I'm SOOOO Bored!

“I’m bored.” I can’t tell you how often I hear these words from my kids and see it posted on their walls and hear it in their tweets. It can be less than 24 hours into summer break and they are bored. Maybe I was the same at their age...I can’t really remember. If I was the same, is it something we outgrow or when exactly did I change? I can’t remember a recent time when I was truly bored, especially to the point of complaining about it.

Maybe I am too busy to be bored. Although not as hectic as many I know, my schedule moves along at a pretty good clip. And when I do get down time, I am more than happy to read a good book, play a game on the internet, watch a movie, or simply think or pray. So possibly I don’t have the time to get bored.

Maybe I’m just weird and I’m okay with being alone in my thoughts. I don’t need to have friends around me all the time. Many a personality test have told me that I am an introvert...I get more energy from being alone than I do from surrounding myself with people.

Maybe it is a generational thing. Our kids have grown up with non-stop stimulation. Media, cell phones, computers. They have learned how to multi-task in ways that amaze me! When those things slow down or become silent, they don’t know what to do. I can’t believe I have raised 3 girls who won’t read a book unless they absolutely have to!

So all of this to say I often feel helpless in helping my kids “solve” their boredom issue. I can make suggestions until the cows come home, but nothing appeals to them.

What was the point of this blog?? Not sure.....just thinking. (all alone, but not bored!)

Happy Holidays...and other Christmas reflections.

I’ve been thinking about Christmas a bunch lately. Here are a few of my thoughts.

My friend Shannon recently posted on Facebook about Christians who get all worked up when people replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays.” I have always inwardly cringed at the people who proclaim “Keep the Christ in Christmas,” and “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but I wasn’t always sure why. Shannon stated this so well, it is easier for me to just copy and paste her thoughts:

“Hey Christians involved in the great "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" debate, please stop it. The Christmas season gives us an opportunity to love people. Christ didn't come to earth to give us a holiday. He came to teach us how to love (dare I say love people who don't celebrate Christmas). And ultimately, to die for our sin (like the sin that causes us to argue about words like Christmas and Holidays). Please don't miss the opportunity to love people this Christmas. That's something that Jesus actually cared about.”

It just seems almost hypocritical to me. Why must these people supposedly fight for Jesus in this one situation, yet hardly give Him a second thought the other 11 months of the year?

This brings me to my next big thought. I don’t recall any place in the Bible that we are told to remember and celebrate annually our savior’s birthday. Communion -- definitely commanded. But a big birthday party every year that is often loosely (at best) connected to a baby in a manger? Let alone, how many people truly grasp what Jesus becoming a human really means? Do people really think that God’s intention was that we choose an arbitrary date on the calendar and each year we chop down trees and drag them into our houses, put hundreds of lights all over our houses, eat twice as much food as we need to, and spend BILLIONS of dollars that most of us can’t afford on giving gifts to people who really don’t need anything? Sometimes I just look around at it all and try to see it through God’s eyes. It really gives you a different perspective, and it is a sad one in my opinion.

Please don’t view me as just another Ebenezer Scrooge. I have lots of great Christmas memories both as a child and then with my own children. There are parts of Christmas that I still look forward to. But each year I seem to find myself stepping outside of all the merriment a little further and thinking about all of it and what it has become in our society.

In response, I try my hardest to keep my personal focus on what it means that God put skin on and came to earth in anticipation of me some day being born and needing to be rescued from my sin so that I could spend forever with Him. THAT is why I celebrate.

Bring on a burden!

It seems that so many of our prayers are requests for our lives to be easier. Prayers for material things, prayers for better jobs, prayers for our health, prayers for people in our life to be happy. Basically we want to make our little corner of the world as comfortable as we possibly can. I’m not going to get into whether these are the things we should be praying for today, although I have an opinion. My point is actually to consider praying for something entirely different. I was really challenged with this thought when I read Craig Groeschel’s book Weird.

I have begun praying for a burden. Not like so many prayers I have had in the past to have God remove some kind of burden. Instead, I am asking him to give me a burden! How crazy is that??

Here is what my man Craig says...

