Life Lessons in the Humdrum

This has been a wonderful weekend for my little family. Especially in contrast with our crazy week!

Last Sunday I broke my pinkie toe, all week long my husband has been at church for the annual Christmas Program, at work myself we had 5 Christmas programs - on top of the regular things that go on daily.

To say that I was ready for the weekend (even though it promised to be just as crazy!) would be an understatement.

Saturday morning found my daughter and I taking little brother to my parents so they could watch him. Her and I then went to her 3 year check up. She is healthy and bright! She acted shy, but considering the craziness in the week prior that is not unexpected.

The rest of the weekend has been wonderful. I attended our church's Christmas Program, sewed a shirt for my daughter (my third project on my sewing machine!), went in depth on the Messiah's Star, was inspired by why Jesus is our greatest gift this season, cooked for my family and baked brownies with my daughter.

When history looks back on December 12th & 13th, 2015 nothing we did will be recorded for children to learn about in school.

But for my daughter, even though this weekend was filled with normal (for this time of year) events many lessons were imparted on her. Someone my husband and I both know posted an image on Facebook stating that high school should teach: balancing a check book, sewing a button, changing a tire, etc. It caused us to have a conversation, and initially we both agreed but then the thought came to us: if the school's teach that, what do the parents teach their children then? I recognize that a few generations back family dynamic's changes when many women had to go into the workforce. But with that shift in family dynamic's, many things that were once taught in the home were no longer taught. Home economic class's tried to help bridge the gap, but society changed its standards on what basic's people were expected to know, so home ec went to the wayside.

The result is many people grew up, went through school and are now in society without some basic life skills. In our household we are big on being "throw backs." I love gardening, sewing, canning, cooking, and pretty much anything related to the domestic's. My husband has taken it upon himself to learn carpentry.

We are imparting these skills on our children. Our daughter helps with cooking, sorting laundry, and cleans up her playroom. Today our son "assisted" his father in changing out the loads of laundry. Obviously at 13 1/2 months of age our son cant do too much, but he can observe. And you would be surprised what a child observes. Case in point: driving home last week from work, kids and I got stuck in traffic in front of McDonald's. We don't eat there, so my children have never experienced their food, or would have any knowledge of their menu. My daughter exclaimed from the back seat, pointing at the restaurant, "They make pancakes!" Now, again, we have never eaten there, but she was right. How? Kids at school have brought pancakes from McDonald's and eaten them in the morning room at school. Now my daughter cannot read, but some how she made the connection - probably the golden arches on the bags and then she saw them on the sign by the street. Something in passing, she normally only spends no more than 15 minutes a day in that room, and most of our parent's don't send breakfast, but just the few times she has seen it stuck with her.

Now I share all that to share this. The area around my children's pediatrician office has a very present homeless population. When my children and I left the house yesterday I grabbed a blueberry muffin (made fresh that morning) and a banana for my breakfast. But, as per the usual, I didn't make time to eat it. So after my daughter got the all clear at her check up, we headed home. At the main intersection before the highway there was a gentleman standing with a sign. Well, I didn't have any money (I rarely carry cash on me), but I did have that food. I will say, that normally, being a woman, I don't roll my window down for anyone - I have heard too many stories. Then you add my child being in the car, my gut reaction would be to double check that the doors are locked. But I did something different yesterday morning. I grabbed the muffin and banana, rolled my window down and gave it to the gentleman. He thanked me, said Merry Christmas and he went back to the corner.

Abigail asked why we were feeding him. I explained that not everyone has a home or food like we do and sometimes they need help. I also told her that Jesus tells us to feed those who are hungry, but not only that, but sometimes, when you help those in need, you are actually hosting angels. Hebrews 13:2 NIV, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Something in what I said resonated in her, because she was satisfied with my answer.

So, like I said, nothing major happened, but maybe, just maybe I planted a seed in my daughter, a seed that, with repeated exposure, will grow into a desire to help those in need. In January Stone has his 15 month check up, and it being January it will be cold. Maybe I will be more mindful and I can be better prepared and share more than a muffin and a banana with someone in need. The Bible has much to say about helping those in need:

• Matthew 25:35 (NKJV) - for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in
• Proverbs 28:27 (NKJV) - He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses
• Proverbs 14:31 (NKJV) - He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

There is a song by Casting Crowns, Slow Fade, that sums up a good reminder when it comes to parenting:

Be careful little eyes what you see
Its the second glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls the strings


It's meant as a warning, be mindful of what you put before your eye's, but can be an inspiration too. We must be cautious of what we expose ourselves, and our families, too. But we also need to make sure we expose our families to the works of the Gospel. We need to feed the homeless, serve at church and in our community, help the elderly, and tell other's Jesus love them. Our children need to see us living out the love of Jesus.

