Sunday Evening Standouts

Here I am, poised at the brink of a new school year, a new week, a new adventure.  I was just thinking about all the things from the week that blessed me.  It was too long a list for a facebook post, yes even one of mine.  I decided I should begin blogging these things every week as an intentional way of being grateful.  So here goes:

1.  We enjoyed a wonderful long visit this week from my daughter and grandbaby, with a bit of time with my son-in-law at the end.  It is such a joy as a mom to see your adult child walking with the Lord, choosing an excellent spouse, being a wonderful Mama.  I love to hear her talk about the ministries God has put on her heart and what she might jump into.  I love to see my sweet baby smile for Mimi.  I love that my son-in-law is a man of integrity, honor, and faith.  I'm excited for some possibilities in their hopefully near future!!

2.  As part of that visit we had our first homeschool field trip of the year.  We explored the botanical gardens, had lunch at a famous local landmark, and toured a chocolate factory.  Enough said.  (Well, some of the kiddos may have expected something a little more Willy Wonka from the tour, but samples made it all OK).

3. The Lord has called me back to a ministry that is dear to my heart and although my place there is a little vague, it seems to be getting clearer.  It is so good to be doing things for His Kingdom.  Even if my involvement is minimal, if it blesses other and points people to Jesus it is well worth my time.

4.  I tentatively am considering a new commitment.  It is scary.  I don't know that I am good enough to do it. But the challenge is a blessing, too.

5.  I have a dear friend who never fails to point me in the right direction, and doesn't hesitate to speak the truth in love.  Such a blessing!!!

6.  My husband and two of my teen sons were involved this summer in a drama series based on the Dukes of Hazzard characters, tweaked and adapted.  I loved watching them do their thing.   My husband got to be a "Lead Worshiper" which stretched him and he did very well.  I'm proud of them all.  The whole production from writer/director to actors, sets, lights, audio was first class.  Kudos to all.

7. I am loving reading the blogs of my adult daughter's friends from high school and college.  These young ladies, all roughly 25-27 have such a passion for the Lord and their families.  I am so impressed.  I don't know if it was Christian school (be it elementary, high school, or college), or their families, or just something God put within them, but truly these young ladies have much to teach me.  What a joy to see those in the next generation whom can be counted on to have wisdom and faith.  Beautiful girls, absolutely gloriously beautiful.  I truly believe her class in high school was special.  They will do big things.  Her college friends are wonderful, too.    You should totally check out  ablossominghomestead@blogspot.com, http://laundryeveryday.blogspot.com/ and http://liferenovated.org/!

8.  In the morning we officially start our homeschool year.  Even though I didn't get everything planned to a T, we are ready to go and I am confident we will have a fantastic day.  It is a blessing that I have the basic organization done and a good start on the rest, and I love our curriculum choices.

9.  Rain - it was looking so green as we pulled down the driveway this evening!

10.  I tried my hand at both riding a motorcycle all alone and milking a goat - two new things in 7 days.  I may not have been great at either, but I tried.  Woo Hoo!!!  Now there's another new thing coming up I am much more frightened of.  That will be a whole other post, however.  I know some folks who will be so happy when they find out about it.

Until next time, enjoy the adventure!!

Chick-Fil-A, Name Calling, and Reason

There are times when I am truly baffled by controversies that seem to be the proverbial molehills turned into mountains.  Perhaps I'm just a simple-minded gal.  This whole Chick-Fil-A "controversy" is one of those times.

As I understand it, Dan Cathy, son of Chick-Fil-A's founder and the current CEO, expressed in response to an interviewer his support for "traditional family values". Specifically, it was brought up that there are those who oppose Chick-Fil-A's support of the traditional family.  Cathy's response?  "Well, Guilty as charged..."

We are very much supportive of the family--the biblical definition of the family unit.  We are a family owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives.  We give God thanks for that."

As I further understand the situation, these comments ignited a firestorm of hatred, and the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco declared Chick-Fil-A not welcome in their cities.  Really?  This is completely stunning to me.  There are those people, stirred up into an angry mob, who are asking folks to boycott this restaurant and throwing around words like bigot, discrimination, and hate.  I simply don't understand.

I have read no article where Chick-Fil-A discriminated against a customer or employee.  I have never been in a CFA restaurant and witness acts of hatred, bigotry, or discrimination.  In fact, their customer service has been, in my experience, some of the very best in the industry.  I do not see Dan Cathy expressing any "anti" views towards any group.  He simply expressed his support for traditional family values.  Have we really come to the place in the United States of America that believing in such values makes one a bigot?  Guilty of discrimination, hate, and to  have your rights to grow your business infringed on?  I have no idea if CFA has or had plans to expand into the cities whose mayors spoke for their populations to declare CFA unwelcome, not because they broke a law, but because they expressed a viewpoint.  What happened to the Constitutional right to free speech?  

OK, that's all the "big idea" talk.  Here's the nitty gritty rubber meets the road for me personally.  I am a Bible believing Christ follower.  I know in some folk's minds that makes me a right wing nutcase.  I believe in traditional family values in that they reflect Biblical values.  I am not a perfect person, as such a thing does not exist.  I am a sinner whom God chose to redeem.  My sin is probably different than your sin.  But believe me I am guilty of breaking God's divine laws.

I would not call myself a bigot.  I do not hate any group.  I do not hold one sin above another in severity.  For example, I was an unwed mother at age 18.  God calls my sin fornication, and I am guilty as charged.  He does not forbid it to keep me from delight, but from suffering.  There are many other specific things God calls sin:  lying, adultery, homosexuality, pride, gluttony, etc.  The Bible is clear that ALL sin.  That means that each of us have violated at least one if not many of His commands, either in thought, word, or deed.  Should I hate the whole world?  Never.

My support of Biblical values is NOT synonymous for hatred of anyone, including those who are part of the gay/lesbian community. I am not so naive as to believe that all who call themselves Christians are like me.  I have heard shameful speech from those who should know better.  This is sin as well.  While I believe God says homosexual behavior is prohibited I absolutely can love and have friends within that community.  I  believe fornication and adultery are wrong according to God. I love and have friends who have been involved in these things as well.  If I were to refuse to associate with or hate every sinner, I would need to cut myself off from the world, including my own self.

I have had family members in homosexual relationships bring their friends to my home.  There is a man I went to high school with who I greatly admire for his kindness, who I would absolutely trust to care for my children, who continues in a long term homosexual commitment.  I do not agree with his choice.  I do not believe it makes him a monster.  

There is a young man who is often in my home who will be a teenage father soon.  I do not agree with his choice (fornication).  I do not believe it made him unfit to associate with our family.  I hope that I can be of some encouragement to him, in fact, as this is a sin I am sadly personally acquainted with.

There are members of my family who have struggled with addictions and alcohol.  I do not agree with their choices, and I do hold these things to be sinful choices and not simply "illnesses".   Despite their sin, I don't hold myself above them in any way.

In each of these examples I would not allow the behavior to go on IN my home, let me be clear about that.  My relationships with these people, however, are not focused on these issues but on friendship, love, and respect for another human being.  I think it is important to share the truth (which to me is God's truth) in love with other, but in my day to day life that sharing needs to be relationship based.  I am not called to go around bashing anyone over the head with my Bible.  

In conclusion, I did attend the Chick-Fil-A appreciation day.  I wanted to show my support for a company whose values I share, whom I believe has been the victim of a media attack.  I KNOW that I could head down to my local restaurant on any given day with any of the folks I mentioned in this blog and we would all be treated with respect, courtesy, and have a great meal.  I love that they are closed on Sundays.  I love that in America I am free to patronize this business, or simply go somewhere else.  I do not want to see that freedom disappear.   I find it very odd that the very groups who accuse others of bigotry, hatred, and intolerance are those that are guilty of those things themselves.  

That's my 2 cents.  Standing for what I think is right, that is today's adventure...

The Lies We Believe

There are many phrases in our culture that have been repeated so often we assume their truth.  Sometimes we are even convinced they are part of Scripture, even if the reference eludes us.  We put stock in these words, draw comfort from them, and often do not realize that they are deceptive, partial truths or blatant lies that in fact pull us away from faith, trust, and dependence on God.

They are numerous, these sneaky little lies that we believe.  "God doesn't give you more than you can handle."
Oh really?  It has been my experience that the Lord allows many things to come into my life that I can't handle.  Things that He and only He can "handle" when I turn them over to Him.  The more I try to handle them, the worse the situation often becomes.

What about "God helps those who help themselves"?  It sounds good at first.  After all, we know that we can't just sit around waiting for the Lord to do it all for us.  He sure isn't going to wash my dishes or scrub my floors.  That being said, in all the things that really matter, I can't do a thing to help myself.  All my good works are as filthy rags, I can do no good thing in my own power.  God helps me because He loves me and wants to, not because of my own inadequate efforts.

In this present age, more than any other time in history, society believes "You can do anything you put your mind to."  Right along with this goes "If you don't like your life (or your car, your job your _____ fill in the blank) change it!!"  I have not struggled much with the first one.  I know that no matter how hard I would try I am never ever going to be a world class gymnast, or the President of the United States.  It's just not going to happen.  The second, however, is a lie I only today am beginning to see that I have bought into hook, line, and sinker - and it is robbing me of my peace and joy.

Again, on the surface, it sounds like a wise proverb.  After all, we should do all we can to have the best life possible, right?!?  But the truth be told, even in the great United States of America, I cannot change every part of my life I may find unpleasant.  I am not in control of all things.  As shocking as that is in and of itself, there is an even deeper truth.  Some of the very things that I like the least and want to change as fast as possible are allowed in my life by my Lord to refine me and to bring Him glory.

I am just beginning to realize how much frustration I have brought on myself as I have tried over the years to force my life into the mold that I thought was ideal.  The picture I had in mind was noble.  My dreams were good dreams.  The trouble is that that plans God has for me require some circumstances that I don't really like.  The more I have believed that all I had to do was make changes the more I have chafed against the very things He was allowing with the intent of shaping me into who He created me to be.  To be completely transparent, that's some truth that I'm going to have to swallow slowly.  I don't like it very much, at least not at first.  In fact, I feel a little like a two year old on the verge of a tantrum:  I want what I wanted and I'm not sure  something else is going to be OK with me.  But wait, that doesn't sound like faith at all.  It doesn't sound like I'm truly trusting that His plan is good, much less best.

It's time for me to grow up.  I can't just change my life to make myself happier.  It seems so absurd now, that I believed I could.  After all, if I had developed Cancer I could not simply will it away.  Nor could I just make difficult changes that would guarantee a life free of it's touch.  I think I must be getting used to this truth, as it is starting to feel like a relief.  After all, if I can't necessarily change things that are out of my control, I can stop trying so hard.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I am starting to understand that in a brand new way.  My Father knows my every circumstance and my every need.  He knows me better than I know myself, those deep motives of my heart that still incline toward evil so much of the time.  He loves me.  Not the me I can be and may be someday, but the me that I am right now, today.

I'm a pretty slow learner sometimes.  Who am I kidding, when it comes to things that matter I need lots and lots of review lest I forget the lesson I just learned.  I'm so thankful that He doesn't give up on me and is a patient instructor.  I grateful, too, that He has blessed me with others along the way who encourage and explain and walk a while with me on the road.  It's still an adventure!