shawnaberg

2010-07-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

I have this verse taped on the bulletin board above my desk with various other notes, artwork from my kids and pictures that are important to me. Over the last few weeks it seems as if I’ve needed that reminder over and over again – the reminder that there is nothing, nothing at all that can separate us from the love of God.

While this promise is reassuring, sometimes I wish there was more to it. As some of you know, one of my other favorite (and least favorite in some ways) stories in the bible is the story of the two builders. You might remember this story from the Sunday School song (if you don’t, you can check it out in your bibles – Matthew 7:24-28) that someone always seems to sing when the story comes up. This is the story of the wise man who built his house upon the rock, and foolish man who built his house upon the sand. It is another one of the great parables that Jesus uses to teach us, and I think the message is one we need to hear again and again. You see the beauty in this story is that the same storms came to the wise man and the foolish man. If you read this in your bible, you’ll see that the same words are used – the rains poured down, the rivers flooded and winds beat against that house – the only real difference is that the wise man’s house stays strong.

Here is where my love/hate relationship with this story begins. It becomes clear that God doesn’t promise us a life free of storms. I wish it said that the wise man, who built his house on the rock, lived happily ever after with perfect sunny days – but it doesn’t. The same storms that came to the foolish man, came to the wise man. God’s promise in this story, is that God will carry us through the storms that come our way, so that when the storms end, we will be standing. It really is the promise that goes back to Romans 8 – that nothing can separate us from God’s amazing love.

Will there be storms? Absolutely. Sometimes it seems like they are all around us. Over the last several weeks I’ve cried with a friend who has a scary diagnosis looming in her future. I’ve been following several people’s journeys with serious illness and death, sometimes sudden, and always seemingly unfair. I’ve been honored to be a part of these journeys. There are people and places struggling with natural disaster, poverty and hunger. Sometimes these storms can feel overwhelming. Then, in the midst of it all you begin to see the light beginning to shine through the clouds. The light comes in the form of kind words from a friend, in communities coming together to support those who are hurting, in a hug when you needed it most and through the Word of God that speaks to you time and time again. In those moments we begin to see the ways God has helped us through the storms. We begin to see the people that were placed in our lives to help us. We emerge from the storm, still standing.

Talking to kids about Tragedy

2010-02-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

In the job that I have, I've had a lot of conversations lately with parents about how to talk to their kids about great "tragedies" - everything from the disaster in Haiti to a death in the family or even a divorce. Marilyn Sharpe write this great article that I found to be very helpful!

PUTTING ON MY PARENT EDUCATOR'S HAT:
RESPONDING TO THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI IN OUR FAMILIES

None of us want our children to know loss or pain, suffering or tragedy. We'd like to insulate them from illness, injury, death, terrorism, and natural disaster. We'd love to preserve their innocence. But that isn't possible.

In this decade alone, parents have had to deal with 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami that devastated the South Pacific, war in Iraq and Afganistan., terrorism, plane crashes, school shootings, injustice, the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, and the death of a dream.

Now, we face the horror of enormous magnitude in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Haiti - photos of desolation, stories of heartbreaking loss, the sheer scale of the devastation.

And, what about the children?

As parents, we have no control over the losses our children will experience, but we can be present with children in times of loss and sorrow, teaching them how to live in and through the hardest times. Adults must be their age-appropriate filters and their wise guides.

What better gift can you give your child than helping them learn to handle loss and tragedy: name it, grieve it, find hope in God's presence and promises, and respond with generosity and care. But, how? Here are a few suggestions:

AVOID
" Telling them that this is God's plan. (God does not cause death and destruction, but promises to be with us in the midst of loss. God brings hope and a future.) " Watching televised accounts, hour after hour. Young children, not understanding replays, assume that the tragedy happens over and over again.
" Talking about it obsessively within earshot of children.
" Assuming kids won't hear, see, or understand the tragedy.
" Denying, diminishing, or demeaning the loss.
" Insulating them from the loss.
POSITIVE WAYS TO HELP CHILDREN
" Tell children, simply, in age-appropriate language, what has happened. Let them hear it from you.
" Name the loss.
" Be present with them.
" Listen to them.
" Answer questions honestly. Sometimes, that answer is "I don't know."
" Name their feelings and give them permission to feel what they feel.
" Grieve it together.
" Imbed them in a community of love, hope and faith.
" Tell and model for them the hope we have in Jesus Christ, who has promised to be with us always, that this life isn't the end of the story.
" Pray.
Do service that makes a difference to others.

