Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Invaluable, but with Expectation

You know more than once I've been accused of over-thinking. Who me (ahem)? But it is true. I confess to be a professional over-thinker. Life matters. Think much. Act smart. And I guess then I can never be accused of thinking too little. Instead you can slap the label of "thinking too late" on me. hehe.

So I've been thinking about parenting and Matt and I agreed on a car ride the other day that one important rule in parenting to teach to your children is that "What Mommy and Daddy says is law." There is expectation and consequence in Mommy and Daddy's words. It is not acceptable to trudge on without acknowledging that Mommy or Daddy has said, "no," and don't mess around in the realm of obedience expectation.

There's a difference in forced and choice obedience. I don't want our kids to obey because they have to, but because they want to please us. And yet in some instances, I'll just take the obedience, regardless of the willingness displayed behind it. We're not running a boot camp, here, but there are certainly clear expectations of quick responsiveness.

Rachael, bless her little heart (Southern slang for "Are you serious?"), has her moments of testing the law. No, people, she's no felon at 2 and a 1/2, but she certainly feels the need to make a few waves sometimes. Yet I am reminded that while children have an amazing ability to remind you of the Fall out (reference: Genesis), their value should never be questioned in their minds (nor yours for that matter). It is not a matter of convincing myself that Rachael is an angel (an often misused and personally unfavored term) and always means no harm - have you seen that kid's eyes, she's not innocent. But she is and will always be invaluable in our eyes. Children are a blessing. I couldn't agree more. And yet that blessing does not mean that in some moments she isn't downright awful. =)

We've all been around the "seriously, do their parents set any boundaries?" kids before. The ones pushing their siblings down repetitively, whining uncontrollably, and the ones that cast off their parents' direction as quickly as you flip channels on a "nothing's on" night. And we've all been around the "do you even like your kids?" parents who seem to make it a personal goal to create and win a power struggle in every conversation with their child. Those poor "can I do anything right?" kids. So obviously this valuing while creating healthy boundaries balance is just that - a balance.

Now I've had my share of "hope no one's taking notes" parenting embarrassments before; serving the baby steaming hot soup, handing the toddler a lollipop to make her shut up... we all have those head-smacking "please don't model your parenting style on this moment" experiences... and I'm sure I'll have more too, cuz perfection won't happen until the new Jerusalem. But operating on a "just this once" parenting style with each passing circumstance won't get the job done. Or let's put it this way, in my experience I have seen it create a lot of ungrateful, selfish, unthoughtful kids that cycle through babysitters faster than a 6th grade dance attracts wallflowers.

Why am I blogging about this? I don't know. Just thought it something to think about in my over-thinking ways.

Question of the day: How can you make your child feel valued while still setting healthy boundaries?

Every child is different, but the healthy boundaries are the same.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Messy Truth

Isaiah 58: 6-11 -

"Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
"Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.
"And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."



Matthew 25: 31-46 -

"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."



We followers of Christ are called to more than just our moment of salvation. And our evidence of our faith displayed through the fruit of our response to the poor and "the least of these" will have everlasting affects. I find it eye-opening that Christ chooses the presiding factors on which to weed the goats form the sheep to be "
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me,"(Matthew 25: 35-36). And here in Isaiah 58: 7 addresses directly the qualifiers of feeding the hungry, providing a home to the stranger or homeless person, and clothing the naked. This is not to imply that works are a salvation agent, but instead that a life of works for the poor is evidence of a true faith.

It is challenging to delve into the dirt and the "messy" lifestyles of others. Christ doesn't qualify clothing the naked only if they are interested in Jesus or only if they promise to get a job to clothe themselves. Yet as Matt learned this morning through Acts 4 it should be Jesus' name that compels us to preach and serve. And we need to be careful not just to love and provide for the poor and the needy because "you're loved," or "we care about you," or even because "we just wanted to bless you," but instead because we have come in Jesus' name (Acts 4:10). It is Jesus that gives us the fire and the heart to run to the needy with open arms.

So today, whose name am I coming in?

And am I even coming?



- praying for eyes wide open to the Truth.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I Can't Go Back.

Orphan Summit 2011 was wonderful, overwhelming, and inspiring. Much unlike the familiar guilt-trip driven orphan care seen in infomercial ads, the Summit focused on the hope and compassion God stirs within His people for orphans and the poor. The Summit focused on being compelled to reach out and serve and love and provide for orphans because we were once orphans adopted by God and now are called His family. I could fill this blog with hours of information and emotions and out-pouring from the two days of heartfelt encouragement and empowerment for the Body of Christ to go forth and fulfill God's commands to care for the needy. So instead of hitting you with it all today, I plan on sharing with you and anyone else I meet for the rest of my life. When God's called receive His instructions, we are compelled to run to the labor with full abandonment. Or another way to say it, in quotation of Sara Groves: "I saw what I saw and I can't deny it. I heard what I heard and I can't go back. I know what I know and there's no substitution. Something on the road, cut me to the soul. Your pain has changed me. Your dreams inspire. Your face a memory. Your hope a fire. Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of ...and what I know of love..."

Matt and I are left in a place of prayer. We know we are called to adopt. We don't know where. We don't know how. We don't know when. We don't know who. But all we know is that we must find out. And we're not interested in merely a humanitarian act - we just want to obey Jesus. So we're praying hard and asking our friends and family to come alongside of us and pray with us.

