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Confession 273: Planting Seeds for the Harvest

Who are they who truly love and serve God?
It is they who discover and live
Within His purposes for their lives.
Psalm 24, Psalms/Now
I have to confess that I don’t always enjoy getting up and going to work in the mornings.  I’d rather linger over a cup of copy, relishing time spent in the Word, easing into the productivity of the day.  
I remember one morning in particular where I felt like my time at work could be much better spent in the confines of my own home when I noticed the look on the face of one of the teachers.  Something told me to stop.  She needed to talk, and she needed some spiritual encouragement. 
In that moment, I realized that God had placed me right there, right then to fulfill a purpose.  A few minutes earlier I had been asking myself, “Why, exactly, am I here today?”  And in that hushed conversation, God showed me why, exactly, He had put me there.
When God call us, there is something specific and meaningful He wants us to do.  It might not seem very meaningful at the time, but some days are seed planting days and some days are harvest days.  Regardless of which day you’re waking up to, I bet that God has something in mind for you to do.
Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt—a harvest day if there ever was one!!  Jeremiah was called to speak the words God would place in his mouth—lots and lots of seed planting days ahead.  Esther was called to save her people—great big harvest.  Ruth was called to love in faith—seed planting that established the line of David.
For me, most of my days seem to be of the seed planting variety.  I rarely see the “big picture” God has in mind.  However, I firmly believe that God does indeed have a master plan.  And in my prayer and Scripture time each morning, I ask God to place me smack in the middle of it.
Some days, my task is clear.  I hear God calling me to write a note of encouragement, have a conversation with a friend or co-worker, offer a hug to a struggling student, write a blog post, sponsor a mission project…. 
Other days I don’t hear anything, but I do not doubt that God is moving all the same.  It’s that prevenient grace of God moving through our lives whether we are aware of it or not.
In our task-driven, goal obsessed, results oriented, data driven culture, it’s easy to forget that God has a multitude of tasks He will call us to throughout our lives.  We focus on one big thing and strategically mark a straight shot path to achieving it.  The reality is life is much more fluid than that.  We might begin our day with one agenda and find, upon awaking, that God has drawn out a completely different one.

And even if we are focused on that one giant task/dream/plan we feel God calling us to, God’s probably not going to take us there in one straight shot. God called His people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, but there were over 40 years of smaller tasks to be completed before that harvest came to be.  The people weren’t ready for the big harvest yet.  They needed to learn who God was.  They needed to learn to trust in God, to honor Him, to worship Him, to LOVE Him.  They needed those 40 plus years to become the people of God. 
 
In determining the big tasks God is calling us to do in our lives, we have to be open to the smaller tasks God calls us to each day.  Jesus didn’t tell Peter upon their first meeting, “You’re going to found my church in Jerusalem someday.”  Instead, he simply said, “Follow me.  Put one foot in front of the other and walk along my path.” 
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite go-to verses.  In this passage, the Lord assures the people of Israel of this:
“For I know the plans I have for you….Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future.”
It’s reassuring to me to know that God doesn’t have a plan for my life, He has PLANS!!  Moreover, those plans (note the plural) are good.  They are infused with hope that springs from the great love of an eternal God.  They are a promise carved into our souls of a prosperous future we cannot see.  But God sees it.  God knows it.  God planned it.  And God is building it.
So, what is God calling us to this day?  To follow Him.  To trust Him.  To hope in Him.  To walk with Him.  You might not even see the seeds you’re planting today.  It doesn’t matter.  Trust that God has placed you exactly where He needs you to be.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 272: Discerning the Call

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If making meaning in our lives comes from having a sense of purpose and a task to complete, then we need to be able to figure out what that task and purpose is.  In order to do that, we have to discern our calling.  Discerning our calling is not an easy task.  However, in looking through the “call stories” provided us in Scripture, a pattern seems to emerge.  It goes like this:
1. God gets our attention—The Call