So sick of politics!

2010-02-02T13:59:00.001-08:00

I usually try to keep my mouth shut when it comes to politics. I have strong feelings on certain issues, just like the next people - but I also have a deep affection for my friends and family, who sometimes hold a different view from my own. Day after day I read blogs, and e-mails and facebook posts from my friends who feel very passionate about their own views and I admit it, instead of "making waves" I keep my mouth closed. I'm not sure if this is the best tactic, but it is what I do.

See the thing is, I think as a society we've forgotten how to "disagree" or debate issues in an effective and intellectual way. Disagreeing with someone is felt as an attack on their character or launches into a lot of yelling and not a lot of listening.

This is partly what discourages me today in the world of politics - the name calling, the falsehoods, the lack of common decency for one another and a basic lack of respect is very troubling to me.

I have friends on both end of the political spectrum. I consider them to all be intelligent, decent people who try very hard to do the "right thing". As a matter of fact, most of them are people who have a deep faith as well - and their faith influences their decisions - which, believe it or not, means we can still land on opposite ends of an issue, and we can both feel that our faith played a part in that decision.

This stuff isn't easy - I frankly sometimes wonder how anyone can identify themselves strongly with one party, because, frankly my thoughts on issues don't fall neatly down any party line, and many of the people I talk to seem to feel the same way. So we keep quiet, unable to fully throw ourselves behind any party and then unsure about whether or not we are doing the right thing.

I admit it, time and time again I compose scathing and witty comebacks to political posts of my friends on Facebook, and then feeling satisfied in my "venting" session I promptly delete my ramblings before posting. Is it because I don't feel passionately about the issue. Certainly not, but I also care deeply about my friends (even those that I may disagree about) and I usually figure that it isn't helpful. If these conversations could all be had by people with mutual respect for each other - it might change the whole tone of politics - because truly, I want to understand the other side even if I don't agree with that. If I don't agree I don't think the other person is dumb - I just feel that we have different priorities or opinions, and THAT IS OK.

I am constantly reminded that it isn't my place to judge other people - I'll leave that up to God. Is it my place to make the world a better place for all God's children - I'd like to think so - but certainly, attacking one another isn't going to help make that happen.

I'll close - I'm not sure why I'm writing this, because I don't even know that anyone would read it (why would they - it has been 7 months since I last posted) - but mostly because today I've written and deleted so many responses, that I had to vent somewhere.... :)

Letter to my Younger Self

2009-06-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

A friend recently asked me to participate in a project she was doing, based on a book she had read called "Letters to my Younger Self" - if you are interested, I'd encourage you to try it, and I'd love to pass on your letter! Just pick a time in your life that you think was pivotal, and write a letter......here's my attempt....

Dear 20 year old me –

I know you feel like you are drowning. The last year has been one of the most difficult years of your life. I know you’ll never forget the day that you learned she was gone. It doesn’t seem right, it just doesn’t seem fair. Nineteen year old girls are not supposed to die. Nineteen year old girls that are beautiful and vivacious and filled with so much life shouldn’t have their stories splashed all over Unsolved Mysteries. She was your friend and you miss her.
I know you feel unsafe. I know you are angry with God and struggling with your faith. I know you are being reckless and making bad choices. I know your heart is breaking after falling in love with the wrong person, and knowing that you need to let that person go. It feels like everything around you is heartache, and you are struggling to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
I want you to know there is light at the end of the tunnel – and so much hope. You are angry with God – and that is okay. God is big enough to take your anger, and as a very wise man is going to tell you, your anger is encouraging because it means there is a relationship there (you can’t be mad at someone you believe doesn’t exist…right?). You have some pretty fantastic friends, and they will help you get through this dark time in your life. You are going to come out of this with a faith that is pretty amazing – as a matter of fact (I don’t want to scare you or anything) but your faith will eventually influence your career choices, and you will absolutely love your job.
Eventually they will solve this case, and justice will be served – and you will find that although you will never forget, you will be able to forgive. This will be key in your healing process. In addition, you will know how important it is to stay connected to those people who are important to you, so you never have any regrets. There will even be new social networking tools that will help you do this ( and drain a lot of your time) in the future!
As for the boy, you will spend a lot of time worrying about this and this particular relationship. Believe me the sooner you can let it go the happier you will be. God has great things in store for you – including a much healthier relationship and some pretty terrific kids, but you have to be open to it – and that means getting rid of all the other relationship stuff you are holding onto first. Believe me you won’t be sorry!

