It's true. If something happens at church that someone doesn't like, guess who they turn on? You can really never be separated from your husband's position.
Sad, but true, my dears.
A quick note to let you know I'll be beginning a series on celebrating the Reformation with your family as an alternative to Halloween. We've done this for 3 years now and it's always a lot of fun. I'll share a few ideas that might inspire YOU to take a more positive spin on the holiday.
Remember: October 31 is the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses (or complaints) against the Catholic Church on the church door (or bulletin board-that's up for debate!) of Wittenberg!
Some churches debate if they should hold baby showers for an "unwed mother" who might be a member of their church.
"Would this appear as though we were condoning fornication?" they wonder.
Using this logic, then they would also never be able to bring the child cupcakes in Sunday School on his birthday because he was and (apparently always will be) a bastard child. He is forever marked as a "mistake", and under this shadow of condemnation his mother will live for the rest of her life.
I would instead liken the baby shower to the feast thrown by the loving father in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son:
Luke 15:20-24
"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate."
Those who reject lavishing love upon a repentant woman remind me of the "other brother":
Luke 15:28-32
"But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
"But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured wealth and prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
"And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"
Pharisees hate when others receive God's grace. It feels unjust to them because they keep a talley of all the "good things" they do. Jesus called them white washed tombs, clean and bright on the outside, but full of dead men's bones on the inside.
In the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, Jesus says that the tax collector, who beat his chest and bemoaned his sin, went home justified.
When we wrap our arms around a young girl who has chosen to keep her baby, as sinful as the circumstances around the conception might be, we are loving her like Jesus loved the woman at the well, the tax collector, and the disciple who denied him three times.
If she is a believer, I can assure you the guilt and humilation she feels are enough to push her into the arms of her loving Lord. If she is not a believer, but is crushed by the weight of her sin, this might be the very event that turns her to the cross for redemption.
If you shun her, she will grow bitter.
Her circumstances cannot be undone--unless she chooses to murder her baby to save face.
Thanks to Sweet Mummy, I found this book. I got it yesterday and I am already halfway through it! Here's the gist of it: Karen struggled with delighting in her children and was often angry and crabby--until the Lord showed her that her children were the tools he was using to sanctify her and make her the mother he intended her to be.
YOU. MUST. READ. THIS. BOOK.
Find it and more at:
www.irritablemother.com
Then tell me what you think!
I was reading over at Girltalk a while back and it hit me like a ton of bricks: I am vain.
Before children, I was thin without making any effort. I wasn't athletic, I ate what I wanted and I just was skinny.
Mothers out there know what bizarre things happen to a woman's body when she's pregnant! For me, it meant keeping ten pounds or so from every baby as a kind of souvenir.
I've been focusing lately on losing weight. I've been running, walking, lifting. I've dropped 7 pounds so far, with only 8 more to go to get back to where I was when I got pregnant this last time.
But it's occured to me that my whole motivation is to "look better". Why should this matter to me? Is it because I was always thin without having to worry about it? Is it because I'm buying into the world's standard of beauty? I hate to admit, but I think the answer to these questions is YES.
So I've repented of my vanity, something I must do daily. I've committed myself to being healthy, to preventing heart disease, cancer, osteoporsis, diabetes, knee replacements, back problems...so that when I'm a grandma someday, I can be a busy, active, FUN grandma who can enjoy her children's children. That has become my focus, I pray that by God's grace, he will bless my efforts this time since it is from a heart that seeks to bring him glory through taking care of my temple of the Holy Spirit, and not from a heart that seeks to worship myself.
Fox News has an article about a 32 year old man who was kidnapped and murdered. He owned a Christian bookstore and left behind two small children and a pregnant wife. The story states that he had been receiving death threats for quite some time and his bookstore had been bombed. The religion of peace?
Here's the address:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299969,00.html
Caedmon's Call has a new CD out called Overdressed, and when I listen to it I feel like I'm in college again. (You know I'm knocking on 30 this year.)
