food for thought

My personal convictions don't typically make it onto paper, but this one's been brewing for a while. I am convinced that we are numb to what rubbish we feed our minds. The filth we allow to permeate and cloud our brains....we have no clue how detrimental it is! Do I dare stick a verse onto this conviction? Yes. Colossians 3:2 instructs us to set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Accomplishing Colossians 3:2 is impossible in our own strength, and as long as we live in this world, we can only improve in merely striving for that goal...but still, not in our own strength. As a Christian, we are promised the Holy Spirit as a Counselor to open our blinded eyes, restore our spiritual vision and enable us to see the Truth of the gospel of Christ. We Christians will fail. We will sin. We are not perfect. But still, there are conscious decisions we can make that may enable us to stand firm and "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17).

What difference would it make in our daily thought process if we started the day with real spiritual food? Are we feeding our minds with the media's trash when reading a book would be much more nourishing?

My fingers are pointing to myself. A while back, I checked out the movie Gladiator from the library. We've seen it several times. It's rated R for violence. If you've ever seen this movie, you'd probably recognize my favorite part. The corrupt emperor demands that the leading gladiator tells him his true name. Maximus turns around and says, "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." The awful emperor trembles, just like we want him to.

We call this entertainment. Entertainment that we watch when the kids are in bed, or entertainment that we PAUSE if our children walk into the room. This is just one example. What about most cable TV shows? What about our Facebook habits? What about the novel we're reading? What about feeding our minds with our own selfish inner-mind rantings for 3+ hours at a time? How nourishing is that?

Really, what is feeding our minds? How does entertaining myself with Gladiator fit in with the command to "do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31)? Not sure. Check out John Piper's interesting post on how to drink orange juice to the glory of God. A practical solution to Gladiator: don't check it out...or (m)any movies for that matter. A practical solution to inner-mind rantings: feed myself with God's truth...such as..."take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 ESV). Christians should be different, living IN but not according to the world. There are good and bad choices we can make. Which ones are fruitful?

picnic conversations

The kids are sitting on the living room floor having a peanut-butter-and-jelly picnic.

The first 10 minutes were spent talking about school. Carly told us about a little boy who had to sit at the naughty-table during lunch. We decided to pray for this little boy at bedtime. Isaac announced that we don't have to bring anything with us to Heaven except our heart. "And we don't even have to carry it!!" he exclaimed.

After my sandwich was finished, the kids continued to have deep conversations and entertainment on the picnic blanket.

Carly: Are you supposed to be eating or talking?

Isaac: Talking.

Carly: Who went to kindergarten or preschool today?

Isaac: I went to preschool today.

Carly: No you didn't! I went to kindergarten!

Carly: (whispering innocently) You need to shut up and eat.

Myra: What did you say?

Carly: (blank stare)

Myra: Where did you hear that?

Carly: _____ said it.

Myra: And _____ apologized for it afterwards. Those are harsh words that we never say.

Carly: Isaac, you need to zip it!

Isaac: Mommy! Carly told me to 'zip it'!

----

Carly: Look! I'm making a snow angel.

Isaac: Aren't you supposed to be eating?

Carly: (singing) IIII aaaaammmm a man and a horse. God made us special. Go GREEN! Go RED! Go RED!

Isaac: Go GREEN!

----

Carly: Let's play a game. When I say 'GO,' whoever says 'God' first, wins. Whoever says 'Satan,' loses.

Isaac: Okay.

Carly: On your marks, get set, GO!

Carly and Isaac: GOD!

Carly: We both won!

It's a wonder anything was eaten.

first day of school

first days of school

It makes me feel old to consider how my anticipation of the first days of school have changed over the years.

As a new kindergartener...no recollection. As a young kid...excitement for using really sharp pencils and new crayons. Ahh, the smell of those crayons! As an adolescent...tremendous excitement! We always thought it would come faster if we went to bed reeeeaallly early. That didn't work; we could never get to sleep. As a high schooler, I loved going back to school, mainly for social reasons.