Take care, I’m looking forward to what the future holds for both of us,

Me at 34

Living with Excess

2009-04-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

So Sunday was a busy day for us. We went to the Twins game and saw the Angels play the Twins (the Twins won) and Sam thought he was in seventh heaven! It was a fun game. Afterwards he got to run the bases and see the field up close which of course for him was the "ultimate".

Sunday night we had a musician, Shaun Groves (http://www.shaungroves.com/) , leading worship at our church. If you've never heard his music, it is definitely well worth your time. He is a singer/songwrite that definitely touches my heart everytime I hear him. Shaun was doing a tour for Compassion International, an organization that works to sponsor children in Third World countries to help them get the food they need, necessary basic medical care, and help they hear the Gospel - it is a great organization and on his current tour he is touring for the purpose of gaining sponsors for these kids, paying his own way and traveling around the US to raise awareness. It was a good cause.

As I was listening to him talk about Compassion I was struck by some of the things he was saying. One of which was thinking about what a society of "excess" we live in. He referred to the story in Exodus in which God tells the Israelites to go out each morning and collect the manna, but to collect just enough for the "daily bread". When they don't they find out the excess goes bad - they just don't need the extra, they need to be confidant that God will provide what they need each day, and quite hoarding all the extras.

That's pretty hard for us to do isn't it? Yet if we, especially in America could do this, there would probably be very few people who would have to go hungry. It's amazing to me that our houses just keep getting bigger, and as Shaun said, the thing we are adding the most of to our houses is storage area. Think about it - more places to store our "Extra junk" - our leftovers. Doesn't that seem ridiculous when you really think about - we have so much extra we don't know what to do with it or where to put it, and our neighbors around the world don't even know where their next meal will come from.

We have been preparing for a garage sale at our house, trying to purge some of the "extras" we have and looking at it kind of makes me sad. Do we really need all of that stuff? What does all the stuff get in the way of? Yet, I still find myself comparing myself to my neighbors and what they have and thinking I don't have enough sometimes spinning myself into financial messes because of it.

What a crazy world - somehow I think it is not at all as God intended it to be.

Huh?

2009-03-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

I just wrote a whole new post and it vanished with some sort of odd error - probably for the best, cause it was kind of a downer. It has been that kind of a day. Maybe I'll try again later, when things are looking up again.

My Children

2009-02-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Kylie (3 going on 15)

Sam and Kylie (They Like each other most of the time)

Sam playing hockey (he likes it even though mom

isn't so sure!)

Last night at our house was one of those night when these two beautiful children, who look innocent enough, pushed all of my buttons. I look at these pictures and think - there is a reason God made them so darn cute!!! Just kidding, but we did have a night. They didn't like dinner, they didn't want to clean up, didn't want to go to bed - all in all we are lucky they are really good kids, but boy do they have their moments, and last night they had all their moments in one night!!! I guess we all have days like that. I'm a lucky girl, I have a great husband and two pretty fabulous kids so I have nothing to complain about. God is good.

