Jesus Taught Me How to Celebrate Christmas

Yesterday started with a bang. After several days of sleep deprivation, I had to brave the Christmas Eve shopping crowds to finish up shopping for my kids. Thankfully I knew what I wanted and knew where to get it - so with three stops to make, we headed first for the mall. It was early and not too crowded around 10 am - but by the time we left, close to noon - the place was a madhouse. It took 20 minutes just to pull out of the mall. Barnes and Noble offered a slight reprieve, and then on to Target which was another nuthouse!
Errands done, I headed off for my 4 hour Christmas Eve shift from 2-6pm at Walmart. From the second I walked in I could feel the tension in the atmosphere. The crowds were terrible, and people were in "me" mode. My line stayed busy - non-stop for 4 hours. Then it happened. About half an hour before the store closed, tensions started to build. Customers were being urged to the front to complete their purchases every 5 minutes or so - and they were getting cranky. When the CSM told me to close my line, people continued to get in. I kindly explained that my lane was closed as I finished up the last customer. As I concentrated on his order, a lady that comes in frequently and I have a fairly good rapport with got in line and unloaded several things onto the belt before I saw her and explained that I was closing. I was tired too. It was Christmas Eve for me and my co-workers too. I wanted to go home too. But she did not take this well, and started to throw things down in her cart angrily, swearing under her breath. We also had to have the local police come and guard the door that was left open for the last remaining customers and employees to exit because people were trying to force their way into the store after being told we were closed, and becoming violent.
There seems to be a disconnect in some people - some lack of recognition of the humanity of our fellow man. It is so disheartening. But it will not spoil Christmas. Neither will the "guaranteed delivery" of Kaitlyn's violin by Tuesday of this week - her big gift - that never came. Things happen and we often find ourselves discouraged by our circumstances - but none of those things should change what Christmas means. I had to choose throughout the tense day to remember that I did not know what brought each person to their disposition - perhaps they had lost a loved one this year, or like us had financial strain because of layoffs and job changes, or any number of a million other things. Even if they forgot my humanity, I made a conscious decision to remember theirs. Jesus taught me how.

To wish you Merry Christmas I leave you with the words to my favorite Christmas song:

I Am, You Are

In a lowly stable on that Bethlehem morn
The Savior of the world was born
Finally the one behind heaven's gates
Came to be earth's Emmanuel

Tenderly a mother rocks her baby boy
She is holding heaven's joy
Angels lend an ear as she begins to sing
A lullaby fit for a King

You are wonderful
Little Prince of Peace
Tiny Counselor
Almighty God
You are Ancient of Days
Precious newborn King
I Am, you are

Lowly shepherds came
The blessed Babe to see
And Mary marveled at the mystery
Only simple faith could help them understand
He would be the crucified Lamb

And Mary sang to her sweet little Lamb ...
You are wonderful
Little Prince of Peace
Tiny Counselor
Almighty God
You are Ancient of Days
Precious newborn King
I Am, you are

No to the Status Quo

I have noticed lately I have an aversion. Perhaps it has always been there, but lately I have become overwhelmingly conscious of it. The aversion is the male supremacy of our society in general. I am not sure what opened my eyes to this when it seems perhaps I have been half-asleep for so many years, but I can hardly stand it. My sister had a guest come over for dinner the other night, and while it was the right thing to do to serve dinner to that guest, since it was a man, something inside me wanted to scream, "let him get his own plate!".
This being said, I have served my husband many dinners, drinks, laid out his towel in the bathroom for his shower, and any number of other things. I have done these out of the love in my heart for him, and not out of some primitive idea that I owe him these things. But I have noticed more and more lately that men often sit back in silent expectation, as if they deserve to be served. Women tend to fall into the natural role of serving and our society has this unspoken structure that prevails to the point that I have noticed I do it without even a second thought. It is interesting that I find myself in this position when my mom wasn't the subservient kind of woman. She expected to be waited on and served. Nor was my dad a model of this kind of man that sits back and waits for women to do certain things. He has always jumped in and done what needed to be done, be it laundry, dishes, etc.
As a woman, I have been pushed out of intelligent conversation with men. I have watched other women serve food and drinks to the men in a gathering while the women, who are also guests are to serve themselves. I have seen boy children given preference and allowed to leave the dinner table and run and play while the daughters must stay and assist with clean up or are expected to help with the smaller children. I could go on and on with paragraph after paragraph of such examples.
I have been noticing that this doesn't just happen in marriage but in male and female interaction across the board. I am not sure I'm able to fully articulate why this is bothering me so much recently. I know that I feel the same way when a man holds the door for me, as if he is in some way indicating that I deserve preference because I'm a woman. I appreciate the gentlemanly gesture, while at the same time I know that this comes from the same mindset. I know that I am overthinking it all a bit, and hope that one day I don't have some mental fracture that causes me to jump behind the door and refuse to walk through it just because a man is holding it.
Even the Bible and Christian culture tend to follow the Jewish patriarchal model and show preference for the most part to men. Jesus however never modeled this. He said that the greatest in the kingdom must be the servant of all. He did not indicate a gender prerequisite, therefore making this premise applicable to everyone. We must all serve one another. When the world around us elevates men and diminishes women, Jesus spoke to both equally.
I am just feeling a little tired and frustrated with the status quo. Can anybody feel me?

