Attention PLEASE!

In a classroom of first graders I watch as they pay attention one second and then just as quickly fade into that beautiful place between day dreaming, sleep watching and distraction. They're six and seven years old...it's almost expected. But not quite.

More times than 10 in a day I caution, encourage or demand that they pay attention. Just because it's nearly impossible for them, doesn't mean I'm allowed to just give up and let them take the first train to dreamland. No, it's my job to continuously nag remind them that something important is being discussed or read or written on the board.

But sometimes, my message is ignored. Sometimes the directions aren't followed. Sometimes, I don't catch the one before the train comes for them. And then...what happens next is near disastrous. It's when the handout requires the knowledge of the material that they missed. The hands raise, they approach the desk, they ask the question ...to which I have just spent 10 minutes answering on the board, and without fail, I give the look. (You know- the one similar to the "mom" look, only from the teacher). And they know...they've been caught. Not paying attention. Not listening. And they've made mistakes on their paper...they know...but they don't know how to fix them. Because that's what happens when you don't pay attention. And so, I explain again why, how, what, when and where to the particular topic and they fix their mistakes and learn the concept and have the power to make better grades.

Oh my! Isn't this just like our own grown up lives. Aren't we really in a lifelong classroom. Trying to pay attention...but distracted by so many other things...new stuff, the neighbors, someone else's family, money, jobs. And all the while God is trying to teach us stuff on the chalkboard of life. But we're looking somewhere else, too tired to see what He's explaining, disinterested in His lesson. And so we miss the truths in the lesson. And the next time we're faced with the worksheet....we don't have the material, the information, the knowledge to implement into life to succeed. And sheepishly (yes, SHEEPishly) we go to the teacher...we admit we weren't listening...and sometimes...He gives us that look of correction.....and then lovingly He goes back over the material...and we apply it and have the power to make better choices and decisions in the future.

Before I judge my first graders too hard, I'm going to try to remember this little lesson. I'm old enough to be paying attention, old enough to read the directions found in His Word and certainly know who to go to when I've got questions about the material of life. Thankfully He's patient with me and knows I'm a little bit of a slow learner. Aren't we all?

Thankful particularly today for His never ending supply of grace and patience with me.

Meal Plan for Wk of Jan 20

Well...here we go. This week is going to be crazy because we are having some interior painting done and my guys are out of town until Wednesday afternoon....but Savannah and I still have to eat so we've made a special meal plan while they are gone...(her favorites).

Monday- Leftover Spaghetti
Tuesday- Homemade pizza
Wednesday- Eat at the church
Thursday- Chicken Spaghetti
Friday- Corn Dogs (for the kids)
             Date Night (Bruce and Gina)
Saturday- Sausage/Potatoes/Onions with green beans and salad

Nothing exciting at all...except date night!!!

Holding the Rope

So tonight at about 10pm one of my sweet friends and her family will be on their way to Papua New Guinea to continue following God on their journey to assist in spreading the gospel of Jesus to people in their own heart language. This is their first term. There are lots...and lots of unknowns. But they have faith in a BIG God..that same God who has led them every step of the way...and He will not fail them.

Sunday night in church we were challenged to help hold the rope as our church held a commissioning service for the Brewers. It was beautiful to see the body of Christ praying over them, crying (a lot), rejoicing that this time was finally here, loving on their parents in the service, laughing, letting go, holding on, embracing, taking photos of tear stained faces with smiles and watching as we help send this family to the other side of the world to fulfill God's call on their lives. Again, it was beautiful. God's presence was all over the place.

So, here they are...

Jason and Jaime Brewer Family

From tonight at 10pm until Friday morning around 1am they will be flying to Australia, then to Papua New Guinea and once in the country they will be flying to the city of Madang where they will catch their breath for a couple of days and then head to 4 months of intense training before finally making it to the city of Ukarumpa where Jason will be a pilot for the JAARS/Wycliff associations. He will be assisting in getting translators, Bibles, missionaries and supplies into areas of that country that otherwise would be nearly impossible to reach.

You'll notice the three little munchkins in the picture...Mal, Dylan and Mo are gearing up for their own adventures....Schools, culture, food, language.

As Christians, we all have some level of sacrifice that God has called us to. What God has asked us to give or sacrifice doesn't even begin to touch what we have been given because of His own sacrifice. Like most missionaries I've met through the years, the Brewers are humbly sacrificing relationships, convenience and security to be sure that others know of the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made.

Will you pray with me, for them? Especially for these first few days of travel, time zone craziness (they will travel 16 time zones!), emotions running high and low....just whatever comes to your mind.

You can follow the Brewer's journey at Jaime's Blog HERE

..."We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." — Oswald J. Smith

When Trust Isn't Really Trust

Sooooo.....we've been talking about FEAR in our Sunday School Class the last couple of weeks. In our group of a dozen or so participants we have every fear imaginable ....loss of family, car accidents, death, not being needed, being out of God's will, messing up this whole parenting thing, frogs.

Yep, in the middle of many could be life altering fears...frogs. That's mine.

Seriously? Why are you so afraid of those disgusting, gross, slimy, wart giving, pee-on-the-spot, nasty  animals? Well, because very early in my life a frog was placed in my hands. It was the ugliest, nastiest looking thing and it must have felt how I was feeling about it and it peed all over my hand. Disgusting. So since then it's not just the feel of the frog or the fear of being peed on, it's the whole experience that I am afraid of. Touching, petting, catching, chasing, holding....ain't gonna happen. I'm afraid.

It's a good thing we have a couple of therapists in our group. (Funny...but true)

In the middle of our lesson this past week our teacher asked us, what could we do to counteract the fear. The class chimed in "TRUST, think about your past experiences, believe God's Word." My answer: "avoid frogs." And pretty much I'm good with my answer. Only, I'm pretty sure that while it's comical to deal with my greatest fear of frogs, I don't think God wants us to live our lives paralyzed by fear of anything....especially the serious issues many of us have trouble trusting Him with.

In fact TRUST is one of the things most of us struggle with. Trusting each other, trusting God, trusting the government, trusting our spouse. Trusting is a huge part of our emotional make-up. But somewhere along the line I've misconstrued what trust is really all about. So many times I've made a decision and because I had rationalized it out, worked the dynamics of the whole situation out, budgeted the finances for it, mulled over every jot and tittle and it all worked out...I'd say proudly that I was stepping out by faith, trusting God to provide, depending on Him to lead me....when in reality that wasn't really trust at all..I'd already told God how this and that were going to work together to get me exactly where I wanted to be. And hopefully it would look like I was trusting God. But it didn't.

But in recent days, I'm figuring out, with God's Word as the guide, that TRUST is more an act of obedience and less an act of me knowing what the next step is. Trust means believing that what God is asking you to do is going to glorify (make Him known) the most. Without knowing the next step...without figuring it out...without knowing how it's all going to work out. It's obeying because He says this is the next thing, the next step, the next way you can glorify ME best.

So I'm learning in this process of sanctification that the old hymn is true...

Trust and Obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, 
But to trust and obey.

Meal Plan Week of January 13

Here's our meal plan for this week. We're eating out of the freezer this week for the most part. I have most of these items on hand so that should make my weekly trip to the store much quicker and cheaper.

Breakfast Options:

Oatmeal

Blueberry Muffins

Pigs in a Blanket

Cereal

Lunch:

Sandwiches

Baked Chips or Pretzels

Snack- for kids

Fruit

Dinner:

Meal 1- Turkey Sausage with onion and bell pepper, Green beans, Mac n Cheese

Meal 2- Homemade Spaghetti in Meat Sauce, Salad, Rolls

Meal 3- Chicken, Rice, Broccoli Bake, Salad

Meal 4- Pizza

Meal 5- Chili Dogs, Potato Salad

What's cookin' at your house this week?

I'm Not Raising the Preacher's Kids

Don't you just love it when you place unrealistic expectations on yourself, or better yet, when others place them on you. I've always been prone to listen to others advice- whether solicited or not. And sometimes, I've taken it to heart, sometimes I've walked away rolling my eyes, and sometimes I've been hurt.