Prayer and Lent

2009-02-19T12:54:00.000-08:00

Several years ago now, in my first youth ministry call, I had the privilege to take a group of high school students on a Mission Trip to the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia. I was fresh out of college and full of youthful enthusiasm, excitement and zest to change the world and the lives of the teens I was bringing on this trip. Once we got to West Virginia we were divided into work teams and I was sent with another leader to do home renovations for the Cook Family. My co-leader and I were both relative rookies in youth ministry, and we knew absolutely nothing about home renovations, but here we were charged with renovating the Cooks home and we had 15 high school youth looking to us for leadership. We knew we were up for the challenge. We took control and started delegating jobs. Day one was a breeze, work was progressing, conversation was flowing, and relationships were building. Devotions that night were full of great insights and observations and we were patting ourselves on that back – I was thinking – “Wow, this is going to be easy.”
Then came day two. One of the girls from my church was using a KILZ paint primer on the walls that you use when there is mold on the walls, to prepare the walls for paint. There is some pretty hefty chemicals in that paint. We had been warned to be extra careful when using this paint. As she was painting one of the higher parts of the wall, a large drop of the paint dripped into her eye. As we rushed to her, I sent one of the other kids to run and get Mrs. Cook and ask where the nearest hospital was to which Mrs. Cook calmly replied … “Oh…. That would be at least a good 2-2 ½ hours…. that won’t do you any good”. My co-leader and I start to frantically flush her eye with water and see that it is bright red and looks as if it is burnt badly. She is screaming in pain.
Meanwhile I hear Mrs. Cook say “Okay, the rest of y’all come over here… and we are going to pray.”
I remember thinking “Pray….. are you kidding me….. what the heck good is that going to do me, this kid is going to lose her eye and I’m responsible, I’m going to have to explain it to her parents”. I seriousely thought this woman had lost her mind. Then all of the sudden the crying and screaming stopped, and we looked down and her eye was fine. It wasn’t red, it wasn’t irritated, it wasn’t even a little pink. It was fine. You could have heard a pin drop in that house. The Mrs. Cook said “Now I want you all to sit down, and I’m gonna tell y’all a little bit about prayer”. I’ll never forget it, and I’m sure none of those high school kids have ever forgotten it either.
Now the cynic in you may say that I had flushed everything out of her eye and it was just coincidence, but something special happened in that room that day, where we all felt the power of that one women’s complete faith and the great power of being surrounded in prayer. It’s when I began to realize to that it is God’s job to change people and change lives, not mine, and I can only thank God when I get to be a part of that.
This fall we traveled to New Mexico to visit family, and my daughter got sick. She was very sick, and there were lots of unknowns and as we passed the word to friends and families and continued to get the messages “We are praying for you” I continued to feel some of the burden being lifted from me. Now, as I watch her play, it’s hard to believe a few months ago she was in a hospital room looking so hopeless. It is a reminder of me to be vigilant in my prayer life, and to tell people when we are praying for them, because you may never know how much those words may mean to them. It’s a reminder that prayer can not only change things, but prayer can change people.

I've been thinking about Lent coming up, and many times during Lent I've given something up - chocolate .....or sometimes (heaven forbid....Diet Coke!!!) but I know that isn't really what it is all about, and this year, I wanted to add a discipline. This year I'm going to be more diligent about my prayer life. I've been trying to think about a concrete way to do that - and I've decided, cheesy as it may be, that I'm going to "pray through" my friend list on facebook. Being that all of those people are people that have some sort of connection to me, and mean something to me in some way or another. 40 days of lent gives me about 9 people a day to pray for- very doable. So... if you get a note for me asking saying I'm praying for you don't be surprised, or offended. Maybe you to will feel the power of another person praying for you.

My Valentine

2009-02-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Sam gave me this valentine.....for those of you who can't read "6 year old" it says "I love you cause you stay home with me." I cried when I read it because it was so sweet! I said to him "But mommy doesn't stay home with you every day, do you wish mommy stayed home with you every day" and my beautiful son said "No Mommy, God needs you to help other kids sometimes. Besides, I have to go to school and I LOVE to play with my friends at daycare it is so much fun. I think it is just right, and we have so much fun when you stay home. I love you".
Gosh, I love that kid.

It's interesting because this is one of those things I think us women are hardest on each other about - and boy can we be catty and judgemental. I'm not really sure why, if it is because we all feel the need to defend the decision we made or what - which is just silly. No one should have to do that - because not one of us knows all of the reasons that each family has for making their individual decisions. For us, I work partially because I have to and in many ways it isn't a choice, but, I also love and feel passionately about my work and see it as a calling, and can't imagine NOT doing it. That doesn't mean I love my children any less. (It may mean my house isn't always picture perfect...hey.. I'm not superwoman after all :) ) So we work it out. I stay at home a little, I work, I rarely miss one of their important events and I make sure we have quality time together. In many ways I am a better mom because I work, because after a day of work I'm thrilled and excited to see them and can't wait to spend time with them. It works for me, but it doesn't mean it works for everyone. It's hard to explain. That statement doesn't work for everyone, so I wouldn't try to place that value, that works in our family and our situation on anyone else. It's interesting, for a long time I've wished that it could be a choice in our family - that I didn't HAVE to work - and have coveted some situations where that was the case. As life progresses I began to wonder if I really did have a choice if I would choose any different? Hmmm... I don't really know.