2. God has a specific request—The Task

3. We wrestle with the request—The Challenge

4. We respond to God—The Purpose
Over the next four posts, we’ll break down each of these steps in listening to God and living out His purpose for our lives.  It begins with discerning our call…
One day, Moses was taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and Moses decided to lead them across the desert to Sinai, the holy mountain.  There an angel of the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up.  “This is strange!” he said to himself. “I’ll go over and see why the bush isn’t burning up.”
Exodus 3:1-3
I have often dreamed of walking outside and finding our front shrubbery on fire–partly because I don’t like shrubbery, and partly because I think it would be an announcement I couldn’t easily miss.  If God sets fire to your hedge and then speaks to you from within it, you’re probably going to notice!! 
I’m always struck by Moses’ response.  Instead of, “Holy cow!!  What IS that?!  Hey guys!  You gotta see this!!”  He says, “Hmm…that’s weird.  I think I’ll go check it out.” 
Obviously, God knew He needed something BIG to get the attention of Moses!
Sometimes, it is the big things in life that make us sit up and take notice of God’s presence and working in our lives.  A job loss, a personal loss, an illness, a broken relationship… 
I do not believe that God intentionally brings these things into our lives in order to get our attention.  That would be cruel.  God is not cruel, nor does He desire us to suffer. 
However, I do believe that those big, emotional, personal fires can be vehicles through which we hear and discern the voice of God.  When we are at our most vulnerable, we are more willing to turn to God for help, perspective, and meaning.
Yet more often than not, God reveals Himself quietly, through the natural ebb and flow of our daily life.  God speaks to us through His Word, while listening to praise songs, in a conversation with a friend, or the stirring of our heart through worship. 
God speaks in the “still, small voice”Elijah hears in the cave after the fire, wind and earthquake have passed. (1 Kings 19:10-14). And it’s easy to miss.
…the Lord called out Samuel’s name.
“Here I am!” Samuel answered.  Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to bed.”
Samuel went back.
 Again the Lordcalled out Samuel’s name. Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “What do you want?”
Eli told him, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to sleep.”
The Lord had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. 8 When the Lord called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”
Eli finally realized that it was the Lord who was speaking to Samuel.  So he said, “Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, ‘I’m listening, Lord. What do you want me to do?’”
1 Samuel 3:4-9

I love this story of Samuel’s calling.  I think it speaks so much to the quiet and subtle ways in which God calls us and our ability (or inability) to discern His voice.

In this passage, Samuel is living in the house of the Lord.  He is sleeping just feet from the altar.  His life is dedicated to the Lord’s service.  And he is absolutely ready to serve.  He is so eager to prove himself that he runs to Eli in the middle of the night prepared for whatever task he believes Eli is calling him to perform.

Samuel eagerly wanted to serve.  He lived in anticipation of purpose.

I’ve found that within most of dwells a deep desire to be of service.  We want to help others.  We want to fight for a noble cause.  We are eager to have a purpose.  But, like Samuel, we can get confused about who we are to serve.
We get caught up in the demands of our careers, our outside activities, our families, and our hobbies.  We get so involved in being busy that we cannot identify the voice of the One calling to us.  Instead of stopping and listening, really listening, we work harder, add on new projects, and exhaust ourselves trying to chase after something which has been standing before us the entire time. 
God was right in front of Samuel, but Samuel couldn’t recognize Him.  Samuel lived and worked in the House of the Lord, but he had no recognition of God’s voice.  Samuel spent his childhood working for God, but he never took the time to knowGod.  Thankfully, Samuel had a trusted spiritual advisor who could help him learn.
Thankfully for us, God sends those advisors our way, too.  Sometimes our spouses, parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers can see God calling to us when we can’t.  This is one of the reasons why it is so important to have strong, spiritually deep people in our lives.  And, why it’s important to cultivate our own deep spiritual roots.  Who knows but that you could be someone else’s Eli?
The key is we have to be willing to listen.  And part of listening is knowing just exactly WHO we are listening to. 
I can’t tell you if God is calling you to something or not.  God speaks to each of us in His own way and in His own time.   
I hear God speak to me as I read His Word.  I hear Him as He places His thoughts in my mind during times of prayer.   
Others hear Him speak through music and worship.  Some hear Him speak through teachers, pastors and Spiritual leaders.  For others, God comes with great and dramatic bush burning flare.  There’s no rhyme, although there’s always a reason. 
So listen for God as He seeks to speak with you today.   
Be still and listen.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 271: Making Meaning

Have you ever had one of those moments when you asked yourself, “What am I doing with my life?” 
I mean really sat down, looked around you, assessed the situation, added it all up and wondered, “Whatam I doing with my life?”
What do I do in my daily routines that is meaningful, that is lasting, that makes a difference?  

