Are your plans for Easter dinner set into motion? I suspect they are. Today we see the preparation set into place for the Passover meal and we will get to the garden tonight, when the last thing that happens is that Jesus heals Malchus' ear.
Our texts from today come from Matthew 26:17-56, Mark 14:12-52, Luke 22:7-51 and John 13:1-18:13.
Matthew and Mark begin this by telling us that the disciples came to Jesus and asked where He would like them to make preparations for the Passover. Luke, on the other hand, says that Jesus sent Peter and John to deal with it. They couldn't just do it on their own, but had to ask where He wanted them to set it up.
Jesus always had a plan. "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is the guest room, wher eI may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
I'm terribly curious about this. Had Jesus set it up before? Or did He have divine knowledge of a random guy walking around the city carrying a jar of water? Fortunately for all of us (and for the United Methodist Church when they wanted to establish the devotional guide "Upper Room"), the disciples found things just as Jesus had said.
We skip forward through the day and get to evening. Remember, this is a Jewish feast and these things start at sundown. Jesus and the twelve were reclining at the table, eating. There is a distinction that I think we miss sometimes. They are eating dinner. The traditional Passover meal, with all of its rituals was celebrated much the same then as it is now. Unleavened bread, fruits, nuts were all part of the meal. The Lord's Supper - or communion comes later in the evening for Jesus and His disciples. This passage actually speaks of both events.
John tells us that the evening meal was being served when Jesus got up, took of his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then began to wash his disciples' feet. This event is nearly impossible for me to participate in. This level of servitude is amazing. And that it came from their leader? Wow. I think that if my pastor asked me to allow him to wash my feet, I'd run from the room - an emotional mess. Peter reacted much the same way. "NO!" But, Jesus persisted. And when he finished, he asked if they understood what He had done for them. He had taught them a lesson in serving others - by setting the example.
Luke is the only one that tells us of the dispute among the disciples over who would be the greatest. Isn't it amazing. Jesus keeps telling them that His time is short. But, all they can think of is themselves! But, this goes along with the words from John's gospel when Jesus teaches them that the greatest among them should be like the youngest - and that He (Jesus) is among them as one who serves. What a lesson that is that we need to learn ... servanthood ... true servanthood.
John 13:21. "Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, 'I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.'" As He was washing Judas' feet, He knew this was going to happen. Can you imagine? Matthew and John are the gospels that have Jesus identifying Judas during the evening.
It seems that this announcement of the betrayal happens during the consecration of the Lord's Supper. I wonder how much His disciples understood when He said, "Take, eat ... this is my body ... This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." Oh my but we take these words for granted.
They sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. Matthew and Mark tell us that they were on the Mount of Olives when Jesus predicted Peter would betray Him. Luke and John put the event in the Upper Room. Wherever the words occurred ... the reality would hit Peter in the face the next morning!
John's gospel goes into much greater detail regarding Jesus' evening with the disciples at the Upper Room. Chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 contain a lot of words of Jesus. He had plenty to say to them. I'll let you read through them for content on your own, but He comforts them with words that are comforting to us. "I'm going to prepare a place for you. I will come back for you." "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He promises the HOly Spirit in John 14:16 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of turth." John 14:23 "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him."
These are some of the amazing promises and words of Christ. We find the teaching of the vine and the branches in John 15. Jesus teaches that the world hates His disciples. John 16 begins with the words "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray." Then, in John 17, Jesus looked toward heaven and began to pray. He prayed for himself, for His disciples, and for all believers. I'm thankful for these prayers ... we have Jesus as an intercessor for us with the Father - He began that work when He was on earth - just before His crucifixion.
John gave us the prayer ... the other gospels tell us that the disciples fell asleep during that prayer. Poor guys! They had no idea the impact of the evening in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were just exhausted from traveling and Jesus' teaching. I'm certain they weren't sitting around while He had been teaching all week long. There was a lot to do in dealing with crowds the size of those in Jerusalem during Passover week. They were exhausted!
Jesus finally woke them up for good. "Rise! The hour is come! Here comes my betrayer!" We are told that Judas knew the place well and knew that Jesus would be there. Now, while the fact of the matter is that He betrayed our Lord, the little nugget I pulled from this was the Jesus prayed in this garden enough times for it to be habitual. No wonder the disciples went to sleep. They probably had no idea how long it was going to take Him to talk to His Father this time!
The betrayal was a kiss - a form of intimacy - a welcoming greeting. How awful ... to be betrayed like this by a man you spent three years teaching, loving and caring for. But, God's plan was in motion and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
The soldiers stepped forward to seize one man. They were carrying swords and clubs, to capture one man with 11 very frightened disciples. Peter had a sword though and lopped off the ear of Malchus. John gives him a name while Luke tells us that Jesus healed him. Mark tells us that everyone then deserted Jesus and fled.
If you read Mark's account, you will find the short story of the young man, who wore nothing but a linen garment, following Jesus. They seized him, he fled naked and left his garment behind. We're pretty sure that is Mark himself.
The evening is over. Jesus has loved His disciples this evening. He gave them the Lord's Supper, He washed their feet, He prayed for them ... and they ran away. I'm sad. The end is approaching at breakneck speed.
Tomorrow at noon I will be at a Good Friday service. Blackness and darkness will fall as the curtains rip and the earthquakes destroy. I'm not looking forward to it.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Holy Week - Day 4
It's Wednesday and we are in the middle of the countdown. The text today will come from the three Synoptic Gospels. The word 'synoptic' means 'Taking the same point of view. Relating to or being the first three gospels of the New Testament, which share content, style, and order of events and which differ largely from John.' (from dictionary.com). Matthew, Mark, and Luke tend to carry much similar information - if there seem to be differences in them, it can generally be attributed to an extension of the story - or the fact that the story is told from a different perspective.
Matthew 24:1-26:16, Mark 13:1-14:11, Luke 21:5-22:6. John 13 opens with the Passover Feast - and we just aren't there yet. We'll get there tomorrow.
Have you ever pointed out the beauty of a scene, only to have your compatriots tell you all of the details of its structure and the negative things about it - the contractor overbilled, there was all kinds of corruption, they tore down a beautiful park to build the high rise, erosion is destroying the natural beauty. All of that. Well, Jesus was kind of a party pooper as we begin this lesson today. The disciples were all talking about the beauty of the temple. They pointed out the stones and the magnificence of it all. What was Jesus' response? "Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down." My first thought would have been, "Ok ... He's not terribly interested in the scenery ... I'm going to shut up now."
Fortunately for us, the disciples pushed further. They finally got to the Mount of Olives (scholars call this the 'Olivet Discourse') and his disciples got him aside privately. "Lord when will this happen - and what will be the signs of the end of the age." Now, I'm never sure whether or not those 12 disciples really knew that they were talking to God's son all of the time. For heaven's sake, they lived with the man. Did He snore? Who knows ... but, they did! Today though, they got it. If anyone could tell them how the world was going to end - Jesus could.
What He did tell them was to always beware. Watch out that they aren't deceived by false Christ's. Wars and rumours of wars shouldn't alarm us. Famines and earthquakes in various places. These are the beginnings of the birthpangs. (These things are so familiar to us - and people are always trying to prophecy the end of time with every new natural disaster or war - but, these things have been part of the world since the time of Jesus - it's not that much different now). This is just the beginning.
The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world ... and then the end will come. We still have some time. As small as the world is getting - the gospel hasn't gotten everywhere.
The abomination that causes desolation. Daniel speaks of this - and when He does, He is prophecying about Antiochus Epiphanes - a Greek ruler who would come in the future and destroy Jerusalem and slaughter many Jews. Jesus is talking about a future character as well. We meet this character in Revelation 13:14-17. The false prophet set up an image of the antichrist, breathed life into it so that it could speak and ordered all to worship the image.
When that happens, Jesus says, it is time to run to the mountains. Don't stop to take anything - just get out of Dodge.
Jesus is very specific in telling us that the day and hour is unknown. No one knows when this will happen - only God. But, we will recognize the day when it does come. The Son of Man will appear in the sky - He will appear in the coulds with power and great glory. We won't be surprised by His arrival.
What Jesus wants us to fully understand from this passage is that we need to be ready. Always! Matthew goes on to relate parables that Jesus used to explain this. The parable of the Ten Virgins and the parable of the Talents are told to teach us to be prepared.
The ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish and didn't take enough oil for their lamps. The five wise virgins took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom took his sweet time in arriving (duh ... he's a man ... he takes his time!) When he finally came near, the foolish virgins didn't have enough oil - they tried to get the five wise virgins to share, but no such luck. So ... of the foolish ones went to buy some oil - and during that time, the bridegroom arrived, the wedding banquet began and the door was shut. In other words - be prepared.
The man going on a journey gave his servants some cash - one got $5, another got $2 and another got $1 (talents). The first two put their money to work and doubled it, but the guy with the least amount of money buried it. The master was so pleased with the first two - he gave them a lot of responsibility. The last one? Lost the single dollar he had and was tossed out. In other words - if you live the life WELL that you have been given - much more will be given to you. Don't squander what God puts into your life.
Matthew then goes on with one last parable. I want to be a sheep. Because when the Son of Man comes on the cloud (Matthew 25:31), He starts separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep took care of the King's people who were hungry and thirsty and needed a place to stay or clothing, or care when they were sick, or a visit when they were in jail. Because, Jesus says, whatever you do for the least of them, you do for Him. Those goats on His left? Ummmm ... He says "get away from me - you are cursed. You did nothing for anyone except yourselves. And that means you did nothing for me."
If you are reading these passages, you will notice that Jesus is anointed in Bethany and we are told that the Passover is two days away. That means that all of these things have been happening - and it's probably still Tuesday. Jesus kept heading out to the Mount of Olives in the evenings to get away from the crowds. They were waiting for Him every morning at the temple.
The Chief Priests and the elders of the people began meeting in the palace of Caiaphas (kye-uh-phus), the High Priest (you know ... the guy who is supposed to go into the Holy of Holies?). They were plotting to arrest Jesus (Matthew says "in some sly way") and kill him. They were pretty clever though. They didn't want to do it during the Feast - because the people might riot. Ahhh ... politics ... they never change.
Jesus went to Bethany again - to another friend's house - Simon the Leper. While he was there, the woman dumped her alabaster jar of perfume on his head. What extravagant thing have you ever offered in sacrifice? Wow ... she really did it. The disciples got a little annoyed - they, of course, thought the money could have been used in a better way. Hmmm ... I recognize some people in that group! But, Jesus blessed her for her actions, and rebuked the disciples.
We're almost done today. But, one last thing has to happen. Judas left that little group of friends and went to the chief priests. Mark says that 'they were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.' Matthew, tells us that it was 30 silver coins (remember, Matthew was a tax collector - he would have watched the money), while Luke is the one that tells us that Satan entered Judas.
Each of the gospel writers tells us things from their own perspective. The entire story is what makes our scriptures so profound.
Come back tomorrow - it will be a long post, so be prepared! A lot of things happen, beginning with the Last Supper.
Matthew 24:1-26:16, Mark 13:1-14:11, Luke 21:5-22:6. John 13 opens with the Passover Feast - and we just aren't there yet. We'll get there tomorrow.
Have you ever pointed out the beauty of a scene, only to have your compatriots tell you all of the details of its structure and the negative things about it - the contractor overbilled, there was all kinds of corruption, they tore down a beautiful park to build the high rise, erosion is destroying the natural beauty. All of that. Well, Jesus was kind of a party pooper as we begin this lesson today. The disciples were all talking about the beauty of the temple. They pointed out the stones and the magnificence of it all. What was Jesus' response? "Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another, every one will be thrown down." My first thought would have been, "Ok ... He's not terribly interested in the scenery ... I'm going to shut up now."
Fortunately for us, the disciples pushed further. They finally got to the Mount of Olives (scholars call this the 'Olivet Discourse') and his disciples got him aside privately. "Lord when will this happen - and what will be the signs of the end of the age." Now, I'm never sure whether or not those 12 disciples really knew that they were talking to God's son all of the time. For heaven's sake, they lived with the man. Did He snore? Who knows ... but, they did! Today though, they got it. If anyone could tell them how the world was going to end - Jesus could.
What He did tell them was to always beware. Watch out that they aren't deceived by false Christ's. Wars and rumours of wars shouldn't alarm us. Famines and earthquakes in various places. These are the beginnings of the birthpangs. (These things are so familiar to us - and people are always trying to prophecy the end of time with every new natural disaster or war - but, these things have been part of the world since the time of Jesus - it's not that much different now). This is just the beginning.
The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world ... and then the end will come. We still have some time. As small as the world is getting - the gospel hasn't gotten everywhere.
The abomination that causes desolation. Daniel speaks of this - and when He does, He is prophecying about Antiochus Epiphanes - a Greek ruler who would come in the future and destroy Jerusalem and slaughter many Jews. Jesus is talking about a future character as well. We meet this character in Revelation 13:14-17. The false prophet set up an image of the antichrist, breathed life into it so that it could speak and ordered all to worship the image.
When that happens, Jesus says, it is time to run to the mountains. Don't stop to take anything - just get out of Dodge.