The Duck Chlorinator

When I was in elementary school, my parents moved my brother and I who were both asthmatic and severely allergic to everything to southern Florida. They bought a house with a pool. I can remember my very first experience with that pool and swimming was my dad throwing me out into the middle of the deep end. I guess he thought I would instinctively start to swim like a dog. I didn't. I sunk like.a.rock. This has painted an interesting picture of my life. I am always hitting deep water with no real idea what to do once I get in there, and have to figure out the hard way how to keep from sinking.
This wasn't exactly where this post started.
What I was really thinking about was the duck. After my brother and I learned to swim, there was always a third party in the pool with us - this little plastic duck that floated around with chlorine tablets in the bottom of it. I remember Rob and I would play with it, tipping its beak down and watch it pop back up again, righting itself every single time. Usually about the time we were really having fun, my mom would stick her head out the screen door and yell, "Leave the g*dd*mn duck alone!" which was about all the religion I had growing up.
The thing is that recently I have been thinking about some things, discussing things, reading books about things that are outside of casual Christian thinking - things like the feminine attributes of God, is there a literal hell, does God really approve of war, or would God really send someone to hell that had never heard the gospel??? I have found that I make a lot of people uncomfortable, even when I am opening the topics up for discussion, having formed no real conclusion one way or the other, but wanting to just toss it about a bit with other thoughtful human beings. My husband was one of the fallout victims today. I could see that the topic at hand freaked.him.out completely.
The thing is that inside of that little duck that floated around our pool when I was a kid, there was something inside that always set things upright. No matter how that duck got tipped, pounded in a heavy rain, buffeted by winds, it always floated right side up.
I used to be scared of some of the things I have been thinking about lately as well, but now I'm more scared of pat answers, 12 step plans, and the formulaic approach to spiritual matters. I don't have to be afraid of probing the hard questions. I pray for discernment, and I know that just like our chlorine duck, there is something inside of me that always sets me right side up again - His name is Jesus.

Coercion, Manipulation and the Stuff of Fairy Tales

To have two hours to myself while Kullen has a rehearsal, Kendra is working and Kaitlyn opted to stay home in luxurious silence is almost too good to be true. Sitting here blogging at Barnes and Noble, surrounded by soothing music, gentle conversation, many great books, and the stimulating smell of freshly brewed coffee has given me a chance to think. I do this all the time, but seldom without following rabbit trails.
We continue to have situations even outside church where others through guilt and manipulation attempt to derive a specific outcome, behavior, or cooperation. Why can't people just live and let one another live in peace? I am faced with the stark reality that I too have often done these same dirty deeds.
It seems that we are all afraid of each other. We struggle to give one another the freedom to move. In religious circles it seems we often don't want others to do things that we don't allow ourselves to do or enjoy.
I try to picture Jesus with the personality that we often like to give to Him - "Come to me, or I'm not gonna give you this good thing here in my left pocket." "Blessed are those who washed their hands before supper." "Come to me all who are weary or heavy laden and I will tell you what ten things to do to get yourself out of this mess." I just can't picture Him that way, and so if we want to be increasingly becoming more and more like Him, why do we do this to each other?
It sounds so simple to ask what would Jesus do, and just a little different to try and live it out. I'm no theologian, but I definitely think we have lost our aim.