“Most of us feel good when we avoid burdens, after all isn’t life hard enough? Why ask God for more trials, trauma, and tears? It’s normal to want to avoid pain - human even. But God didn’t put us here on earth just to feel good and enjoy ourselves. He doesn’t give us our lives so we can master techniques in avoiding pain. He puts us here to make an eternal difference. He puts us here to show everyone around us how much he loves them. He puts us here to be his hands and feet, his body and his heart.”

He then goes on to have you ponder some questions. What breaks your heart? What makes you angry? What do you care about more than most people?

I care that people don’t know God and will eventually be eternally separated from Him. But “care” is not always enough to drive me to action. To the questions above... I am praying that my heart is broken for people who are not saved. I want to get fired up that people don’t know the truth and no one is telling them! And I want to care SO, SO deeply that I have no choice but to respond and take action.

Basically I want to tip the scales. On one side is my absolute faith and knowledge that God is real and awesome and Jesus is the only way to God. On the other side of the scale are all my fears and insecurites...the parts of me that stay quiet because people might think less of me if I share my faith. Too often the scales lean the wrong direction and my weaknesses win out. But I believe that through prayer and an ever increasing love for God, the scales will pull the other direction. I think a burden will be the difference.

I want to see people the way God sees them. With such love that I can’t bear the thought of them going through this life as an enemy of God, and eventually eternity in hell. I can say that I agree with these words, but maybe if I truly believed them and had an actual burden, I would get out there, open my mouth, and just maybe make a difference.

A letter to 3 young men....

Dear Son-In-Law,

I (probably) haven’t met you yet. Yet you have been in my heart and in my prayers for a whole lot of years. All the years I have been doing what I can to raise a daughter who loves God, I have been praying that you are on that same path.

I pray that you are part of a family that is modeling what a strong healthy family should be. Parents shape us in a way that no one else can. I pray that your father modeled what it means to cherish his wife. I hope he was the spiritual leader of your home and that you have a healthier view of your heavenly Father, because you had a godly earthly father. I pray that your mom taught you that there are qualities and values far more important than any sport you ever played or any grade on a report card. And that you learned the valuable lesson of unconditional love from her.

If you happen to come from a broken or unhealthy home, my hope is that you learned what you DON’T want a family life to look like. I pray that you had people in your life to model strong relationships and that you believe with your whole heart that marriage is meant to be ‘til death do you part.’

This next sentence will make you do a double take. I want you to be totally and completely in love with someone MORE than you are with my daughter. I want your first love, above and beyond your wife and your kids, to be for Jesus! God cannot simply be an ingredient in your life together or an activity you do together on Sunday mornings. Rather than an ingredient, he should be the bowl that holds all the other ingredients (your finances, your children, your careers, your social life, etc.) together. If you are both chasing Him with all that you are and keeping Him as the center, all other things will fall into place. When couples start letting their spouse (or anything else for that matter) be their number one thing, you are building on sand and treading on dangerous ground. Allow God to be enough. Everything else are the good gifts He has given you.

I have also prayed for my relationship with you. Someday I am going to be handing over one of the most precious things in my life. She will go from being a primary part of my family to starting a new one with you. I don’t mean to make it sound like she is a possession, but I have a lot of history with this girl. Her priority, after God, is now you and your new family. I want to be the best mother-in-law I can be. I want to be a support and a prayer warrior for you, but never OVERLY involved in your lives.

Your new wife is an amazing woman. She has made me proud to the point of tears many times. She has tried my patience and pushed my buttons, as I’m sure she will with you. I know she loves Jesus and I can’t wait to see where He leads the two of you together.

Until we meet, I will continue to pray for you.

Love,

Your Mother-In-Law

He is jealous for me

Sometimes I like to just think about one of God’s attributes. For some reason, today, the fact that God is jealous has been sitting in my head and I have been pondering exactly what that means.

The first place my thoughts go is to the kind of jealousy we usually talk about. “I am so jealous of how she looks in that dress.” “I am jealous of the way she can sing.” Obviously these sound like they fall under the category of coveting. Those things don’t rightfully belong to me, so being jealous is actually a sin. I also think this type of jealousy is a sign of weakness. If I am jealous, I am not happy with what I have. And it seems like such an uncontrollable, emotional response.