Jesus is very specific in telling us that the day and hour is unknown. No one knows when this will happen - only God. But, we will recognize the day when it does come. The Son of Man will appear in the sky - He will appear in the coulds with power and great glory. We won't be surprised by His arrival.
What Jesus wants us to fully understand from this passage is that we need to be ready. Always! Matthew goes on to relate parables that Jesus used to explain this. The parable of the Ten Virgins and the parable of the Talents are told to teach us to be prepared.
The ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish and didn't take enough oil for their lamps. The five wise virgins took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom took his sweet time in arriving (duh ... he's a man ... he takes his time!) When he finally came near, the foolish virgins didn't have enough oil - they tried to get the five wise virgins to share, but no such luck. So ... of the foolish ones went to buy some oil - and during that time, the bridegroom arrived, the wedding banquet began and the door was shut. In other words - be prepared.
The man going on a journey gave his servants some cash - one got $5, another got $2 and another got $1 (talents). The first two put their money to work and doubled it, but the guy with the least amount of money buried it. The master was so pleased with the first two - he gave them a lot of responsibility. The last one? Lost the single dollar he had and was tossed out. In other words - if you live the life WELL that you have been given - much more will be given to you. Don't squander what God puts into your life.
Matthew then goes on with one last parable. I want to be a sheep. Because when the Son of Man comes on the cloud (Matthew 25:31), He starts separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep took care of the King's people who were hungry and thirsty and needed a place to stay or clothing, or care when they were sick, or a visit when they were in jail. Because, Jesus says, whatever you do for the least of them, you do for Him. Those goats on His left? Ummmm ... He says "get away from me - you are cursed. You did nothing for anyone except yourselves. And that means you did nothing for me."
If you are reading these passages, you will notice that Jesus is anointed in Bethany and we are told that the Passover is two days away. That means that all of these things have been happening - and it's probably still Tuesday. Jesus kept heading out to the Mount of Olives in the evenings to get away from the crowds. They were waiting for Him every morning at the temple.
The Chief Priests and the elders of the people began meeting in the palace of Caiaphas (kye-uh-phus), the High Priest (you know ... the guy who is supposed to go into the Holy of Holies?). They were plotting to arrest Jesus (Matthew says "in some sly way") and kill him. They were pretty clever though. They didn't want to do it during the Feast - because the people might riot. Ahhh ... politics ... they never change.
Jesus went to Bethany again - to another friend's house - Simon the Leper. While he was there, the woman dumped her alabaster jar of perfume on his head. What extravagant thing have you ever offered in sacrifice? Wow ... she really did it. The disciples got a little annoyed - they, of course, thought the money could have been used in a better way. Hmmm ... I recognize some people in that group! But, Jesus blessed her for her actions, and rebuked the disciples.
We're almost done today. But, one last thing has to happen. Judas left that little group of friends and went to the chief priests. Mark says that 'they were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.' Matthew, tells us that it was 30 silver coins (remember, Matthew was a tax collector - he would have watched the money), while Luke is the one that tells us that Satan entered Judas.
Each of the gospel writers tells us things from their own perspective. The entire story is what makes our scriptures so profound.
Come back tomorrow - it will be a long post, so be prepared! A lot of things happen, beginning with the Last Supper.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Holy Week - Day 3
Here we are ... moving through the week. And Jesus has a lot to say to anyone who will listen to Him. He spends quite a bit of time with His disciples. If you knew that you only had 4-5 days left with your students, and you had to teach them enough so that they could continue your work, would you be in a panic? I know I would be. But, Jesus patiently went through the information that He had for them. He answered their questions and prayed that they would understand everything He was telling them.
The information over the next two days blends together, so I'm going to make an arbitrary separation of the events. The last half of this information is Jesus' teaching on the last days so I'll talk about that tomorrow.
Since there is so much information to swallow, I will tell you up front that today I am reading Matthew 21:23-23:39, Mark 11:27-12:44, Luke 10:1-21:4 and John 12:20-50. I may not cite every single verse as we move through this. I'll apologize for that up front.
"John's baptism - was it from heaven or from me? Tell me!" Jesus' authority was being called into question by the chief priests and elders fo the people. "By whose authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
Well, Jesus has the wisdom of God and turns it around on them. "If you can answer one question for me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things." They discussed it and realized that they couldn't answer His question and He refused to tell them any more information. All of the synoptic gospels tell the same story ... Jesus stopped them in their tracks. Did He win any points with them? I'm afraid not.
The parable of the two sons is only told in Matthew. This is in direct response to the question posed by the Chief Priests. The father told his son to work in the vineyard ... the son refused, but changed his mind. He went to the second son, who acquiesed, but ended up not going. Jesus made sure that the chief priests recognized themselves in the second son, and compared them to tax collectors and prostitutes who, He said, would enter the Kingdom of God before they did. Hmmm ... more points He is winning.
The parable of the Tenants comes next in all the three synoptic gospels. You know the story. Those wicked tenants. They rented some land, the landowner sent servants to collect his fruit - they killed the servants, then they killed the next round of servants, and they finally killed the son. You know - those chief priests were morons! Jesus asked them, "When the landowner comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They immediately knew the answer. "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent the vineyard to other tenants."
Jesus declared that this was the meaning of the passage from Psalm 118:22-23, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone..." Yup, the chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus was talking about them. They wanted blood now ... but the crowd was still surrounding Jesus and the time wasn't right ... not yet.
Matthew alone tells the next story. The Parable of the Wedding banquet. The king prepares a wedding banquet for his son. Those who had been invited refused to come. He sent servants to those people twice! In fact, they killed the servants. So, the king sent his army to destroy the murderers and burned their city. (are you seeing prophecy here?) Since those who were invited didn't come, the king opened up the banquet to everyone ... both good and bad and the wedding hall was filled with guests. Jesus' final comment? "Many are invited, but few are chosen." The Jews were invited. Not once, but more than once. They were too busy to come into the kingdom of God. And you know ... for that I'm thankful. Because then, it was opened to all of us!
Paying taxes to Caesar. We all know the story. The Pharisees continued to try to trap Jesus. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." You know, it says that they were amazed by His response. So they left him and went away. Luke tells us that they were silent. About time, eh?
The Sadduees Question - Marriage at the Resurrection? The Sadducees and the Pharisees made up the Sanhedrin - the ruling body of the Jews in Jerusalem. Now, the Sadducees believed there was no resurrection. So, it was their turn to try to trap Jesus. The woman marries brother after brother upon their death. Whose wife of the seven brothers will she be in heaven?
I love Jesus response to them. "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." Hmmm ... more points for Him! You can read the rest of this ... But, the crowds are continually amazed by Jesus. Even the teachers of the law responded with "Well said, teacher!" (from Luke)
Matthew and Mark give us the Greatest Commandment next. The Pharisees took it back up with Jesus after He silenced the Sadducees. Now ... an expert in the law asks which is the greatest commandment? I love our Lord. Because only He could do this ... only with the wisdom of His Father.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commandments." If you want to see how Jesus was wrapping up the Ten Commandments, check out Exodus 20 for yourself! And ... Mark tells us that the Pharisee was completely impressed, responded well and Jesus said "You are not far from the kingdom of God" to that man. Wow ...
"Whose Son is the Christ?" Jesus was teaching and asked this question. "The teachers of the law say that the Christ (the Messiah) is the son of David. How is it that David, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.'" Jesus goes on to say, "David himself calls him Lord. How then can he be his son?"
I'll leave that for you to work out. But, Mark tells the crowd listened to Him with delight. Do you listen to Him with delight? After asking this question, Jesus threatened the Pharisees - who were the teachers of the Law. Check that out. It's in Mark and Luke following the question that was just posed by Jesus. In Matthew, however - it is the entire 23rd chapter. There are 7 woes spoken to the Phariseees and teachers of the law. HYPOCRITES! Whitewashed tombstones, snakes, brood of vipers ... that's a chapter to set you back in your chair.
The Widow's Mite. She gave from her heart - not from her excess. This is only found in Mark and Luke.
We finally hear from John today. John 12:20-36 tells the story of the Greeks that came to worship at the Feast. They found Philip, who went to Andrew and then went to Jesus. Jesus response to them is the prediction of His death.
Do you know that it is in this passage that we hear God's voice? Check it out. Jesus reminded them that He would only be with them a little time. And He told them to walk with the light - because the darkness would overtake them.
John 12:37-50 is Jesus' sermon on unbelief. Verse 37: Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still wouldn't believe in him. This was to fulfill Isaiah's prophecies from Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:10.
Now ... I know you have been reading this post for awhile - but, PLEASE see this cool thing: John 12:41 "Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him." Did you read that? Oh ... Jesus was there, all through the Old Testament.
Jesus desperately wants the people to understand that their belief or unbelief in Him directly relates to their belief or unbelief in God. It's all about God with Jesus. Jesus came into the world as a light ... RUN to the light!
Alright - tomorrow, we will see what Jesus has to say about the end of the world.
The information over the next two days blends together, so I'm going to make an arbitrary separation of the events. The last half of this information is Jesus' teaching on the last days so I'll talk about that tomorrow.
Since there is so much information to swallow, I will tell you up front that today I am reading Matthew 21:23-23:39, Mark 11:27-12:44, Luke 10:1-21:4 and John 12:20-50. I may not cite every single verse as we move through this. I'll apologize for that up front.
"John's baptism - was it from heaven or from me? Tell me!" Jesus' authority was being called into question by the chief priests and elders fo the people. "By whose authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
Well, Jesus has the wisdom of God and turns it around on them. "If you can answer one question for me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things." They discussed it and realized that they couldn't answer His question and He refused to tell them any more information. All of the synoptic gospels tell the same story ... Jesus stopped them in their tracks. Did He win any points with them? I'm afraid not.
The parable of the two sons is only told in Matthew. This is in direct response to the question posed by the Chief Priests. The father told his son to work in the vineyard ... the son refused, but changed his mind. He went to the second son, who acquiesed, but ended up not going. Jesus made sure that the chief priests recognized themselves in the second son, and compared them to tax collectors and prostitutes who, He said, would enter the Kingdom of God before they did. Hmmm ... more points He is winning.
The parable of the Tenants comes next in all the three synoptic gospels. You know the story. Those wicked tenants. They rented some land, the landowner sent servants to collect his fruit - they killed the servants, then they killed the next round of servants, and they finally killed the son. You know - those chief priests were morons! Jesus asked them, "When the landowner comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They immediately knew the answer. "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent the vineyard to other tenants."
Jesus declared that this was the meaning of the passage from Psalm 118:22-23, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone..." Yup, the chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus was talking about them. They wanted blood now ... but the crowd was still surrounding Jesus and the time wasn't right ... not yet.
Matthew alone tells the next story. The Parable of the Wedding banquet. The king prepares a wedding banquet for his son. Those who had been invited refused to come. He sent servants to those people twice! In fact, they killed the servants. So, the king sent his army to destroy the murderers and burned their city. (are you seeing prophecy here?) Since those who were invited didn't come, the king opened up the banquet to everyone ... both good and bad and the wedding hall was filled with guests. Jesus' final comment? "Many are invited, but few are chosen." The Jews were invited. Not once, but more than once. They were too busy to come into the kingdom of God. And you know ... for that I'm thankful. Because then, it was opened to all of us!
Paying taxes to Caesar. We all know the story. The Pharisees continued to try to trap Jesus. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." You know, it says that they were amazed by His response. So they left him and went away. Luke tells us that they were silent. About time, eh?
The Sadduees Question - Marriage at the Resurrection? The Sadducees and the Pharisees made up the Sanhedrin - the ruling body of the Jews in Jerusalem. Now, the Sadducees believed there was no resurrection. So, it was their turn to try to trap Jesus. The woman marries brother after brother upon their death. Whose wife of the seven brothers will she be in heaven?
I love Jesus response to them. "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." Hmmm ... more points for Him! You can read the rest of this ... But, the crowds are continually amazed by Jesus. Even the teachers of the law responded with "Well said, teacher!" (from Luke)
Matthew and Mark give us the Greatest Commandment next. The Pharisees took it back up with Jesus after He silenced the Sadducees. Now ... an expert in the law asks which is the greatest commandment? I love our Lord. Because only He could do this ... only with the wisdom of His Father.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commandments." If you want to see how Jesus was wrapping up the Ten Commandments, check out Exodus 20 for yourself! And ... Mark tells us that the Pharisee was completely impressed, responded well and Jesus said "You are not far from the kingdom of God" to that man. Wow ...
"Whose Son is the Christ?" Jesus was teaching and asked this question. "The teachers of the law say that the Christ (the Messiah) is the son of David. How is it that David, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.'" Jesus goes on to say, "David himself calls him Lord. How then can he be his son?"
I'll leave that for you to work out. But, Mark tells the crowd listened to Him with delight. Do you listen to Him with delight? After asking this question, Jesus threatened the Pharisees - who were the teachers of the Law. Check that out. It's in Mark and Luke following the question that was just posed by Jesus. In Matthew, however - it is the entire 23rd chapter. There are 7 woes spoken to the Phariseees and teachers of the law. HYPOCRITES! Whitewashed tombstones, snakes, brood of vipers ... that's a chapter to set you back in your chair.
