Happy Thanksgiving

On the way to my nephew's house today, Scott and I were listening to Dennis Prager. (How do I spell his name?). He had a fabulous show (at least the hour we heard) where immigrants, or children of immigrants, called in saying how and why they were thankful for America. If it's possible to get a copy of today's show, I think it would be worth it. It is so amazing how incredibly patriotic immigrants are. It is so immensely disappointing how non-patriotic many non immigrants are. Due to several different circumstances and conversations in the last couple weeks, I have been thinking a lot about how much America changed in the 1900's. I think (from what I've been studying with my kids), Americans used to feel so blessed to be here and felt honored for the opportunity to work hard and to help each other succeed (for the most part). The immigrants I heard today all had that kind of attitude. It is so sad to me what an incredible "right of entitlement" so many American's have today. Does it have to do with the fact that most of us Americans are many generations away from the "original immigration" in our family? No one owes you anything. It is a blessing to be in a country where you work hard to succeed. How do we turn the tide back to being honored to be a part of this fabulous country? One immigrant said something to the effect that it is "like winning the lottery to be born in the US." Isn't it sad that so many "natives" think it's "cool" to degrade our most fabulous country?

Several years ago I heard Michael Medved speak at the homeschool conference. I frequently think about his speech. One of the most interesting and I think true statements he made was that we must teach our children gratitude. Teach them to be grateful for what others fought for (and are still fighting) and worked for (and are still working) to make this great country. It is embarrassing and shameful to me that so many "popular people" in this country are so quick to degrade it. They should be ashamed of themselves.

I pray I am able to do a good job teaching all the children in my realm of influence that no one "owes" them anything and it is their responsibility to work hard, help others, and be grateful to God, their families, those who are protecting us as we speak, and those that have gone before us to give us what we have!

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being born in this wonderful country. May we make you proud.

Total Mom blog...

If I had my own "personal" blog, I'd put the following comments in there. However, I don't have a personal blog, so I'm going to put it here.

The highlight of my day was listening to my 9 yr old and 6 yr old chasing each other around the house, laughing out loud. I love being a homeschool mom.

The highlight of my day yesterday was when I asked my 3 yr old if he wanted me to help him or if he wanted grandma. He said, "I want you to help me cuz...you're my best ghoul (3 yr old version of 'girl') in the whole woold." Melts my heart.

And my one other *mom* thing comes from an article I read about motherhood making you smarter. It had lots of good stuff, but the one that I said "SEE!!" about, was the following fact:
In the first year of a baby's life, the primary caregiver looses approx. 700 hours of sleep.

No wonder I'm so tired! I'm sure the first 350 hours are lost in the first 4 months. Of course, my exhaustion might have something to do with the fact that it's currently 1:10 am and I'm typing this blog. Have to say -- it's worth it to me to stay up late once in a while just to enjoy the complete silence.

Here's hoping my kids sleep till 8:00.

Fame

This will probably surprise no one who knows me, but I occasionally have visions of more than moderate fame (probably why God has not given it to me). But experiences like Rick Warren's with Syria give me another good reason to avoid fame. I am certain he meant well, and had hoped to do something useful, but for all of his wisdom and insight, it appears he was in over his head.

Makes me wonder, Pastor Warren could have used advise from someone more skilled in deception and propaganda than he. Probably shouldn't keep someone like that on retainer, but...

"Man of God"

I had an interesting thought this morning. I cannot for the life of me remember how my mind wandered to this subject, but it did. I thought about the term "Man of God," and I came to the realization that my definition of this term has changed quite dramitcally in the past three or four years. Coming from a pretty strong Pentecostal background, I can remember hearing this phrase usually in connection with some visiting minister. It usually carried connotations that this visiting minister moved strongly in the gift of prophecy, or another of the gifts. Basically, if this minister had a strong supernatural ministry, then he was a "man of God."
Now, to be fair, this is actually how the term is used in scripture. It was first used to speak of Moses, but was also used in connection with other prophets, such as Samuel (and sometimes even to speak of angels). The idea was that a "man of God," was a man mightily used of God.
However, my intuitive sub-conscious definition has changed. When I hear the words "Man of God," my mind no longer goes to this idea of a person with a strong supernatural ministry (by the way, though I think it is possible to over-emphasize the supernatural, I do not think it is a bad thing to emphasize it - God is a supernatural God, and the Bible is full of examples of God's people being used to perform miraculous deeds. The scriptures also contain promises to us that we may do the same - John 14:10-11, Acts 1:8).
So where does my mind go now when I hear "Man of God"? Integrity. Holiness. Character. Righteousness. These are the markings of a true Man of God (or Woman of God) as far as I am concerned. My strong Pentecostal roots still echo within me saying that the supernatural is important, that we ought to seek God's supernatural gifts, as Paul says in 1Cor. 14:1. But what what is Pentecost without Holiness? Jesus even said that in the Day of Judgment there would be many saying, "Lord, we prophesied in your name! We cast out demons! We performed miracles!" But Jesus will say, "I never knew you." Why? Because, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
God, help us to be a holy people! You said that You were returning for a "spotless Bride." Help us to be spotless. Help us to become people of outstanding integrity so that we might shine all the more brightly for you, that men may "see our good deeds," and glorify You! We know that we are incapable of this on our own, so remind us to fall to our knees daily seeking your aid and your strength to live for You. We love You. Amen.

Attitude

I love listening to Dennis Prager. In part because I agree with him so often, in part because he never resorts to name-calling, and in part because he expresses himself so very well. But mostly, I love listening to him because he talks about anything and everything, and I always figured if I did a talk show I would want it to have the that kind of variety.

Today, I caught him just for a moment talking to Larry Miller, a comedian who has just released a book titled Spoiled Rotten America: Outrages of Everyday Life. Miller made an interesting comment. He says there are 2 types of people in the world (when a comedian says this, you brace for the punch line): those who, when faced with the thousands of tiny irritations in life find the ability to laugh, and those who get frustrated (look ma, no punch line!). And I got to thinking: I probably come down 50/50 on that, getting frustrated about half the time. So now I have a new goal in life: I'm going to become more intentional at allowing myself to laugh at the little irritations. It's probably a lot more fun to live that way, and I might find that people like hanging out with me a bit more.

Clutz Eternal...

So, I'm a clutz. I hide it pretty well only because I've lived with it my whole life and I've learned how to adapt. In fact, because of all the things I've knowcked over, bumped into, spilled, tripped over, etc., I've developed near superhuman reflexes. These refelxes are by no means natural, but very much acquired through necessity. Actually, it has become quite renowned in my family the amazingness of my quick reflexes. Take, for instance, one experience I had at a movie theater. I was coming from the concession stand with my dad. He had the popcorn, I had the fountain drinks - one in each hand. However, when it came time to give the attendant my ticket, I had a dilemma because I didn't have any hands free. So, I stancked the drinks, one on top of the other, handed the guy my ticket, and turned to walk toward the theater. However, the top cup tipped over, fell, did a full head-over-heels flip and then - I caught it befor it hit the ground and didn't spill a drop...thank you, thank you very much.
So, I just had another of these moments the other day. There is a clock on top of my tv that stands about 8-10 inches tall. On this particular day there was also a CD next to the clock on my tv protruding slightly over the edge of the tv. Somehow unbeknownst to me (clutzes rarely need to know how it happens - it just happens) I knocked the clock forward off the tv (toward me...somehow), I juggled it for about a second or two, and while in the process the clock hit the edge of the CD sending it flipping end over end into the air - note that I am still juggling the clock. So, finally I get the clock stabilized and TA-DAA, I catch the CD on the back of the clock.
Nothing hits the floor. And what is most impressive. I had something in my other hand...

Justified

As a psychotherapist and a pastor's wife I am routinely made aware of the enormous amount of rejection suffered by people who are struggling with sin, by those in the church. My question is who isn't struggling with sin?

The more I'm in practice and the more I'm in church leadership the more I have come to realize that although the bible says that "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" is the only unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31--by the way, it was Jesus who was saying this); the church has made up its own list. The top two that seem to be "unforgivable" with Christians are divorce and homosexuality.

This morning in my devotions I read in Luke 18: 9-14. Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer:'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income'.

"But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.'

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home JUSTIFIED before God. For the PROUD will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.

May we be careful to understand that God knows the truth in people's lives and hearts and may He always be able to see us as the humble and not the proud when we encounter people who struggle with the 'big' sins on our lists, but not necessarily His.