Sooooo, how on earth, based on these thoughts, can God be jealous? He can’t covet because He doesn’t sin. There is nothing that doesn’t rightfully belong to Him anyway. And the hardest part for me is how can God have what I kind of view as a weak uncontrollable, emotional response?

I decided to go look at a bunch of verses that deal with jealousy. Most of them relating to God’s jealousy occur in the Old Testament. I was reminded that we can’t view God’s attributes through our own experiences. God’s jealousy for us is something different altogether.

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deut 4:24.

“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God am a jealous God.” Exodus 20:5

All of our worship (our time, our devotion, our praise, our everything) belongs to God and only God. It is rightfully His. Jealousy therefore becomes an acceptable response when our worship goes to something else.

If I accept the idea that jealousy is the appropriate response to my actions (and who am I to say how God should respond anyway?), then I start to be extremely thankful that a God who knows all about all the crap in my life...all my faults and thoughts and screw-ups....is still jealous when I turn to things or people other than Him. How cool is THAT!?! Even in the midst of me being consumed with material things or a pan of brownies or any other thing that is not Him, his reaction is still one of love and care and never giving up! He is jealous for me!

HE is jealous for me. (God....the creator of everything!)

He IS jealous for me. (Right now!)

He is JEALOUS for me. (He cares and loves me THAT much!)

He is jealous for ME. (Beth....who sins every hour of every day)

Read that sentence and emphasize and think about each word separately. This is such an amazing concept and I don’t think I fully appreciate it. God was SO jealous, that he was willing to sacrifice his Son, to bring us back to Himself! That is crazy jealous.

And to think there are so many other attributes of God to study and ponder. And I am betting that each and every one will lead to the same response. Pure worship of the One and Only.

Here for the party!

I am so excited!! This Sunday is my hands-down favorite event in the life of our church. I LOVE BAPTISMS! I am trying to think of any conflicting event that would prevent me from attending and can’t really come up with anything.

If you are part of our church and have never attended one, you don’t know what you are missing. It is not some stuffy old ritualistic ceremony that we do just because it is what churches have always done. It is a celebration of the most amazing transformation in a person’s life. People are going to hell. God intervenes. People make a choice to follow Him and will now spend eternity with Him. That is a reason to hoot and holler and cheer if ever there was one! Buckeyes score (well last season, anyway) and the crowd goes wild. That is a dumb touchdown. This is eternity with our Creator!!! If you aren’t moved to respond, I’m not sure you get it.

I’ve had many proud mom moments along the way...but none of them even come close to the joy I felt and the celebration in my soul when my kids made the “adult” decision to accept Christ and then to publicly share their commitment through baptism. That’s my immediate family. I get just as excited watching my Grace family! Those are my brothers and sisters.....FOREVER!

If you haven’t ever been to a Grace Fellowship baptism, I challenge you to join us this Sunday evening. It may not be The Shoe on a Saturday afternoon, but people will be cheering. It may not be our church building on a Sunday morning, but people will be passionately worshiping.

Your kid might have a game that night...your favorite show might be on tv....you might have a busy day and just not want to drive over to Broad Street. It’s all a choice, my friends. But I hope you choose to come to the party!

No Joke. It's War.

War: a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism; a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end. (Merriam-Webster)

Can someone be engaged in a war and not even know it? Or more specifically, can CHILDREN be engaged in a war every day and their parents are totally oblivious? They absolutely can! My kids are, and many of your kids are too.

I have a confession. I am a snoop. I am on Twitter and Facebook most every day. I am friends with (FB) and follow (Twitter) many of my girls’ friends. Yeah, they are not always crazy about it. But if people are going to throw things out on the World Wide Web (emphasis on the world-wide), (1) I don’t think I am invading anyone’s privacy, and (2) aren’t we supposed to love and protect our children the best we can?

As a parent, I have control over where my kids spend their free time. And for the most part, I have control over who they spend time with. I can keep them from seeing certain movies and going to parties where I think inappropriate things will be happening. I can say no to “time alone” dates and I can set curfews. And we do all of these things to some extent. But....we cannot insulate our kids in a bubble and the world they live in at school and on-line and elsewhere is nothing short of a war. I feel like my kids’ circle of friends is gradually shrinking (mostly by their good judgment) because of what so many kids are doing.