The Widow's Mite. She gave from her heart - not from her excess. This is only found in Mark and Luke.
We finally hear from John today. John 12:20-36 tells the story of the Greeks that came to worship at the Feast. They found Philip, who went to Andrew and then went to Jesus. Jesus response to them is the prediction of His death.
Do you know that it is in this passage that we hear God's voice? Check it out. Jesus reminded them that He would only be with them a little time. And He told them to walk with the light - because the darkness would overtake them.
John 12:37-50 is Jesus' sermon on unbelief. Verse 37: Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still wouldn't believe in him. This was to fulfill Isaiah's prophecies from Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:10.
Now ... I know you have been reading this post for awhile - but, PLEASE see this cool thing: John 12:41 "Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him." Did you read that? Oh ... Jesus was there, all through the Old Testament.
Jesus desperately wants the people to understand that their belief or unbelief in Him directly relates to their belief or unbelief in God. It's all about God with Jesus. Jesus came into the world as a light ... RUN to the light!
Alright - tomorrow, we will see what Jesus has to say about the end of the world.
Monday, April 02, 2007
God takes my breath away
I sent this as a thank you to the ladies of my Monday night study. God talks to me in the most amazing ways! They gave me a cash gift tonight as a thank you for presenting the Revelation study and as encouragement. Nothing I could have expected ... but, it wiped me out. Here's why!
Now, for the real thank you. I have to tell you that you (and God) really took me aback this evening when you gave me the incredible gift. You see, there’s more to the story and I was just barely putting it all together when I opened the card. So … here’s my story (like you don’t know that I always have one).
As we have been praying for the church and the congregation, one of the things last week that I was praying for was Commitment Sunday. I’m just beginning to learn the importance of tithing. Though I’ve grown up in the church, actually tithing was not part of my world. Mom and Dad did, and He always encouraged me to, but I resisted. This year, Max and I decided to begin tithing, even though he is without the promise of a job. I filled out my “Forecast of Giving” card, and placed it, along with the first ‘tithe’ check in the baskets yesterday at church.
Last night, as I was getting ready for work, I was writing checks out to pay bills and starting to really stress about finances again. We’re ok – please don’t worry about us. But, we’re still recouping after having me off work for 5 months and we’re dealing with disability (60%) pay for Max right now. It’s not just … smooth … Things are tight, but not awful. This morning as I was driving to work and was thinking about things I would do without this week … and how to time out the checks so that everything would hit the account correctly, I decided to get whiny and snotty with God. (I was yelling at Him) “So! I finally get on board with the whole tithing thing and now I’m going to struggle even more to make things good, eh? That’s how it works? I’ve been faithful in everything You’ve called me to do and I’m still stressed about finances?” Now, realize this was a split second conversation and as soon as it was out of my mouth, I felt awful. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I know that You are God and that You have everything in Your hands. I’m sorry!”
And, I went to work and promptly forgot about the conversation and all of my worries, because I do know that God takes care of everything. He gave me peace – even without knowing what was going to happen next.
Until tonight – when I opened the card … and there was an amazing gift from you all. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As soon as I was alone in the car, I did both. Thank you for the financial gift, but more than that, you have to know that you all were an answer to a prayer that I sent to God. I didn’t ‘need’ it to happen in my world, but I guess that God wanted me to know that His faithfulness is greater than my whining and complaining.
And that only tells me that tithing is now a long-term part of my life! Whether or not God ever does this again, I don't care. My faithfulness will never outdo His faithfulness!
Now, for the real thank you. I have to tell you that you (and God) really took me aback this evening when you gave me the incredible gift. You see, there’s more to the story and I was just barely putting it all together when I opened the card. So … here’s my story (like you don’t know that I always have one).
As we have been praying for the church and the congregation, one of the things last week that I was praying for was Commitment Sunday. I’m just beginning to learn the importance of tithing. Though I’ve grown up in the church, actually tithing was not part of my world. Mom and Dad did, and He always encouraged me to, but I resisted. This year, Max and I decided to begin tithing, even though he is without the promise of a job. I filled out my “Forecast of Giving” card, and placed it, along with the first ‘tithe’ check in the baskets yesterday at church.
Last night, as I was getting ready for work, I was writing checks out to pay bills and starting to really stress about finances again. We’re ok – please don’t worry about us. But, we’re still recouping after having me off work for 5 months and we’re dealing with disability (60%) pay for Max right now. It’s not just … smooth … Things are tight, but not awful. This morning as I was driving to work and was thinking about things I would do without this week … and how to time out the checks so that everything would hit the account correctly, I decided to get whiny and snotty with God. (I was yelling at Him) “So! I finally get on board with the whole tithing thing and now I’m going to struggle even more to make things good, eh? That’s how it works? I’ve been faithful in everything You’ve called me to do and I’m still stressed about finances?” Now, realize this was a split second conversation and as soon as it was out of my mouth, I felt awful. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I know that You are God and that You have everything in Your hands. I’m sorry!”
And, I went to work and promptly forgot about the conversation and all of my worries, because I do know that God takes care of everything. He gave me peace – even without knowing what was going to happen next.
Until tonight – when I opened the card … and there was an amazing gift from you all. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As soon as I was alone in the car, I did both. Thank you for the financial gift, but more than that, you have to know that you all were an answer to a prayer that I sent to God. I didn’t ‘need’ it to happen in my world, but I guess that God wanted me to know that His faithfulness is greater than my whining and complaining.
And that only tells me that tithing is now a long-term part of my life! Whether or not God ever does this again, I don't care. My faithfulness will never outdo His faithfulness!
Holy Week - Day 2
It's Monday. And for me, it is another step closer to the cross. I can't begin to express to you how I dread this week every year. You see, there is no one I love more than Jesus Christ. The incredible pain that he suffered and the stark realization that each day is bringing Him closer to the humiliation and pain is hard for me to bear. But, every year, I come face to face with this week. Sometimes I try to ignore it, but year after year I face down the fact that the person I love more than anything had to hang on a cross so that I would get the chance to love Him. Ahhh ... the mysteries of life.
At the end of the day yesterday, Jesus headed back to Bethany with His twelve disciples. I hope He got a good night's sleep. What do you think? If He's anything like the rest of us, He was probably up late into the evening talking about the events of the day. And He was probably trying to make sure that His disciples understood what they had been experiencing. Each one of them was there with Him. Peter ... who would deny Him later in the week. And even Judas, who would be the betrayer. They were settling in for the night.
In the morning, the made their way back to Jerusalem. Jesus had gone into the temple to check things out, but since it was late, He did nothing. That will change today! But, as He was leaving Bethany, He saw a fig tree. It was filled with leaves, but there was no fruit. Mark tells us that it wasn't the season for figs. Jesus said to the tree "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
Now ... the stories vary a little bit here. Matthew says that the fig tree withered immediately and the disciples commented on it. Mark tells us that when they passed the fig tree the NEXT day, they commented on the fact that the fig tree had withered up. They couldn't believe that this had happened.
What is Jesus' response to them? "If you have faith and do not doubt - you can do this. You can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea and it will be done." Now whether or not any of us have the faith to do this remains to be seen, but the next statement in Matthew is amazing:
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
The story of the fig tree is found in Matthew 21:18-22 and Mark 11:12-14, 20-25
So ... Jesus got mad at a fig tree and dried it up. My attitude is that He was either very hungry, He had a lot on His mind as He prepared for the day, or He had a lesson to teach His disciples. I'll let you pick which one you think is appropriate!
Jesus finally gets to Jerusalem and heads straight for the temple. Mark says it this way: (Mark 11:15-19) "On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there."
Yup ... Jesus didn't waste any time. He hd seen the temple area the night before and He had probably been processing on it all night long. In fact, Matthew's timing again is a little different. He has Jesus wiping out the mess in the temple on Sunday night. Who knows when it happened. The three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) all agree that it did happen and it happened during Holy Week.
Jesus quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah as He turns the tables over, sends the birds flying and the animals running. "My house will be a house of prayer" (Isaiah 56:7) and "you have made it into a den of robbers" (Jeremiah 7:11).
Matthew gives us a little more detail. He says that the blind and the lame came to him while He was at the temple. Luke tells us that He was there every day teaching. Jesus healed everyone who came to Him.
The chief priests and the teachers of the law began searching for a way to kill Jesus. It just keeps getting worse and worse. They were scared of him! Why? Because everyone was amazed by Him and the way that He taught. I can think of many good people who were assassinated because of people's fears. Luke says that they couldn't find a way to kill him because the people hung on his words.
The time for Jesus' death continues to draw closer. I really want Him to call down the power that He has available to Him, but another year is going to pass for me and the story will always get to the cross.
When He was done at the temple for the day, they went out of the city. (Mark 11:19). I'll bet He went back to Lazarus' home in Bethany, because Mark goes on to say that they passed the fig tree the next morning. It was all withered up and Peter remembered what had happened the day before.
Tuesday and Wednesday are blended together in the text. I'll separate them out a little bit, but Jesus was pretty busy! He has a lot to do and say before His time on earth is done. I'm kind of glad to get a chance to observe Him this way.
At the end of the day yesterday, Jesus headed back to Bethany with His twelve disciples. I hope He got a good night's sleep. What do you think? If He's anything like the rest of us, He was probably up late into the evening talking about the events of the day. And He was probably trying to make sure that His disciples understood what they had been experiencing. Each one of them was there with Him. Peter ... who would deny Him later in the week. And even Judas, who would be the betrayer. They were settling in for the night.
In the morning, the made their way back to Jerusalem. Jesus had gone into the temple to check things out, but since it was late, He did nothing. That will change today! But, as He was leaving Bethany, He saw a fig tree. It was filled with leaves, but there was no fruit. Mark tells us that it wasn't the season for figs. Jesus said to the tree "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
Now ... the stories vary a little bit here. Matthew says that the fig tree withered immediately and the disciples commented on it. Mark tells us that when they passed the fig tree the NEXT day, they commented on the fact that the fig tree had withered up. They couldn't believe that this had happened.
What is Jesus' response to them? "If you have faith and do not doubt - you can do this. You can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea and it will be done." Now whether or not any of us have the faith to do this remains to be seen, but the next statement in Matthew is amazing:
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
The story of the fig tree is found in Matthew 21:18-22 and Mark 11:12-14, 20-25
So ... Jesus got mad at a fig tree and dried it up. My attitude is that He was either very hungry, He had a lot on His mind as He prepared for the day, or He had a lesson to teach His disciples. I'll let you pick which one you think is appropriate!
Jesus finally gets to Jerusalem and heads straight for the temple. Mark says it this way: (Mark 11:15-19) "On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there."
Yup ... Jesus didn't waste any time. He hd seen the temple area the night before and He had probably been processing on it all night long. In fact, Matthew's timing again is a little different. He has Jesus wiping out the mess in the temple on Sunday night. Who knows when it happened. The three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) all agree that it did happen and it happened during Holy Week.
Jesus quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah as He turns the tables over, sends the birds flying and the animals running. "My house will be a house of prayer" (Isaiah 56:7) and "you have made it into a den of robbers" (Jeremiah 7:11).
Matthew gives us a little more detail. He says that the blind and the lame came to him while He was at the temple. Luke tells us that He was there every day teaching. Jesus healed everyone who came to Him.
The chief priests and the teachers of the law began searching for a way to kill Jesus. It just keeps getting worse and worse. They were scared of him! Why? Because everyone was amazed by Him and the way that He taught. I can think of many good people who were assassinated because of people's fears. Luke says that they couldn't find a way to kill him because the people hung on his words.
The time for Jesus' death continues to draw closer. I really want Him to call down the power that He has available to Him, but another year is going to pass for me and the story will always get to the cross.
When He was done at the temple for the day, they went out of the city. (Mark 11:19). I'll bet He went back to Lazarus' home in Bethany, because Mark goes on to say that they passed the fig tree the next morning. It was all withered up and Peter remembered what had happened the day before.
Tuesday and Wednesday are blended together in the text. I'll separate them out a little bit, but Jesus was pretty busy! He has a lot to do and say before His time on earth is done. I'm kind of glad to get a chance to observe Him this way.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Holy Week Begins - Palm Sunday
This week I want to blog about the events that happen each day of Holy Week. Now, lest you think I'm an incredible Bible Scholar and have this information parked in my mind already, I will immediately admit to the fact that I have a beautiful chart of the events in my Bible (Thompson Chain Reference - NIV). I suppose I could let you believe that I spent hours going through all of the scripture passages and built my own calendar of events, but honestly, I really hate reinventing the wheel.
Today is Palm Sunday. Our worship service this morning was glorious! It was a day filled with joy. All of the children processed through the sanctuary with their palm branches lifted high as we sang. The sermon which was based on Psalm 134, was awesome and we ended the service by offering our tithes to God. I left feeling refreshed and filled with joy.