As a college student...I'd wince at my checkbook as I prepared for the first day of school. Being in college was fun, I guess, but being away from Jared was a big drawback. My main goal in college was to get done as soon as possible.

As a new teacher...gut-wrenching anxiety. The principal had told me my kids were "the classroom from hell." As they strutted into the building that first day, I crossed my arms across my chest. A teacher on my team walked with me and said, "Don't cross your arms; if you don't look confident, they'll eat you alive." The first days were indescribably educational.

As a parent...10% excited for this new opportunity. 90% wanting to hold on a little bit longer. In a year, I'm sure the inside of my cheek won't be so bitten raw.

constancy

\ˈkän(t)-stən(t)-sē\

noun

the state of being constant; changelessness

steadfastness, as in purpose or affection; faithfulness.

God is immutable. Sounds like a simple, easy-to-understand sentence, yet how can one contain God to a sentence? In Knowing God, Packer is right when he says that God's life doesn't change. Neither does His character, His truth, His ways, His purposes, and His Son. The earth and the heavens "will perish, but you [God] will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end." (Psalm 102:26-27).

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,

And wither and perish - but naught changeth Thee.

(from the Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise Hymn)

Do you ever think about this...how CONSTANT God is? We're all busy. We've got places to go and people to see. You might read this blog post quickly and get on with your day. And that's fine. I do it too. But how often do I honestly sit still, and know that He is God? Turn off that blasted cell phone. Shut that to-do-list notebook for a second. Get up even 15 minutes earlier to be still and acknowledge who God is! Right now, there are so many things occupying my mind and yours. My natural tendency would not be to ponder God's constancy in the midst of my busy-busy attitude, but He has reminded me of it lately.

If God is steadfast, why worry? If God is unchanging, why set our minds on any earthly thing? If God is who He says He is, why must we wallow in discontent and sorrow? God's constancy provides us such comfort and HOPE. The hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ IS "big enough to cover the whole area of our need." (Packer) That's what this life is about.

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!"

(Revelation 4:8b)

Here's a good related song.

And an even better version of it by Maggie Rose Amini.

images

watermelon with a summer afternoon storm

A couple weeks ago, we ate at Sister #2's place.

new puppies, hard squeezes, a couple drops and plops

a farm boy about to jump

This week, we visited Sister #1 and #4 in Manhattan. This [free] splash park was a big hit!!

talkin' trash

There are some things in life you must experience before you fully understand. One of those things is the reason why anyone might want to talk trash to an animal.

I did it.

I even jabbed my fingers down at him.

And if I didn't kick the trailer he was in, I sure wanted to.

Billy is a rented ram. He bleats in a higher pitch than the ewes, yet he has a horrible domineering attitude. If we come close to the pen, he starts butting his head around like he's-da-ram. He even struts around the ewes with an I'm-yo-daddy kind of ego. So, when Billy peed in front of the stock trailer yesterday and lifted his front lip, baring his teeth with his head held high, we cringed and our anger boiled.

Sheep are typically dumb animals. Billy is no exception...except that he wasn't dumb enough to buy into our luring. Before we started, it seemed a simple task to move him from the pen to the trailer. Oats and corn would surely do the trick. They didn't. Sheep are also vulnerable animals. Sheep are easy to disable if you grab their far rear flank with one hand and extend your other hand under their neck. Uh...I guess this is easy with lambs. We had a little trouble with this 175-pound ram. He protested by going limp.

Sixty minutes into this 95-degree endeavor, our patience ran out. Jared mustered up all his strength and pulled the ram into the trailer. Problem #54: How does one shut the trailer door with four fat ewes in the way? Despite Jared's kicking and shoving the ram while I squished the ewes trying to get the trailer door shut, Billy jumped out. You can imagine our frustration and the fury.

Ninety minutes in...beginning the whole process again, we finally succeeded, slamming that trailer door shut so hard it would've broken a leg had one been stuck in the door. I made a fist and yelled, "YESSSS!!!!!!!!!" Jared leaned his arm on the trailer, shook his head and smiled. And I talked trash to that ram.

(No pictures today.) :)

P.S. I didn't cuss. I promise.