Shockingly UnChristian

This week’s issue of WORLD magazine arrived today. I was drawn in by an article called “Going Negative” by Tony Woodlief. Here is what the beginning of the article said:

The Barna Group, a respected Christian survey organization, recently asked young people to identify which perceptions they most strongly associate with Christianity. The three most commonly agreed upon were anti-homosexual, judgmental and hypocritical. Barna president David Kinnaman and co-author Gabe Lyons conclude in UnChristian that Christians “have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for.”

Wow. This moves me almost to the point of tears.
I think of Jesus. He didn’t have to have an anti-abortion or a boy + girl = marriage bumper sticker on the back end of his donkey to let others know He valued life and marriage. He lived those values, while loving the people who hadn’t gotten there yet.
The bumper stickers, public condemnation, division, and judgment is the stuff of Pharisees.
Who are you going to follow?

Should I?

I really enjoy the God Journey podcasts. I have been a fairly regular listener for about six months now. I noticed they have a couple of new slogans such as "Sacred Cow Tipping Team", "Free Range Believer" and "Don't Should on Yourself".
That last one has had me thinking of all of the shoulds that I have lived under at different times in my life: I should ..... eat well, pray more, exercise, go to church every time the doors are open, fast, sleep 8 hours a night, memorize scripture, lose a few pounds, spend more time outside, vote with a certain party affiliation, etc. etc. etc.
I love the freedom that I have as a believer to live in relationship with the Lord without outside constraints. For so many years, I lived under the expectations of others, or the confines of what I was told a Christian looked like. That life was not joy and liberty, it was a burden.
I am so thankful that I was able to come out from under that burden and meet Jesus.
No more shoulds for me.
What about you - are there any "shoulds" that you need to address in your life?

Now I really should get off of here and fold some laundry. *wink*

Get Yours First

I was listening to Christian radio while riding with Kullen in the car tonight and I heard a curious thing..... the announcer was talking about some upcoming concert, and how there will be a special release of tickets. They went on to say, get yours first before they are released to the general public.
Am I missing something?
What about Jesus' teaching that the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.
Even on the Christian radio station, the message seems to be "hurry up and get yours before the next guy".
Any thoughts?

Eat the Meat and Spit out the Bones

I saw this post on my friend Sheryl's blog and it got me thinking about our tendencies to discredit a person - famous or not - because of one thing that they say or do. I had a friend tell me years ago that the truth is the truth even if a liar speaks it - and I have tried to filter what I hear or read through that thinking ever since. Sometimes the deepest, most profound truths can come from the most unlikely sources.
I personally find Oprah and Dr. Phil a bit new-agey, self-helpish. It doesn't mean that I am never interested in what they have to say or find helpful information. I take what I feel is useful - and discard what is not. It is like eating meat and spitting out the bones. A lot of people discard things that are said by children or teens -as if they have nothing to offer us. My take on it is this - if we are all created in the image of God - no matter what particular bend our marring by sin may take - we all have something to offer each other.
I haven't watched Oprah in many, many years, and I have never watched Dr. Phil - but I have had occasion to see an interview or humanitarian story, etc. When I do hear them, I take what is useful and reject what is not, or what I know to be untrue. Sometimes you'll hear someone say something like "the power in you" or speak of a "higher power" - and while they are not naming the power - I know that it is God, even if they do not yet.
I see so many people around me being so anti-this and anti-that - when what we need to do is stand for truth, grace and mercy. I think of Jesus, and his response to the woman at the well. I always picture Him from her eyes, at His feet looking up - and I feel so grateful that He didn't go and discredit her to the community. He spoke truth, He showed love, and He went on His way, allowing God to continue the work His words of truth began.

My Jesus Would Never be Accepted in my Church

There is this song by Todd Agnew called My Jesus. In fact I posted the video here not long ago. (If you click on it, you'll have to scroll down.) It is one of those songs that just sticks with you. I can hear this song as if it were streaming through my head, day and night. Lately it has gotten stronger, louder, clearer - compelling me to think about what it means to live like Jesus. There is just one place where I get stuck - two little lines that irk me -

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet

The question rings in my thoughts - why - why would you go to a church where Jesus, if he walked in the back door, would not be welcome? What is a church that values the carpet or the environment or programs or cleanliness or policies more than Christ? It is nothing but a country club with a religious focus. I don't need a "club" to belong to, I'd rather belong to the body of Christ. I don't need a denomination, I'd rather be a lover and follower of Jesus. My Jesus.