Several years ago, I had the palm branches for worship in the trunk of my car. I went to the grocery store and as the young man helped me unload my groceries, he saw them and asked what they were. I tried explaining and realized that this young man (15-16 years old) had absolutely no idea what Palm Sunday was. How could anyone live in the United States - Omaha! and have no idea. That was a bit startling for me.
The triumphal entry is described in each of the Gospels: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-44 and John 12:12-19.
As I read these passages, I find a couple of cool things. Jesus sat on a young colt / donkey that had never been ridden before. I've not been around a lot of horses in my life, but I'm pretty certain that an unbroken colt wouldn't be the easiest thing to ride. This was the animal of choice for our Lord, though! And it allowed Him to ride on it's back into Jerusalem amidst throngs of people gathering for Passover and milling through the streets. Can you imagine the craziness this poor donkey had to face? As soon as people recognized Jesus, they began laying the cloaks in front of Him to honor Him and they were shouting. I'm sure they were trying to touch Him. The poor animal was only comforted by the touch from the Master.
He rode a donkey in to fulfill the prophecy spoken of in Zechariah 9:9. This passage is only quoted in Matthew and John. The other passage that is fulfillment of prophecy is taken from Psalm 118:26. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Covering the path of someone of highest honor was a common custom at the time of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) tell us that the people cut branches for the covering and used their cloaks. The Gospel of John specifically tells us that these branches were palm fronds.
Palm branches were a symbol of victory and triumph. Leviticus 23:40 says "On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days." This is the Feast of the Tabernacles.
In Revelation 7:9, John sees a Great Multitude - no one could count the number of these people. They were standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Now, while the people saw this as a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, remember what Jesus was riding. A donkey ... not a white horse. A white horse was quite symbolic for military leaders in the Roman Empire who had won a battle. They would ride a pure white horse into Rome in celebration. Had Jesus done that, He would have been making a pronouncement that He was unwilling to make at this time. The donkey was a symbol of peace ... the horse was a symbol of war.
We will see Jesus riding a white horse, but not until Revelation 19:11 when He comes to do battle with the kings of the earth and sends the beast and the false prophet into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Then we will see the triumphant entry of a king who has gone into battle.
Quite a few more events happen in the background of each of the gospels during these passages. Luke 19:40 is one of my favorite verses, but I don't always put it into context of what is happening. The crowd was joyfully praising God for all the miracles they had seen as they walked along the path with Jesus to the Mount of Olives. The Pharisees were trying to get Jesus to stop the noise. His response? "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." If we refuse to praise God? Even the stones will sing out His praises.
John continues the conversation of the Pharisees in John 19:19: "So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" They are starting to get worried! And this worry will escalate throughout the week. We'll watch them grow more and more uneasy at the power that Jesus seems to wield.
Mark finishes the day for us. He also lets us know what is next on the agenda.
Mark 11:11: "Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve."
Why did He go to Bethany? I assume that He went to stay with His friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. The Twelve went with Him. I can't imagine that He wanted to part with His close friends at this point. When you are facing certain death, all that is left is to be sure that those whom you love understand how deep that love is.
Today I say, with the crowd, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
Today is Palm Sunday. Our worship service this morning was glorious! It was a day filled with joy. All of the children processed through the sanctuary with their palm branches lifted high as we sang. The sermon which was based on Psalm 134, was awesome and we ended the service by offering our tithes to God. I left feeling refreshed and filled with joy.
Several years ago, I had the palm branches for worship in the trunk of my car. I went to the grocery store and as the young man helped me unload my groceries, he saw them and asked what they were. I tried explaining and realized that this young man (15-16 years old) had absolutely no idea what Palm Sunday was. How could anyone live in the United States - Omaha! and have no idea. That was a bit startling for me.
The triumphal entry is described in each of the Gospels: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-44 and John 12:12-19.
As I read these passages, I find a couple of cool things. Jesus sat on a young colt / donkey that had never been ridden before. I've not been around a lot of horses in my life, but I'm pretty certain that an unbroken colt wouldn't be the easiest thing to ride. This was the animal of choice for our Lord, though! And it allowed Him to ride on it's back into Jerusalem amidst throngs of people gathering for Passover and milling through the streets. Can you imagine the craziness this poor donkey had to face? As soon as people recognized Jesus, they began laying the cloaks in front of Him to honor Him and they were shouting. I'm sure they were trying to touch Him. The poor animal was only comforted by the touch from the Master.
He rode a donkey in to fulfill the prophecy spoken of in Zechariah 9:9. This passage is only quoted in Matthew and John. The other passage that is fulfillment of prophecy is taken from Psalm 118:26. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Covering the path of someone of highest honor was a common custom at the time of Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) tell us that the people cut branches for the covering and used their cloaks. The Gospel of John specifically tells us that these branches were palm fronds.
Palm branches were a symbol of victory and triumph. Leviticus 23:40 says "On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days." This is the Feast of the Tabernacles.
In Revelation 7:9, John sees a Great Multitude - no one could count the number of these people. They were standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Now, while the people saw this as a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, remember what Jesus was riding. A donkey ... not a white horse. A white horse was quite symbolic for military leaders in the Roman Empire who had won a battle. They would ride a pure white horse into Rome in celebration. Had Jesus done that, He would have been making a pronouncement that He was unwilling to make at this time. The donkey was a symbol of peace ... the horse was a symbol of war.
We will see Jesus riding a white horse, but not until Revelation 19:11 when He comes to do battle with the kings of the earth and sends the beast and the false prophet into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Then we will see the triumphant entry of a king who has gone into battle.
Quite a few more events happen in the background of each of the gospels during these passages. Luke 19:40 is one of my favorite verses, but I don't always put it into context of what is happening. The crowd was joyfully praising God for all the miracles they had seen as they walked along the path with Jesus to the Mount of Olives. The Pharisees were trying to get Jesus to stop the noise. His response? "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." If we refuse to praise God? Even the stones will sing out His praises.
John continues the conversation of the Pharisees in John 19:19: "So the Pharisees said to one another, 'See this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!'" They are starting to get worried! And this worry will escalate throughout the week. We'll watch them grow more and more uneasy at the power that Jesus seems to wield.
Mark finishes the day for us. He also lets us know what is next on the agenda.
Mark 11:11: "Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve."
Why did He go to Bethany? I assume that He went to stay with His friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. The Twelve went with Him. I can't imagine that He wanted to part with His close friends at this point. When you are facing certain death, all that is left is to be sure that those whom you love understand how deep that love is.
Today I say, with the crowd, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Time to Wake Up
I was rudely awakened 10 minutes ago by loud pounding. Since it woke me out of a dead sleep, I took a few seconds to orient myself and identify the source. This was also enough to wake me up cursing.
Oh yes! My dear landlord is next door (I live in a duplex) ripping walls apart again. I haven't seen them for months and the one day that I know that I can rest and relax ... they're back.
I don't know what the obsession is with the kitchen walls. They ripped those apart a year and a half ago. Why do I know they were ripping the walls apart? Because the stuff on my walls was leaping around and jumping off into the kitchen sink. The walls were jumping again today.
This is complete insanity, but since I don't know that whole story, I shouldn't judge. Right? That side of the duplex has been vacant since August 2005. They have been working on it ... albeit quite slowly ... since then. Every once in awhile, the landlord, her sister and brother-in-law and random workers will show up on a Saturday and maybe a Sunday to do some work. There have been several times when they hire teams of workers to come in - like last summer in the middle of one of the hottest weeks, when they laid concrete and pulled the air conditioning out for 3 days. Or the time another team fixed the roof last fall and HAD to use my electricity and continually popped fuses. I finally got annoyed and refused to give them access.
Oh! and the time that 7 vehicles filled up our driveway until late at night for a week, so Max parked at the dentist's office and the car was towed away because he didn't have to go to work until 10:00 the next morning and they got angry.
Then there was the night that I came home late from something at church and cars filled the driveway again. I parked the car and as I tried to go to sleep at midnight, pounding and sawing was occurring. This specific team of people had no compunctions about working late into the night ... until I called the landlord and said "stop!"
Today, they are back. 20 minutes later, the incredible pounding has stopped, but there is plenty of movement and activity. More than anything, I wish they would just rent the place so that someone could come in and establish a pattern that I can fall into again. Enough of this random crap!
I'm whining again. Just a little annoyed with the entire process. I plan on 11 more minutes of annoyance and then I must get past it so that I can enjoy my day.
Oh ... the pounding has moved to the living room now.
Oh yes! My dear landlord is next door (I live in a duplex) ripping walls apart again. I haven't seen them for months and the one day that I know that I can rest and relax ... they're back.
I don't know what the obsession is with the kitchen walls. They ripped those apart a year and a half ago. Why do I know they were ripping the walls apart? Because the stuff on my walls was leaping around and jumping off into the kitchen sink. The walls were jumping again today.
This is complete insanity, but since I don't know that whole story, I shouldn't judge. Right? That side of the duplex has been vacant since August 2005. They have been working on it ... albeit quite slowly ... since then. Every once in awhile, the landlord, her sister and brother-in-law and random workers will show up on a Saturday and maybe a Sunday to do some work. There have been several times when they hire teams of workers to come in - like last summer in the middle of one of the hottest weeks, when they laid concrete and pulled the air conditioning out for 3 days. Or the time another team fixed the roof last fall and HAD to use my electricity and continually popped fuses. I finally got annoyed and refused to give them access.
Oh! and the time that 7 vehicles filled up our driveway until late at night for a week, so Max parked at the dentist's office and the car was towed away because he didn't have to go to work until 10:00 the next morning and they got angry.
Then there was the night that I came home late from something at church and cars filled the driveway again. I parked the car and as I tried to go to sleep at midnight, pounding and sawing was occurring. This specific team of people had no compunctions about working late into the night ... until I called the landlord and said "stop!"
Today, they are back. 20 minutes later, the incredible pounding has stopped, but there is plenty of movement and activity. More than anything, I wish they would just rent the place so that someone could come in and establish a pattern that I can fall into again. Enough of this random crap!
I'm whining again
Oh ... the pounding has moved to the living room now.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Fridays are da bomb!
I woke up this morning and was thankful for a Friday. Now, I have to tell you, I love my job. In fact, I don't even feel like it's a job. I feel like I get to come in and play with my friends! So, it's not like I don't enjoy being here.
But, week's worth of working ... there's something really cool about Friday. Everyone is more relaxed. We wear more comfortable clothes, I stopped for bagels before coming in to work, I have my music playing a little louder (right now, there's a lot of 70s rock and roll going on - BOSTON! love it!), the deadlines were dealt with yesterday. It's a great day!
I look forward to my weekends. They are generally a time of regeneration. I can sleep a little later, I actually have time to clean up a few areas of the house, I read, I write, I talk to my husband. It's wonderful! But, it's nice that I am no longer trying to escape the workweek when I get to Friday evening. I'm simply looking for a change of pace. Ahhhh ... the blessings of a job you love.
Tonight, I will pick up some takeout from someplace special, go home and enjoy a quiet evening with Max and the nammynools. I can't believe I have nowhere to go. Whew! This is a great thing!
Sunday morning is Palm Sunday! I love Palm Sunday. It's such a celebration. The kids get to wave palm branches, we sing HOSANNA! The rest of the week tends to go downhill from there. I'm not a big fan of Good Friday. I've never been able to 'celebrate' the death of Jesus. In fact, I won't watch movies about His life because I know that before I get to the resurrection, I have to face the death. And though I know that the same thing is going to happen time after time, I always pray that it won't. And it does ... again.
I was afraid I would be a basket case if I watched Mel Gibson's "The Passion". I tried to avoid that like the plague. But, there it was. My friends, my husband, and even my entire church went to see it as a group. How could I not? So, one more time I was trapped with a group of people and I had to watch Jesus being crucified again. It wipes me out every time. I hate violence, but to know that the Son of God has to face it because of my sin? That's too much for my poor heart to handle.
So ... I'll participate in the things that I have to and I look forward with great expectation to Easter Sunday.
There is one really wonderful thing that will happen for me next week. Millard HS Spring Break! My Wednesday night becomes free and I do believe that my Thursday night will be free. Wow! I'm going to have some time off! AHHHHH .... ain't life grand?
But, week's worth of working ... there's something really cool about Friday. Everyone is more relaxed. We wear more comfortable clothes, I stopped for bagels before coming in to work, I have my music playing a little louder (right now, there's a lot of 70s rock and roll going on - BOSTON! love it!), the deadlines were dealt with yesterday. It's a great day!
I look forward to my weekends. They are generally a time of regeneration. I can sleep a little later, I actually have time to clean up a few areas of the house, I read, I write, I talk to my husband. It's wonderful! But, it's nice that I am no longer trying to escape the workweek when I get to Friday evening. I'm simply looking for a change of pace. Ahhhh ... the blessings of a job you love.
Tonight, I will pick up some takeout from someplace special, go home and enjoy a quiet evening with Max and the nammynools. I can't believe I have nowhere to go. Whew! This is a great thing!