When I was in school, there was a small group who lived “on the wild side.” Drugs, drinking, sex....but they were looked down on by the VAST majority. I am convinced that somewhere in the last 20 years, this has flipped. Kids who do these things are everywhere and their activities are celebrated around the lunch table on Monday. Walk through the hallways at class change time at the high school and you will be shocked at the language you hear all around you! Look up kids on Twitter and see what they are saying. I am amazed how many parents do not follow their kids on social media sites! You simply need to go as far as a Friday night football game to observe the current teen culture and just how far things have gotten.

My point is this: If parents became aware of the war that is going on every single day, and the things that are fighting for our kids’ hearts, they would engage in the battle and arm our children (yes, a 16 or 17 year old is still a child). There is hope! And I am not even going to take the God argument (I know, surprised aren’t you?) this time. I believe that most parents, Christian or non-Christian, would parent differently if they were aware of what is going on.

Come on! Wake up.....get involved....don’t assume high school is the same as when we were there....snoop a little....talk to your kids---they will tell you. Above all, be a parent and do everything within your power (and then some!) to launch a well-grounded, responsible, confident, adult into the world. Again, Come on!!

Wow! My God Did That.

I believe that God is always showing us (His kids) more of who He is. Sometimes it is through His creation, sometimes it is through the Bible, sometimes it is something someone says. While there is a ton of mystery about God, I love learning more about exactly who He is.

This week is a huge week in the life of our church. This Sunday is Commitment Sunday which is the culmination of a several month fundraising campaign for a new church building. Right now we have a long way to go to reach our goal of 1.8 million in pledges. In fact, some consultants have said that that mark is too high for our church to reach based on our current numbers and giving. I am guessing that they have a lot of experience in this area and can pretty accurately predict what is going to happen.

But. BUT. But, like I said, God wants to show us more of Himself. If we had a safe goal and we just did what we needed to do, we could hit the goal, celebrate, and stick the shovel in the ground and build a building. But this is a CLEAR case of “we are only going to achieve this if God steps in.” Yes, people are going to have to make the sacrifices, but I think the size of the personal sacrifices they are going to have to make, will only happen if God is working in their lives (and corporately, in our church).

When we have the pledges that we need to have, it will be abundantly clear that Grace Fellowship didn’t do this. GOD DID THIS. This stirs my soul to pray earnestly for this Sunday! I am SO excited and totally believing that God is going to do something amazing!!

BUT....what if....it doesn’t happen? Well, my God is no less amazing! He will continue to build his church, but it might not be through us at this very time. God is going to do what He is going to do. But I would so much rather be a part of it! So next week, when all the cards are counted and the numbers are crunched....our response needs to be pure worship! Regardless of the outcome.

My church is awesome. I love my job there...I love Sunday mornings there....I love the community I experience there. But all of that is NOTHING compared to how amazing Jesus is! If we keep that in our minds and hearts, our church will naturally grow and spread and build and plant and become more and more like the church that God intended.

When I grow up....

I have a friend at our church who lives at an Assisted Living facility. I have visited her a handful of times over the past 5 years or so. Each time I visit her, I am so incredibly blessed! Ruth is an amazing woman of God and she is exactly who I want to be when I grow up. Crazy, huh?

You probably wonder how I can aspire to be an 80-something year old woman who lives “alone” in a facility. Well, I don’t know so much about the facility or alone part, but I just love how Ruth is still serving God in very real ways. Ruth gives financially to a church that she has not been able to physically attend in years because she believes in its mission. She receives our church Grace Mail and prayer chain e-mails each week and faithfully prays for each request. Ruth has real kingdom impact on the other residents and staff in her facility.

But perhaps her most important feature and the one that I hope I have someday is her faithful spirit and God-centered focus. She is in a stage of life when she could easily be self-absorbed with her failing physical health like so many other people I have known her age. She could be sad and depressed because so many friends and family members have passed away before her. She could be resigned to no longer having a purpose or mission in this world and therefore given up. However, you can spend just a few minutes with Ruth and you will not find any of these things happening.

Every conversation I have had with her has been full of optimism and enthusiasm and celebration. She gets SO excited when we share with her how God is working in our church and she loves to share stories with us of how she has experienced God moving in her past and present. You will always see a well-used Bible next to her chair along with other Christian books she is reading. At 80+, she is still a student and knows she has things to learn! I love that!