Undone - Conversations

I talked to my friend Carol today - and it was so awesome. She is absolutely the most awesome person to talk to when you are sorting things out - especially spiritual truth. We have been friends for 10 years now - and even though we can't get together for lunch or coffee or to take the kids ice skating anymore or go on vacation to the beach or have a Fourth of July cookout - the telephone is our greatest "friendship resource" - and believe me we've done a lot of sorting out on that phone through the years.
Let me preface by saying that Carol has been sick for the past week - and while all of this is going on in our lives, I haven't been able to talk to her! But we both decided that God had a purpose in that for both of us.
One thing she brought up to me was that in my excitement about what God has shown our family, I need to be careful not to sound condemning of others who have not come to the same conclusion. I believe wholeheartedly that our relationship with God is personal - and not corporate. It would then be a total contradiction for me to tell you that your relationship with God had to look like mine - or that your family needs to do what my family is doing. We are content with following where God is leading - and want to encourage others to follow Him - not us - and nothing less.
There was something else that came up in our conversation that I will write about later - that moved me to the point of choking back tears. I am broken, and undone, and it is here that Jesus is remaking me.
I also wanted to respond to another comment from that Canadian cutie Jane. She pointed out that some may think we are using hypocrisy in the church as an excuse not to attend. Believe me - I have always loved church. I have loved being with the body of Christ. I was not looking for an excuse to leave the church. For a couple of years now I have been making every excuse to stay in it has been apparent that God wanted us to do something different.
I am so excited right now about the Lord that it is like electricity in my heart and brain. I want to break every ritual and routine, and be left with Jesus. I want to live in and for His love alone.
I want that for YOU too.
I wish you for you the indescribable joy of His love!

Undone for the Sake of Christ

I am certain that this post will be a shock to some that know me. I hope that I am able to articulate what has transpired in my life over the last year, and even going back before that, and how it has affected me, and the shift our family is experiencing as we come undone, and untangled from organized religion. God has been trying to show me for years now that what I thought was spiritual life, was little more than smoke and mirrors. What I though was worship was a façade, an item crossed off a check-list of things to do in order to feel good about myself, and my standing with Him. Quiet time was a ritual, and little more than that. Even on the days that I tried hard to keep with me what I had digested that morning, more often than not, I was looking for a feeling of approval – like my mentally retarded brother –in-law says when he cleans his plate, or writes his name, “I did good”, and wearing it as a banner over my life as I interacted with others, a sense of superiority, I had my quiet time today. My Christian walk has been little more than a crawl – against the wind, in the desert sands, chasing mirages.

Since we moved, and I have been visiting churches full of unfamiliar faces, my eyes have been opened to the hypocrisy in my own heart, and what we call the “church” in modern day America. Face forward. Every head bowed, every eye closed. Sit. Stand. Sing 5 verses 3 times. Sit. Pray. Raise your hand. Don’t deviate from the program. How can God’s spirit move in the confines of our itinerary?

I began noticing that so much of what passes for a “sermon” has very little to do with the word of God, and much more to do with a social agenda. The church is anti-alcohol, anti-smoking, anti-gay, anti-pornography, anti-Harry Potter, anti-anti-anti, etc. and for years while we have had this growing laundry list of things we don’t “do” or “support”, we have done little to effect a real change. Jesus hung out with the whores, and thieves, and liars. He drew them into relationship with Him. He knew that no change could be affected without that connection, but we’ve pushed them out of the modern day church, in intolerant self-righteousness.

Recently, I heard someone say that we were moving out of the “church-age” and into the “relational-age”. I wasn’t sure at first exactly what that meant, but it resonated with me. I found myself saying to a friend not long ago, that I hated going to church. It scared me. What I want is not more “church-ianity” but a deeper relationship with Jesus. I am ready to shed the guilt of not doing enough, and walk one day at a time in His leading.

I found a website recently that is busy documenting the sweeping movement of committed Christians who are dropping out of formalized religion – and have decided to stop “going to” church and start “being” the church. It is called The God Journey. Finally someone was putting into words what I had been thinking and feeling. Intelligent, articulate people who were passionately in love with Jesus Christ but tired of church as we know it. Do we have it all figured out? Nope. That’s the beauty part, we get to get closer to Jesus and follow His leading. If you are feeling much the same way – I would highly recommend watching the videos found at Family Room Media about “Church Dropouts” and their series on “Church Outside the Walls”. There is also a vast resource of podcast archives, with a lot of nitty-gritty stuff to chew on.

Here was an amazing article, Is Jesus Enough. I say YES. He is enough. Peel back the layers Lord and let me be left with YOU! God is in control. All our trust is in Him. Our home is open. Our hearts are open. All our resources are in His hands. We wait with great anticipation to see what He is doing in us. This may not make me popular. In fact there was a time that I would have been furious with someone saying such things. But we know the road He is leading us down, and what else is there to do but follow.

I found this video that someone put together using clips from The Passion of the Christ to a Todd Agnew song, Which Jesus Do You Follow. It is my heartsong right now.

My Jesus

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Which Jesus do you follow?

Which Jesus do you serve?

If Ephesians says to imitate Christ

Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died

He spent His time with thieves and liars

He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant

So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness

Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins

He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars

He loved the poor and accosted the rich

So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow

This picture of the American dream

If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion

Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins

But the Word says He was battered and scarred

Or did you miss that part

Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died

He spent His time with thieves and the least of these

He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable

So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church

The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet

But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud

I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd

And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!

I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a poster child for American prosperity, but like my Jesus

You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity

I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus

Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me

Can I be like You Jesus?

I want to be like my Jesus

No more smoke and mirrors - I want Jesus and nothing less!

Manifest Plainness - Can Others See Jesus In Me?

Manifest plainness? What does that mean? I read it on my friend’s blog. She had it as part of a header and it just grabbed my attention. The header read “Manifest plainness. Embrace simplicity. Reduce selfishness. Have few desires.” It reminded me of a book about Saint Francis of Assisi that I read with a book discussion group several years ago. He was the epitome of humility. In fact, if he were alive today and heard me say such a thing about him, he would return to his monastery and have his “brothers” stand on his face so that pride would not take root.

Saint Francis wore a brown habit, owned no possessions, and worked hard at maintaining humility. I struggle with all of these things and at different times I get my thinking very twisted here. I want to “manifest plainness” so that others do not see me – but Jesus in me. I don’t like flamboyant clothing and jewelry, it feels too conspicuous. But I know other Christian women that are completely different in this regards – in fact, Beth Moore, my absolute all-time favorite Bible teacher is from Texas and she says things like “in Texas we believe, the higher the hair the closer to God”. (Now before you go off thinking I am saying Beth Moore is flamboyant - I want to clarify - I think she is a very classy, beautiful woman, who dresses immaculately and is a first class teacher of the word of God. What I am saying is "style-wise" we're different.)

I had it right between the eyes this Sunday. I walked into Sunday school and immediately felt under-dressed. Now mind you, I’ve been wearing jeans just about every single Sunday since we started going to this new church (about 3 months now) and haven’t felt awkward about it yet. I figured it was one of those things that the enemy was using to keep my mind off of what might be gleaned in the spiritual realm by diverting my attention to my shoes, my pants, and the sheer overwhelming elegance and sophistication of every other woman in the room. Ugh! I sat all the way through feeling very, shall we say for lack of a better word *dumpy*. After Sunday school I met up with Kaitlyn telling me “so-and-so’s mother makes her wear a dress every week and so-and-so’s father makes them at least wear dress pants – but that she’s glad I just let them be the same as they are every other day”. DID THE CHILD READ MY MIND? While her thoughts give me comfort now, they did little at the time to lift the oppressive feeling of being very shabby in contrast.

I have always had a big issue with hypocrisy. The people I knew growing up who called themselves Christians were always cleaned up on the outside – and after church (in the rare times that we actually attended), as soon as the car doors would slam to take us back to the reality of our lives, they were no different. In fact, in my experience, those who called themselves by the name of Christ were frequently more evil than the “non-Christians” who were often more kind, and loving than the Sunday school teacher looking down her nose at the rowdy little children with uncombed hair, boys with half tucked shirts and girls with soiled dresses because they were obviously “unsanctified”. These kinds of people did everything short of push me absolutely and totally out of the church – however, they could NOT push me too far to be gripped in the loving arms of my Savior.