Sunday morning is Palm Sunday! I love Palm Sunday. It's such a celebration. The kids get to wave palm branches, we sing HOSANNA! The rest of the week tends to go downhill from there. I'm not a big fan of Good Friday. I've never been able to 'celebrate' the death of Jesus. In fact, I won't watch movies about His life because I know that before I get to the resurrection, I have to face the death. And though I know that the same thing is going to happen time after time, I always pray that it won't. And it does ... again.
I was afraid I would be a basket case if I watched Mel Gibson's "The Passion". I tried to avoid that like the plague. But, there it was. My friends, my husband, and even my entire church went to see it as a group. How could I not? So, one more time I was trapped with a group of people and I had to watch Jesus being crucified again. It wipes me out every time. I hate violence, but to know that the Son of God has to face it because of my sin? That's too much for my poor heart to handle.
So ... I'll participate in the things that I have to and I look forward with great expectation to Easter Sunday.
There is one really wonderful thing that will happen for me next week. Millard HS Spring Break! My Wednesday night becomes free and I do believe that my Thursday night will be free. Wow! I'm going to have some time off! AHHHHH .... ain't life grand?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
It's late
It's very late and I should be sleeping, but I'm not. I've been talking to my sister for the last hour+. You'd think we would have more sense than that, but obviously we don't. It's weird. I'm 47, she'll be 45 this year and sometimes we both act like we are still in high school. We're such dorks, and we try so hard to be adults.
Tonight I taught an interesting lesson to the God's Friends class. We've been studying the Book of Revelation. It's been an amazing journey. But, the weekly lessons are a lot of fun for me to develop and lead. Tonight I asked them to tell their story.
I think that we have a lot of trouble identifying our stories. Our stories of faith. We think that these stories have to be profound, or they aren't worth telling. But the simplest story can be huge when it is heard by the person who is impacted by it. And if we aren't telling the stories, people can't hear the stories.
One of the questions I asked tonight was "Who has impacted your faith walk?" Who is the person that was there when God swept you off your feet. Or at least brought you to that point. And what has been a pivotal point in your faith journey? Simple questions like, "what is your favorite Bible verse?" will cause you to begin thinking about your story. If you can answer that question and then expand the answer to include why that verse is meaningful to you ... you are telling your story.
When I was in high school, my parents discovered "Evangelism Explosion" by D. James Kennedy. It was a tool that was to be used to give a person accessibility to his/her testimony. After you dealt with your 'testimony', you were trained to be able to tell it to anyone at any time. The hardest thing for me was the fact that I had to go out to people's homes and try to encourage them to let me tell them my 'testimony'. I hated that. It was way too Jehovah's Witness / Mormon missionary for me. But, it did force me to identify how God was working in my life.
My story wasn't great or profound. I was a good kid from a good home. We had always been a solid, Christian home. But, I learned the importance of my story. So ... think about how God has changed your life. The little things ... the big things. God is always there - do you recognize His hand?
Tonight I taught an interesting lesson to the God's Friends class. We've been studying the Book of Revelation. It's been an amazing journey. But, the weekly lessons are a lot of fun for me to develop and lead. Tonight I asked them to tell their story.
I think that we have a lot of trouble identifying our stories. Our stories of faith. We think that these stories have to be profound, or they aren't worth telling. But the simplest story can be huge when it is heard by the person who is impacted by it. And if we aren't telling the stories, people can't hear the stories.
One of the questions I asked tonight was "Who has impacted your faith walk?" Who is the person that was there when God swept you off your feet. Or at least brought you to that point. And what has been a pivotal point in your faith journey? Simple questions like, "what is your favorite Bible verse?" will cause you to begin thinking about your story. If you can answer that question and then expand the answer to include why that verse is meaningful to you ... you are telling your story.
When I was in high school, my parents discovered "Evangelism Explosion" by D. James Kennedy. It was a tool that was to be used to give a person accessibility to his/her testimony. After you dealt with your 'testimony', you were trained to be able to tell it to anyone at any time. The hardest thing for me was the fact that I had to go out to people's homes and try to encourage them to let me tell them my 'testimony'. I hated that. It was way too Jehovah's Witness / Mormon missionary for me. But, it did force me to identify how God was working in my life.
My story wasn't great or profound. I was a good kid from a good home. We had always been a solid, Christian home. But, I learned the importance of my story. So ... think about how God has changed your life. The little things ... the big things. God is always there - do you recognize His hand?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Seven Favorite Songs
I was tagged by Jacque to name my 7 favorite songs. This might just make my brain seize up! Fortunately, it's my blog and I can expound as I like. Because, you see ... there is no possible way for me to limit my lifetime musical experience to 7 songs. I don't know if I could even limit it to seven artists or composers! But, here's where I'll start:
1. 2nd Chapter of Acts and Annie Herring. This Christian group from the 70s and early 80s transformed the way I approached Christian music. Beautiful 3-part harmony. The first time I sang this, I was in 7th grade. We sang "The Son Comes over the Hill". I could barely sing, I was so wrapped up in the harmonies. They quit singing together and Annie Herring moved off on her own. She leads worship and still writes the songs that God gives to her.
2. Israel Houghton and New Breed. Their music is some of the most innovative and spiritual stuff I've heard in a long time. The chords that this guy can dream up! You know a lot of his music. "I am a Friend of God" is pretty popular. In fact, our praise band did lead that this morning in worship. I can't listen to his music without wanting to dance and lift my soul to heaven!
3. Tommy Walker's music is another style that is closer to pop. He can LEAD worship. "He Knows My Name" is one of his good ones. I took you to myspace on that link. But, there are 4 of his songs there.
4. Travis Cottrell is another of my favorites. He leads worship for Beth Moore. The boy is amazing! And, he's cute. The first time I experienced worship under his leadership, I was swept away in the excellence. Two of my favorites that he has led are "We Shall Dance" and "In Christ Alone".
5. Rich Mullins wipes me out! He died in a terrible car crash several years ago and I feel like we lost one of the most influential musicians in the 20/21st century. But, the impact of his music is still being felt. "Our God is an Awesome God" is his. The "Songs" Album is my favorite. I listen to this and weep until the end.
I tried to move past Christian music and I kept thinking of more artists that I loved. You see, I listen to music all of the time and it has impacted me for my entire life! I can not listen to music and do other things, though I am a celebrated multi-tasker. When music is playing, I have to stop and listen to it. I can have television on in the background while I'm working on other stuff ... but, music just commands me to stop and listen.
I only have two spots left and there's absolutely no way I can finish this well. I could go forever and ever! So ...
6. 70s Rock and Roll. I'm an old rocker. That's all there is to it. And the stuff from the 70s is my life. YES, Styx, Kansas, Boston, Rush, Queen, Journey, Foreigner, Pink Floyd ... the list goes on and on. The pop stuff? Oh yea ... I love that too. Bread, Three Dog Night, and then there's Earth, Wind and Fire - these guys touch the inner parts of my soul. Ach! How do I limit this?
7. Classical. I didn't grow up with the radio on - mom and dad hated pop music. So, my days as a child were filled with classical music. Beethoven's Symphonies, Bach, Chopin, Debussy. I played all of this on the piano in high school for various contest pieces and though I don't play it that well anymore, it has remained a part of me. I can work while this music is playing because it is already embedded into my synapses. I love the Russian Masters - Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakoff ... I love it all!
So, no, I wasn't terribly specific on this and I suppose I should apologize. But, this is my world! As I read the scriptures, I find that music is on nearly every page. God gave Jubal the harp in Genesis - and right after that happened, people began worshiping God by name. Music and worship are inextricably linked. I can't imagine it being any other way!
1. 2nd Chapter of Acts and Annie Herring. This Christian group from the 70s and early 80s transformed the way I approached Christian music. Beautiful 3-part harmony. The first time I sang this, I was in 7th grade. We sang "The Son Comes over the Hill". I could barely sing, I was so wrapped up in the harmonies. They quit singing together and Annie Herring moved off on her own. She leads worship and still writes the songs that God gives to her.
2. Israel Houghton and New Breed. Their music is some of the most innovative and spiritual stuff I've heard in a long time. The chords that this guy can dream up! You know a lot of his music. "I am a Friend of God" is pretty popular. In fact, our praise band did lead that this morning in worship. I can't listen to his music without wanting to dance and lift my soul to heaven!
3. Tommy Walker's music is another style that is closer to pop. He can LEAD worship. "He Knows My Name" is one of his good ones. I took you to myspace on that link. But, there are 4 of his songs there.
4. Travis Cottrell is another of my favorites. He leads worship for Beth Moore. The boy is amazing! And, he's cute. The first time I experienced worship under his leadership, I was swept away in the excellence. Two of my favorites that he has led are "We Shall Dance" and "In Christ Alone".
5. Rich Mullins wipes me out! He died in a terrible car crash several years ago and I feel like we lost one of the most influential musicians in the 20/21st century. But, the impact of his music is still being felt. "Our God is an Awesome God" is his. The "Songs" Album is my favorite. I listen to this and weep until the end.
I tried to move past Christian music and I kept thinking of more artists that I loved. You see, I listen to music all of the time and it has impacted me for my entire life! I can not listen to music and do other things, though I am a celebrated multi-tasker. When music is playing, I have to stop and listen to it. I can have television on in the background while I'm working on other stuff ... but, music just commands me to stop and listen.
I only have two spots left and there's absolutely no way I can finish this well. I could go forever and ever! So ...
6. 70s Rock and Roll. I'm an old rocker. That's all there is to it. And the stuff from the 70s is my life. YES, Styx, Kansas, Boston, Rush, Queen, Journey, Foreigner, Pink Floyd ... the list goes on and on. The pop stuff? Oh yea ... I love that too. Bread, Three Dog Night, and then there's Earth, Wind and Fire - these guys touch the inner parts of my soul. Ach! How do I limit this?
7. Classical. I didn't grow up with the radio on - mom and dad hated pop music. So, my days as a child were filled with classical music. Beethoven's Symphonies, Bach, Chopin, Debussy. I played all of this on the piano in high school for various contest pieces and though I don't play it that well anymore, it has remained a part of me. I can work while this music is playing because it is already embedded into my synapses. I love the Russian Masters - Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakoff ... I love it all!
So, no, I wasn't terribly specific on this and I suppose I should apologize. But, this is my world! As I read the scriptures, I find that music is on nearly every page. God gave Jubal the harp in Genesis - and right after that happened, people began worshiping God by name. Music and worship are inextricably linked. I can't imagine it being any other way!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Great Expectations
You know ... I always have great expectations when it comes to writing. I always think there will be more time in my day or that with the time I have left in a day, I'll be alert and creative. HAH! When reality sets in, it stinks!
I'm thankful for weekends because that really is my only time to write. I was able to finish Week 9 of the Revelation study today and let me tell you that I had to fight to find the time to do it! I woke up this morning with great expectations. Only to realize that I had left all of my notes at work. And, I had to go get food for the animals and food for my husband. I finally got all of that done and I was home by 1:30. Then, Max wanted to chat and then I was just pooped (that's another story - I wish my sleep habits were more normal ... sigh). So, I finally got around to writing about 4:30. I am writing a 5 lesson/week study. So, I had 3 1/2 lessons left to write. Yikes!
But, prayer and a bit of endurance got me to this point today. I'm finished with the week's work and tomorrow afternoon I can focus on the lesson that I have to teach. That means I desperately need to sleep well tonight so that I don't have to take a long nap tomorrow afternoon.
It occurs to me that I do a lot of complaining in this blog. Gracious, I don't think I really mean to sound that way! I am so thankful for the time that I do have to write. It will never be enough. Even when I was out of work and at home every day, I didn't have enough time to write.
But, today, God heard my cries for help. I was annoyed when Max wanted supper! {giggle}. I didn't want to have to stop writing and take care of him. As soon as I was up and dealing with his supper, the animals thought they should have a share of my time, too! As I stood outside waiting for Leica to go to the bathroom, I muttered and complained to God about all of this. I'm hoping He just laughed at me. Then, Max wanted more of my time! Just to talk to me! What was he thinking? He knew I was desperate to get these lessons finished. Again, I hope God just laughs at me. I know that I'm so very wrong with my bad attitude.
And ... I got finished after all. With God's help and patience with a mouthy, whiny girl. I'm so thankful that my life is ruled by this God. He measures justice with grace and loves us each as individuals ... right where we are. He pushes us to grow, but never stops loving us. I've got it pretty good.
I'm thankful for weekends because that really is my only time to write. I was able to finish Week 9 of the Revelation study today and let me tell you that I had to fight to find the time to do it! I woke up this morning with great expectations. Only to realize that I had left all of my notes at work. And, I had to go get food for the animals and food for my husband. I finally got all of that done and I was home by 1:30. Then, Max wanted to chat and then I was just pooped (that's another story - I wish my sleep habits were more normal ... sigh). So, I finally got around to writing about 4:30. I am writing a 5 lesson/week study. So, I had 3 1/2 lessons left to write. Yikes!
But, prayer and a bit of endurance got me to this point today. I'm finished with the week's work and tomorrow afternoon I can focus on the lesson that I have to teach. That means I desperately need to sleep well tonight so that I don't have to take a long nap tomorrow afternoon.
It occurs to me that I do a lot of complaining in this blog. Gracious, I don't think I really mean to sound that way! I am so thankful for the time that I do have to write. It will never be enough. Even when I was out of work and at home every day, I didn't have enough time to write.
But, today, God heard my cries for help. I was annoyed when Max wanted supper! {giggle}. I didn't want to have to stop writing and take care of him. As soon as I was up and dealing with his supper, the animals thought they should have a share of my time, too! As I stood outside waiting for Leica to go to the bathroom, I muttered and complained to God about all of this. I'm hoping He just laughed at me. Then, Max wanted more of my time! Just to talk to me! What was he thinking? He knew I was desperate to get these lessons finished. Again, I hope God just laughs at me. I know that I'm so very wrong with my bad attitude.
And ... I got finished after all. With God's help and patience with a mouthy, whiny girl. I'm so thankful that my life is ruled by this God. He measures justice with grace and loves us each as individuals ... right where we are. He pushes us to grow, but never stops loving us. I've got it pretty good.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Up and Down
It's been a good week ... in so many ways. But, this morning all I want to do is crawl back into bed and die. I've gotten sick. Upper respiratory crap. Am I surprised? Absolutely not. I wore this old lady out! Am I annoyed? Absolutely. But, oh well.
You see, when I get sick like this, God is generally good enough to make sure it happens so that I can have a Saturday to totally recuperate. And ... here it is ... Saturday and I have to go deal with life so that we can exist for another week and then head to the school by 1:30 for the first show of the day (Beauty and the Beast) and meet some friends for supper at 5:00 and then back to the school for the second show. Yikes!
Tomorrow, I am leading worship - it's the killer day for us. The third Sunday of the month we have all of the youth choirs singing and our team leads worship. That means I'm there at 8 am (no sleeping in for me), done by noon and back to do the final show at Bryan at 1:30.
Good heavens, I'm whining! In public! On a post that the entire world can read (thank heavens they don't). But, darn it ... I guess I'm not getting enough sympathy. And the reality is, sympathy won't do me a whit of good. It doesn't encourage extra sleep. So ... don't feel sorry for me, it occurs to me that I'm doing plenty of that for myself! (hehe)
Last Wednesday was the last day of having my workday interrupted. Thursday and Friday were amazing! I was able to think and process and create and work without having the insanity of leaving pressing me to finish tasks in a hurry. You see, I do love my job and I love going in to work each morning. I was stressed having to accomplish a full day's work in 4 hours.
I've been there ... a little over a month and a half. The first few weeks were stressful because I was trying desperately to get everything into my head. Then, I had to deal with Max's surgery and the excitement with "Beauty", just as I was starting to wrap my mind around my job. The exciting thing is that on Monday when I walk in there ... I'm actually going to have a full week ahead of me that I can 'do' things. Oh ... it's going to be great.
Max is doing well. He is back to normal ... for the most part. Except for the fact that he can't walk on one leg. He thumps around using a walker. It's much easier for him than crutches. And he is NOT bored. He spends so much time during the day listening and exposing himself to really old, old, and new music. He reads and learns and has such a good time with the internet and movies and books and music. This man is never bored. It's awesome. I think I'd be insane with a man who was begging me to entertain him while he was stuck in the house. God is good.
So, do you ever recognize God in the little things? I've spent the last 20 minutes as I was typing this in a complete and total coughing fit. Blowing my nose like crazy, hacking away, pouring water down to calm the spasms, popping drugs. But, with blow after blow, I realized that I was using "Puffs Plus" tissues, which I never buy. However, on the last excursion to Walgreens I couldn't find the pretty boxes that I wanted - so, I was stuck buying these. And today I'm very glad that happened. You can tell me it's not a gift from God, but I choose to believe that He watches the little details of my life as well as the big ones!
You see, when I get sick like this, God is generally good enough to make sure it happens so that I can have a Saturday to totally recuperate. And ... here it is ... Saturday and I have to go deal with life so that we can exist for another week and then head to the school by 1:30 for the first show of the day (Beauty and the Beast) and meet some friends for supper at 5:00 and then back to the school for the second show. Yikes!
Tomorrow, I am leading worship - it's the killer day for us. The third Sunday of the month we have all of the youth choirs singing and our team leads worship. That means I'm there at 8 am (no sleeping in for me), done by noon and back to do the final show at Bryan at 1:30.
Good heavens, I'm whining! In public! On a post that the entire world can read (thank heavens they don't). But, darn it ... I guess I'm not getting enough sympathy. And the reality is, sympathy won't do me a whit of good. It doesn't encourage extra sleep
Last Wednesday was the last day of having my workday interrupted. Thursday and Friday were amazing! I was able to think and process and create and work without having the insanity of leaving pressing me to finish tasks in a hurry. You see, I do love my job and I love going in to work each morning. I was stressed having to accomplish a full day's work in 4 hours.
I've been there ... a little over a month and a half. The first few weeks were stressful because I was trying desperately to get everything into my head. Then, I had to deal with Max's surgery and the excitement with "Beauty", just as I was starting to wrap my mind around my job. The exciting thing is that on Monday when I walk in there ... I'm actually going to have a full week ahead of me that I can 'do' things. Oh ... it's going to be great.
Max is doing well. He is back to normal ... for the most part. Except for the fact that he can't walk on one leg. He thumps around using a walker. It's much easier for him than crutches. And he is NOT bored. He spends so much time during the day listening and exposing himself to really old, old, and new music. He reads and learns and has such a good time with the internet and movies and books and music. This man is never bored. It's awesome. I think I'd be insane with a man who was begging me to entertain him while he was stuck in the house. God is good.
So, do you ever recognize God in the little things? I've spent the last 20 minutes as I was typing this in a complete and total coughing fit. Blowing my nose like crazy, hacking away, pouring water down to calm the spasms, popping drugs. But, with blow after blow, I realized that I was using "Puffs Plus" tissues, which I never buy. However, on the last excursion to Walgreens I couldn't find the pretty boxes that I wanted - so, I was stuck buying these. And today I'm very glad that happened. You can tell me it's not a gift from God, but I choose to believe that He watches the little details of my life as well as the big ones!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Why do I Blog?
Well! I got tagged outside of myspace! And because I never pass up a chance to write something down for people to read, I'll take it! And before I forget ... Rebecca ... I'm tagging you! Why do you blog.
Ok, back to it!
I've wanted to write all of my life! In fact, it was such a surge of desire going through me that I could feel it literally in my body. My hand would pick up a pen (or pencil) and be poised over a sheet of paper ... sometimes waiting for the words to pour forth! However, I could never figure out what it was exactly that I wanted to write. I've tried my hand at fiction and though I have some really fun ideas and plot lines, but I've never finished a single thing.
I really love writing about the impact that my faith has on me. That's when the tide turned for me. If I'm writing anything about Jesus Christ ... I can't stop myself. Words begin to flow out at an incredible pace.
Now, I don't know if I have anything that is so important to say that people need to read my blogs - in fact, I have no idea sometimes if anyone ever does. And, you know what? That's ok. I do love going back and rereading things I've written in the past. I see how God has helped me grow and how He has changed me.
I have found many of my mother's writings ... she was an avid writer. She died in 1987 and because her words were down on paper, I'm able to discern more about her thoughts and her life. So ...
Why do I blog? Because I love to write ... because, I love to write about how God impacts my life ... because, I love to keep a record of what is going on in my life ... and because I type faster than I handwrite. Blogging online - makes things happen quickly!
Ok, back to it!
I've wanted to write all of my life! In fact, it was such a surge of desire going through me that I could feel it literally in my body. My hand would pick up a pen (or pencil) and be poised over a sheet of paper ... sometimes waiting for the words to pour forth! However, I could never figure out what it was exactly that I wanted to write. I've tried my hand at fiction and though I have some really fun ideas and plot lines, but I've never finished a single thing.
I really love writing about the impact that my faith has on me. That's when the tide turned for me. If I'm writing anything about Jesus Christ ... I can't stop myself. Words begin to flow out at an incredible pace.
Now, I don't know if I have anything that is so important to say that people need to read my blogs - in fact, I have no idea sometimes if anyone ever does. And, you know what? That's ok. I do love going back and rereading things I've written in the past. I see how God has helped me grow and how He has changed me.
I have found many of my mother's writings ... she was an avid writer. She died in 1987 and because her words were down on paper, I'm able to discern more about her thoughts and her life. So ...
Why do I blog? Because I love to write ... because, I love to write about how God impacts my life ... because, I love to keep a record of what is going on in my life ... and because I type faster than I handwrite. Blogging online - makes things happen quickly!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Tired
This one will be short tonight - I'm worn out. I spent 5 hours today sitting at a piano. That's nuts! My butt is tired. And I'm exhausted. But, you know what? I'm not stressed or depressed or feeling sad or anything else, just plain pooped.
For years I didn't have any outlet for piano other than playing for church. Then, I met a friend ... Jennie Hill. She had me playing for the youth choir. Then, I began playing for Canticum Novum, a classical community choir directed by her husband, who got me a gig playing for his Chancel Choir director's high school musical "Beauty and the Beast." I haven't played this much in years! And as much as it is going to wear me out these next two weeks (until "Beauty" is over) I love it. Honestly, you might never know this, but accompanying for musical theater is a passion of mine. There really is nothing more fun for me to play. I began doing it in high school, through college, into community theaters. And, though it has been a few years, there is no music more fun for me to play. There's enough of a challenge in it to make me concentrate, but it's pretty straightforward stuff and I don't have to drive myself crazy to get the notes.
However, I do have to admit that 3 hours sitting at a piano bench, intently concentrating on music wears my poor brain out!
So, if you want to see what seems to be a really good high school production of "Beauty and the Beast", I'm playing for it down at Bryan High School (47th & Giles). Performances begin next week on the 15th and I can't imagine the tickets are expensive!
As for me, if there is a note missed - I'm probably taking a nap!
For years I didn't have any outlet for piano other than playing for church. Then, I met a friend ... Jennie Hill. She had me playing for the youth choir. Then, I began playing for Canticum Novum, a classical community choir directed by her husband, who got me a gig playing for his Chancel Choir director's high school musical "Beauty and the Beast." I haven't played this much in years! And as much as it is going to wear me out these next two weeks (until "Beauty" is over) I love it. Honestly, you might never know this, but accompanying for musical theater is a passion of mine. There really is nothing more fun for me to play. I began doing it in high school, through college, into community theaters. And, though it has been a few years, there is no music more fun for me to play. There's enough of a challenge in it to make me concentrate, but it's pretty straightforward stuff and I don't have to drive myself crazy to get the notes.
However, I do have to admit that 3 hours sitting at a piano bench, intently concentrating on music wears my poor brain out!
So, if you want to see what seems to be a really good high school production of "Beauty and the Beast", I'm playing for it down at Bryan High School (47th & Giles). Performances begin next week on the 15th and I can't imagine the tickets are expensive!
As for me, if there is a note missed - I'm probably taking a nap!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Hot Flashes
Well, that was embarrassing! Tonight, as I was teaching the God's Friends study group, I had a massive hot flash. I finally had to stop speaking and just ask the ladies if they were as hot as I was? They all giggled and said 'no'. Hmmmm ... I guess that means I'm either under a hot air vent, or my body is providing it's own heat! I suspect it's the latter.
Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to die! It was so bad that I actually looked down at the page numbers on my talk to find out how much longer I was going to have to stand there and be interesting! It took everything I had to focus through that. I finally pulled out a stack of papers and began fanning myself and just kept going through it.
As soon as it was over, I sat down and began to feel a little relief. This doesn't really freak me out - I've been praying for menopause to just get here for quite a while. I'd like to get into it and just start dealing with it! All of the anticipation is killing me! I've been dealing with 'pre-menopause' for several years.
You know, growing up with my parents taught me about focus - no matter what. I've been performing in one way or another since I was very young. I distinctly remember singing in a children's choir and getting the giggles with my friends in the back row. We were sitting up in front of the congregation and we were out of control. When I got home after church that day, dad had plenty to say to me about my lack of control in front of the congregation. It was a lesson well learned. He never had to teach it to me again.
Focusing through the giggles, through pain, through angst, through whatever emotion is thrown at me is something I have learned to do. I had to learn that it wasn't about me, it was about making my audience comfortable. The greatest compliment I ever received was from a lady in one of my churches after a performance that I had given. She came up to me and though she told me that I did a great job, the compliment that made me feel the best was when she told me that she loved being in the audience when I performed because she never felt nervous. She knew that I would deal with anything that came my way, whether it was a mistake or any outside intrusion. I exuded confidence and my audience felt that - and they felt confident throughout my performance.
Well, that meant a lot to me! And it still does. I know that I'm going to make mistakes when performing, and I can handle them in any multitude of ways. But, knowing that it isn't about me, but about making my audience comfortable so that they can participate with me changes my focus. I don't have to be embarrassed if I'm prepared. It's a mistake and I can move past it.
That's one of the most difficult lessons to teach young performers. "Don't let your errors show on your face." The audience doesn't want to know that you made a mistake, they want to know that you can handle making a mistake.