My favorite song so far is this one it echoes my life right now, particularly some recent posts:
Sacred
Words and Music by Randall Goodgame and Andrew Osenga
(c) 2007 House of Mirrors Music (ASCAP) admin. by Simpleville Music, Inc. / 2007 Mighty Molecule Music. (ASCAP) admin by Music Services
this house is a good mess
it’s the proof of life
no way would I trade jobs
but it don’t pay overtime
I’ll get to the laundry
I don’t know when
I’m saying a prayer tonight
cause tomorrow it starts again
could it be that everything is sacred?
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes
the children are sleeping
but they’re running through my mind
the sun makes them happy
and the music makes them unwind
my cup runneth over
and I worry about the stain
teach me to run to You
like they run to me for every little thing
when I forget to drink from you
I can feel the banks harden
Lord, make me like a stream
to feed the garden
wake up, little sleeper
the Lord, God Almighty
made your Mama keeper
so rise and shine
rise and shine cause
everything is sacred
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes
We have a family we know who is facing the imminent death of their newborn. It is their first child, a son. His parents are spending his final days holding him in the ICU. His mother's empty arms will return to a nursery made ready to receive him.
So I'm working around my house, thoughts and prayers always on my mind and often whispered for this dear family as I wash dishes and fold clothes. And I'm noticing all the toys, dirty socks, Nintendo Wii controllers, pillows, blankets, empty sippy cups, bowls of Cheerios, apple cores, chairs pulled up to the counter so little arms can reach goodies...A sense of frustration wells up within me as I fall into the same old patterns of
"All they ever do is make a mess!"
"I'm just the maid around here!"
"Doesn't anyone but ME see that stuff needs to be done around here?"
"What if a church member comes over and sees all this junk!"
When the Holy Spirit gently whispers in my ear: "You want a house that looks like no one lives there. Do you know what that would look like?"
It would look like the home of this suffering family whose only precious little boy is about to leave to be with Jesus. I'm sure their floor isn't strewn with toys, but I'm betting anything they wish it was...
Here's a modified version of a Rachael Ray favorite!
1 pound rigatoni (tube shaped pasta)
8 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
2 large leeks, trimmed of roots and dark green tops
salt and pepper
2 T butter
3 T flour
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 c milk
1 c water
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 1/2 c Gruyere cheese, divided
1 T dijon mustard
1 pint grape tomatoes
3/4 c Panko or plain bread crumbs
Cook the pasta to al dente. While pasta boils, fry bacon until crisp. While bacon is cooking, spit the trimmed leeks lengthwise, lay the leeks cut side down, and thinly slice into half moons. Fill a large bowl with water and mix the leeks into the water. Allow the water to settle, and the dirt and grit to settle on the bottom of the bowl. Draw the leeks from the water. Drain them on kitchen towel and pat dry. Add to the bacon pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook about 3-4 minutes longer.
To start cheese sauce, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, and cayenne pepper. Whisk together and cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in milk and water and chicken bouillon. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer to thicken about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in 3 cups of grated cheese and the mustard. Set aside.
Add the tomatoes to the leeks and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.
Combine the 1/2 c cheese with bread crumbs.
Combine drained pasta, cheese sauce, and bacon, leek, tomato mixture. Put into greased casserole dish and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes.
Serve with a green salad.
I'm reading this classic by Emily Bronte and can't put it down! I decided I was tired of reading more popular books for the time being, and since I've started Don Quioxte, oh, about 3 or 4 times and never got past the first few chapters, I figured in an effort not to let my brain turn completely to mashed potatoes, I would pick up something different to read. I'm so glad I did! I read Charlotte Bronte's book Jane Eyre years ago, but so far, I think I like this one better. I've been trying not to do much research into the story so as not to find out how it ends. I'll probably get a movie (there have been at least 3 made, in the 1930s, 1970s and 1990s) when I'm done. Anyone have any other classics they love?