Am I using my time, my talents, my opportunities to glorify God?  

Or, am I just slogging through, going through the motions, knocking off one day at a time?
What am I doing with my life?
If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, consider yourself in good company.  King Solomon, at the height of his power and glory, found himself at a loss to answer the same question.  Looking around at his kingdom, his wealth, his success he declared:
Nothing makes sense!
Everything is nonsense.
    I have seen it all—
    nothing makes sense!
What is there to show
for all of our hard work
    here on this earth?
People come, and people go,
but still the world
    never changes.
 The sun comes up,
    the sun goes down;
it hurries right back
    to where it started from.
 The wind blows south,
    the wind blows north;
round and round it blows
    over and over again.
 All rivers empty into the sea,
    but it never spills over;
one by one the rivers return
    to their source.
 All of life is far more boring
    than words could ever say.
Our eyes and our ears
are never satisfied
    with what we see and hear.
 
Everything that happens
    has happened before;
nothing is new,
    nothing under the sun.
 
Someone might say,
    “Here is something new!”
But it happened before,
    long before we were born.
 
No one who lived in the past
    is remembered anymore,
and everyone yet to be born
    will be forgotten too.
Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

Can you imagine?  Solomon had everything, I mean EVERYTHING he ever wanted or could ever want.  And yet, there was no meaning for him in any of it.  He considered his life BORING. 
Solomon, who was commissioned by God to build the Holy Temple, to create a dwelling place for the Most High, couldn’t find any MEANING in his life!!  

Although blessed on the outside, on the inside Solomon felt empty and lost.  He had wealth.  He had power.  He had prestige.  He had authority.  He had a harem of 800 women.  

And yet, he stood upon the parapets of his castle and declared all life to be meaningless nonsense.
I think many of us living in America today can relate to the emptiness, the aimlessness, the apathy Solomon felt.  Our lives seem so blessed on the outside.  

We’re good at making ourselves look good—the right clothes, car, house, spouse, shoes, food, bags, make-up, activity participation, vacations, schools….the list goes on and on.
Yet underneath, just how content are we?  And in our most quiet and closed moments, how many of us are whispering “My life is just meaningless nonsense!” 
When we spend our time and energy searching for meaning outside of ourselves, we are destined to be let down.  Everything in life is impermanent, including our bodies.  

Yet, if we dig down deep into the very fabric of who we are (a child of God) and what we were created to do (glorify Him), then life becomes a vast sea of meaningful opportunities in which we can sink ourselves.
It’s all about clarifying our purpose.
I recently heard author and speaker Donald Miller enumerate on finding meaning in life.  His definition of a meaningful life, shaped by psychoanalyst Victor Frankel, follows:

“People find meaning in life from working on a challenging project with other people that will save many lives.”

Did you get that? 

Challenge+Community+Saved Lives=Meaning
As I look at that definition of a meaningful life, one thing comes to my mind—THE CHURCH.  

This is what we, as Christ’s body, are created and called to do.  We work together, as a community of believers, to do difficult tasks that will save many lives.  And by “save many lives”, I mean to literally save many lives. 
The “saving” of souls is the byproduct of saved lives.  Jesus wasn’t going around Judea handing out spiritual tracts on salvation.  Instead, he was literally placing his hands on those in desperate need and healing them.  To me, there’s a fundamental lesson on Christianity there.
And so, as The Church, we are called to engage in life saving ministries.  

We work together, as a community, to bring hope to the hopeless, to bring healing to the sick, to bring food to the hungry, to bring clothes to the naked, to bring freedom to the imprisoned, to bring justice to the oppressed.  And in doing these challenging tasks, we find meaning in our lives.  

We look at the world around us and see infinite opportunity and possibility. 
We are able to stand upon the front steps of our homes and look around us with a sense of purpose, knowing that God created us and placed us right here, right now, to make a difference in someone’s life. 
What am I doing with my life?
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 270: What’s the Point?

“What’s the point?” 

 This is a question I find myself asking a lot.