As an adult, I walked through the doors of a little chapel on a mountain in West Virginia. My life was in utter shambles. I looked for God and I found him – among people wearing jeans and tennis shoes and t-shirts. I learned the reality of the verse that says “man looks at the outward appearance, while God looks at the heart”. I learned that real sanctification touches and purifies the blackness of our hearts – and often changes the outward as well – which has little to do with real spirituality. I take the verse to heart that says that instead of outward adornment we should be concerned with the “beauty of a meek and quiet Spirit that is of great value to the Lord”.

I know that I have many areas in my heart yet to be transformed. I know that when the Lord looks at me he sees past the tennis shoes and blue jeans and see that Julie needs to work on envy, pride, malice, idolatry and thinks of little else other than making me more like Him. The next time the enemy tries to get my eyes on these things – I am going to remember that my goal in life is to be more like Jesus, so that when others see me they can see Him. Modesty aside (believe me this body was MADE to be covered!) what I wear really doesn’t matter.

The Ultimate Reason to Party

I'll tell you what - this Ultimate Blog Party has been so much fun. I've made tons of new friends. It has been a blast. There have been some great games, awesome music, and at least some pictures and recipes of what looks to be some very yummy food. I wish we could all really get together and have a great big party!
I have been wanting to put music up at my blog all day - the kind I would put on in my house if I were having friends over. I chose this Krystal Myers video from YouTube because it is one of my favorite songs. This 17 year old girl sings about the best reason of all to party - "grace". (not getting what we really deserve!) If you knew what a absolutely and complete disaster my life was before I met Jesus, you'd know how precious His grace is to me. The Bible tells us (my paraphrase) that we love in the same measure that we are forgiven - and I have been forgiven much. I am hopelessly, helplessly in love with the King of my heart, and even as daily I fail Him ~ He still loves me. That is grace that takes my breath away!

Beauty of Grace
Tell me why do you run
you say you're so ashamed
bruised and broken
thought if i figured out
the mess you've made
that i'd leave

but anywhere you are
is never too far away
there's freedom from your scars
the mistakes that you've made..forgivin
the memories erased
baby thats the beauty of graaaace
la de da la de da da

tell me what is love
i'll never hold you to
the things you may have done
you say you want new life
in my arms there's mercy

anywhere you are
is never too far away
there's freedom from your scars
the mistakes that you've made..forgivin
the memories erased
baby that's the beauty of grace
la de da la de da da

so blow a kiss goodbye
to all the pain you hide

anywhere you are
is never too far away
there's freedom from your scars.....

the memories erased
baby that's the beauty of grace

anywhere you are
is never too far away
there's freedom from your scars
and the mistakes that you've made
forgiven
memories erased
baby thats the beauty of graaaace

Anything But Jesus

I read this story on the news this evening – and while it doesn't surprise me – what really upsets me is that it is okay to promote anything but Jesus. You can promote witchcraft, homosexuality, and immorality of every kind, but you CANNOT promote Jesus. I bet this child could have dressed up as a suicide bomber and would have gotten less flack. Unreal. And ironically, the same people who said that his dressing up as Jesus was "promoting religion" would likely out of the other side of their mouth say that Jesus wasn't God - but just a good man. You can't have it both ways people.

Knees to the Earth

Have you ever heard a song, and you knew through it that God was comforting you? I started listening to this one after Boomama's blog about music! I was walking through the house singing this with all my heart earlier today - what comfort, how precious, it was a moment, a "walk" if you will with the Lord.

Knees to the Earth
by: Watermark

Wonderful Savior
My heart belongs to Thee
I will remember - always - the blood You shed for me
Wonderful Savior
My heart will know Your worth
So I will embrace You - always - as I walk this earth

Be blessed, be loved, be lifted high
Be treasured here
Be glorified
I owe my life to You, my Lord
Here I am......

Beautiful Jesus
How may I bless Your heart?
Knees to the earth - I bow down - to everything You are
Beautiful Jesus
You are my only worth
So let me embrace You - always -as I walk this earth

Be blessed, be loved, be lifted high
Be treasured here
Be glorified
I owe my life to You, my Lord
Here I am......

The second verse just grabbed me - my worth is in Him - my treasure is in Him - He is the reason that I am anything - and all that I have to offer Him is this life. I don't want to waste one more second tripping over the snares of loneliness, homesickness, or even rejection. He is all - He is enough - He is everything. Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.
If anyone knows how to upload a music clip on Blogger - I would love to be educated!

