The "S" Word

One thing that amazes me as a parent is how often my kids can either be the source of a smile, or the source of high blood pressure. Well, technically, my own violated desires are the real source of the high blood pressure. But it's funny how perfectly patient I was until my children arrived. :-)

Usually, the scenario in question has to do with the presence or lack of the "S" word - SHARING. There are some times when I'll walk past my kids' bedroom and see Elijah happily exchanging a toy with Selah. My heart does a cartwheel and I think, "Yes! This is my reward! This is right!"

Then, there's the other times... We needn't dredge up specific instances, but let's just say there's always variable amounts of weeping and gnashing of teeth. I'm often tempted to throw my own tantrum in response to those of my children, and have had to apologize quite a bit in the last four years.

This morning, Selah taught me more about sharing. While kids ate their traditional bowls of cereal, I prepared something more hearty. I microwaved some leftover spinach, onion, ham, and cheese omelet and buttered two slices of crispy wheat toast. A glass of orange juice (not from concentrate) completed my breakfast ensemble.

Then Selah asked if she could have a bite.

*Gulp* A bite of my breakfast?

I'll be the first to admit I'm pretty food aggressive. After all, Selah wasn't starving. She'd finished her cereal. But I felt a little mean saying "No." So I sighed and pinched off the corner of my egg sandwich. And do you know what my two year-old did?

She gave HALF of her itty bitty piece to her younger brother, Caleb. Wow. Then she thanked me. Double Wow.

I am so glad God is not stingy with His blessings. He must get a joyful tear when He sees His kids sharing with one another; and doing it with a smile. I know I'm still His kid even when I'm NOT sharing well. Thank goodness my place in His family is not threatened by my selfishness.

That said, I want to have a soul that delights to share - not one that sighs to do it. As the song says, "He's still workin' on me." I just didn't know he'd use my daughter to help with that.

Soul Refreshment

I just had an amazing conversation in my living room with a Ugandan Pastor named Sam Kisembo. He's a friend of Jason's, and is here in the States to encourage various members of the American Church via speaking, meeting, evangelizing, praying, etc.

I've rarely met someone whose presence has made me so jealous for intimacy with God; an absolute gift, since my own spirit has felt sluggish of late. God is so kind.

After Jason and I double-teamed putting our over-tired children to bed (*whew*), I made a pot of tea and sat down with a man whose passion for knowing Jesus stirred the embers of my ashy soul. He got so passionate talking about the Old Testament pictures pointing to Jesus from the Law, temple, sacrificial system, and what not.

But when he started talking about grace, my heart started to melt. Here are just a few of the conversational highlights:

There's a great way to tell if you're effectively living under the Law v. under Grace:

When you skip reading your bible, do you feel guilty? (Law/Legalism) Or Hungry? (Yearning for your Savior).


In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites manna to eat every day. They had all the nutrition they needed. Their shoes didn't wear out and they weren't sick. In the New Testament, Jesus is the "Bread of Life" and the "Living Water."

Want to know how to encounter the POWER of God? Simple: Sit at Jesus' feet. Eat. Drink.

Martha was all about doing, doing! And I see people going to other countries and doing, doing ministry. They need to be like Mary and sit at Jesus' feet and drink!

You drink from Jesus, and others will draw from what you've been drinking.

Jesus gives the energy. Holy Spirit works through you. You do nothing "for God." He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

Jesus is Head of the church. When He was raised, EVERYTHING was put under His feet. We, too, have been raised in Christ and seated with Him in the heavens. We have a royal, authoritative position in Jesus!

Stop trying to be the pilot and enjoy the flight!

We do not confess our sins to get forgiven. We confess our sins BECAUSE we are forgiven.

***

Soul-refreshing words.

Smarter than a Toddler?

You would think that after 22 years of knowing God, going to church, and being around encouraging people, I'd always feel pretty secure as a person. But I sometimes struggle with the lie that, despite my rich theological environment/heritage, I must be a disappointment to God.
This lie bleeps loudest when I consider my less-than-holy dealings with other people - particularly knee-high people who scream when they don't get their way and can't even get themselves a glass of water without help.

Now, the Bible has a TON to counteract the lie. I have a scriptural crush on Hebrews and am reading through it at the moment. There's so much truth in there about how my debt has been paid "Once for All" and how Jesus is able to save forever those who draw near to Him through faith because He always lives to intercede for them. There's even an Old Testament quote in there where God talks about how, in the New Covenant, He will remember people's sins no more.

"Yep, yep, yep. True, true, true" as E.B. White's Goose said. But sometimes it's my heart that needs reminding - not my head.

And who does God use to give me these reminders? See aforementioned knee-high others.

About a month ago, Selah learned how to brush my hair without threatening my roots. I LOVE having my hair brushed. And lately, she's adopted a particularly endearing habit of informing me of my truest identity while she combs through my fine, graying tresses: "Mommy, you're a princess!"

*sniff*

Another time, I shoved my to-do list aside and just let Caleb lay on me while I sat on the couch. He was touching and chewing stuff and just being a happy baby when it hit me - I'm delighting in this kid. He's not producing a product. He's not having a deep conversation. Heck, he's not even being particularly clean or neat. He's just being. Being happy. Being happy in my presence. Being happy in my presence, and being close enough to nuzzle.

I literally teared up thinking about that.

Yay for heart reminders!