So, I guess I exaggerated in the opening sentence. It really was much more entertaining than it was embarrassing. There wasn't a woman in that room tonight that didn't understand what hit me. They've either been through it or will got through a hot flash (or several). So, now they know a little bit more about me - and we have something in common we can laugh about. And laugh I shall - the body does such weird and wild things to us - I have to laugh about it!
Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to die! It was so bad that I actually looked down at the page numbers on my talk to find out how much longer I was going to have to stand there and be interesting! It took everything I had to focus through that. I finally pulled out a stack of papers and began fanning myself and just kept going through it.
As soon as it was over, I sat down and began to feel a little relief. This doesn't really freak me out - I've been praying for menopause to just get here for quite a while. I'd like to get into it and just start dealing with it! All of the anticipation is killing me! I've been dealing with 'pre-menopause' for several years.
You know, growing up with my parents taught me about focus - no matter what. I've been performing in one way or another since I was very young. I distinctly remember singing in a children's choir and getting the giggles with my friends in the back row. We were sitting up in front of the congregation and we were out of control. When I got home after church that day, dad had plenty to say to me about my lack of control in front of the congregation. It was a lesson well learned. He never had to teach it to me again.
Focusing through the giggles, through pain, through angst, through whatever emotion is thrown at me is something I have learned to do. I had to learn that it wasn't about me, it was about making my audience comfortable. The greatest compliment I ever received was from a lady in one of my churches after a performance that I had given. She came up to me and though she told me that I did a great job, the compliment that made me feel the best was when she told me that she loved being in the audience when I performed because she never felt nervous. She knew that I would deal with anything that came my way, whether it was a mistake or any outside intrusion. I exuded confidence and my audience felt that - and they felt confident throughout my performance.
Well, that meant a lot to me! And it still does. I know that I'm going to make mistakes when performing, and I can handle them in any multitude of ways. But, knowing that it isn't about me, but about making my audience comfortable so that they can participate with me changes my focus. I don't have to be embarrassed if I'm prepared. It's a mistake and I can move past it.
That's one of the most difficult lessons to teach young performers. "Don't let your errors show on your face." The audience doesn't want to know that you made a mistake, they want to know that you can handle making a mistake.
So, I guess I exaggerated in the opening sentence. It really was much more entertaining than it was embarrassing. There wasn't a woman in that room tonight that didn't understand what hit me. They've either been through it or will got through a hot flash (or several). So, now they know a little bit more about me - and we have something in common we can laugh about. And laugh I shall - the body does such weird and wild things to us - I have to laugh about it!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
A Glorious Day!
I am so thankful for sunshine. Though it was forecast to be 37 degrees, it is actually 41! God is so good!
This morning I was at church early to help make sure that everything would run smoothly and though I didn't do a thing, it ran quite smoothly. Oh, I take that back! As I was sitting on the front pew, the handbell choir director came to me and asked if I played. Well, actually, I have been playing since I was about 10 years old and have spent a lot of years directing handbell choirs. Two of their members didn't show up today and they needed one more person to cover. So, I had my debut in the FW Adult Bell Choir - it was great! They are actually a pretty good choir, so it's fun to play with people who know what they're doing.
I got home and it was time to do laundry. As I was pulling laundry out, I figured it was probably time to unpack the bag that Max had taken to the hospital. I pulled out the dirty stuff and as I did, I came across the things that Max decided were important to take with him. The first thing I pulled out was a pair of "Merry Christmas" boxers. I just began to laugh and laugh. Max has many, many pairs of boxers, but he packed the "Merry Christmas" ones just for this special trip. Here's where the conversation went: "Max, who pulled out the underwear from your bag when you finally got dressed on Tuesday?" "Hmmm ... I think they did, I was out of it." "Ok ... I'm pretty sure that I specifically told you not to wear those."
Well, I was right - I had told him not to wear them, but I guess I didn't realize I needed to tell him not to pack them! The other funny thing? He packed 3 extra pairs of socks. I wonder what he thought he was going to do with that many socks, when more than likely there would be one foot that wouldn't see a sock until the middle of May! This is why these poor men need us, right?
Oh ... and by the way ... as soon as I pulled out the "Merry Christmas" boxers and started laughing at him, I told him that I was probably going to be blogging about that. He just giggled. Fortunately, my husband knows that he is a dork and I love him no matter what.
I bought the new scented Tide (Lavendar and Vanilla) to do my laundry. Max generally does laundry for us - he likes being able to contribute to the activities of the household that way. It's ok for him to be macho about it when he uses the bold red bottle of Tide. However, the lavendar color and lavendar scent was a bit too girly for him, so he hasn't let me purchase it. Well, I'll be doing laundry for quite awhile and I figure that he's going to have to put up with the smell now. I'm awfully abusive, eh? (hehe)
I think it's time for a nap. I have a lot of work to do this evening. If you're in the midwest, I hope you are as thankful as I am for the sunshine. If you're in a locale with temperatures in the 60s or 70s ... I just don't want to hear about it!
This morning I was at church early to help make sure that everything would run smoothly and though I didn't do a thing, it ran quite smoothly. Oh, I take that back! As I was sitting on the front pew, the handbell choir director came to me and asked if I played. Well, actually, I have been playing since I was about 10 years old and have spent a lot of years directing handbell choirs. Two of their members didn't show up today and they needed one more person to cover. So, I had my debut in the FW Adult Bell Choir - it was great! They are actually a pretty good choir, so it's fun to play with people who know what they're doing.
I got home and it was time to do laundry. As I was pulling laundry out, I figured it was probably time to unpack the bag that Max had taken to the hospital. I pulled out the dirty stuff and as I did, I came across the things that Max decided were important to take with him. The first thing I pulled out was a pair of "Merry Christmas" boxers. I just began to laugh and laugh. Max has many, many pairs of boxers, but he packed the "Merry Christmas" ones just for this special trip. Here's where the conversation went: "Max, who pulled out the underwear from your bag when you finally got dressed on Tuesday?" "Hmmm ... I think they did, I was out of it." "Ok ... I'm pretty sure that I specifically told you not to wear those."
Well, I was right - I had told him not to wear them, but I guess I didn't realize I needed to tell him not to pack them! The other funny thing? He packed 3 extra pairs of socks. I wonder what he thought he was going to do with that many socks, when more than likely there would be one foot that wouldn't see a sock until the middle of May! This is why these poor men need us, right?
Oh ... and by the way ... as soon as I pulled out the "Merry Christmas" boxers and started laughing at him, I told him that I was probably going to be blogging about that. He just giggled. Fortunately, my husband knows that he is a dork and I love him no matter what.
I bought the new scented Tide (Lavendar and Vanilla) to do my laundry. Max generally does laundry for us - he likes being able to contribute to the activities of the household that way. It's ok for him to be macho about it when he uses the bold red bottle of Tide. However, the lavendar color and lavendar scent was a bit too girly for him, so he hasn't let me purchase it. Well, I'll be doing laundry for quite awhile and I figure that he's going to have to put up with the smell now. I'm awfully abusive, eh? (hehe)
I think it's time for a nap. I have a lot of work to do this evening. If you're in the midwest, I hope you are as thankful as I am for the sunshine. If you're in a locale with temperatures in the 60s or 70s ... I just don't want to hear about it!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
FREEDOM!!!
My sister Carol is a wonderful person. She came over this morning and between the two of us, released my car. I can leave the house now. And I did. Just to run a couple of errands. I had to pick up dry cleaning and some cat food. All important things in my world. Actually, Carol drove, but I LEFT THE HOUSE!!! I have been here in a very small space with Max since Wednesday at 3:30. I love and adore him, but I needed to breathe some fresh air.
The day is glorious! The sun is shining, roads (that have been plowed) are clear, people are smiling again. Ahhhh .... the joy of it all. For as thankful as I was that we had that blizzard and it stuck me at home to care for my husband, I am more thankful than ever that it is over and that I can move throughout the city again.
I need to do a little more shoveling this afternoon and then head out to the grocery store. Now that I know Max's limitations, I know what I need to get for him to exist in the house while I'm gone. Because from here on out - I'm not going to be home much. He's going to have to fend for himself.
He can put absolutely no weight on the ankle, which means he walks around using a walker. This is fine, but he can't carry much of anything. It was quite funny in the middle of the night to see him coming back from the bathroom after stopping at the refrigerator for a bottle of water. The bottle was in his mouth! That woke me up, but not enough to get up and help him. I was too far out of it.
See how far we've come? In just a couple of days, he is gaining back lots of independence and I feel comfortable about leaving him alone. He doesn't have to rely on me for everything anymore. Whew! This is awesome.
The day is glorious! The sun is shining, roads (that have been plowed) are clear, people are smiling again. Ahhhh .... the joy of it all. For as thankful as I was that we had that blizzard and it stuck me at home to care for my husband, I am more thankful than ever that it is over and that I can move throughout the city again.
I need to do a little more shoveling this afternoon and then head out to the grocery store. Now that I know Max's limitations, I know what I need to get for him to exist in the house while I'm gone. Because from here on out - I'm not going to be home much. He's going to have to fend for himself.
He can put absolutely no weight on the ankle, which means he walks around using a walker. This is fine, but he can't carry much of anything. It was quite funny in the middle of the night to see him coming back from the bathroom after stopping at the refrigerator for a bottle of water. The bottle was in his mouth! That woke me up, but not enough to get up and help him. I was too far out of it.
See how far we've come? In just a couple of days, he is gaining back lots of independence and I feel comfortable about leaving him alone. He doesn't have to rely on me for everything anymore. Whew! This is awesome.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Cabin Fever?
Another day and the meterologists are telling us we aren't done with the blizzard. More snow is coming tonight (ok, it's only one or two more inches, but still!) and the wind will not die down. Today is the first time in many years that I'm sorry I didn't have children. I need the little stinkers to help dig us out. Fortunately my sister is coming over to help me tomorrow. Yikes!
Max and I are camping out in a very small living room. It's a good thing he isn't terribly mobile. If he was moving in and out of my space I might have to scream. But, that big ole cast on his leg is keeping him in one place. That's a good thing.
Today has been a much better day for him! He slept and slept and slept and slept last night and this morning. If I hadn't heard him snoring away, I would have been concerned. I woke up about 7:30 this morning and started working on stuff for church. I LOVE logmein.com. I can completely access my work computer and act like I'm right there. I got a lot of things done and didn't have to leave the house. In fact, I probably got more done from home than I would have in the office. People tend to talk to me a lot - and though I love it, it messes with my schedule.
He finally woke up about 11:30 and has been moving around ever since. The epidural bruising is lessening and he is able to move himself around again. Whew! I don't have to fully nursemaid him anymore. Now, it's just down to cooking and running for him. Believe it or not, I went upstairs to his computer and installed 'logmein' up there so that he can access his music server from the laptop down here. Oh, we're a sick, techie family.
He's still awake at this point and that makes me feel better. I've been hoping and praying for the anesthesia to release it's hold on him. I'd rather have him alert while he's in my space (hmmm ... am I possessive of this space? I guess so). At least then we get to have interesting conversations. Right now he's listening (in his headphones) to the Beethoven Symphonies and commenting on the fact that at least one movement from each is familiar to the world. Ahhh, but there are two from the 5th Symphony that are familiar. Do you have these types of weird conversations at your house?
I am going to need him to shave soon. He got a haircut last week and had her shave him down pretty close to the scalp. The poor man doesn't have a lot of hair anyway, but this one was a little too close to 'skinhead' for me. Now with a heavy beard growth and very little hair on his head, he's starting to look a bit like something from a very bad neo-Nazi group. I thought I wanted him to have a beard and moustache. I think I don't want that so much anymore.
God has been good with this snow, but I think we've moved past good to 'too much of a good thing'. I am feeling better about leaving Max alone now - I think he can probably take care of himself at this point and I'm ready to get back out into the world. I have shopping to do (the cats are going to get hungry when I run out of cat food) and I really am going to need to get a Diet Mountain Dew soon.
Tomorrow is another day. I've had some stresses this week, but you know what? It's been a good week. God is still good ... all the time.
Max and I are camping out in a very small living room. It's a good thing he isn't terribly mobile. If he was moving in and out of my space I might have to scream. But, that big ole cast on his leg is keeping him in one place. That's a good thing.
Today has been a much better day for him! He slept and slept and slept and slept last night and this morning. If I hadn't heard him snoring away, I would have been concerned. I woke up about 7:30 this morning and started working on stuff for church. I LOVE logmein.com. I can completely access my work computer and act like I'm right there. I got a lot of things done and didn't have to leave the house. In fact, I probably got more done from home than I would have in the office. People tend to talk to me a lot - and though I love it, it messes with my schedule.
He finally woke up about 11:30 and has been moving around ever since. The epidural bruising is lessening and he is able to move himself around again. Whew! I don't have to fully nursemaid him anymore. Now, it's just down to cooking and running for him. Believe it or not, I went upstairs to his computer and installed 'logmein' up there so that he can access his music server from the laptop down here. Oh, we're a sick, techie family.
