Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Froggy Fiddling Fun
Chicago O'Hare Airport has a great children's musuem. On our recent trip to Boston, Juliette enjoyed fiddling with the frogs.
Speaking of fiddling, I started teaching violin lessons last week. I taught throughout college (so yes, it has been a few years), but am excited to get back to it. As far as I know, I'm the only teacher in our county, so I'm hoping that means I'll get enough students for a decent sized studio. We'll see!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Seeking Your Prayers
This year has been a whirlwind for us, as many of you know. Don't get me wrong, we have been abundantly blessed by God's faithfulness over the past 12 months, but now we are again faced with another "giant". And for the record - I'm kind of tired of "giants"!
Without giving away the details of my extended family's private lives, I beseech you to keep them in your prayers. They are in a seemingly "hopeless" situation, involving much heartache, ensnaring sin, and years of built up bitterness and relational dysfunction.
Though we are several hours away, I have to confess that the situation is constantly on my mind. In so many ways it feels almost as if I am watching them slowly die an agonizing, self-inflicted death. And in many ways, that pretty much hits the nail on the head. And, yet even as Seth and I continue to implore heaven, I confess that I feel helpless and hopeless.
But feelings lie. They are not always the truth. And so today I am clinging to the TRUTH that we serve a God who is in the business of resurrection. And even when all hope has died, I believe that God can still bring about restoration and revival. He just does things like that.
"We do not want you to be uninformed . . . about the hardships we suffered . . . We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." - 2 Cor 1:8-10
Please pray - for us, for them, for restoration, for gracious favor, for truth, for resurrection, and for hope.
Without giving away the details of my extended family's private lives, I beseech you to keep them in your prayers. They are in a seemingly "hopeless" situation, involving much heartache, ensnaring sin, and years of built up bitterness and relational dysfunction.
Though we are several hours away, I have to confess that the situation is constantly on my mind. In so many ways it feels almost as if I am watching them slowly die an agonizing, self-inflicted death. And in many ways, that pretty much hits the nail on the head. And, yet even as Seth and I continue to implore heaven, I confess that I feel helpless and hopeless.
But feelings lie. They are not always the truth. And so today I am clinging to the TRUTH that we serve a God who is in the business of resurrection. And even when all hope has died, I believe that God can still bring about restoration and revival. He just does things like that.
"We do not want you to be uninformed . . . about the hardships we suffered . . . We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." - 2 Cor 1:8-10
Please pray - for us, for them, for restoration, for gracious favor, for truth, for resurrection, and for hope.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Can I Hear An Amen?
I was touched by this article that appeared in the bulletin of the church that we used to attend in The Big City. Enjoy!
GRACE: SPACE TO FAIL
The other day I was listening to a Christian business leader talk about his highly successful company. He was explaining to a group of about two hundred interested people how he had built a small business into a large prosperous company.
We heard him say several of the things anyone would have expected. He talked about customer service, good value, and meeting market demands. One item of his company policy particularly riveted my attention.
As he talked about the way he treated his employees, he said, “I lavish grace on the people who work for me. That is, I give them space for failure as we seek to improve things in the company. Experience has taught me that removing a paralyzing fear of failure from them unleashes incredible creativity and productivity.”
This is the point about grace that so many of us have missed in our theology!
Grace is neither the abandonment of personal responsibility nor an anything-goes attitude toward faith. To the contrary, grace acknowledges that one is under God’s authority and answerable to the law of Christ. It insists on the relentless pursuit of truth, purity, duty, and ethical behavior in all parts of our lives. At the same time, however, it insists that one will not be saved by achieving these or feeling like we have spiritually “arrived”. Salvation is God’s gift to sinners, not His reward to those who do enough, as Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus declares:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, . . . (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Part of the good news of Christianity is that the grace of God gives us space to fail while we are seeking to bring our thoughts, words, and deeds into captivity for Christ. On the other hand, a performance-based religion always leaves one feeling insecure. Instead of reverence and love motivating one to greater acts of service, it is only a fear of hell. Churches filled with such people are overly cautious about everything and paralyzed in their creativity.
We must remember that God is the “Heavenly Father”, not Warden. He longs for the relationship shared to mirror that of a healthy family where the father loves and guides his children as they grow up. Those baptized into Christ have this relationship by virtue of birth—not just behavior. While we try to become more faithful sons and daughters, we can live lives filled with joy—even with our weaknesses and failures.
If you’re still living in a religion bounded by the fear of failure, lighten up. The Father loves you and wants what is best—even when you stumble.
GRACE: SPACE TO FAIL
The other day I was listening to a Christian business leader talk about his highly successful company. He was explaining to a group of about two hundred interested people how he had built a small business into a large prosperous company.
