God, bless America through me.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Friday, July 3, 2015
Juicy Fruit Gum
You've probably heard it said, "With great freedom comes great responsibility", right? I guess it was either Eleanor Roosevelt or Benjamin Parker who said something like that :) Anyway, here is something to chew on.....it has been my "gum" for a few days...so I guess I'll share....:P ABC gum....Kassi always thought that meant it would help her say her ABC's better :)
Why do you think God added ONE tree to the Garden of Eden from which man was not supposed to eat? There were plenty of other trees for Adam and Eve to tend, enjoy, and from which to receive sustenance. So....what was the purpose of that one tree? I think it helps to think through what the consequences from eating of that tree meant for Adam and Eve....a broken fellowship with God due to a rejection of Him. So, the reason it was there had much to do with the opposite of this consequence... God's desire to have true fellowship with humanity. That seems odd, right? BUT, in order for us to love GOD we have to constantly choose HIM....that means we also are able to constantly reject HIM... which, in turn, means there will be other desirable things in life that seek to be chosen by us that are not GOD'S PLAN FOR US...our choosing of them is EVIL....and they won't be on the outskirts of our life as we might wish.....they will probably be central and within our grasp like that tree was in the middle of the garden for Adam and Eve.
I am grateful to live in the United States of America for many reasons....my freedom to worship God and speak freely of my faith in Christ is such a privilege. That does not mean the USA is free from the knowledge of good and evil "trees"...we see new trees sprouting up all the time with new "choices"....free will. Until Jesus rules, I think all cultures and societies will try to say "it's okay to eat of that tree" they will even go to great lengths to prove why GOD "must have" meant for us to eat of this tree or HE wouldn't have placed it right there, or given us a desire for it, or whatever might be persuasive in the argument at the time. I think it would've been admirable if Adam and Eve had just decided to chop that tree down...interesting thought, right?....Oh, how that may have changed the story of our beginnings. But, there may have been another tree that sprouted up in it's place. I'm thinking it must have been an essential tree for GOD to place it in the middle of the garden. You get what the tree was, right?....the fruit on the tree was for the knowledge of good and evil....the opportunity to understand both and make a choice between the two. Before that, there was still free will because the tree existed, but it was much less complicated....just don't eat of this one tree....afterwards, a whole world of potential choices to oppose GOD were revealed.
Anyway, I don't think we can take an ax to all the evil in our world...nor to the freedom to choose between good and evil...we can try through establishing laws or cultural norms, but the beauty in freedom is in the ability to make the choice in our own hearts daily....choosing GOD above all....even while other desirable alternatives may be present and seem enticing to us. God desires a people who claim HIM above all else.
I told you I have been chewing on this....so I haven't processed it all, but I really want GOD to show me how I can live and love as one in the world, yet not of it. I think about Jesus and His example of visiting with and dining with sinners and how the religious groups at that time hated Him for that and sometimes I see my own "religiousness" mirroring some of those attitudes. It is not more important to HATE that a tree of good and evil is present in the garden. It is more important to LOVE GOD and allow Him to teach me the most excellent way.
Here's one really amazing thing about GOD'S love....it always transcends the trees.....it is SO GREAT that even though we often choose to disobey HIM, HE gives us a way to be forgiven.
Why do you think God added ONE tree to the Garden of Eden from which man was not supposed to eat? There were plenty of other trees for Adam and Eve to tend, enjoy, and from which to receive sustenance. So....what was the purpose of that one tree? I think it helps to think through what the consequences from eating of that tree meant for Adam and Eve....a broken fellowship with God due to a rejection of Him. So, the reason it was there had much to do with the opposite of this consequence... God's desire to have true fellowship with humanity. That seems odd, right? BUT, in order for us to love GOD we have to constantly choose HIM....that means we also are able to constantly reject HIM... which, in turn, means there will be other desirable things in life that seek to be chosen by us that are not GOD'S PLAN FOR US...our choosing of them is EVIL....and they won't be on the outskirts of our life as we might wish.....they will probably be central and within our grasp like that tree was in the middle of the garden for Adam and Eve.
I am grateful to live in the United States of America for many reasons....my freedom to worship God and speak freely of my faith in Christ is such a privilege. That does not mean the USA is free from the knowledge of good and evil "trees"...we see new trees sprouting up all the time with new "choices"....free will. Until Jesus rules, I think all cultures and societies will try to say "it's okay to eat of that tree" they will even go to great lengths to prove why GOD "must have" meant for us to eat of this tree or HE wouldn't have placed it right there, or given us a desire for it, or whatever might be persuasive in the argument at the time. I think it would've been admirable if Adam and Eve had just decided to chop that tree down...interesting thought, right?....Oh, how that may have changed the story of our beginnings. But, there may have been another tree that sprouted up in it's place. I'm thinking it must have been an essential tree for GOD to place it in the middle of the garden. You get what the tree was, right?....the fruit on the tree was for the knowledge of good and evil....the opportunity to understand both and make a choice between the two. Before that, there was still free will because the tree existed, but it was much less complicated....just don't eat of this one tree....afterwards, a whole world of potential choices to oppose GOD were revealed.
Anyway, I don't think we can take an ax to all the evil in our world...nor to the freedom to choose between good and evil...we can try through establishing laws or cultural norms, but the beauty in freedom is in the ability to make the choice in our own hearts daily....choosing GOD above all....even while other desirable alternatives may be present and seem enticing to us. God desires a people who claim HIM above all else.
