Happy Fat Tuesday!
So tomorrow Lent begins...I've never before given up/taken up anything for this season. Growing up around Catholic friends, I observed lots of "NO POP" or "NO GUM" Lent attempts, but had NO CLUE what any of it was about.
Older and somewhat wiser now, here goes nothing...
No MySpace, no surfing Cake Central---yeeeiiikes! (I'm reserving the right to visit CC if needed for TSL!)
The challenge is from Rustin - my friend & pastor and only rock star that knows my name (not to mention one of the whopping 3-4 people that I think read my blog) - a challenge to create more space for God during the season of Lent...and he's right...giving up chocolate isn't going to make a hoot of a difference to me...but giving up free surfing and lollygagging on those two sites...it's a bigger deal than it should be! Hey, I might even blog more often--about serious spiritual things of course :-) .
Peace, Resa
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
How, Now, Do We Live?
As I read this devotional today it just clicked. This is how I desire to live my life. This is what glues generations together. This is what I've been called to and for--at least in this season of life. How nice that someone was able to articulate it for me! (In case you don't go read it...it speaks of practically demonstrating God's hand in our life to our kids...and ways to do it).
When we had our first child, an aunt wrote in our congrats card that we had just entered God's greatest mission field...being a parent. Not having grown up in a spiritually nurturing environment, translating that truth into my reality has been challenging. But God has been SO good and faithful to demonstrate the "how tos" through his Word, friends, family, LB and the always present influence of dedicated bloggers :) !
Mark 4:10-11, “When he [Jesus] was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables’” (NIV).
When we had our first child, an aunt wrote in our congrats card that we had just entered God's greatest mission field...being a parent. Not having grown up in a spiritually nurturing environment, translating that truth into my reality has been challenging. But God has been SO good and faithful to demonstrate the "how tos" through his Word, friends, family, LB and the always present influence of dedicated bloggers :) !
Mark 4:10-11, “When he [Jesus] was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables’” (NIV).
Friday, February 02, 2007
American self-Idolatry
I really enjoy watching American Idol...well, enjoy may not be the correct word for the first auditions...sometimes they require cringing or hitting the DVR fast-forward button. Anyway, last year the small group I was in discussed the cultural peril of being TOTALLY self-delusional in one or more aspects of our lives. This epidemic is magnified by American Idol and other similar shows.
Today I ran across a good read that discusses this in more detail and the spiritual aspects that go with it...Michael Craven is the author.
And if you want another fun audition show to watch...check out Grease, Your the One That I Want. Totally cheese-ball entertainment and some really BAD performances and certainly makes Idol look like they've got it all together (format wise etc.)...but fun still if you're a Grease fan! Now, only if I could sing...I could be on Broadway...oh, wait...am I self-deluded? Probably, but don't tell me about it...it's a happy place!
Today I ran across a good read that discusses this in more detail and the spiritual aspects that go with it...Michael Craven is the author.
And if you want another fun audition show to watch...check out Grease, Your the One That I Want. Totally cheese-ball entertainment and some really BAD performances and certainly makes Idol look like they've got it all together (format wise etc.)...but fun still if you're a Grease fan! Now, only if I could sing...I could be on Broadway...oh, wait...am I self-deluded? Probably, but don't tell me about it...it's a happy place!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Nerd? Me?
I am officially "Definitely not nerdy, probably cool"! Rock on. My love, on the other hand...well, I scored 9, he was 59. Big surprise there!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Pleasant Surprises
You know, sometimes you just don't know. Do the things we teach our children really sink in? God tells us to talk about His truth all throughout our lives...His story IS the ONE that best explains life...and is the lens through which we view our own lives. We talk about it as we go, when we rise and when we eat, when we walk, when we lie down. But really, how do we KNOW the truth is getting through?
At our house we keep a jar of questions on the kitchen table. They are conversation starters that I copied from...um, Once A Month Cooking, I think. Last nights question was: What is the best gift that you have ever been given? Elena gets first shot. Eric and I gave each other knowing looks, waiting for the inevitable "princess-something" or "my play kitchen". Her thoughtful answer, given with all seriousness, yet as if there was none other: "Jesus". We glanced at each other and paused...neither of us expected that. So I asked, "Why Jesus?" Again, as if it were obvious: "Because God loves me".
Wisdom from a three & a half-year old. It's the story. Simple. True. Life-changing.
Peace, Resa
At our house we keep a jar of questions on the kitchen table. They are conversation starters that I copied from...um, Once A Month Cooking, I think. Last nights question was: What is the best gift that you have ever been given? Elena gets first shot. Eric and I gave each other knowing looks, waiting for the inevitable "princess-something" or "my play kitchen". Her thoughtful answer, given with all seriousness, yet as if there was none other: "Jesus". We glanced at each other and paused...neither of us expected that. So I asked, "Why Jesus?" Again, as if it were obvious: "Because God loves me".
Wisdom from a three & a half-year old. It's the story. Simple. True. Life-changing.
Peace, Resa
Friday, December 01, 2006
Good Thoughts about Motherhood
I receive a daily email from Proverbs 31 Ministries through crosswalk.com. Today's devotional was titled “The Most Beautiful Scars” by Lysa TerKeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries Speaker, Author, and President. Here's part that I liked:
It still moves me to tears to think about Jesus’ scars. I’m amazed that the God of the universe would care so much for me that He would allow His Son, Jesus, to give up His life for me. While I have not been called to physically die for my children, I have been called to die to the selfishness that characterized my life before kids. It was all about me back then. My schedule, my needs, my wants, my time, my money, my desires, my dreams, and my plans dictated how I spent my life. But that is not what God wanted for me. He wanted my life to be about Him and His plans for me. So, He used not one, not two, not three, not four, but five small beings (she is a mother of 5) to make sure I am reminded on a daily basis that serving others is what the pathway to joy is paved with. Little stones of service that, when carefully laid one right beside another, lead to great places.
Peace, Resa
It still moves me to tears to think about Jesus’ scars. I’m amazed that the God of the universe would care so much for me that He would allow His Son, Jesus, to give up His life for me. While I have not been called to physically die for my children, I have been called to die to the selfishness that characterized my life before kids. It was all about me back then. My schedule, my needs, my wants, my time, my money, my desires, my dreams, and my plans dictated how I spent my life. But that is not what God wanted for me. He wanted my life to be about Him and His plans for me. So, He used not one, not two, not three, not four, but five small beings (she is a mother of 5) to make sure I am reminded on a daily basis that serving others is what the pathway to joy is paved with. Little stones of service that, when carefully laid one right beside another, lead to great places.
Peace, Resa
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