We heard him say several of the things anyone would have expected. He talked about customer service, good value, and meeting market demands. One item of his company policy particularly riveted my attention.
As he talked about the way he treated his employees, he said, “I lavish grace on the people who work for me. That is, I give them space for failure as we seek to improve things in the company. Experience has taught me that removing a paralyzing fear of failure from them unleashes incredible creativity and productivity.”
This is the point about grace that so many of us have missed in our theology!
Grace is neither the abandonment of personal responsibility nor an anything-goes attitude toward faith. To the contrary, grace acknowledges that one is under God’s authority and answerable to the law of Christ. It insists on the relentless pursuit of truth, purity, duty, and ethical behavior in all parts of our lives. At the same time, however, it insists that one will not be saved by achieving these or feeling like we have spiritually “arrived”. Salvation is God’s gift to sinners, not His reward to those who do enough, as Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus declares:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, . . . (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Part of the good news of Christianity is that the grace of God gives us space to fail while we are seeking to bring our thoughts, words, and deeds into captivity for Christ. On the other hand, a performance-based religion always leaves one feeling insecure. Instead of reverence and love motivating one to greater acts of service, it is only a fear of hell. Churches filled with such people are overly cautious about everything and paralyzed in their creativity.
We must remember that God is the “Heavenly Father”, not Warden. He longs for the relationship shared to mirror that of a healthy family where the father loves and guides his children as they grow up. Those baptized into Christ have this relationship by virtue of birth—not just behavior. While we try to become more faithful sons and daughters, we can live lives filled with joy—even with our weaknesses and failures.
If you’re still living in a religion bounded by the fear of failure, lighten up. The Father loves you and wants what is best—even when you stumble.
--Adapted from an article by Rubel Shelly
Thursday, September 3, 2009
What People Will Do For A Buck
Throughout Boston, there were a lot of street acts - musicians, breakdancers, painters, etc. But this was, by far, my absolute favorite.
Look carefully. Notice anything different about these statues?
How about now?
Maybe this pose is better.
The sign says, "This ship runs on tips". Put a dollar in, and you get a whole different pose. Creative!
Look carefully. Notice anything different about these statues?
How about now?
Maybe this pose is better.
The sign says, "This ship runs on tips". Put a dollar in, and you get a whole different pose. Creative!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Some Fabulous Things To Do In Beantown
U.S.S. Constitution - Oldest Commissioned War Ship still afloat
Copp's Hill Burying Ground - Headstones dating back to the 1600s
Old North Church - Where Paul Revere hung the laterns to warn of the British
Faneuil Hall - Great Revolutionary debates took place here
Granary Burying Ground - Resting place of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Mother Goose, and many others
Paul Revere's Tomb
Paul Revere's Statue
Green Dragon Tavern - Where the Boston Tea Party Partied
Friendly Folks Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Seeing Things Differently
This morning my husband frantically pulled apart his closet looking for his "white" shirt.
"What white shirt?" I replied.
"I don't know what white shirt you're talking about," I answered, now peeking into the closet myself to see if maybe I could spot a shirt that would appease his quest.
"Is it in the laundry?" he inquired.
"The only shirts that I have in the ironing pile are your blue shirt, and your short sleeve tan shirt."
I left the room to start breakfast, while he continued to search every nook and cranny for his desired white shirt.
Ten minutes later he came in the kitchen, abandoning the seemingly fruitless search, and wearing yesterday's shirt.
And then he spotted it, lying right there on the ironing pile. That's right. His lovely "white" shirt. This "white" shirt, in fact:
And of course a woman would never be caught dead wearing the same shirt two days in a row.
"Have you seen my white shirt?" he asked.
"What white shirt?" I replied.
"You know, the white shirt that I bought that looks just like this one - only white," he proclaimed, pointing to the shirt he wore yesterday.
"I don't know what white shirt you're talking about," I answered, now peeking into the closet myself to see if maybe I could spot a shirt that would appease his quest.
"Is it in the laundry?" he inquired.
"The only shirts that I have in the ironing pile are your blue shirt, and your short sleeve tan shirt."
I left the room to start breakfast, while he continued to search every nook and cranny for his desired white shirt.
Ten minutes later he came in the kitchen, abandoning the seemingly fruitless search, and wearing yesterday's shirt.
And then he spotted it, lying right there on the ironing pile. That's right. His lovely "white" shirt. This "white" shirt, in fact:
Just goes to show you, men and women really do see things differently sometimes.
And of course a woman would never be caught dead wearing the same shirt two days in a row.
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