Bridge to Terabithia - Movie Review

I took the kids to see the new Bridge to Terabithia movie yesterday afternoon. I am glad that we had a chance to read the book before the movie came out. It always gives me a sense of accomplishment, and is nice for the kids to use discerning eyes and notice differences and similarities.
The story is sweet and sad. It is a story about unlikely friendship, and sincerely loyalty. Two children, a boy and girl that need each other become friends and conquer the world - both enemies in the real world, and foes in the imaginary world of Terabithia that they create for themselves - an escape from their not so rosy reality.
I love the imaginations of the main characters, and the example of how a vivid imagination can be contagious. I like that a boy and girl can be friends, innocently.
One thing that was a little more exaggerated in the movie than in the book is when the female character, Leslie Burke goes to church with her friend, Jesse Aaron's family. On the way home they are talking about Jesus and God. She doesn't believe that God would "damn a soul to hell", yet she goes on to say that the story is beautiful. She tells Jesse that he has to believe it (evidently because it is his "religion") and hates it - but she doesn't have to believe it and thinks it is beautiful. It is one of those conversations that might make you uneasy if it weren't for the fact that it is incomplete.
The story is sad, and we can all relate to the sense of regret, and the sentiments of "if only" that resonate in the sadness. I don't mind a sad story sometimes. There is an understanding that into each life a little rain must fall (although some people seem to get a torrential downpour and others seem to get drizzle), that connects us all as part of the human experience.

Jesus and "Father Christmas"

Over the past week I have read several posts from different bloggers about Santa and Jesus, and the whole spirit of Christmas. This morning, I was reading Boltbabe's story about Baby Jesus being stolen out of a light display in someone's backpack! How much more outrageous and anti-Christmas could that sentiment be? Then I followed a link to Spunky's blog about a teacher being reprimanded for telling her first grade students that there is NO Santa. And it is truly a crime that people get all worked up about something like this, but think nothing of the secularism that seeks to swallow Christmas - even its very name, into this nameless, vague holiday celebration of goodwill to all men, that in its very essense means absolutely nothing without Jesus.
So, all of this has gotten me thinking, and when I think, I blog - well most of the time anyway - sometimes I cook when I think, or actually have a conversation with a real human being - which is another blog entry altogether!
Last night Kullen and I were snuggled up on my bed reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe together - because I am determined that we will complete the book before going to see the movie. We are enjoying that time together so much, now that the poor child is not a theater orphan. In our reading, we came to the part where Peter, Susan, and Lucy along with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver meet "Father Christmas". "Father Christmas" (the English Santa Claus) gives each of the children tools for their adventure in Narnia. "Father Christmas" also bears the message that "Aslan is on the move". This fictional, fantasy story by one of the world's most respected theologians, that allegorically tells the gospel story, never seeks to put "Father Christmas" in the place of "Aslan", and neither should we. Pretend, fantasy and expansive imagination have given birth to great thinkers such as Mr. Lewis, and we as Christian parents need not be afraid of it. The ability to think, dream and create worlds, stories, and people is a precious gift of childhood that is quickly snuffed out as the responsibilities and pressures of adulthood come pressing in.
In our home, and in our family, Santa has never conflicted with Jesus, in the way that we have celebrated. I am not saying that this is true for the rest of the world, who would take Jesus completely out of the picture and replace Him with the jolly, fat man in the red suit. We have always talked about Santa's giving being in celebration of the greatest gift of all - Jesus!

Actions and Intentions

Today's sermon really spoke to my heart. I am so thankful for those times when you know the Lord is speaking directly to YOU, and you can hear His voice loud and clear. Today was one of those days. I needed some important reminders.

Deuteronomy 20:19-20 When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.

Do not destroy trees - you can eat their fruit.
In the gospels, Jesus compared people to trees. "You can tell by their fruit".
In the battles of life, we start swinging our axes at people.

People can be irritating. Sometimes you'd like to swing the ax.

Every human being has the right to be valued at his very best moment.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We all have good moments, and we all have bad moments. Dear Abby has said that 1 in 4 people are dysfunctional. (Personal note: I think I'm the one!)

Porky said this in a sermon years ago - and it really stuck with me. When he said it this morning I could have finished the second half - We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions. Life would be so much sweeter if we reversed it, and did it the other way around.

Long ago, Porky said he made an agreement, he and the Lord. He felt the Lord told him, "You love 'em and I'll judge 'em." We all have a tendency to judge others. All of us - every single one.

