Lexical Light

Different Books - One Message

Household chores, postmodern culture and a PBS show for preschoolers. Different topics, one underlying theme - follow, imitate, cling to and know Jesus. How does that happen? It starts with reading His Word and praying. Three of the books I've been reading lately are all pointing me in that direction, though I didn't read them for that purpose. I hear you, Daddy.

Good Friday

According to Wikipedia, Good Friday is a holiday celebrated by most Christians to commemorate the death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Because the interdenominational church I attend doesn't have a service on Good Friday and I wasn't brought up in church, traditional or otherwise, the day doesn't look that different from my other days.

I did explain to my kids the significance of Good Friday. I also explained that we want to make sure we walk in a relationship with Jesus, honoring Him everyday, in addition to holidays. We talked about how other churches celebrate with special services. We also talked about how chocolate bunnies, eggs, and rabbits have nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter.

Though I don't usually observe Good Friday in a formal setting, I pray I will always be mindful of the grace afforded me through the death (and resurrection!) of Jesus and will pass that truth on to my children.

Oh, yeah, we'll still eat the bunny on Sunday.

 

7 Keys to Health from Dr. Jordan Rubin

Dr. Jordan Rubin made a return appearance tonight because his visit in January was cut short due to the Austin Ice Storm 2007. (Cue dramatic music.)

Dr. Rubin is the author of The Maker's Diet, The Great Physician's Rx for Health and Wellness and other books.

Our pastor's wife has a passion for health, so I was familiar with some of Dr. Rubin's teachings. Some of it has rubbed of on me, but not enough, so I was open to hearing Dr. Rubin. He was an interesting speaker with an amazing story.  Hearing him reminded me Annie's journey at Chief Executive Mom.

The immediate take away from tonight (besides the book) will be to stop using Splenda and be more diligent in not drinking Diet Coke. (I don't drink a lot, but I don't need any.) Also, a renewed effort. for everyone at home, to eat more fruits & veggies.

When I took the kiddos shopping the other day, the kept asking for stuff. I had to remind them that ideally, we shouldn't eat most of the things in the grocery store. Crazy.

It's not like I don't like healthy food. If I had a personal chef/shopper, I would be happy to eat what they prepare. However, since that's not going to happen, I'll have to utilize what I have (including a husband who cooks) to eat well.

Another key to health was getting enough sleep, especially getting to bed before midnight. Because late nights can lead to rambling blog posts. Oh, yeah, your body needs the sleep. That, I can do.  That I will do.

Truth in Bloggin disclosure: I really posted this at 1:06 am on Thursday morning, but I changed the post time to 11:59 Wednesday so as not to break my "consecutive post streak" for March. I would've posted earlier if not for a late night at church & tuckin' in kiddos, etc. Yada-Yada-Yada   I feel the need, the need for sleep.

Crayon Ministry

Earlier this week I combined several of my interests into an enjoyable afternoon: being with my kids, teaching my kids to serve, serving the kids at church, and good Crayola crayons.

My brood & I spent the afternoon at church kicking off the Crayon Ministry. We went through seven preschool classrooms and the elementary church sorting and restocking crayons. Once we got a system down, we were making pretty good time. The kids got a playscape break after each class and a snack when we were done, but they also enjoyed making sure the other kids would have good crayons to use.  The even wrote notes for the first few rooms, saying they hope they enjoyed their crayons.

We brought home at least five pounds of broken crayons with wrappers on and about two pounds of "naked" crayons. (Wonder what kind of google hits that will bring in?) We'll recycle the unusable broken crayons by melting them & pouring them in candy molds of different shapes. (Watch for updates on that.) My challenge now is to not spend an inordinate amount of time unwrapping the crayon bits. I'm far from being OCD, but I have my moments when I can obsess about getting a task like that done while the dishes stack up around me. I'll need to set my trusty timer and train the kids to say, "Step away from the crayons" when time is up.

I like crayons. I like kids. This is one little way to enjoy both and minister at the same time.   

Lookin' for Some Readin'?

Don't look here. Just kidding. Well, only a little. (How's that for spittin' in the face of blog traffic rules?)

Like Marla, I've been trying to get a grip on my blogging. Actually, I'm trying to get a grip on lots o'things right now. That means less posting for now.

However, Barbara Curtis has written on a few things that I would write about if I were writing more. 

One is The End of the Spear controversy, which reminds me of Steve Taylor's song, "Guilty by Association.”

