.jpg)
Sep. 14, 2008
In case of rapture
Posted in Church God Faith
 Jason and I were working on some "rapture" signs to hang up in the sanctuary tonight for our service. The pastor has been teaching on the end times. Here are some that we came up with: In case of rapture
 Subscribe in a reader
|
Sep. 8, 2008
On my mind: I am with you always
Posted in Church God Faith
|
"I am with you always." Really? Always? Even when I don't feel it? Even when I don't have the warm fuzzies? What about when things are good? Even then? Is it odd that I seem to become most complacent when things are relatively good?
When I took the kids to Savannah last month, we went to the beach for just a couple of hours. I showed Sydney how to jump in the waves as they crashed at the edge of the ocean. I would stand there and hold her hand, and she would jump up when it hit. Half of the time, it would knock her off her feet, but it was okay because I was holding her hand. And I heard myself saying "Stand up, Sydney. There's another one coming, and this one's a big one." Now when the waves weren't coming she might let go of my hand and play a little in the water, but as soon as another wave was coming, she would grab my hand. Or I would grab hers if she didn't see it coming. Why does this matter? Because I had been asking God that week why I didn't feel as close to Him when things were going well. Why the bad times brought me closer to Him-- should I want things to always be bad so I could have that closeness? I was scared to death that something horrible way going to happen because it's the only way God could get me to pay attention. It's not that I think God is some awful tyrant waiting to hammer me for doing something bad. I believe whatever happens would be for my good. I truly believe that. And I heard it, and saw it, and understood it there in the ocean with my six year old. He is always there, I just don't always cling to Him. But He is always there. The waves are coming-- not as punishment or retribution, but because of the nature of life and the world. He loves me more than I love Sydney and He is always always there. He is there when the waves aren't crashing; He is there when they knock me off my feet; and He is there to hold my hand and say "Get up. There's another one coming and it's a big one."
Subscribe in a reader
| ||||
Aug. 31, 2008
Would Jesus Wear Braces?
Posted in Church God Faith
|
This past Spring, our family was involved in the play The Magician's Nephew, which is one of the Chronicles of Narnia books. I remember noticing that Aslan, played by a 15-year-old-boy, had braces. I toyed with that seeming incongruence. Would Jesus wear braces? First, would He have crooked teeth? If He did, would He correct them? I don't mean WWJD -- should I get braces or should my kid get braces. I mean, would the God of the universe inhabit an earthly body that was imperfect. Isaiah 53:2 says, He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him. So He wasn't spectacular to look at; maybe He had an overbite. We don't know for sure. Is God a baritone? We are in the process of casting a play based on the book of Jonah called God and the Runaway Preacher. We need God. Oh how we need Him, but in this case, I mean we need someone to be His voice. In the play. And I have very high standards about what kind of voice God should have. Not too high, not too nasal, not too Southern. (I know, I shouldn't admit it, but I don't think God has a Southern drawl. Shoot me.) I live in Georgia, so it won't be easy LOL. It is silly, I know, but I have certain expectations when I hear someone portraying the voice of God. Clearly I won't be called on to cast "God," as that role has already been filled, but it does make me ponder my expectations. On a deeper level, I find myself confronting other "expectations." When my first son was born and in the NICU, I fully expected God to heal him. In all honesty, I could not conceive of a God who would let my baby die. And yet, 13 years later, I know that unspeakable tragedy happens. Moms lose their children.. Good, Christian, faithful, loving moms. Being a Christian does not inoculate us from heartbreak. At some point in our Christian faith, God is going to not live up to our expectations. (I know I split my infinitive, but it makes the emphasis in the right place in the sentence .) I just finished reading a book about John the Baptist, and his death. Here he is, the cousin of Jesus, the one who sacrificed his whole life for his calling, the one who lived in the desert and ate locusts, and he is in jail, about to be executed. He sends a message: "Yo, Jesus. You're the one right? You're the Messiah, the one we've been waiting for, the Deliverer?" The subtext here: Help, come deliver ME!!!!!!!!!!" Jesus response? Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me The subtext: Yes I am the Messiah. Yes I am the One you have been waiting for. But no, I'm not coming. I'm not delivering you. I am the Deliverer, but not this time. Blessed is he who can worship a God who doesn't live up to his expectations. |
Aug. 7, 2008
Summer Fun Club
Posted in Church God Faith
|
Our church has been having a summer program for kids on Wednesday afternoon and it has been growing-- we have about 20 street kids coming. They are loud and wild and unruly and I love them to pieces. We studied the life of Jesus over 10 weeks and last night was the crucifixion and resurrection. Oh man, one little 9 year old boy named Antrevius was just astounded that "God died.'" When I got to that part, he said (Loudly) "He died?" And I said, yes, He died, and the boy mock fainted. I thought, wait until you find out what happened next. You should have heard the questions they asked-- it was unbelievable. I was on the hot seat for sure LOL. Ten weeks ago, I had a calm, quiet class of 4 girls who would sit quietly and color or do a circle a word and listen to my story. Now, I have 12-20 wild kids who don't want anything that remotely resembles school, and will keep me on my toes. If there is a lull in activity, they go bonkers so I have to keep them busy at all times. It is crazy, and yet, I know it's what church is supposed to be. Maybe those 4 girls and I would love to go back to calmer and quieter days, but those 4 girls are going to get the gospel a hundred times a year. They can tell the stories as well as I can. These new kids want to know "Did Jesus really die?" and "Is the devil real?" and "What do you mean He's coming back?" My favorite question of the night came from my 6 year old Sydney. She said "Why didn't God defeat the devil the first time they fought?" I'm telling you, they keep me sharp. |
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
|
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!
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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. |