Remembering Nick

2009-02-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

Growing up as an "Army Brat" had some advantages and some disadvantages. I had the opportunity to see and experience lots of different things growing up and also the chance to meet a lot of great people, for that I'm so grateful. One part that makes me very sad now, is how we are all scattered all over the country. Some of us never really had "roots" of our own, and have gone back to where our parents are from, considering that to be where we are "from", some of us married into the military life and continue the cycle - but for whatever reason, I have several dear friends who I miss a lot that I never really get to see. Some of those friendships are so special to me and I know that no matter how much time has passed, if we would have the opportunity to sit down over a cup of coffee it wouldn't feel awkward or strange, and we could probably be there for hours. How I wish that was possible....... I miss you guys.... Jessika, Tabitha, Tricia, Liv. Friends like that don't come around all the time.

It's times like this week when I really mourn the distance. As I am writing this, Jessika and her family are preparing for her father's funeral, and I feel awful that I'm not there for her and her family, and that I'm not there to honor such a good man.

Jessika and I met in High school in French Class - we connected and became virtually inseperable for the last two years of high school and beyond. I spent a lot of time at her house. Last night I shed a lot of tears remembering how good Nick was to us. At Jessika's house they spoke Spanish alot, he always tried to help make sure I knew what was going on, and didn't feel left out. He celebrated with me and gave me a big hug when he asked for a plate (in spanish) and without thinking I passed him one because I had understood him! The memories came flooding back to me last night and I cried. I cried because the world has lost someone special. I cried because I miss my friends. I cried because I wanted to get on a plane so badly but couldn't swing the $800 plane ticket. I cried because I don't want it to take funerals for me to see my friends who I love so dearly.

Rest in Peace Nick Paraskevas. Much love to you.

Silence

2009-02-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a staff/council retreat. All in all it was a good weekend - good company, good work and even some time for some good fellowship. In one of our devotional times I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Mother Theresa. It is one I think about often.

An interviewer once asked Mother Teresa, “When you pray, what do you say to God?” She said, “I don’t say anything. I just listen.” So the interviewer asked, “What does God say to you?” She replied, “God doesn't say anything. He listens.”

What a fascinating image that is, fascinating to me anyway. There is something about silence however, that makes us uncomfortable. When there is a lull in a conversation (I think I heard somewhere that it happens every 7 minutes.....) we get uncomfortable. It seems as if so many of us can't climb into the car without turning on the radio. Thanks to my husband, I can't even fall asleep anymore without some sort of background "noise". We are constantly "plugged in" - to our i-pods, our t.v.'s, our radios - and if it isn't the audio noise we are assaulted by visual noise - the images on the screen fly at us fast and furious, and it seems as if they must to keep our attention. I am so guilty of this. Especially it seems in todays fast paced society - in a world filled with so much "noise" - how do we make space for the "silence" that we need, the space in which God can enter in? The quiet in which we crave and need, but sometimes don't even realize how much?

I started to think about the instances in which we are comfortable with the silence - the times when you can sit with family, or a close friend, and feel okay saying nothing at all - instead of awkward. It is the sign of a close and deep relationship when you feel comfortable enough to say nothing .......... and then I start to understand Mother Theresa quote. That's when I also understand that only in the silence can I truly listen.

Guatemala

2009-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

So right now, there is a group of 4 people from Incarnation in Chontala and I can't help but think about my trip there last year, and wonder about what they are experiencing. It was an incredible experience to be there. I remember spending the first few days in Guatemala city leaning about the history of the country - learning about the civil war and the violence ( "La Violencia") that had taken place there over the last 40 years or so. I was shocked and moved to tears by so many of the stories - and appalled to learn about our country's involvement in much of it. Our guides teased me, because I joked about hearing about "guerilla" warfare in Guatemala as a kid - and saying how I wondered about all those "monkeys" fighting in the jungles.... and why we really cared? Now I'm sad about how little I realized and about what was really going on.