Paul sets the standard of how we should look at one another when he says, "I no longer look at any man after the flesh." Jesus looked at a person's potential. He called Simon, "Peter" - the rock when he was anything but. Jesus saw what he could become.

Tony Campolo tells a story of a student he was speaking to who said, "Jesus never met a prostitute." The young man went on to explain that Jesus saw in everyone that he met, a soul needing salvation. I wish we could look at people that way.


There is a Calvin & Hobbes where Calving sets up a table with a sign saying "$5 for a swift kick in the butt" but he is not getting any customers. He doesn't understand why he has no customers, because "everybody needs what I'm sellin'".
Certainly we all need a swift kick in the butt from time to time - but thankfully that isn't how Jesus reacts to our shortcomings.

There is a story about a girl asking her Grandmother how she and her Grandfather have been happily married for so many years. Grandma said she decided to make a list of the 10 things that were her husbands biggest faults, and everytime he did one of them, she would overlook it. The granddaughter asked what those ten things were, and Grandma replied that she never really got around to making that list. Everytime he did something wrong, she just said to herself, "It's a good thing that was one of the ten things." Longevity in marriage was attained by overlooking the shortcomings of an imperfect spouse. The Bible tells us, it is the glory of a man to overlook an offense.

Jesus looks for good in people. In his encounter with the woman at the well, He did not respond to her the way the Pharisees would have - they would have jumped all over her. She asks Jesus for some of the living water He is speaking of, and He tells her to go and get her husband and come back, to which she replies, "I have no husband." Jesus tells her "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is quite true." Jesus commended this woman for her truthfulness - he encourages her, and lifts her from her shame.

It's as if Jesus is saying if you can extract the precious from among the vile, then you'll be My spokesman. He asks us to look for the good in people, the qualities worth redeeming in each other.

How do I do that?

1. First, recognize my own corruption. Most people have a hard time seeing their own faults. There is a major hotel chain that just inside the locker room door is hung a large mirror with a sign above telling employees TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOURSELF. We need to try to see what others see when they look at us.
Matthew 7:3-5 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the epeck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

2. Secondly, realize your own value - see yourself as God sees you. If you had a $100 bill and crumpled it all up and got it all dirty - it would still have value. And you, even in your struggle against the flesh, and sin have intrinsic value to the Lord. God sees us in our sinfulness and says we've not lost our value.
Carl Barth, theologian, at the end of his life was asked about the most profound truth he's discovered. He said it was this - Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
The tricky part is remembering that God sees everyone around me with the same value, and loves them as well!

Jesus Loves YOU!

Counting My Blessings

In JenIG's blog, she posted a list of counting her blessings - and has inserted a song into my head about it! But wouldn'tcha know, the Lord knew I needed to stumble on her blog, and change my perspective. I have been discouraged lately - not truly living here and not moved on yet. When I get caught up in discouragement, I forget to see what He is trying to teach me through the struggle. Soon I will be posting my sermon notes from yesterday - which was also a great encouragement. Thank you Lord for always speaking precious words to my heart just when I need to hear them - YOU truly are awesome!

Here is my list of current blessings -
1- Travis - faithful, hard-working husband of an emotionally needy me - he tries his best, and with the Lord's help, our marriage seems to be getting better every day (this is a MIRACLE!) --- AND yesterday he bought me a Caramel MOOlatte at Dairy Queen!!!
2- I will not be discouraged about having only ONE car, but thankful that I have it
3 - Three incredible kids who are the joy of my days - the reason I get up and get going in the morning
4 - Friends to share my life with - to laugh, cry and sort it all out with
5 - Chocolate - and all its medicinal properties
6 - Creation and all its beauty - and how the Lord reveals Himself in new ways through it all the time
7 - A warm bed to sleep in every night next to a husband who loves me - and often with three other people piled all around - they haven't seemed to notice how BIG they are!!
8 - The opportunity I have to have my children at home with me every day - sharing my values, passing on my skills, giving them a rich heritage that is our family
9 - Living in a country where I can be a Christian without fear of persecution - even if it may not always be that way
10- Jesus - the Lover of my soul, my Prince of Peace, my Strong Tower and fortress, my Rock, my Hiding Place, my Redeemer - the whole rest of the list is nothing compared to Him!

Thanks JenIG for remind me to stop and take a look at what really matters the most!