Wednesday, September 23, 2015

We Should All Count Our Blessings

Our family usually eats supper at my mom's once every week, otherwise we would never connect with each other.  We are all busy with work and a few extra activities, so this is a much-needed time for us to come together and temporarily forget about whatever crazy stuff is going on around us.

Last night was that night.  We ate supper (thank you to my mom, for I know what it takes to feed our bunch!) and then made a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows and enjoyed the cool night air with each other.  This sounds very relaxing, doesn't it? I think a better description would be loud, funny chaos, but that seems to be what we thrive on!

My two-year old grandson is a total ball of fire, never still for a minute.  Very funny and kind-hearted, but a typical two-year old.  The fire is so enticing for kids.  He wanted to roast marshmallows.  Not to eat, but just so he could stick something in the fire.  And he wanted a new stick each time.  And each time he got a new stick with a new marshmallow he managed to drag the sticky, used sticks all across his clothes.  By night's end, we all were covered in something sticky.  Then my mom brought out his tea party stuff (yes, boys like tea parties too) and he managed to pour an entire pitcher of water all over himself.  Now he was wet and sticky, so in turn, we were all wet and sticky.  He got a Little Tikes climbing playhouse for his birthday, but that is not nearly as fun as the box it came in.  It is now a house, complete with windows and doors, and apparently you have to go in with a flashlight and scare all the residing ghosts away by shouting at them. Thankfully, his mom is still limber enough to climb around inside a box, because they would have had to call 911 to get me out. And his nightly ritual includes scouring the yard with a flashlight in search of armadillos.  This began on our trips to the lake, as they seem to roam freely there, and he doesn't know the difference between there and anywhere else. 

My son has a 3-month old, who seems to take the noise and chaos in stride.  Actually, I think it is very entertaining to her, because there is always some commotion to be interested in.  Between all of us passing the baby around, I am pretty sure she is glad to just go home and lay in her bed without someone in her face.  And the two year old doesn't yet understand why you can shoot big people with nerf darts, but not babies.  So we are always on guard in case we need to shield the baby's face from incoming warfare. And sticky marshmallow sticks.  And I am pretty sure the baby only hears this noise level when she comes to our family's houses.  As I have told her repeatedly, You can't pick your family - you're stuck with us.

All of that to say, as I sat there observing the organized chaos, I realized I have so much to be thankful for.  My kids, though they were typical kids and did lots of stuff I didn't approve of, are pretty good kids.  They aren't strung out on drugs, and have never done anything criminal, and still want to be close with our family.  My parents, though aging, are still going and doing and being an active part of our family.  And my kids and grandkids feel just as comfortable with us and my parents as they do with their own parents, and they know we love them beyond measure and would do anything we could for them.  God has truly blessed our family with the most precious thing we can have on this earth - a loving family!

Friday, September 4, 2015

Let's Get Back To The Basics of Life!


I see all the turmoil and nonsense in the world today, and I wonder, is it possible to just get back to life? What will our children and grandchildren have for childhood memories? Shootings and riots, and fear of going outside?

When I was a kid, our lives were filled with joy and wonder, and the worst thing we worried about was whether our friend would be able to come out and play.  Our neighborhood was full of kids and we all played together.  Some were a little ornery, but most were just regular kids.  We didn't have cell phones, ipads, or video games.  We PLAYED.  We used our imaginations.  We explored.  We laughed.  We argued with each other, sometimes duked it out, and then we were friends again.  ALL without the interference of our parents.  No one sued anyone.  No one called the police for a bullying incident.  We learned to compromise.  We learned that there was a pecking order, and once you found your spot, all was well with the world.  We learned that we are all different, but also the same. We acquired life-long skills of give and take. Our parents made sure we learned right from wrong and knew the meaning of the word "no".  We all got spankings on a regular basis.  And WE SURVIVED!!

We didn't have every minute of our day planned.  There weren't the same extra-curricular options that there are today, and I never remember saying I was "bored".  People randomly stopped by "to visit" and were always welcomed.  Neighbors knew each other and you could call on your neighbors for help and they were glad to assist.  Nobody had much money or fancy houses or cars, but we were all pretty happy.  We ate raw hot dogs.  We dug up bugs and worms and then ate without washing our hands!  In the summer, our parents said ,"Go outside and play."  And we always found something to do.  We built forts.  We played cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians.  We didn't know what racial discrimination meant.  We accepted the world and our environment at face-value.  I never heard of anyone being kidnapped.  Or murdered. Or raped.  I didn't know anyone whose parents weren't still married. 