Seeing

Right now I am sitting on my bed the window is open and my dog is laying behind me on my pillow (the dog is spoiled). I look outside, the sun is shining, our large oak tree is shading our back yard, and there is a soft breeze blowing.

It truly is a lovely day today. Just enough chill in the air that I am enjoying my 3rd cup of coffee today.

My mind is heavy. So much is going on these days. I feel an ever looming presence of darkness around the world. Yet another mass shooting happened this week past. The two individuals who orchestrated this tragedy - my heart breaks thinking of them. What went so wrong in their lives that they would attack and kill people who were celebrating at a Christmas Party. What went wrong in their brains that they would leave behind a 6 month old child.

I believe that last part weighs heaviest on me. I have a child twice that age, and now a 3 year old. Both are still my babies, even if my daughter does insist that she is big. We traveled the day after Thanksgiving to Pennsylvania. Both did amazing on all the flights. But going through the airport I opted to babywear our son. And that decision flagged me for additional screening. Every check in had my hands being swabbed for residue of some kind.

Let that sink in. Because I was wearing my child on my body I had to be swabbed for residue. What on earth is wrong with people! When it sunk in personally, my blood went cold. There are ladies, women out there who would sacrifice not only their own life but the life of their child in the name of....martyrdom, religion....stupidity.

Luckily, in spite of Paris, and all the tragedies going on in the world, we traveled without event. But it has had me thinking. I am thankful to God for our safe travels and to His angels for guiding and protecting our way.

Our Pastor, Jon, a while back wrote a booklet on the topic of angels. Some think that angels are the chubby cheeked babies flying around with a cloth diaper, but that is not what I envision. The Bible numerous times talks of Michael, a mighty warrior of an angel who does what God commands. I envision a personage that is strong, looming, tall and a presence to be reckoned with. I have read the books by Frank E. Peretti, This Present Darkness & Piercing the Darnkness. In fact I am going to reread both (normally this time of year I grab all things Christmas to read, but this year I feel I need to do things differently). Both of these books talk about normal (well kinda) lives of people, but shows the parallel of what is going on in the spiritual realm. Angles delivering messages to each other, fighting the powers of darkness, darkness trying to take people over, prayer strengthening angels.

Oh, Rhema! Prayer once again is in my life. Have you ever thought that maybe you have an angel in your life, but that angel is weak because your prayer life is weak? That maybe if you started to praying regularly (like going to the gym) your angel would be stronger and more able to do God's will for you.

Now for the meat of what I want to convey today. We read out of Philippians this morning in Sunday School:

Philippians 2:6-8 (NKJV)
⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 
⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

If the verse is unclear to you, this is a description of Jesus. Of the wonderful deed he did by becoming human.

From there we connected Isaiah 6:1-7 (NKJV):

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 

² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 

³ And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”

⁴ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵ So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 

⁷ And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”

We lingered a while over the verses describing the seraphim. We discussed trying to imagine what they look like. We voiced trying to imagine the entire scene. How breath taking it would be. And how terrifying.

Hollywood is pretty good about creating creatures on screen that come from books. But I think even Hollywood would fail at creating this scene.

My mind carried the thought that maybe more people would believe if they could see the seraphim like the one's described in Isaiah. But I captured that thought. I realized that seeing such majestic creatures is going to be reserved for those who believed without seeing. The Bible tells us that angels are the messengers of God, that the go between earth and heaven doing the Father's will. We do not see them with our human eyes, but they are there. By faith we believe it. My mind further reasoned people say that if they could see Jesus they would believe, but humanity has already proven this to be a false statement. Jesus walked the earth and was severely rejected to the point of death.

From the Book of John, Chapter 20:

²⁴ Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 
²⁵ The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 
²⁷ Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
²⁸ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

When we get to heaven, I believe our eyes of faith are going to see things that our minds on earth cannot even fathom.

And as it is the season of Christmas, the words about Santa ring in my ears, "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing."