I don’t always speak in a way that demonstrates what I truly believe. For instance, sometimes I say, “Good luck,” but I don’t really believe in luck. Do you know what I mean? And I do the same thing with more important things…like my children.
If you were to ask me, “Raymond, how many children do you have?” my first inclination would be to say, “Two…Heather and I have a 3-1/2 year old daughter and a 21-month-old daughter.” However, we actually have three children. Yes, that’s right…Heather is pregnant with our third child, and if everything goes according to schedule, that child will be born in March 2011.
My third child may be small, but he/she is still every bit a part of our family as my bigger children. My third child may be invisible to me, but he/she is still known and loved by the God who created him/her.
God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…” (Jer.1:5). So, don’t think I’ve gone crazy when you see me before March 2011 and I tell you that I have three children. I’ve actually gone un-crazy and I’m beginning to speak what I truly believe.
Our culture frowns upon contemplating our upcoming death. But all the expert means we employ to ignore this fact do not delay or minimize the reality that our physical lives will end.
But honestly I too want to avoid reality. I really am 38 years old. I am no longer 21. A torn ACL in my right knee and multiple recent visits to the doctor have really brought this home. (I don’t bring this up to complain, relative to others, I have nothing to complain about and I have NO problems.) I have realized through this process how much I have idolized my youth and oftentimes feel like my life is slipping away from me. And my natural reaction is to get very somber and severe.
But listening to the sermon this Sunday I was really encouraged by contemplating the sovereignty and mercy of God. My short vain life is in God’s hands and because of his mercy I can live life boldly coram deo without shame. So instead of turning inward and downward to contemplate the depressing nature of death, because of the gospel we can learn to smile outward and upward!
As you reflect on this week’s message my you find renewed courage to in light of redemption and death to do with all your might whatever you hand finds to do! (Ecc 9:10)
This month’s Little Globetrotters had a special surprise…a live visit with missionaries who are currently on the field! Through the wonders of technology and thanks to a British company that has made wireless access possible in Uganda, our missionary speakers came direct from Uganda. A cool slide presentation narrated by Tamara and Jeremy Boone made it possible for the kids to both see and hear what life is like in Uganda. The presentation ended with some shots of Uganda kids singing “Pray for Me” and our kids asking questions.
These missionaries are working in a poverty-stricken area and help with basic life needs and skills as they preach the gospel. One interesting project Tamara does is helping women make necklaces to sell using extra buttons. So feel free to collect- and then help us send- your extra buttons to Uganda. An odd way to share the gospel, certainly, but it helps meet their basic needs. Enjoy some pictures from our morning:
Welcoming Jeremy and Tamara.
Friendly, gospel-preaching talking heads.
What a great surprise!
The images from Uganda were captivating.
Construction unimaginable to our western mindsets.
It was an interesting presentation for adults too.
Beaded bracelets will remind us to pray for Uganda.
A Virginia dad of 14- whose youngest is a teenager now- recently wrote an article on appreciating the seasons of parenting. The sermon Sunday challenged all of us to rest in God’s sovereignty and to respond to our present life circumstances with joy and worship. In the midst of our problem solving as parents, we need to be reminded to pause and breathe deeply the life God has given us…however difficult or joyful it may be.
In the early days of our parenthood, it sometimes seemed that life would go on forever as it was going then. We’d never have any money, we’d never have a child old enough to babysit the siblings, and we’d never have air conditioning in the house or own a dependable car. I was so tense as a young man that I made life harder for myself and for those I loved. I let the stresses of life rob me of a lot. Ben Franklin was right when he said that there’s “no putting an old man’s head on a young man’s shoulders.” Still, I’m irritated with myself for letting seasons go by without fully tasting the days.
I’ve heard Marilyn say that life was tougher when she had three children than it was with eight, because when she had only three, there were no big helpers. Two were in diapers, and firstborn Rickey was a little fireball. Now, our youngest is almost a teenager and we have young adults in the house who pretty much run the home operation for us. We are also blessed with some wonderful children-in-law and grandchildren, but the extra needs of the family are felt, too. It takes a tremendous expenditure of time, finances, and effort to do what we do.
But by now we know it won’t always be this way. We’ve had better times and worse times and probably both kinds will visit us again. All we know for sure is that everything that comes to pass, passes….
If you’re a young parent with young children, your life isn’t easy. That’s why God gives you those responsibilities while you have the energy of youth with which to handle it all. If you don’t mind a friendly word of advice from a guy who has spent the last few decades trading energy for experience, I’d ask you to stop and smell the roses. They’re right there in front of you–in your preschooler’s cheeks. Beware of the tendency to get wrapped up in getting everything done; it will never be all done. This season of your life, like every season of life, will pass before you know it. Savor it while it’s here.
Turn off the vacuum cleaner for a minute and go hug your kids.
I am running the Ukrops 10K in a couple of weeks. Lest you think I have gone New-Year’s-Resolution-crazy this year in between my now-complete sugar fast and running a 6.2 mile race, I’ll have to plead a lack of planning on both accounts. The sugar fast was a last minute thing for me, and I’ve been longing to run this festival-like race since I ran it 5 years ago. Pregnancies and new babies haven’t made it possible till now.
But running it has made me think about how people change. Typical Lenten fasts, new year’s resolutions, and gym memberships all seem to carry a common theme: you can change if you just behave differently. Consider this marriage illustration from the Gospel Transformations book:
A contemptuous husband has received some advice to change his ways toward his wife. Instead of criticizing her, he is to give his wife flowers every day for a week. The implication is that as he does this, his heart will change. He will become a better person and his marriage will improve.
Do you resist the conclusion you suspect this book will make? I feel resistance in my own heart. I want this husband to be nicer to his wife. Sticking to a race-training plan is good for me. Accomplishing my resolutions ought to make me feel good. What’s wrong with changing behavior? What could possibly be wrong with bringing roses?
…this husband (might) only become worse. He would just incorporate his “doing” into his life of disobedience and would become more proud. This husband is still in “god-mode:” You must serve me; I must control my circumstances; I have the right to judge. When challenged about his life, he now replies to his wife, “Look what I have been doing for you.” If this wife had a choice, what do you think she would prefer: flowers or a repentant heart; roses or humility?
Permanent change only happens when repentance is the foundation of the change. Otherwise it is a shifting of allegiances to newer idols- from the idolatry of consuming food to the idolatry of controlling food; from idolizing one’s time through slothfulness to idolizing one’s time through gym memberships; from controlling one’s wife by harshness to controlling her by gifts.
So today I’m trying to repent for letting sugar become an addiction and for my laziness that keeps me from exercising with any amount of passion. I’ve proven to myself I can temporarily change my behavior, but I want God in this spring season to permanently change me.
After taking a month off of our voyages, the Little Globetrotters traveled to Burkina Faso in western Africa to learn about the traditional people who live there. Miss Julie brought in a giant photo album from her time living there and showed the children the types of houses that are typical. A native snack that comes from western Africa was fresh bananas, and the children made a monkey mask in their craft. We hope the children will use their prayer calendars to remind them to pray every day for Burkina Faso- for fresh water, enough mud bricks for their houses, and- most importantly- that the children of Burkina Faso will know and love Jesus.
