surf Boards (Pringles) and Beachside Beverage Music We ended the week with fun in the sprinklers
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Jun. 27, 2008
VBS 2008 #2 Outrigger Island
Posted in Church God Faith
Pictures from our Outrigger Island VBS Our ourigger-- we borrowed the canoe from the thetatre (Stuart Little last year) and added the outrigger foam noodle. Our Tiki hut left much to be desired... Play that ukelele!
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Jun. 27, 2008
VBS 2008 #1 Outrigger Island
Posted in Church God Faith
Pictures from our Outrigger Island VBS Leis for everyone  3-D glasses from the (overpriced) student books  Surfboards traced from projector onto craft paper and colored with markers, trees made from carpet rolls  Surfboard traced onto foam insulation board and colored with markers, tree made with brown paper lunch bags over carpet roll, plants scavenged from all over church  Tissue paper flowers hung from ceiling. They didn't turn out like I expected, but they were colorful |
Jun. 25, 2008
Another Macy Theology Moment
Posted in Church God Faith
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The other day, Macy was riding in the van with Jason, and they heard the song "All in All." One of the lines says "Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is Your name." When it was over, she said, "If His name is Worthy, why do we call Him Jesus?" |
Jun. 25, 2008
Ed Psych and the Road to Damascus
Posted in Church God Faith
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In educational psychology, they talk about babies and children and "schemes." (Based on conclusions drawn by Piaget from observing children.) A scheme is a way of thinking about the world, based on what you have experienced. For example, babies know that when you bang something on the floor ( a toy or a bottle or whatever) you get a nice bam-bam sound. Hand them an egg. Whoa. That didn't fit my scheme. As the child gets older and experiences more, they use these schemes to interpret their experiences, or they modify their schemes based on their new experiences. (Assimilation and accommodation) The final element is equilibration. This occurs developmentally as the child discards outdated schemes or reevaluates their whole set of schemes in order to balance the assimilation and accommodation. The example is imagine moving to a new city and a friend gives you a hand-drawn map to the bank, the grocery store and the church. You may make notes on it and add roads to it as you learn new areas of the city. You may write and erase and redraw until, eventually, you just need a new map. The old one is no longer useful, and you need a clean slate. Paul is on the road to Damascus, where he is going to zealously persecute Christians on behalf of his God. The problem is, God shows up, and He isn't who Paul thought He would be. "Who art Thou, Lord?" The analogy isn't perfect, but there are corollaries. Most of the time we base what we believe about God on our past experiences. But sometimes, the egg breaks, and we have to change what we believe about God. The problem is that the world stands there waiting for the egg to break so they can say "Aha! See! I knew that would happen. Now what are you going to do? Now who are you going to believe?" This is definitely the point where many fall away. When the God they believe in does something unexpected (or even ungodlike in their opinion), they either have to reconcile their beliefs with the Truth or discard them. Many choose the latter. What does your God look like? Have there been times in your life when "the egg broke" and you had to get a new scheme? Maybe you are there now, holding a broken egg and wondering what in the world to do with it. My friend J. shared this: Jesus came to the disciples walking on the sea. They immediately responded with-- “It’s a ghost!” G. Campbell Morgan’s son, Frank, told a story of how he was studying for the ministry during the early days of W.W. II and he got a draft notice for the army. His immediate response was “It’s a ghost!” He just couldn’t believe God would do that to him. And then he had to come to the realization that whether this was the definite will of God or the permissive will of God, God was still in control. It wasn’t a ghost; it was God causing or allowing, and He had a purpose in it.The response of Jesus to us is the same as it was to to the disciples: "It is I." Or as Abraham Piper prefers, "It's me." Maybe it's not what you thought or hoped or expected, but "It's me." (Literally "I AM" as in Yahweh to Moses: I am that I am.) And even though it's not what we thought it would be, it's enough. He's enough. |
Jun. 24, 2008
Provision
Posted in Church God Faith
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One thing that annoys me with my kids is when it is dinnertime and I am obviously cooking, and they come ask me for a snack. "Can I have___?" (chips, an apple, whatever they see) "No, I am cooking supper." "I'm hungry." "Yes, I know, that is why I am cooking supper." You see, kids, I know what you need. I'm the mommy. I know that you are hungry AND THAT IS WHY I AM COOKING SUPPER!!! Isn't God this way? He is already providing for us, sometimes even before we ask. And usually far above what we think to ask. I'll give you an example from this week. It is so minor, and yet it meant alot to me. Spenser is going to Boy Scout camp next week, and he needed 3 Scout t-shirts in addition to his uniform. He only had 2 that we could find-- others had holes or stains or had disappeared. I was a little concerned, because I didn't really have any extra money for shirts (they are $10 each.) We got to his Scout meeting where they inspected the boys' gear, and we told the Scout Master that he only had 2 shirts. He said it would be ok, but in the meantime, one of the scouts came up to Spenser with a bag in his hand-- it had 3 shirts in it that he had outgrown. You see, Leslie, I know what you need. I'm God. I know that you have a need, and I am already providing for it. |
Jun. 13, 2008
What about you? Admired or known?
