Jesus, who is He? Who is He to me?
Those are the questions I have been asking myself a lot recently. I understand the Trinity in the sense that God is three in one: The Father, The Son (Jesus) and The Holy Spirit but it is still a very complicated concept that definitely requires God’s help to understand.
What works best for me is to break them up. God the Father, created Heaven and Earth, Jesus is the son of God who left His throne in Heaven to save us all from sin and The Holy Spirit is what lives inside of us acting as our new conscience from God once we accept Christ into our hearts.
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“Mama, I NEED the glue stick,” my daughter hollered from the kitchen table.
“Mommm…she took my sticker. I wanted the big heart,” whined Big Brother.
I remember standing at the sink, looking out on a yard that needed cutting and toys scattered in the driveway. Hands in hot suds, I sighed and wished away the irritation. Couldn’t the little people in the other room just get along? Did they have to argue about everything? This was supposed to be a fun Valentine’s Day craft.
We are GOING to feel the LOVE.
Like it or not.
I hurried to finish the task before Big Brother decided to give someone a hair cut with the sissors.
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Theologically profound moments happen in the check out line at Walmart.
Yes, Walmart with my loud, handsy children who won’t.stop.asking.for.candy. Walmart when I want to meltdown just as much, if not more than they do. Or maybe it’s not Walmart. I’m a stay at mom with three kids six and under. My opportunities for sanctification come fast and furious.
Philippians 4:4 is a gentle reminder of what our hearts should look like, and why.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
We who claim to be Christ-followers we represent the gospel – of law AND grace – in every mundane moment.
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God sings over us? Have you ever thought about that possibility? Even the robotic and socially awkward Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory” admits to needing the comfort of a song in times of stress or illness. He often asks his friends to sing the song from his childhood…
Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur.
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty,
purr purr purr.
As silly as that little song is, it was easier to believe than the whispered song that I heard during a desperate time of struggle in my life. I am not musical, so I cannot translate the tune that accompanied this song, but it is in my head and heart forever.
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Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God,
proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
Hebrews 13:15
Friends, I’m tired. I say that literally as I care for this newborn babe. And I must confess, I had forgotten how hard simple life tasks are when sleep eludes you.
Even hallelujahs.
David made sure he praised God intentionally at least seven times a day (Psalm 119:164). A part of me wonders if this is like the seventy times seven example in the Bible and really means: David praised all day long. Every day. No matter what.
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His barely three year old cheeks flush crimson, giant tears roll down his face, and his angry screech pierces the air. This time it’s because Mom said no to the television, but it easily could have been bed time or a reprimand. Apparently, it’s too hard being three.
“I can’t read all the words, Mom. I’m bad at it. It’s too hard,” she laments, sobbing into her pillow. First grade is challenging these days at her new school.
Meanwhile, big sister hesitates, scratches out a number on her homework paper, erases, sighs. “I don’t know what to do,” she sputters. Long division…enough said.
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There is something profound about stepping into a new year. Stretched out before us are months, fresh and unwritten as the blank pages of a new calendar. Waiting for us are experiences yet to be lived, adventures yet to be enjoyed, and blessings yet to be discovered.
There is such possibility in the start of a year. Some of us jump into all of this open possibility with the best of intentions and maybe even some resolutions and goals. We race into plans to organize, improve, shape up, slim down…or whatever happens to have made our hit list.
But sometimes we can get stuck.
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I’m tired of waiting.
I recently had foot surgery, so I’m hobbling around in a boot waiting for my foot to heal.
My son moved 7 hrs from home and we can’t schedule a visit until March.
We need some repair work done around the house, but we can’t start until (1) we have the funds, and (2) the weather breaks.
I find myself thinking, “I can’t wait until…”
It’s hard for me to accomplish things in the present when my mind meanders in the future. I catch my thoughts drifting to the time when today’s problems are solved and my life is trouble-free life.
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