Then I get sad. I think of people who sit in our church most every Sunday. Their lives are FULL of opportunities to serve people and influence others towards God. But those opportunities go completely unfulfilled.

I want to view my life as a series of opportunities...placed in front of me by God. I totally have a choice how I will respond to each one, every minute of every day. Do I want to be like Ruth and run the race with everything I’ve got until the finish line? Or do I want to live like most and just enjoy the scenery along the way, but miss the real purpose and opportunities and blessings?

It's as simple as that.

I have been thinking lately about something that is so extremely simple. The very core of the Bible, the very reason we have a church, the ONLY purpose we are even here on this earth. The Gospel.

I know people (my self included!) who spend hours, and ultimately days and weeks and months of their lives reading the Bible, learning from Christian books, sitting in study groups, listening to eloquent speakers. None of these things are bad and I have been challenged to grow by all of them. But sometimes I think we spend way too much time absorbing knowledge and marinating in good Christian “stuff”, that we lose sight of how simple one little nugget of truth is.

Here is the nugget in my less-than-eloquent words. We are all sinners: filthy, disgusting and totally undeserving of being in relationship with a holy, perfect God. But God loves us so much and wants us back in relationship with Him. And the only way that is possible is through a sacrifice. So God, in the form of a man named Jesus, came to earth and lived a sinless life and died in my place so that I can be in relationship with my Father, God. My only real purpose here on earth is to bring Him glory in all that I do and to tell as many people as possible about Him.

That’s it. As big and amazing as it is, it is beautifully simple.

I have to wonder what God thinks when he sees so many of His kids caught up in the pursuit of more knowledge. A well-written book on evangelism or a captivating speaker on serving the poor are only worthwhile if the reader or hearer is going to get out and do something afterwards!

Please don’t hear me saying to stop reading your Bible or reading other good books or even meeting in study groups. But I think we should all take a good look at our lives and see if these things are really changing who we are and pushing us to live for God and reach people and make disciples. Remember, the nugget is really simple. And if what I am doing is not totally wrapped around that little nugget, than doing those “good” things is really no different than sitting on my couch watching a sitcom or reading a totally secular novel.

I don’t want to even begin to claim to be getting this right. I have a really long way to grow. But my prayer right now is that I will begin to cling to the simple, amazing nugget of truth; and begin to let it shape not so much what I learn, but how I live.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:22-24)

Random Stuff in My Head

Lately I have had lots of random thoughts in my head and none of them really inspire me to write extensively about them. So for now, I am going to just vomit them out there and see if any of them lead anywhere....

I think I am getting old. I take naps more often. I am having the darned-est time memorizing scripture!

Sarah being in college has gotten me thinking a bunch about my college days. Those were really great times. Tons of freedom and new-found independence, and minimal responsibilities. I didn’t appreciate those concepts enough at the time.

I have a level of restlessness and boredom in my life right now that seem unusual. I am starting to feel like there is something new for me to do. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet. I am going to start praying and listening.

While I have no basis for comparison, I am more and more convinced that dieting is just as hard as breaking a bad habit like smoking or alcohol.

I miss Africa. And I really hope I get to return there someday.

Too often I think I “exist” for God and don’t passionately pursue God.

I have relatives and friends who are going to hell. No doubt about it. Why don’t I do something?

Recently a couple at our church lost a baby at the 38^th week of pregnancy. It made me realize how much I took my pregnancies for granted. I didn’t marvel at the amazing miracle that they were.

Going from being a family of 5 to a family of 4 in our house is a real adjustment. It still feels like Sarah is off at a camp or something.

I think so many people, myself included at times, have a REALLY unhealthy relationship with money.

Praying for someone who I don’t really like very much really DOES change my attitude towards them.

Dear Sarah.....

Sometimes you don’t think about or realize when it is a “last.” Like the last time you let me walk you to the corner to get on the school bus or the last time you wanted me to quiz you for a spelling test or the last time we hung your artwork on the refrigerator. Other times we have celebrated your “lasts.” The last time you were ‘clapped off’ at Diley Middle School or the last time you took a clarinet lesson with Mrs. Lang or the last time you had to wear your back brace or the last time you climbed down from the field commander ladder.

These are all just really awesome moments that get stored up in my heart. I have heard it said before that from the time your child is born until they head off on their own, it is a series of letting go. I remember when the scariest thing was worrying you were going to tumble down the stairs after learning to walk. Then there was the first time you stayed home alone. Then there was the first time I watched you drive off down the street in a car.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of you, Sarah. Someday you will discover the specialness that comes with a first child. I love to think back on the years when it was just you and daddy and I. Of course I love Em and Rach just as much, but those 2 years were pretty awesome as I was learning to be a mommy and you and I had some really great times. Part of my love of going back to Amelia Island is remembering those years. You won’t truly ‘get it’ until you are there yourself.

You have had so many amazing moments and I am so happy to have been there to share them with you. As much as I have prayed for you and the paths that your life will take, I have also thanked God over and over for the extreme privilege of being your mom. It has been the greatest blessing in my life to watch you 3 grow up into beautiful Godly women!

This week you begin a new chapter in your life. This will probably be the biggest single change you have ever (and maybe ever will?) experience. It is going to be exciting and freeing and stressful and scary and fun and...and...and. You have matured and established a character. Now you will prepare for your career. Now you will discover who you are as a person on your own outside of our family. Now you will learn what it is to chase after God on your own rather than being led there by your parents. Maybe you will discover some new things about yourself. Maybe you will meet the person who will be your best friend for the rest of your life. Maybe you will meet the man you will one day marry. Those are some pretty big things....but you are there, Sarah! And I know you are ready to jump in with both feet!!

Yeah, I am going to shed some tears this week. Just chalk it up to stupid sappy mom. Once again, you will get it when you get there too. People laugh at me because you are just going to be in Westerville. Yeah, I know (and I am really glad about it too!). But it is what this week represents that touches a deep, deep place in my heart.

Right now, Sarah, I pray God’s biggest and best and awesome-est blessings on you. I pray that He guards your mind and your heart and your body and your soul. I pray that you learn to lean hard into Him as things get hard or temptations get strong. And I pray that God’s light shines bright through you into the college world that can so often be spiritually dark. I pray that you grow closer and closer to God each day and week and semester and year. No matter how many friends you surround yourself with (and they WILL love you there!) and how many professors you need to please and how many audiences you perform in front of (I will be the one in the front row cheering the loudest!), always remember that you are living your life for an audience of One.

I love you, my dear, sweet, beautiful Sarah.

Hard stuff to get right....

Is it just me or is this REALLY, REALLY hard?

I am thinking of some situations where I want to pray for a specific outcome in those situations. Yet I know that in these situations, I need to be praying for God’s will and not “Beth’s choice.” It is easy to say or think the words (God’s will) when I am talking to God about it. It’s how I know I am supposed to be praying. But internally I still continue to hope for the outcome that I want!

Why is this such a struggle? As I think about it, it could be one of a couple of possibilities...

1. I am selfish. I want what I want and I don’t want to have it any other way.
2. I think I know best....even better than God. By me saying this is the outcome I want to happen, rather than what ever God’s plan is...I am saying I have more faith in my plans and directions than in God’s.

Aren’t these both the foundation of pretty much all sin? Whether it is in the actions we take or the words we speak to others or even in our speaking to God. It’s like we really do believe in God, but we think we can use Him to our advantage by praying for things to go the way we think they should. It’s like He exists more for us than we exist for Him. That is not the way it should be and I know it intellectually. But living that way and praying that way is h-a-r-d!

I want to get better at praying for God’s will in everything. And I don’t just mean saying the words to Him but really believing that whatever outcome happens, it is all part of His plan and it really IS best.

One situation at a time.....I am going to try harder to get this right.

Random, but amazing.

This is going to sound random. Okay, sometimes my mind wanders and I just think about something for awhile. Tonight I was thinking about my brain. Brains are sooo weird! Here is this mass of cells that grew and developed over time. And the very idea that it allows me to think and dream and ponder things is simply crazy! I mean I studied some anatomy in college and learned all the basic physiology and chemistry of how things function in there with neurons and synapses and transmitters. But that still doesn’t explain the complex levels of human thought. The fact that I can learn a language or read music or do math or ANYthing for that matter, is nothing short of amazing.