When Bruce and I had children we knew they would not be perfect. How could they be? We were raising them, and we are about the furthest thing from perfect! Surprise, surprise, surprise (in my best Gomer Pyle voice....you might need to google that). Imperfect people cannot raise perfect children. So, my kids were destined to be a mess. We prayed that God would give us wisdom and grace to raise them to be godly, that they would know Christ at an early age, fix their eyes on HIM and never look away. I don't pretend that we have even touched the hem of doing it right. We are not finished raising them (are parents ever really finished?)

But one thing I know is that I'm not raising the "preacher's kids" anymore than a plumber should be stereotyped to be raising "plumber's kids". I've done it before- placed unrealistic expectations on people ...only to be sorely disappointed when they fail me. Shame on me. I know I don't want that expectation of raising perfect kids just because they belong to the preacher.....Oh, but wait.....

They don't belong to the preacher. See, way back when the kids were super little, still in our arms, we gave them back to the Lord. Much like Hannah did Samuel. So, they are God's kids. His. Not mine. Not the preacher's. We're the earthly instrument to pointing them toward their Heavenly Father. I'm not trying to raise perfect preacher's kids. I'm trying to guide imperfect children to God. And I will fail. And they will fail. I will make stupid mistakes....and they will and do too. They will do things that make me sad and joyful. They will make me proud and disappointed....and perhaps, if your eyes are on them, you will feel the same. I'm sorry. We are a work in progress.

Thankfully, I don't feel like we are under a micro-scope, like I hear from other ministry friends across the country. Thankfully I feel like grace upon grace has been given to my kids. Thankfully for the most part, they make me very proud. Thankfully God has already captured their hearts.

But, as we make our way in parenting, let's encourage each other. Be another parent's biggest cheerleader. Tell another mom "you're doing it right". Or ask a good mom, "What did you do right?". This world will beat you down and tell you it's not worth it to do this parenting thing with all your heart. But just like that marathon runner who finished their last mile of a race...the work you do in parenting may not be completely realized until the race is complete...or at least further down the road.

Recently I sat at lunch with three teenage boys who travel singing with their father, who is an evangelist. They were the most polite, well spoken, gentlemanly young men I have ever met. At dinner the same night, I sat across the table from a close mutual family friend and asked her what she felt like had been a factor in raising such responsible, godly young men...since in the world today that is so incredibly rare. Her response was that she had watched the parents....Consistently pointing them to Christ. 

That's my goal. Send them to Jesus, point them to Christ. Because I'm not raising preacher's kids.....they are on loan to me....for just a few years.....God's kids, and I want them to know their Father...to walk in His steps, to know His voice. That's the goal. Give them Jesus.

When the Music Fades

Currently on the Christian radio stations there are a plethora of songs that are anthem/ballad style and it's super easy to get my mouth moving, belting out the lyrics without even really thinking about what I'm singing at all. Maybe you've been there...catchy beat, nice rhythm, awesome recording artist, great lyrics....and you find your head bopping, toe tapping, mouth humming, words spilling out...because after all, you know this song. And if you're like me, pretty soon I'm singing about Jesus taking it all, asking Him to bring the rain, raising my white flag. Unintentionally, I'm singing words I've not really thought about.

Because, what if Jesus Brought the Rain.....

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

Is that what I really want...anything that brings Jesus glory. What if that entails losing something close to me? What if it means losing someone close to me? What if it means I lose my worldly possessions? When the music fades and all your left with is the words, are we still singing with such reckless abandonment?

I'm ashamed to say, I'm not most of the time. Losing people, things, stuff, friendships, jobs, lives, hopes, dreams. That's tough stuff. And often our mouths quit moving. The pain is too deep, the hurt too close, the grief of loss too tender and we become mute. Our praise ends, our worry picks up. Our heart hardens and soon we are singing a different song. One of sorrow and lamenting and worrying and complaining....and one that says Rain Rain Go Away...come again some other day! 

I want the words that sing from my mouth to be words that I'm living. I want my heart to echo complete surrender...waving my white flag high to heaven....even if that means I lose something. How does that happen? Daily, by the minute surrendering to whatever brings Him glory. Whatever....pain, joy, peace, unrest, anguish, sorrow...whatever brings Him glory. And these words are easier to type than to live....just like the words to these anthems we sing in our churches, in our cars, in our homes, in our showers. And that is the reason we surrender. Daily. By the moment. As often as necessary. Even now. This second. Surrender.