He's still awake at this point and that makes me feel better. I've been hoping and praying for the anesthesia to release it's hold on him. I'd rather have him alert while he's in my space (hmmm ... am I possessive of this space? I guess so). At least then we get to have interesting conversations. Right now he's listening (in his headphones) to the Beethoven Symphonies and commenting on the fact that at least one movement from each is familiar to the world. Ahhh, but there are two from the 5th Symphony that are familiar. Do you have these types of weird conversations at your house?
I am going to need him to shave soon. He got a haircut last week and had her shave him down pretty close to the scalp. The poor man doesn't have a lot of hair anyway, but this one was a little too close to 'skinhead' for me. Now with a heavy beard growth and very little hair on his head, he's starting to look a bit like something from a very bad neo-Nazi group. I thought I wanted him to have a beard and moustache. I think I don't want that so much anymore.
God has been good with this snow, but I think we've moved past good to 'too much of a good thing'. I am feeling better about leaving Max alone now - I think he can probably take care of himself at this point and I'm ready to get back out into the world. I have shopping to do (the cats are going to get hungry when I run out of cat food) and I really am going to need to get a Diet Mountain Dew soon.
Tomorrow is another day. I've had some stresses this week, but you know what? It's been a good week. God is still good ... all the time.
God is Faithful
"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1
It's a good thing that God is marvelous. It makes me thankful that I'm a part of His creation. You know, it's really much easier to be thankful and praise Him for His goodness than it is to spend a lot of time complaining and whining. Max and I watched an old "Law and Order" this evening and one of the characters was a man who could not deal with the fact that his wife had been murdered 4 years prior. He was still angry and hurt and in great pain. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was a character in a television show, I wanted to tell him about Jesus Christ! That kind of anger and pain only perpetuates more anger and pain. I once heard a pastor say that unforgiveness is poison that only affects the person who refuses to forgive. And I think that the same thing goes for my relationship with God.
In my last blog "Snow Day, Lazy Day", I talked about complaining and being angry with God. I guess I learned about the fact that the Psalms teach us about those types of interactions with God from Beth Moore. I heard her say once that David, in essence, gave us permission to have that type of relationship with our Creator.
What I learned from my mother was that though we would have a wild and very vocal argument, it would be over with in 20 minutes and one or the other of us would approach the other and ask for forgiveness. Honestly, there were times that we weren't ready to forgive, we were just too angry. But, our relationship was so strong, that though it might take a few more minutes for us to calm down, we were always confident that forgiveness would come and the relationship would probably be stronger when we were done. The air was cleared, forgiveness had occurred and we still loved each other. I'm thankful for the safe relationship I had with her. I carried that into my relationship with my sister, but she didn't feel as safe with me as mom and I did. It took a lot of years for her to realize that anger wasn't necessarily the beginning of the end of a relationship. HAH! And we grew up in the same house together.
But, this experience with my mother is why I can fall apart all over God, throw my tantrum, question His actions in my life and still, by the end of the week be praising Him for His goodness in my life. I feel safe with Him! I know that He loves me ... through all of my insanity and my self-centeredness, He loves me.
And tonight, at the end of a long week, I am just so thankful for a God who comforts me, allows me to cry while holding me close and encourages me to fall at His feet in worship.
It's a good thing that God is marvelous. It makes me thankful that I'm a part of His creation. You know, it's really much easier to be thankful and praise Him for His goodness than it is to spend a lot of time complaining and whining. Max and I watched an old "Law and Order" this evening and one of the characters was a man who could not deal with the fact that his wife had been murdered 4 years prior. He was still angry and hurt and in great pain. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was a character in a television show, I wanted to tell him about Jesus Christ! That kind of anger and pain only perpetuates more anger and pain. I once heard a pastor say that unforgiveness is poison that only affects the person who refuses to forgive. And I think that the same thing goes for my relationship with God.
In my last blog "Snow Day, Lazy Day", I talked about complaining and being angry with God. I guess I learned about the fact that the Psalms teach us about those types of interactions with God from Beth Moore. I heard her say once that David, in essence, gave us permission to have that type of relationship with our Creator.
What I learned from my mother was that though we would have a wild and very vocal argument, it would be over with in 20 minutes and one or the other of us would approach the other and ask for forgiveness. Honestly, there were times that we weren't ready to forgive, we were just too angry. But, our relationship was so strong, that though it might take a few more minutes for us to calm down, we were always confident that forgiveness would come and the relationship would probably be stronger when we were done. The air was cleared, forgiveness had occurred and we still loved each other. I'm thankful for the safe relationship I had with her. I carried that into my relationship with my sister, but she didn't feel as safe with me as mom and I did. It took a lot of years for her to realize that anger wasn't necessarily the beginning of the end of a relationship. HAH! And we grew up in the same house together.
But, this experience with my mother is why I can fall apart all over God, throw my tantrum, question His actions in my life and still, by the end of the week be praising Him for His goodness in my life. I feel safe with Him! I know that He loves me ... through all of my insanity and my self-centeredness, He loves me.
And tonight, at the end of a long week, I am just so thankful for a God who comforts me, allows me to cry while holding me close and encourages me to fall at His feet in worship.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Snow Day - Lazy Day
Wow, I've not accomplished much around here today. It's been wonderful. In fact, I don't have these types of days very often.
I'm not letting Max go upstairs - hah, the poor guy couldn't make it upstairs. So, he is sleeping on the couch this week. Last night I wasn't comfortable leaving him alone, so I tried to nest in the living room. The air mattress (notice that was air mattress, not air bed) was as uncomfortable as it could possibly be for a 47 year old lady with bad knees. Then, I tried the wing chair with the ottoman extended. And I slept ... for about 3 hours. Whew.
I got another nap on the chair this afternoon. But, late morning was great. Max decided he was a little claustrophobic and didn't want to be on the couch any longer. So, up he got ... and we got him all cleaned up, teeth brushed, hair washed and he's more comfortable getting up and down. Whew! Independence is approaching!
So ... my day has been a lot of 'not much'. I did some cooking, I'm pretty much at Max's beck and call and I've taken a nap. Hmmm ... fairly profound! (hehe) And it's been wonderful. I have lots I could be doing, but you know what? There is nothing I have to do.
I continue to be so thankful for a God who loves me and cares for me even when I'm stressed out. Last week at the Ash Wednesday service, Dr. Delp taught about a friendship with God. Sometimes it involves complaining at God (read Psalm 44 - David complains!). Sometimes it involves yelling at God. He quoted Joni Eareckson Tada who said she would rather be yelling at God than walking away from Him. That's exactly how I feel about God! I have stood in my office and yelled at God, just furious at the way I felt I was being treated. I've thrown tantrums before Him, everything I do with my family. I don't generally let my friends see that bad behavior, it would embarrass me. But, when Dr. Delp said that, my friend Jennie poked me and said "You do that!" And I began to cry as I realized that I do have a relationship with God that makes it comfortable for me to yell at him, cry, whine, complain as well as praise him, thank him, strive to please him. I have a relationship with Him!!! We're friends ... actually ... we're family! That's just joyful to me.
So, when things fall apart, I may panic and worry and stress and cry and whine, but I always know that I am in those great big hands of my Father. Even though it seems painful at the time, God will care for me through it. God is good ... all the time. All the time, God is good.
I'm not letting Max go upstairs - hah, the poor guy couldn't make it upstairs. So, he is sleeping on the couch this week. Last night I wasn't comfortable leaving him alone, so I tried to nest in the living room. The air mattress (notice that was air mattress, not air bed) was as uncomfortable as it could possibly be for a 47 year old lady with bad knees. Then, I tried the wing chair with the ottoman extended. And I slept ... for about 3 hours. Whew.
I got another nap on the chair this afternoon. But, late morning was great. Max decided he was a little claustrophobic and didn't want to be on the couch any longer. So, up he got ... and we got him all cleaned up, teeth brushed, hair washed and he's more comfortable getting up and down. Whew! Independence is approaching!
So ... my day has been a lot of 'not much'. I did some cooking, I'm pretty much at Max's beck and call and I've taken a nap. Hmmm ... fairly profound! (hehe) And it's been wonderful. I have lots I could be doing, but you know what? There is nothing I have to do.
I continue to be so thankful for a God who loves me and cares for me even when I'm stressed out. Last week at the Ash Wednesday service, Dr. Delp taught about a friendship with God. Sometimes it involves complaining at God (read Psalm 44 - David complains!). Sometimes it involves yelling at God. He quoted Joni Eareckson Tada who said she would rather be yelling at God than walking away from Him. That's exactly how I feel about God! I have stood in my office and yelled at God, just furious at the way I felt I was being treated. I've thrown tantrums before Him, everything I do with my family. I don't generally let my friends see that bad behavior, it would embarrass me
So, when things fall apart, I may panic and worry and stress and cry and whine, but I always know that I am in those great big hands of my Father. Even though it seems painful at the time, God will care for me through it. God is good ... all the time. All the time, God is good.
Snow Day
I've finally discovered what causes our church office to close: lots of snow, lots of snow, lots of snow. Not just a normal snow, but a blizzard. We have a blizzard warning in effect until 6:00 this evening. I can only pray that people will stay off the streets. I am!
You know what? God proves to me over and over again how He cares for me. All I have to do is look for the blessing.
I brought Max home from the hospital yesterday afternoon about 3:30. And I quickly discovered that he was going to need a lot more immediate care from me. The failed epidural puncture is making it impossible for him to move around. The incredibly heavy cast makes it all that much more difficult. Since he is still flushing the intense drugs from his system and his body is producing antibodies to fight off the intrusion to it, all he does is sleep. He wakes up long enough to go to the bathroom, but even that requires my assistance right now. The poor guy hates putting me out like that - it goes against his basic nature, but it's quite necessary and I can care for him in whatever way is necessary.
It really concerned me that I would be leaving him today to deal with all of the things necessary in my world, and then the snow hit. I can't leave him. I have another full day to help him as he draws himself out of the anesthetic stupor. God is so good!
The only thing (and what a small thing) that is stressing me out is that all of my notes and my flash drive are at work. I can't work on the Revelation study at all today. So, what does this mean to me? I'm not sure! I have a completely free day. I can work on whatever I want to work on or read whatever I want to read. I can watch television and just relax if that's what I want to do. I'll get back to you on this.
So far this morning, I've been watching recorded episodes of one of my favorite television shows - Star Trek: Voyager. I'm a complete sci fi geek. I missed a lot of these episodes when it originally aired because I had a life and it kept intruding on my television viewing. For that I'm always grateful. But, I'm also grateful right now for my husband's tech-geekiness. I have a television card in the computer and can record shows right into my computer. That means that when Max is watching football or baseball or something weird and wild, I can be watching things that I have recorded in the past ... at my computer. And, like right now, it's playing in the background while I type and do other things. I'm not watching the video, but Max says it's like listening to an old-time radio show.
Here I am ... stuck in my home and loving it. P.S. The poor dog isn't liking this weather at all. She went out in a panic this morning and turned right around and came back in. The wind was blowing and chilling her to the bone. She finally accepted the need for a quick run to the outside, but it's going to be a struggle all day long! (hehe)
As your plans for the day have been altered, will you use them for a blessing or will you insist on rushing around like you normally do?
You know what? God proves to me over and over again how He cares for me. All I have to do is look for the blessing.
I brought Max home from the hospital yesterday afternoon about 3:30. And I quickly discovered that he was going to need a lot more immediate care from me. The failed epidural puncture is making it impossible for him to move around. The incredibly heavy cast makes it all that much more difficult. Since he is still flushing the intense drugs from his system and his body is producing antibodies to fight off the intrusion to it, all he does is sleep. He wakes up long enough to go to the bathroom, but even that requires my assistance right now. The poor guy hates putting me out like that - it goes against his basic nature, but it's quite necessary and I can care for him in whatever way is necessary.
It really concerned me that I would be leaving him today to deal with all of the things necessary in my world, and then the snow hit. I can't leave him. I have another full day to help him as he draws himself out of the anesthetic stupor. God is so good!
The only thing (and what a small thing) that is stressing me out is that all of my notes and my flash drive are at work. I can't work on the Revelation study at all today. So, what does this mean to me? I'm not sure! I have a completely free day. I can work on whatever I want to work on or read whatever I want to read. I can watch television and just relax if that's what I want to do. I'll get back to you on this.
So far this morning, I've been watching recorded episodes of one of my favorite television shows - Star Trek: Voyager. I'm a complete sci fi geek. I missed a lot of these episodes when it originally aired because I had a life and it kept intruding on my television viewing. For that I'm always grateful. But, I'm also grateful right now for my husband's tech-geekiness. I have a television card in the computer and can record shows right into my computer. That means that when Max is watching football or baseball or something weird and wild, I can be watching things that I have recorded in the past ... at my computer. And, like right now, it's playing in the background while I type and do other things. I'm not watching the video, but Max says it's like listening to an old-time radio show.
Here I am ... stuck in my home and loving it. P.S. The poor dog isn't liking this weather at all. She went out in a panic this morning and turned right around and came back in. The wind was blowing and chilling her to the bone. She finally accepted the need for a quick run to the outside, but it's going to be a struggle all day long! (hehe)
As your plans for the day have been altered, will you use them for a blessing or will you insist on rushing around like you normally do?
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