Those more crafty than me (which doesn’t take much) say knitting is easy. They say it involves two basic stitches, and the stitches can be used in many and various ways depending on the end product desired. This means there is a lot of uniqueness and variety that can come from just those two basic stitches.
Without carrying the analogy too far but at least admitting the somewhat obvious connection, creating a person is also easy. Like knitting, it involves two basic “stitches” so to speak, and these elements develop into unique individuals of great variety.
This act of creation speaks just to our physical selves, and we’re so much more than the physical.
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I’m teaching a series at my church on the Gospel of John. Chapter 20 opens with the frantic scene at the tomb. The women had returned with burial spices to prepare Jesus’ body, except there was no body. They alert the disciples, who are equally puzzled.
This verse struck me:
Then the disciples went back to their homes,
but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.
~John 20:10-11a (niv)
The men left, perhaps fearing the arrival of angry authorities. My personal suspicion, based on 26 years with my husband and 23 years raising a son, is that the men weren’t sure what else to do.
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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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