Okay, now here is the really crazy thing. God totally knows every single thing that is going on in my brain!!! WHAT?!??!?! Every thought, good or bad is totally known by Him. Aside from the consequences of that, it is so incredible that Someone has that ability. AND have 100% access to everyone’s brain 24/7. We think it is crazy in movies when people can enter each other’s dreams or implant fake memories. Yet, most people never fully marvel at what God can do and does.

My real question is this: How can people truly grasp how amazing something like the brain is and then not see that only God is capable of creating something so marvelous? Really?? Evolution could lead from some primordial goop to the human brain of today? That requires so much MORE faith than simply believing in God, in my opinion.

AND, this is just one thing. I think you could think about almost anything else in creation, and come to the same conclusion.

I told you I am being random tonight....

Ten Things That Have Made Me Smile Lately

1. Seeing Sarah’s excitement about starting college in a few weeks.
2. Knowing that people at church are beginning to make BIG pledges for the upcoming building campaign.
3. Spending a day at the zoo with my husband.
4. Hearing about the changed lives of 3 youth from our church who just returned from a six week mission trip.
5. Pistachio frozen yogurt.
6. Listening to one of my daughters worship through singing behind her closed door.
7. A good friend who is responding really well to chemotherapy.
8. The stress-free feeling of summer without the homework headaches and the high school drama.
9. One of my kids who will be serving as a camp counselor this week-end with 3^rd-6^th graders.
10. Getting a GREAT report card from my Christopher (the boy we sponsor in CAR)!

A New Territory

Lately I have been reading on-line articles and blogs about parenting college kids. I am finding myself in new territory and trying to learn my way. I haven’t been able to find a good book on the topic so far, so maybe my best resource will be other parents who I see doing a good job at this.

We haven’t even moved her to campus yet and already I am unsure of what my level of involvement should be in her choices....everything from finances to career plans to relationships and more. I hear terms like helicopter parents tossed around. I hear of other parents who are ready to step out of the picture all together and let them find their own way and make their own mistakes.

I have to think that there is a perfect balance out there someplace. I want her to experience and enjoy this new stage of life and to gain confidence in her new independence. Yet I still want to guide and protect and be able to speak truth (or Truth) into her life. Can these 2 things co-exist and if so, how on earth am I going to know when to speak up and when to shut up???

I have learned this summer that it is hard to see your kids make a choice different from what you think they should choose. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are choosing something bad or dangerous. Sometimes it means you think they are missing out on an opportunity. It seems like I can see a bigger picture and ultimately want what is best for my kids, but maybe it isn’t my place to always speak up and tell them what I see. Things look different from the outside and from a stage that is further along in life.

I think ultimately what I want is for them to know that everything they do and don’t do now is important. I can look back on my life and see things I did which I totally wish I hadn’t done and I see things that were opportunities that I walked away from. I know biting my tongue is the hardest thing and I won’t always be able to do it. But I am learning that there is a time to speak and a time to just be an ear.

Like I said, I am stepping into a whole new territory. I’m super excited about it, but trying to humbly seek God’s guidance at the same time.

I wanna be WEIRDER!!!

I love, love, love books that challenge me: Books that make me look long and hard at areas of my life and evaluate. Books that are clear on why change is needed. And most importantly books that give specific ways to make those changes. This new book by Craig Groeschel fits the bill. It is a quick and easy read and I highly recommend you add it to your summer reading list.

The book tackles 5 major areas of life and examines what is "normal" by society's standards and what is "weird" (God's standards). The areas include time, money, relationships, sex and values. The world has tons to say about each of these areas and this book really highlighted for me how much we just take so many of those values as 'the way things are' or how we should live our lives. We rarely give them a second thought. But when I look at how radically different we should be living in each of these 5 areas, I can see why the world would view us as weird!

We spend so much of our teen-age years (and actually it doesn't change as adults!) trying to not be weird. We want to fit in and be cool. AND we want our kids to not be weird either...so we compromise God's standards and allow them (and even encourage them?) to fit in.