The pivotal moment in the weekend for me was sitting down to the provided lunch, while waiting to bag some food to send to those dying of starvation far across the world. Matt and I had come with every expectation to work throughout our lunch process, shoveling down lunch quickly to allow for more time. Jesus compelled me but a statistic resounded in my head, "2 people for 2 hours of labor in bagging food equals 1 child's year worth of food supply." We were planning to fill small bags approximately the size of two stationary envelopes with a highly concentrated rice, mineral, and powdered protein formula. I ate my lunch quietly, listening to the "background" music that blared loudly beside me from computer speakers. It was an African children's choir, singing Revelation song (the one Kari Jobe released). And in that moment God taught my heart in a very real way - these voices were singing straight scripture: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, Almighty Who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing, praise to the King of Kings..."

It blew me away that from merely me taking time to fill a bag of food, there could be a brother or sister in Christ standing beside me in the new Jerusalem that would have otherwise not been there. In that moment, and in each moment thereafter, it had nothing to do with me helping someone and everything to do with my obedience to God's commands. God's command to go and to make disciples, God's command to take care of the poor and needy, God's command to do unto the least of these, God's command to provide for the widow and the orphan... it all flooded through my mind- obedience felt that much more critical. I don't have to sell all my possessions and move to a third world country, but my obedience is directly tied to what I do today to obey the Lord. My obedience is directly tied to how I serve the least of these today, from the comforts of my home, from the way I teach my kids about God's heart, from the way I help structure our family values and our family goals, from the way I use my money, from the next conversation I have.... TODAY - not tomorrow or some futuristic goal of later having more funds or time or devotion. Today!

I can't possibly describe to you how my heart feels or what it feels like to have God pull the blinders off to His heart for the poor and the needy. I can't possibly begin to put into words how much more than smiling at a homeless man or volunteering once a year at a food bank or how much more than doing a 30 hour famine awareness once a year with the youth it is to have God's heart regarding the poor. But brothers and sisters in Christ, it is our responsibility to pass on to our children that "to much is given, much is expected". It is our responsibility to pour ourselves out that one more may come to know God in His abundant love and provision for our souls.

The world is filled with one "I can't" after another. But what I have found regarding the poor and the needy and the orphan is that a family, regardless of financial status, who has a heart for the orphan and the widow and the needy will pour themselves out through prayer, conversations, collecting spare change, awareness, walking alongside missionaries in their endeavors to blog about God's work around the world, creative fundraisers, and doing everything they can to keep open eyes and gain a more Godly worldview so that through that family our Lord will be glorified. And Matt and I desperately want our family to have an accurate worldview, that God's heart would compel us and direct our steps to bring Him the most glory possible.

It just all boils down to this... In Christ there are 2 kinds of Christians: those that merely receive Christ and those that become saints. I'm not talking some weirdo "check me out, I rock" title. I'm talking about those that have jewels on their throwing-at-Jesus'-feet-crowns and have sold themselves out for the utter and complete Glory of God and God alone. And I agree (once again with Sara Groves) that "when the saints go marching in, I want to be one of them." When I stand before Jesus I am going to have so much to say regarding my lackings, but I want to also be able to cling to Him and say, "Jesus, I tried so hard - even though I failed in so many ways- I poured myself out because I wanted so much of You and I wanted to make so much of You."


- that is if I'll be able to speak at all.


(praying and thinking and longing)

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Guilty As Charged

I read an article in a Christian Parenting magazine the other day while waiting to pick up the Kindergartner I watch after school. The article title? Getting over Guilt. Beyond the sheer entertainment of the author's self-portrait of standing with baby on hip and her hand to her head with an "I blew it expression", I found it interesting as the author spoke of sending her guilty situation through "the Three G Test".

G #1: Gifts. Guilt gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate what is and is not on your list of gifts. Ex. Some people rock it up at baking - I do NOT! Therefore, instead of feeling guilty that I didn't think of bringing in a piping hot plate of cookies for the next youth group function, I can default to something I am gifted at and serve the youth in another way. End result? The youth get served. AKA Success!

G #2: Growth. Guilt can spur you on to growth. Ex. You stink at doing the laundry so you feel guilty for being selfish all the time and avoiding the laundry resulting in doing the laundry to avoid feeling guilty. (You know, just pulling a situation out of mid air here - cough.) Voila! - productive guilt. But I really likes this statement from the article: "While I am not a naturally 'gifted' homemaker, I cannot use that as an excuse to let my home become a sty. And while I am no more gifted in the area of 'child management' than I am in home management, that cannot be an excuse to let my kids rule the roost." So true. So true. A stinger and so true.

G #3: Grace. You'll never be good at everything and guilt is inevitable when you fail so you are super blessed to have God's grace in the whole teaching process. God continually offers grace in your efforts and your failures. And you cannot experience grace without first experiencing guilt. AKA, I'm not thankful for the undeserved gift of grace if I still feel like I could have done it on my own.


I just thought this article was neat and helpful in terms of motherly guilt. And so in those next guilty moments, instead of standing there and feeling sorry for myself, I'm going to try to think about the three G test. Was it even a gift of mine that I was trying to accomplish or was it a greener grass on the other side of the fence moment? Am I using my guilt as a crutch or growing through the guilt? And is this guilt another opportunity to acknowledge God's grace during my mistakes?

- Just a few guilty thoughts. =)