I ask myself this while flipping through 200 + television stations I don’t care to watch, trying to avoid radio commercials and the K-Love pledge drive, reading non-fiction, marking my “March Madness” bracket, looking at my paycheck, and arguing with my 4 year old about why Cheez-Its are not a breakfast food.

 I’m really not an anal-retentive person.  I just like having a sense of purpose.  Lately, I’m finding that I am not the only one.

I think most of us are on a journey for purpose in a society that seems to be spinning wildly out of control.  We want to know that there is something big, grand, even noble being accomplished in our daily lives and work.  We want to feel that our presence means something, that we are doing something with our lives that makes a difference.

A few weeks ago, I went to a gathering where I had three conversations with women in three different walks of life about this search for purpose and meaning.

There was the  young professional wanting more than a corporate job could offer, the full-time  mother re-entering the workforce after spending several years at home raising her children, the new retiree wondering what a future without a “job” would look like.

The thing is, the situations these women face are not unique.  I have had countless conversations with women over the past few years about the search for meaning and purpose, most likely because I’ve been on that same search myself.

It seems like it’s something we’re all trying to figure out.

The truth is, we were created to live with purpose.  

God had a purpose when He created Adam and Eve in the Garden.

 He had a purpose for Abraham and Sarah when He called them out of Canaan.

 He had a purpose for the Israelites throughout their wilderness journey, their settlement, their exile and their return.

God had a purpose in sending Christ; a beautiful, glorious, powerful, unparalleled purpose which we celebrated again this Sunday.

Christ had a purpose when he commissioned the disciples, sending them forth to minister in his name.

And God still has a plan and a purpose for each one of His beloved children.

As Peter writes, “God has invited us to share in His wonderful goodness.” (2 Peter 1:4)  
But we have to do the hard work of honing in on that goodness of purpose God wants us to share.

Over the next few posts, I will explore some of the ways that we can discern purpose and make meaning in our lives.

I believe that God has given us the tools we need to live a purposeful and meaningful life fulfilling His mission and working toward furthering His kingdom.  

What we do with those tools is up to us, but I like what Peter goes onto say: “If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful.” (2 Peter 1:8)

What we know about our Lord Jesus Christ will make our lives useful and meaningful.  Wow!  Try unpacking that one in a sentence or two!!

That’s not to say that people who do not believe in Christ cannot live purposeful and meaningful lives.  But, as a Christian, I believe that my center needs to be rooted in Christ in order for me, a child of God, to live a life of purpose and meaning.

And so, the journey continues…

I don’t have all the answers, and the ones I have now will change and evolve as my life continues on.  But God has been teaching me much over the past few years, and the quest for purpose and meaning seems to be a prevalent theme.

So, I’m exploring.

 And isn’t it just maddening in this world of instant access, news and results that God is so much more interested in our journey of exploration than the end result?

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 269: "To Parents of Small Children…" A Link-Up

My husband forwarded a blog post to me by Pastor Steve Wiens.  The title of the post is: “To Parents of Small Children: Let Me Be the One Who Says it Out Loud”.  Of course, it got my attention.  As I read Steve’s words, I found myself thinking, “Yes…Yes….and YES!  Finally, an online parenting article that doesn’t make me feel bad about myself!!”  I LOVE this perspective on parenting.  It’s true, and the truth is refreshing.  So, hop on over to Steve’s blog, The Actual Pastor and just enjoy being able to breathe. 🙂

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 268: Wonder Moments

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Thank God for His gift that is too wonderful for words! 2 Corinthians 9:15

I leaned back on the bathmat, watching my boys splash, laugh and play in the water.  I looked at their faces, so bright and happy and full of innocence and hope and possibility.  I smiled as I drank in this moment when I didn’t have anywhere else to be or anything else to do but focus my entire attention on these two precious gifts God has given me.  And it hit me there in the bathroom on a typical Wednesday night, this is a sacred moment.  This is a wonder moment.

As a parent of young children, most of my time is spent just making it through the day.  I get up, get ready, get the kids ready, get lunches ready, drive to work, work, drive home, get kids home, monitor homework, attempt a conversation with my husband, get kids ready for bed, get kids to bed, unwind, get myself to bed and do it all over again the next day.  I’m not complaining.  It’s a good life, one I am incredibly grateful to have.  But I have to admit, I don’t always appreciate moments with my children for the wonderful gifts they are.  Often, I send them out to play, or to color, or to watch TV while I work on something else.  I get their hair washed in the bath and run out to do a load of laundry or catch up on e-mail.

Fortunately, God has infinitely more wisdom than me!!  There are times when He breaks through the everyday plodding and reminds me that this time, frantic and chaotic as it may be, is sacred.  God gives me those wonder moments when I remember what is truly important and can let go of the mundane to feast on the extraordinary.  And the truly extraordinary is the time spent fully attuned to and connected with my family.

I love the song “Sacred” by Caedmon’s Call.  It reminds me of the sacred elements each day holds, if only we can turn our focus onto them.  As the chorus goes, “Everything is sacred and all this time, everything I’ve dreamed of has been right before my eyes.”

What wonder moments could God have in store for you today if you would see them?

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 267: Death of a Supermom

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I need not worry overmuch about the distortions of this world.  I do need to be aware that God is here and allow Him through me to reveal Himself to His world.  Psalm 11

It’s been awhile since I have put fingers to keypad.  Like many women, I have overextended myself in the realm of my daily life.  I bought into the philosophy that as a contemporary American woman I can do it all.  But the truth is, that is one of the greatest fallacies ever to be presented.  We can’t do it all, no one can.  And when we try, the things we love most can get lost in the process.

Unfortunately, this is a reality our media does not like to represent.  Instead, our media bombards us with the image of the “Supermom”.  Have you seen the appliance commercials featuring actress and talk show host, Kelly Ripa?  In it, Ripa credits the appliances with helping her to accomplish more in her day, from having the perfect outfit for work, to making a wonderful gourmet dinner for the perfect dinner party, to hosting a fun and fabulous sleepover for her daughter.  At the end of the commercials, Ripa states, “With ______ appliances, now you can be even more amazing!”  We have this notion that the “perfect” woman (Supermom) goes throughout her day with a careless poise, juggling work, kids, spouse and home, happy and content in her ability to accomplish all things.

In reality, there are only so many burners on a stove top.  Something has got to give.

I believe that women should have equal choices and opportunities.  I am a “career woman”.  It’s a choice I’ve made, somewhat out of necessity, but also because it’s what I wanted.  It was a choice that I was able to make.  Other women make the choice to support their families within the home.  That is a choice I deeply admire and respect.  And if I’m being honest, it’s a choice that at times I envy.

Choices are important.  And I have to stress the word choice.  You see, we CANNOT do it all, no matter what the appliance commercials try to tell us!!  We have to make choices in our everyday lives about what is important, what is vital, what God is calling us to do with our day.  God not only has a purpose for our lives, He has a purpose for each day we awake and choose to get out of bed.  If we look for it, we can find a moment, even in the busiest, messiest days, where we can see the hand of God at work.  But in order to see that, we have to give up the “Supermom” myth.

We do not honor God when we aspire to do it all.  In fact, when we claim to have it all together, to be able to do anything, we are leaving God out of the picture.  Paul tells us that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.  In fact, Paul goes on to write that he will boast with joy about his weaknesses so that God’s power may be even more obvious to those around him. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  When we let go of our pride and say, “we can’t”, it gives God the opportunity to jump in and say, “I CAN!”  When we admit that we cannot do it all, then we turn ourselves over to God and to His purposes.  And when we turn ourselves completely over to God, then we can be witnesses for the world of God’s unfailing power and love.

So, farewell “Supermom”!  I can’t do it all.  But I am determined to let God accomplish His plans through me.

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 266: Children of Babylon

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After being absentee awhile, I’ve come back online with a new series on Christian parenting entitled, “Children of Babylon”.  Over the next several weeks, I want to explore how it is we, as Christians, tackle all of the negativity our culture throws at our children.  I want to think about how it is, in the midst of this contemporary “Babylon”, we can raise children of God.  I will have several guest authors sharing their thoughts.  I would love to engage in this conversation with you, so let me know what you think!