Groeschel talks about drift. As Christians, we don't set out to drift away from God's standards. It just happens. "The current of normalcy will pull you away from God at every opportunity if you let it. When we allow ourselves to go with the flow, literally, then we're moving away from the solid rock of God's presence in our lives."

As I read each section, I realized that there are some areas that I am better at being weird than others. Sometimes I inwardly celebrate when others notice us being different. When our tax preparer (aka my mother-in-law) thinks we are being foolish with our money by giving over twice as much to our church as we pay for our monthly mortgage, I love it. (Although I really wish they got it as well.) When other parents look at me strangely when I don't let my 15 year old kids go to certain PG-13 movies, I don't really care. But there are still certain things that I can't bring myself to be weird at.

But I want to. And with some of the practical tips in this book I hope that I can move in that direction. Basically it comes down to whose acceptance is most important to me....people (strangers, friends, even family) OR God's. If I can keep that at the front of my thoughts, I think getting weirder is going to happen! And I can't wait!!

My Not-So-Popular Views on Dating

I mentioned this in a blog on January 7^th and have decided to revisit it. Most people so far have agreed with what I have written in blogs, but this time I KNOW that is probably not the case...(climbing on my soapbox here, so this is going to be L-O-N-G.)

1. Only date someone who is like-minded. Or more specifically in our case: Don’t date anyone who is not a Christ Follower.

"It’s okay mom, they go to St. Bernard Church.” Come on....the standard here is significantly higher than that! I mean they need to be born again and living for God. I want them to love Jesus WAY more than they love you. Most of the time (though not always) this means they are part of a family who lives for God as well.

“I think ‘Joe‘ is a Christian.” ASK!! We can’t let this be too awkward. Most parents have totally gotten out of the practice of questioning the person their child is dating. “That’s old-fashioned.” “That would be awkward or embarrassing.” “I trust my kid to be making the right choice.” All of those are a little true, but who cares!!!! This is too important. And not only do I want to ask questions to the person they are dating...I want to meet the parents! Immediately you are thinking: “They are dating them...not marrying them!” AHA....wait until you get to my next point!

“It’s okay, mom. They are going to start coming to church with us.” That is awesome! We will even pick them up each week! But that does not make them automatically and immediately date-able. By dating them first or even at the same time they are exploring the possibility of God is still not a good idea.

“I know that ‘Johnny’ may not be a Christian but they are such a good kid! They are respectful and smart and well-rounded, etc.” Really? 2 Corinthians 6:14 talks about not yoking ourselves to unbelievers. I don’t think that verse is speaking specifically or only to marriage like some people like to use it. I think it applies to EVERY significant relationship in our lives...marriage, close friendships, business partners, and yes...dating.

2. The purpose of dating should be to find a spouse.

Okay, if you followed me on the first one, I may lose you here. I think if you don’t consider a person someone you could see yourself marrying, you should not even go on a first date with them. Why do we need to let our kids get into intimate (physical, emotional and even spiritual) relationships just ‘because.’ Just because society says this is what you do during your teen years and your 20’s doesn’t make it wise! I know so many parents who don’t take this view. They encourage their kids to date just for the fun of it. “It’s not like you are going to marry him....just have fun.” Okay, so what is the point of that? My kids have had a great time through junior high and high school with great friends (guys and girls) and I don’t think they have missed out on anything. I am pretty sure they would agree.

Final thoughts...

I know many of my friends totally disagree with my view on this. Even if I have never had the face-to-face conversation with moms, I have seen the kids’ facebook pages and the 14 year olds kids ‘in a relationship’ with each other. I’ve seen the pictures that tell the stories. I’m sure if asked, parents would comment that it is harmless. Is it really?

I have learned that kids will rise to the expectations that are set. I dream of my girls saving their hearts for their husbands. Why tie that heart and everything else that goes with that to 5 other guys beforehand?

Lest I be considered a hypocrite, don’t assume that I got all this down perfectly myself. But I have seen enough life and relationships and I have learned enough about what God desires for His kids to have an opinion. And I’m sure that now that I have thrown this out there, people will smirk when my kids don’t get it perfectly. But that’s okay. Like I said, I would rather set the bar high than compromise and do what the world does.

It’s a blog. It’s for opinions, right? Go ahead. Tell me why and where I am wrong.

Maybe I will do a future blog on what I think dating should look like......