Archive for Christianity
Modern Altars to the Lord
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I was a brand new Christian, I remember reading through my Bible and wondering why there was so much altar building int he Old Testament. It seemed like they built an altar for everything. But the longer I was a Christian, the more I understood why the Israelites built altars and had so many holidays to celebrate the ways God’s goodness had been shown in their lives. It is the same reason I need to make modern altars in my life: we tend to forget the goodness of God’s grace so easily in our lives. We know God is good and is trustworthy and has never let us down, but too often we don’t live that way. This is why I try to build some modern altars into my every day life.
There are lots of different ways you can do this: a prayer journal, a scrapbook, video montages, etc. but one way I have enjoyed recounting God’s grace is by having our family picture taken at the same spot every year. We have a few spots that we like to get our picture taken annually. We usually get a family picture taken in Joe’s parents’ backyard on the 4th of July and on his grandparents’ front steps down at the shore when we vacation there each year. Recently we have also started having our picture taken at the Nittany Lion statue in State College.
When I sit and look at the new picture and look back on past pictures, I am reminded about God’s faithfulness in the past year. I see a husband that has grown in love for Jesus and for me. I see His goodness in the growth (spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally) He has given the kids and the many times He has sustained them for another day. I often see new children who have been given to us to love and care for. And I see myself, a sinner who has been made a saint by God’s grace, that God is merciful to every breath of every day.
June 2009
July 2010
The Burden of Children
Posted by: | CommentsAl Mohler posted an article today on the sad state of the unhappiness adults find in being parents. His commentary was on an article from the New York Magazine that reported that parents are unhappier than non-parents even though most people believe that having children will bring them happiness. You don’t have to go very far to see that this is true of most parents. You more often hear complaining about how hard being a parent is and the desire for changes in their children (I am in this boat here as well, so I am not trying to rebuke anyone!) As Christians, this really should not be so. The Bible tells us that:
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. - Psalm 127:3
So why do so many of us find children to be such an inconvenience? Here are a few thoughts from my own life:
1. We believe that blessing means something should bring us comfort and ease. Children are indeed a blessing, but that does not mean they are easy! I must remind myself again and again in life that it is the hard and often challenging things that are most rewarding and do the best work of making me into the person I know God created me and saved me to be.
2. We value being served above serving others. Parenthood when done right is constant self-sacrifice with not as much immediate reward. If you come into parenthood believing that your life should still stay the way it was beforehand and that children will just fit right into all the little boxes that you had your life organized into beforehand, you are in for a big surprise! You quickly find that to put your children’s needs above your own you will often be tired (from middle of the night comforting, constant care of small ones who need you for everything, etc.), hungry (because you always eat last!), miss out on fun events (in order to preserve naps), and be under-appreciated for all that you do (just as you under-appreciated your own mother). So what keeps you going? The knowledge that God promises greater joy on earth to those who become a servant of all is one thing (Mark 10:44). And the promise of even greater treasures in heaven for those who do work that is unseen and eternal. A verse that I often need to meditate on as a mother is 2 Corinthians 2:17-18:
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Our culture is constantly telling us that not only can we have it all, but we deserve it all. To fight those messages and put others above yourself is a daily battle.
3. We have little or no vision for our job as a parent. If we get caught up in the daily grind of being a parent, it can become rather depressing. What is the point of me wiping another bottom or doing another load of laundry? But if we look at these precious little ones as lives that we are raising to go out and make an impact in the world for the greater good than our work suddenly becomes much more meaningful.
4. We feel guilty about not doing something “greater”. This is especially true for mothers of young children (as I am) who are in a season of life when beyond caring for your husband, children and the home, you barely have time for anything else! Suddenly guilt starts to set in that you could be doing so many more “important” things. Then you start to beat yourself up and compare yourself to some other “super mom” of young children who seem to be able to do so much more. I was greatly encouraged by this article by Jani Ortlund on this subject.
Let us go forth today in the joy that children bring and the great work God is doing in our lives through being a parent!
Three of My Blessings
My Other Precious Joy
Recommended Reading: July 7, 2010
Posted by: | CommentsMy reading has really slowed down since having Isaiah! Before he was born, I had read 23 books in 2010, and in the 7 weeks since he was born I have read only two! Although I now have time to sit and nurse, I have to admit that I am often using that time to be on my iPhone catching up on e-mails, reading blogs, updating Facebook or Twitter…and sometimes just playing games! I am making an effort to be a little more balanced so reading doesn’t fall off the chart. Here are two books that have been a blessing to me in the past few weeks though:
Power of Blessing Your Children by Mary Ruth Swope
My neighbor in State College recommended this book to me. It is not a typical book that you read form cover to cover, but more of a reference type book. The woman who wrote it lived away from her grandson, so they kept in touch over the phone. One time at the end of the conversation, she decided to speak a blessing over him. The next time they talked when she went to say good-bye he asked if she was going to bless him again. So from that she began to write blessings to speak over him at the end of their phone conversations. And many of those blessings became what is now in this small book. It has been a neat resource to use at breakfast time as I sit and eat with the kids. What I have done so far is to pick a blessing for each of them for a struggle I see in this season of life to pray over them in the morning. If there is a special upcoming event or time in their life, then I pick something different (for example, if they are traveling somewhere that day I may pray for safety). It is neat to see the way the kids already look forward to being blessed at the outset of the day!
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot
I really enjoy the writings of Elisabeth Elliot, especially when she is writing in a biographical fashion. I have been wanting to read her biography of Amy Carmichael for some time now. It did not disappoint in the beautiful fashion that I have become accustomed to when reading Elisabeth Elliot’s books. Amy Carmichael also became much better known to me through this book, both her strengths and weaknesses. For those of you who do not know, Amy Carmichael was a Christian missionary to India. She was a single woman who dedicated her life to saving children who had been sacrificed to Hindu worship temples by bringing them to the Dohnavur Fellowship she began to raise, educate and love them. She was a tireless worker and it was an encouragement to me to see the way she spent her life working to make her life a sacrifice to serve in the name of the One who died for her.