I told you I have been chewing on this....so I haven't processed it all, but I really want GOD to show me how I can live and love as one in the world, yet not of it. I think about Jesus and His example of visiting with and dining with sinners and how the religious groups at that time hated Him for that and sometimes I see my own "religiousness" mirroring some of those attitudes. It is not more important to HATE that a tree of good and evil is present in the garden. It is more important to LOVE GOD and allow Him to teach me the most excellent way.
Here's one really amazing thing about GOD'S love....it always transcends the trees.....it is SO GREAT that even though we often choose to disobey HIM, HE gives us a way to be forgiven.
Rain Or Shine
I've figured out a game to play
when clouds block sky and the sun can't ray
See, skill takes concentration in the making
and this, no exception, is called cloud breaking
So, I must fix my eyes PAST the cloud that is blocking my sky
...because sometimes I'm tempted to believe
my piercing gaze
hits the cloudy haze
and pinpoints that space to break....
BUT, IT REALLY HAPPENS ONLY BY FAITH
Sometimes I see it right away,
but sometimes it requires an extensive and prayerful wait
to watch that cloud dissipate
and the clear blue to open up in it's place.
I've played this game a time or two
and have discovered some things to be incredibly TRUE....
If you simply rejoice through sun and rain
and, in love, set your goal beyond what YOU might gain
it is possible to become a champion in this game.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Watch Out Piano Guys!
Can you guess my birthday present from the picture above?
I got to visit Hopetown for a while this morning with my mom and start to see some of it's transformation....getting excited about all the colors!
Then, after lunch, the girls entertained me with a fancy birthday concert in our basement.
After the wonderful concert, there was this noise coming from another room that sounded a little like JAWS! We had to investigate.
OH, NO! I am about to be attacked :)
BY MY NEW (WELL, USED) BUT AWESOME.....CELLO!
No, I did not break this string....it was already like that :) Don't worry, I play just as well on three strings as I do on four :) HA!
It has a beautiful tone....I will be excited to get it fixed up and take some lessons!
Then, I got to be Katherine Kent for the last time tonight and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro :)
My mom and dad have been able to see the last two nights of performances and dad says I am in big trouble because he did not raise me to "act like that!" It has been fun to have a reason to be that sassy! I might miss it a little.
And, look what I got to see tonight! The "Bethlehem Star"....WOW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7ySn-Swwc
Talk about a birthday wish! REJOICE!
And Holding!
I think after this birthday I have to start saying "and holding"....doesn't that happen after 29? :) Still working on that whole honesty thing....ha!
My girls have already been so sweet to me in the days approaching this birthday. Yesterday, I got home from work and Karly gave me a BFF bracelet....she has a matching one and Kassi made me this awesome card that said, "mom, I know your birthday comes once a year, but we celebrate you every day" I love the things they think of on their own :) I was wondering if my cat would bring me any gifts, but...
I woke up early to start making breakfast, but my parents are visiting and intercepted me to takeover....I will allow that! :) It is good birthday entertainment to watch them make breakfast and try to find all my stuff in the kitchen :P
I seriously keep hoping that I get to see the "Star of Bethlehem" for my birthday. I have gone out the last two nights looking for it with a star constellation app on the phone, but my cloud breaking skills have not been successful thus far....I am asking for a clear night tonight so I can see it on my birthday.....that would be awesome! I always used to think I would see it if I looked out my window on the night before Christmas, so I would look, but the thought of really seeing it while I was growing up felt super scary and exciting at the same time. My younger me would be happy that I am continuing this quest.
Brad and I get to act in our final night of VBS.....that has been a lot of fun for me and I think the kids have really enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about the dramas at the end of each night of VBS is that once the parents know there are dramas, many of them start coming early to pick their kid up so they can see us being totally silly....then, even if they aren't regular attenders at a church or have not accepted Christ as their Savior, they are hearing the gospel through the dramas....it is a lot of work, but the people always love them and, I think they remember the truth better when it is presented in a drama.
I also get to work on Hopetown today....painting, picking out fabric for awnings, and talking through everything with our muralist....So, literally, I get to...
My girls have already been so sweet to me in the days approaching this birthday. Yesterday, I got home from work and Karly gave me a BFF bracelet....she has a matching one and Kassi made me this awesome card that said, "mom, I know your birthday comes once a year, but we celebrate you every day" I love the things they think of on their own :) I was wondering if my cat would bring me any gifts, but...
I woke up early to start making breakfast, but my parents are visiting and intercepted me to takeover....I will allow that! :) It is good birthday entertainment to watch them make breakfast and try to find all my stuff in the kitchen :P
I seriously keep hoping that I get to see the "Star of Bethlehem" for my birthday. I have gone out the last two nights looking for it with a star constellation app on the phone, but my cloud breaking skills have not been successful thus far....I am asking for a clear night tonight so I can see it on my birthday.....that would be awesome! I always used to think I would see it if I looked out my window on the night before Christmas, so I would look, but the thought of really seeing it while I was growing up felt super scary and exciting at the same time. My younger me would be happy that I am continuing this quest.
Brad and I get to act in our final night of VBS.....that has been a lot of fun for me and I think the kids have really enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about the dramas at the end of each night of VBS is that once the parents know there are dramas, many of them start coming early to pick their kid up so they can see us being totally silly....then, even if they aren't regular attenders at a church or have not accepted Christ as their Savior, they are hearing the gospel through the dramas....it is a lot of work, but the people always love them and, I think they remember the truth better when it is presented in a drama.
I also get to work on Hopetown today....painting, picking out fabric for awnings, and talking through everything with our muralist....So, literally, I get to...
ON MY BIRTHDAY!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Hoping Mom Will Buy This....
It's worth a shot, right? :) Now I'm feeling convicted because my last post was on the TRUTH...ha!
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