Posted in Church God Faith
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Somewhere I recently read this question: "Would you rather be admired or known?" Hmmm... Now they didn't mean known as in famous. They meant known, as in deep down intimately known. I know there is a part of me that longs to be known, to be understood, to be intimately connected with those I care about. But there is a bigger part, a prideful, self-preserving part that would much rather be admired. Now I have a hard time accepting compliments, but I do have friends who tell me good things about me. How much they wish they could be like me. How much they admire me. I brush them off because I know the truth: I'm not really who you think I am. They may admire the parts of me I let them see, but they don't know the real me. Sort of reminds me of Prince Charming in Into the Woods: I was raised to be charming, not sincere. Thankfully, I am not without hope. My God is a redeeming God and He is at work in my life to transform me and all those parts of me that I try to keep hidden. My hope is that one day those close to me can know me-- the real me-- and still find something in me to admire. |
May. 29, 2008
Manipulating God
Posted in Church God Faith
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Jason was reading the Bible to the kids one night, and he read them the story of Lazarus. From the dining room, this is the phrase that resonated with me. 11:3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."
It's subtle isn't it? Sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing to say. But what is the underlying message here? Jesus, Lazarus is sick. You know, your friend. The one you love. So you need to come right away because if you love him, you will. You will do it the way I want you to because that is what love is. Hmm. I do this alot, I fear. Lord, I trust you. Oh yeah? You trust me to what? Do it your way? What if I don't? Do you trust me then? Lord, I trust You, I know You can heal my brother. You are the Great Physician, and I trust You to heal him. What if I don't? Do you trust me then? 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz'arus.
John wants us to know that Jesus loves them. Because what He is about to do doesn't seem like it. 11:6 So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
So. The Greek can be translated then, therefore, accordingly, consequently, these things being so. It is inferential, denoting that what it introduces is the result of or an inference from what precedes. It means because Jesus loved them, He stayed two days longer where He was.
My friend sent me a quote when we were studying Joseph: "The deep fear behind every loss is that we have been abandoned by Mary and Martha were grieved at the loss of their brother, but they were also grieved that their friend, the one who healed the multitudes, did not heal Lazarus. Mary and Martha had to abandon who thought they Jesus was and learn who He really was. They find He isn't just the Great Physician, He is the Resurrection and the Life! Henry Blackaby says it this way: Truth is a person. To the sisters, the truth was that Lazarus was dead. But Truth was standing beside them and He raised Lazarus from the dead. So then, what image of God do we have to let go of to learn who He truly is? |
May. 11, 2008
Mother's Day Home Worship
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Since our church did not have a formal meeting tonight, we were encouraged to have a home worship time. I made an outline that people could follow if they wanted guidance for their home worship. We changed writing a Psalm to writing a haiku because of the ages of the younger kids and the length of time it was all taking. Our haiku: Jesus
Holy Lamb of God removes the sin of the world Slain Lamb is Lion. Our favorite part was writing a song to the tune of The Addams family: Their acting sure is great They live in an old house They learn the Golden Rule When they are in homeschool The Cardwell family |
Apr. 14, 2008
Microphones, Glitches and Worship (oh my)
Posted in Church God Faith
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So... we had some glitches yesterday morning during our worship service. Some of them were obvious, like mikes going out. Others were less apparent, like not repeating one of the choruses. Only the keen observer or those involved in the planning process would notice probably. But these little things can add up when you are aware of all of them and can be very frustrating. The worship team works very hard to plan a worship service that is meaningful and seamless and, um, worship-ful. And yet, things always happen. Annoying things. Technological things. Frustrating things. I liken a worship service to live theater in some ways. It is NOT a performance, unless you mean for an audience of One, but it does have some of the elements of a play. When you watch a movie, there are no glitches. That is because filming a movie has the benefits of retakes and extensive editing. But in a live play, there are no retakes, no do-overs, no edits. Lines are dropped, props are forgotten, scenery falls. Sometimes things get out of order. But that is also what makes it exciting and fresh and vital-- you never get the same show twice. It can be frustrating to the actors and director because little things happen and you never get a perfect show, but the audience often has no idea. They don't have a script. And they are willing to go along with the noticeable foibles because it is worth it. Friday and Saturday night at The Magician's Nephew, we had some glitches. A picture fell off the wall, a special effect failed to work, some sound cues were too loud, a few little people forgot their lines. But none of that diminished the power of the story, none of it negated the talent of those involved in the show. It's just part of it. It happens. Often. Maybe less often at more professional theaters, maybe not. I was at a show at the Springer where they warned the kids that there would be a gunshot sound effect and not to be alarmed. Guess what? No gun shot. I don't know what happened, but it didn't detract from the show. If they hadn't warned us ahead of time, I wouldn't have known it was missing. Obviously a worship service is much different than a play. It is eternally significant, whereas a play is just entertainment. And when we are involved in something of eternal significance, we don't want to look sloppy or half-hearted. We don't want to detract or distract from the message or the One whose message we are bringing. But I don't think we will ever have a perfect worship service, at least not on this earth. Things will always happen. But they should only serve to remind us that we are imperfect, fallen creatures in need of grace. Nothing we do will ever fully reflect His glory and His majesty and His perfection. Our worship will always be tainted by our humanness. We will never be good enough. But none of that can diminish the power of the story we are commanded to tell. God has chosen us, His jars of clay, to carry His message, to proclaim His glory, to tell his story, knowing that we would never get it exactly right. |