We spent several days in the Mayan Village of Chontala. This is the heart of where Incarnation's partnership is - with a group of women who formed a Co-op with the help of a Methodist Pastor. All of these women became widows during the violence. Eileen, Diane and I stayed with Maria and her family. One night Maria told us her story. Her husband had been ordered to show up for civil patrol duty. The government was using these civil patrols to go into neighboring villages and kill other Native mayan people to help keep insurgents from "rising up". He refused to report for duty. The next day, he didn't come home from the fields at his usual time. Maria (who had two children, and was 7 months pregnant with her third child) went looking for him. She found him with his br0ther-in-law and a cousin in the fields. All three men had been mutilated with a machete. Maria's husband was still alive, but missing the back of his head and she knew there was nothing she could do for him, so she sat with him, praying and singing until he died. This was their punishment for refusing to show up for civil patrol duty. She and her children fled into the mountains. In the next few days the village was invaded. Several people in the village were locked in the area churches and the churches were bombed. Men were killed in front of their wives and children - things were horrific. Many of the wives and the children that survived fled into the mountains. After some time they returned, but had no way of supporting their families. They went to this local Pastor, Pastor Diego, who helped them get a grant for some thread, and helped them turn some of their weavings into artwork, bags, and shirts, and helped them sell them. This then formed their co-op, and has thus sustained them. The co-op now also works to help educate some of the village children, gives micro-loans to other small businesses and works to sell the womans weavings. It's pretty amazing to see how they have persevered.

And through it all their faith carries them through. That humbled me. They had very little, and they shared it all with us - unbelieveable. Here were people that should hate me, after all America was a big part of the problem in their civil war. It seemed to me like it would be hard to not be bitter, but they weren't. We slept in their only bed (fleas and all....), were given their best food and were treated like royalty. Their faith is strong and unwavering, in spite of their hardships - it gets them through each and every day. It is inspiring. I hope the crew there now is having an equally inspiring time.

Children In Worship

2009-02-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Have you been to a baptism lately? Last week, as I sat in worship I delighted to see that there would be a baptism. I love to see the proud families standing before God, each other and this faith community and making powerful promises on behalf of their children. It also reminds me of how meaningful that process was for me, when I stood in front of the congregation and made those promises on behalf of my children. As I was listening to this service, one of the promises struck me. The first promise made in a baptism is that parents would “faithfully bring that child to the services of God’s house”. I looked around me, and noticed very few children in the pews. Believe me it also didn’t go unnoticed, that two of the children not in worship were my own.

It had been one of those mornings when I thought that it would just be easier to attend worship while my son was Sunday School and my daughter was in the nursery. I thought to myself that bringing them with me was too much of a distraction to me, and to my experience in worship, so it was just easier to do it this way. That’s how it begins, isn’t it? When our children are small worshipping together can be a challenge. Believe me worship for me B.C. (before children) and A.D. (after diapers) are two entirely different experiences! So in the beginning we tell ourselves, it is just easier for us to worship while our children are in the nursery or Sunday School. We think to ourselves, when they get a little bit older we’ll take them into worship and when we do, we are shocked to find out that they behave inappropriately or tune out because they are bored. Should it be any surprise to us? Somehow, we have skipped one of the most important promises we made at their baptism – “to faithfully bring them to the services of God’s house”. If we don’t teach kids how to worship, or teach them what worship is, how can we ever expect them to engage? Should it be so surprising to us when as teenagers or young adults they fall away from the church?

Part of the problem is also how we define worship. When I fail to bring my children in to worship, because it takes away from my worship experience, I’ve missed the point. Worship is not about me. Worship is about giving honor and glory to God. At its very core, worship is our recognition of the greatness of God. In Psalm 50: 7-15 we learn about the true nature of worship. It tells us that God is not concerned with rituals and sacrifices. He most desires heartfelt thanksgiving and adoration toward Him. We are told time and time again that the most important commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind”. Worship is a reflection of that love. When I truly understand that, I also understand that our children, who love so freely, need to be in worship. They need to learn how to express their love for God. It’s important to God, and it should be important to us and to the future of the church as we know it.

Does that mean it will be easy? Absolutely not, because just like everything else, children will need to be taught. It means that I will endure goldfish in the pews, and the occasional loud comments with grace and the understanding that having them there is pleasing to God and is part of my responsibility in fulfilling the promises made at their baptism. If we don’t start now it only gets harder.

Jumping into Cyber Space

2009-02-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

I've been reading my friend Danielle's blog religiously, and today she asked me about my own blog - and I had to admit that I didn't have one. However, I've been toying with the idea of starting one for some time. I've just never been sure who might be intereseted in reading what I have to say! So to get it started, I'm going to post some things I've written for some other publications that I'm passionate about, and hopefully I'll be good about keeping it updated and we'll just see how it goes!