What has happened to that world?  We call it technological advances, but have we really advanced?  Now, we can't let our kids even go outside alone.  And certainly not out of our yard.  We have scheduled "play dates".  Five-year olds have cell phones.  No one knows how to entertain themselves.  Our kids think nothing about hearing the word "murder" or "rape" on the news - it is far too common.  They can no longer be disciplined without someone calling DFS.  We try to coax them into behaving, and I see parents trying to "reason" with a two-year old. Ethics and morals have gone out the window.  No one takes pride in their work or their lives. Most kids have step-families now.  Children are forced to compete with technology for their parents' attention.  We have all kinds of devices intended to save us time and make things happen faster, yet we have less time than we ever have.

If only we could get back to enjoying life, enjoying our children, and stopping to smell the roses.  Our kids would be much happier, and in turn, our lives would be much more enjoyable.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Why Does God Allow Bad Stuff To Happen To Good People?

I hear this question often. Usually preceded by "If God is a God of love, and loves everyone..."
This is usually asked by those who are not Christians.  They play the hypocrite card when invited to church - "Everyone there is a bunch of hypocrites - that's why I don't go."

I believe the people who ask the first question don't fully understand.  God, a God of love, created a perfect world for us to live in.  He created Adam because he desired companionship. And he created Eve so Adam would have companionship. But God didn't desire demanded companionship - he wanted it to be a choice that was made, and man was given free will.  In the world God created, everything worked and coincided perfectly.  There was only one stipulation - don't partake of one tree. And you know what the most tantalizing tree was?  That one tree.  And satan convinced Eve that by eating from that tree, she would be as knowledgeable as God Himself. 
Once she and Adam had eaten from that tree, they immediately knew satan was a liar. It didn't fill them with knowledge, but instead, shame.  Shame for disobeying God. And sorrow for ruining their perfect relationship with God. And their curse for that mistake was that all of mankind would be born with a sinning nature. All of mankind would now suffer physical pain, sickness and eventual death.
But our God of love is a God of second chances.  He provided a way for our souls to have eternal life beyond the day of our physical death.  He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, a perfect, sinless man to be tormented and crucified as a blood sacrifice to pay the debt of our sin, that debt being eternal damnation.  But He still gave us free will.  The choice to accept this way to eternal life in Heaven, or the choice to reject it.
The answer to this question is, bad stuff happens to good people because good people sinned.  And still sin. But our God of love gave the opportunity to escape this world of sickness and death.  So that is how His love is displayed to us.  Everyone experiences trials and temptations in this temporary world.  But through God, we have hope for a future and peace in our hearts that a non-Christian simply cannot understand.

So to the latter question, I would ask, do you go to work every day?  Isn't that place filled with hypocrites?  Do you shop at Wal-mart?  Aren't there hypocrites there?  For some reason, people seem to think churches should be full of saints.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's kind of like a hospital.  People who feel fine usually aren't occupying the rooms.  The same holds true with churches. 

First, those people filling the church are just people.  Human, sinful people like everyone else.  The difference is that the Christians enjoy God's grace and mercy, and forgiveness for their sins.  Should Christians live differently than non-Christians?  Of Course!  But not all of them do, unfortunately.  And though we strive (or should) to live a life free of sin, our fleshly nature causes us to fail many times over.  We are instructed to ask for forgiveness for our sins and try, with God's help, not to repeat them.  And my best guess is the ones who refuse to go to church probably haven't been, and don't actually know first hand just who goes there. 
Second, churches have a couple of purposes.  One, is to be able to come together and fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters and worship God.  Another is the hospital effect. Your pastor's job is to preach the word of God.  And throughout time, the true word of God has the power to uplift you, convict you of sin in your life, and encourage you to walk closer to God. So, if you are experiencing a "storm" in your life, you can find comfort at church.  If you are living outside of God's will, hopefully your conscience is convicted to repent and come back into walking closely with God. 
And the church is the place where most people who aren't Christians hear the word of God, and about His grace and mercy, and the plan of salvation.

Why not give it a try, if you've never been, or if it has been a while?