So you need a new car? let your fingers take a walk
Through the business guide for the "born again" flock
You'll be keeping all your money in the kingdom now
And you'll only drink milk from a Christian cow
Don't you go casting your bread to keep the heathen well-fed
Line Christian pockets instead--avoid temptation

Guilty by association

(Thanks to QRSTUV for the lyrics. )

I also liked the post w/pics from the March for Life rally. Love the pics of the teens at the rally, esp. the group w/the gianormous Mountain Dew.

She’s been quite the busy blogger lately. Take a minute to enjoy the fruits of her labor.
(Arghh. There's that goofy last line glitch.)

The Right Thing in the Wrong Season

This is actually from a couple of weeks ago when our singles pastor taught.  In addition to his "Black Church 101"* lesson, he taught on how we can do the right thing in the wrong season.

I'm writing this w/out my notes, so it' really about what he said that stuck with me. He gave different examples of doing the right thing in the wrong season, either the season in our lives or  other peoples' lives. Sometimes the wrong season was the wrong situation. Sometimes the wrong season is just the wrong time in our lives or in the lives of people around us.

To illustrate, he used an agricutural example. If you want to plant a tree (right thing) yet do it in the middle of winter (wrong season), your efforts won't yield any fruit. That really resonanted with me with regard to the many ideas running around my head. (Ilona's main page graphic at true grit  is a perfect illustration of that.) I've learned that I don't have to and actually can't carry out every idea I have. Some will be shelved for a short while, some for a long while, and some forgotten.

That's the main thing I came away with. I don't remember specific scritpture references he gave, yet Ecclesiastes' "to everything there is a season" and Jesus' use of agricutural parables support the point.

*"A note about "Black Church 101":
"My" church is racially diverse. Somehow our black singles pastor began giving "Black Church 101" lessons before he gets into his message when he guest preaches. The things we've learned focus on how to respond to the pastor when he's preachin' good:  the hankie wave; the stand up, cross your arms, and shake your head like you smell gas to show that what the preacher's saying is really right on; the shake your Bible in the air; and the shoe throw.

He warned us that today's lesson was too advanced to try, but he'd show us anyway. I forgot what he called it, but as I recall it was a protective action taken when someone "gets the Spirit".  Think John Belushi in the black church scene in the Blues Brothers.  The affected person starts moving and jumping, maybe hollering a little. In order to protect that person and others, about 3 other people join hands around the person to contain him, yet still allowing him the freedom to move. He used his wife and a couple of the other associate pastors to illustrate.

Pastore E was right...we're not ready for that!  It was hilarious. I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of another church culture.

Addendum: 
What's the white church version of the hankie wave? Didn't think we had one until I saw strong handsome husband whip out his notepad during Pastor E's sermon and start furiously taking notes.

Beauty and Worship

 

Today is Sunday. Church day in our house. Sabbath in our hearts. The fact that I found* this picture today is especially appropriate. (Click it to experience it.)

The union of time and place is captured perfectly in this photograph. Non-believers and believers alike say, "Beautiful."

Who put the desire for beauty in our hearts? That would be the one who created everything, including our hearts - none other than Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The same one who said, "I Am who I Am."

When a sunset's palette, the ocean's vastness, a mountain's majesty, or a flower's intricacies makes us stop and say, "Wow," that is our heart's cry to worship God, to join creation in declaring His glory. He created us to worship Him.

Sadly, people don't give God the glory He's due. Some ignore the beauty of the world around them. Some ignore the Creator and worship the beauty. Some hardened souls ignore both the beauty given by the Creator and the Creator Himself.

Next time you're captured by the beauty around you, lift your heart to your Heavenly Father and tell Him, "Thank You." That’s worship.

*The picture is one of Jordan’s of MJL Photography. (I found it via John at Who's Your Baghdaddy?) Jordan’s Light of Soul essay on his homepage is worth the read. Here’s a quote:

"There is nothing you can do if people's only aesthetical experiences to mention spiritual ones come from worrying about the color of their new Buick."

A Soldier's Church

Derek of Another Day in Paradise is an Army chaplain. He doesn't update his blog often (hint, hint). When he does, he pours his heart into it - just like he pours his heart into serving God and his fellow soldiers.

In this month's update he shares how God has encouraged him through other soldiers. He has also been able to share the truth of Jesus with a local Muslim.

Go visit his blog to let him know you're thinking of him.

BTW, he gets to go home for R&R this month. Yeah!

5 minute post time: 7:07.