Blessings and Peace, 
Sara



After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
Nehemiah 4:14
I’ve been sitting on this post for awhile now, trying to gather my thoughts and be clear on what I want to say.  I’ve always considered myself to be a fairly liberal and progressive person.  I tend to vote mostly Democrat, support same-sex unions, affirmative action, easier immigration laws and healthcare reform.  I try to be open minded about issues and look at both perspectives.  Yet lately, as I look around at our self-indulgent, materialistic, violence obsessed and hyper sexualized culture, I have to wonder if progressiveism hasn’t gone too far.  Our media sells us a surplus of violence, greed, consumption, over-indulgence and sex.  Unfortunately, we are buying it in bulk and our children are paying the price.
Let me give you a few statistics.  Granted, numbers aren’t everything, but I think these numbers warrant some consideration.
1.   Self-esteem of the average American girl peaks at the age of 9 and then plummets.
2.   81% of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat.
3.   1 out of 4 college age women have an eating disorder.
4.   A girl is bullied every 7 minutes.
5.   1 in 3 teens is a victim of dating violence, with young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experiencing the highest rate of partner abuse.
6.   57% of rock music videos portray women as a sex object, a victim, or unintelligent.
7.   46% of U.S. high school students have engaged in sexual activity.
8.   By age 18, a U.S. youth will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.
9.   Children younger than 8 “cannot uniformly discriminate between real life and fantasy/entertainment… They quickly learn that violence is an acceptable solution to resolving even complex problems, particularly if the aggressor is the hero.” American Academy of Pediatrics
10. Boys are 30% more likely than girls to flunk or drop out of school.
11. Boys are 15 times more likely than girls to abuse drugs and alcohol and twice as likely to die in a car accident.
 (sources: www.pbs.org; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; www.confidencecoalition.org; www.msrepresentation.org)
The prophet Nehemiah urged the Israelites to fight for their children.  In America, we are destroying them.  And I am a culprit of this. 
Truth be told, I let my boys watch too much T.V.  They watch between 30-60 minutes in the morning, another 30-60 minutes after school and then more minutes (hours) than I care to admit on the weekends.  I justify it by telling myself that it’s all age appropriate programming.  It’s Disney channel or Nick Jr.  But even the shows on Disney and Nick Jr. can have some very negative messages.  And then there’s the onslaught of advertising they’re exposed to.  They also spend 30-45 minutes each day playing stupid games on my tablet while I disengage with them, occupying myself with the laptop or household chores.  Not that chores are bad, but when I let my kids sit zombie like in front of a screen while I do them, it sends the wrong message.
I’m also an absolute hypocrite in my own choice of programming.  I love night-time soaps.  My top three shows are Revenge, Nashville and Scandal.  Of course I never watch them until after the kids are in bed.  And, I’m fully aware that the actions taken by the characters are not actions to emulate in my own life.  I’m intelligent enough to separate reality from fantasy.  However, by watching these shows I’m telling media advertisers that I’m okay with the immorality and promiscuity presented in such programs.  I’m supporting a fundamental set of beliefs that I do not agree with.  And I do it because “it’s entertaining”.
Somewhere along the line, I’ve stopped fighting for my own family.  I’ve bought into the lie that “it’s just T.V.”, or “it’s just music”, or “it’s just…whatever…”  I watched T.V. and I turned out fine, right?  But I wasn’t exposed to as much through television as my children. 
As a woman, as a mother—as a Christian woman and mother—I need to do better.  I need to fight for my children.  I need to do the hard work of educating them to think critically about what they watch instead of just letting them absorb it in.  I need to encourage their creativity by pushing them to play, to read, to draw, to sing…  I need to actively work in teaching them about our faith and to help them come to know the God I love and want them to be in relationship with.  I need to help them become confident and secure in themselves, yet empathetic and kind and generous as well.  And I can’t do that when I (or they) are sitting in front of a T.V. or computer sucking in all of the negative images and ideas the media puts out.
I can’t change our contemporary culture, much as I wish I could.  But I can make some changes in my own life.  I can curb the time we spend in front of the T.V.  I can take my “guilty pleasure” shows out of the rotation for myself.  I can put aside e-mail, facebook, blogging, Smurfs and crosswords during family time and actually engage with my children.  I can reinstitute our nightly devotional time with the kids.  I can actually sit and watch television with my kids and talk to them about what is going on in their programs.  I can join forces with other moms who want more for their children than what our culture is offering, supporting and encouraging one another down the rocky road of parenting. 
Parenting is hard, and it’s scary.  Like the Israelites rebuilding Jerusalem, I look around at our world and think, “Man, how are we ever going to fix this?”  But, like Nehemiah, I stubbornly push through laying one brick at a time.  With a lot of hard work, and God’s ever present help, we’ll get the task done.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara

Confession 265: A Friday Reflection

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Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14
 

This morning was one of those mornings where I profoundly felt the limitations of time and space.  You know, when you have about 1,000 things you’d like to accomplish within the time frame of about 60 seconds.  My mind was running away, and yet not even Einstein could have shrunk the space/time dimensions that would allow my physical being to keep up.  Slamming the skillet on the stove to make my special fat burning pancake, I started in on a self-pitying rant to God. 
“I’m tired of doing the same thing every morning ,” I complained, turning toward the coffee pot.  “I have to make breakfast, make G’s lunch, get….”
And that’s as far as God let me get before he broke into my thoughts.  Apparently, the Almighty One who holds heaven and earth together in his hands did not have time or patience for self-indulgent whining this morning.  I don’t blame Him.
Very clearly and succinctly I heard Him say to my heart, “You need to be grateful that you are able to get up and do the same thing day in and day out.  All of the routines in your life are a gift.  There are people getting up this morning whose lives have been torn apart, people who would give anything to be able to get out of bed and make breakfast for their family.  Get over yourself and get to work.  We’ve got stuff to do!!”
The message hit home.  God was right, He always is.  I need to be grateful for the ordinary days and treasure each and every one of them that I have.
A little later, as I watched my oldest climb up the steps (two at a time) to the “big school”, I was filled with gratitude for the beautiful and precious gift that is this sweet boy.  I prayed to God again, not complaining, but thanking him for my sweet little boy.  I prayed that God would help me work to preserve his innocence, that he would keep his warm and caring heart even into adolescence and beyond.
Then, I thought of the other one.  My wild warrior child sitting at home eating, most likely, his 3rd Popsicle of the morning before Daddy awakes.  I gave thanks to God for this little indomitable spirit.  I prayed that as he grows older, God would give him something noble to fight for.
And then I thought of my husband, still asleep in bed.  I gave God thanks for him—for the ways in which he works to support our family that largely go unnoticed and unrecognized by me.  I so respect and admire the wonderful pastor that he is and I prayed for his ministry and that I may be a true helpmate to him.
When I truly stop and consider my life, I realize that I can be nothing but grateful.  And I am grateful that I am a child of the One God who, despite his vastness and his holiness chooses to enter into my daily life and continues to work in me.
Blessings and Peace,
Sara
 

Confession 264: God Was Here

 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 
Matthew 5:16

New Year–I love the sound of that, don’t you?  A New Year…365 days stretching out before us….blank open spaces waiting to be filled.  New Year is a time for possibility.  New Year is a time for dreams.  New Year brings hope–hope for new directions, hope for positive changes, hope that we can live into the person we so desire to be.  New Year….

When I think about what I hope to accomplish in this New Year, there are some very definitive goals that I have in mind.  However, I often find that God has a way of rearranging the goals that I make.  As my family and I were watching the New Year’s Eve festivities on TV, there was a countdown of the top musical performances of 2012.  One of the performances was a song sung by Beyonce at a UN function.  The song was titled, “I Was Here”.  I’m including a link to the performance if you’d like to see it.  It was very moving.

As I watched the performance, I found myself thinking, this is what I want to do in my life.  I want to live my life in a way that people know I was here.  As I pondered on that the next couple of days, however, I found myself thinking beyond I was here.  As I look around our messy, broken, hurting world the thing that I really want to do is to live in a way that shows not that I was here, but that God IS here!!

This New Year, I want to bring hope to those who are hopeless, but not from me, from the One who restores all hope.  This New Year, I want to show love to others–not my frail, wavering, dependent love, but the Love that came into the world to Redeem.  This New Year, I want to focus on letting God’s light shine through me–through my work and my relationships and my activities and my words.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter much that I was here, but rather, that I allowed God to be here through me.  I’m excited about the possibilities of this New Year.  I’m excited to see where God may lead.  But most of all, I am grateful that God is willing to let me go with Him.

Blessings and Peace,
Sara