Touchy Moments

  Sometimes it is good to drag your teenager out with you even if they pretend that they are not interested. This past week my teenager and I went to the art museum's free day to an exhibit  I really wanted to see before it ended. Surprisingly, she enjoyed the exhibit more than I.

 About mid-way through an exhibit of mixed media sculptures, my daughter loudly states, "Museums are not good places for me." She has a thing about touching stuff. This, of course, set museum security on high alert and we pretty much had personal escorts the rest of our visit. I could have chastised her and told her to get a grip or gotten frustrated but I could only chuckle. You see, I am a very tactile person (not so much with people but take me to a fabric store...). My daughter has very much inherited this trait from me. It was a moment of connection.

 We are at a place in our relationship where she feels that she has to prove she is her own person, a young woman not a child. She needs to believe that she does not need mommy hovering so she can have the courage to fly from the nest soon. Some young people do this by shutting out their parents, creating a persona that is contrary to their parents, or are just plain touchy about anything their parents try to do.

 Actually,  I do this myself with God on occasion. "Hey God, I got this, I can do it myself." Let's not mention all the times I hide in social settings or just let the old flesh flare up and act utterly depraved. I have been daring enough to doubt Him, forget His goodness, and stray from what I know is truth. Yet, God is gentle with me. His grace is poured out over and over. Even in moments where He corrects me, He is patient because He is growing me in sanctification. Psalm 103:10-14 is a great reminder of God's steadfast love, grace, and patience. 

 I have to ask myself, "Do I practice this? Am I offering up grace in the face of personal rejection? Am I patient in correcting others? Am I steadfast in walking alongside those who are in my life? Am I pointing over and over to Jesus and how He has shown me grace?" 

 You probably already know the answer. The lesson is that I need to remember this when my final little bird is testing the water, when she is seeking to find the edges of who she is, and how the world fits in to what she has been taught. When she flies from the nest, I want to know that she has heard the Gospel and it has touched her life, if not completely transformed it.

 So, the museum was a sweet lesson in self-control for both of us. We talked about how it is good to sometimes put yourself in situations where you must practice controlling your impulses. Over those moments, we connected, we shared. She knew I was her mother, she was my child, and nothing would change that and, I think for just a moment, she was at peace with me.

 And just to linger in that moment a little longer, we went to the gift shop and together touched every knick knack, souvenir, and trinket then went to eat colorful, icy snow cones. It was nice but more than that, it was time spent letting grace be touched, examined, experienced, and applied.

 Thank you God. 

Truth Grit

  My, my, my, it seems that my husband and I can enjoy a movie together from time to time. His tastes are more action, aggressive movies and mine tend to lean heavily towards period pieces, you know like Pride and Prejudice. Bridging the Grand Canyon-like gap can be difficult but sometimes it happens.

My "Nest" Chair

 A new Netflix movie arrived this week and in the envelope was a little surprising nugget. The hubby had picked this western and I was not exactly thrilled. Loading "True Grit" into the DVD player, I hopped into my nest chair with my snuggly blanket and expected to entertain myself with Words with Friends. 

 Ohhh, I was so very wrong. "True Grit" has several versions and has been out for a long time so forgive me for being behind the times and culturally stunted.

 Pithy Mattie was a hoot and most of the dialog was packed with gems like, "You do not varnish your opinion." The older Mattie opened with, "You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free, except the grace of God." Now, it did have a large amount of cursing and some gory parts so be warned if you think you want to check it out. The striking thing for me was that it put into my mind that the character Mattie is a bit like we should be when it comes to false teachers. She was wholeheartedly devoted to her mission.

 With all the ruckus about Beth Moore, Heaven is For Real, and many others, we need to know what we believe and why. We need to be able to show why a teaching is false and sometimes it will require bringing out the moxie. The true grit of a Christian is not their ability to be the toughest bulldog or to bring down the orneriest outlaw. True grit comes in not varnishing the truth.

 But, do not misunderstand the call of our role.

 Charles Spurgeon, if we put him in this theological version of True Grit, would coolly repeat this famous quote, "Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself." Our power is not in how much louder we can shout or if we bring a big enough posse to the showdown; our power is in being fully convinced that the God of the universe is who He says He is and His Word is enough. Ain't nothing bigger than that. 

 Once we understand grace, we comprehend that there is no reason to square up, shout down, or shoot down a dead man. Grace tells us that we are all dead unless we have been made alive by Christ and having been made alive, we should all the more realize the importance of spreading Truth. Our message is that although grace is free, it came at a great cost and we are the ones under the immense debt, yet we could never pay it, nor did we want to but Jesus paid it anyway. 

 That is the source of our true grit and it drives us to be unashamed, joyfully courageous, and doggedly grounded in Truth. The six-shooter in our holster is loaded with 66 books. The one who deputized us also defeated temptation of Satan with the Word so if it was sufficient for Him over such a great enemy it should be sufficient for us. 

 We should be as tenacious as Mattie, willing to grab firmly hold of our ponies of faith and stick to the trail of the one who leads us, bravely fording rapid rivers and steep canyons so when others encounter us they will proclaim as Mattie did to Rooster, "They tell me you are a man (or woman) of true grit." For it will be worse if you end up before Jesus as the hanged man in the movie who is cut down from the tree, landing at Rooster's feet and he proclaims, "I do not know this man (or woman)."

Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself. - See more at: http://reformedquotes.com/defend-the-bible/#sthash.5rQhWQVA.dpuf

Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself. - See more at: http://reformedquotes.com/defend-the-bible/#sthash.5rQhWQVA.dpuf

Flying the Coop and Flies in the Coop

  Months before we moved last year, our son moved out. He wanted to move in with a few buddies and live closer to campus. We sat him down and gave him the "grown-up" talk about responsibility, choices, consequences, paying bills, and handling all the things your parents always took care of for you. His response was probably like most young people's response - rolling of the eyes and repeated confirmations that he knew all that. My folly was that for years I had been repeating to him that it was my job to raise him so that he could leave one day. What a schmuck I am! Here I was staring that moment in the face and I wanted to scream, "You can't leave! The training is not complete!"

  Honestly, I would never feel ready for two reasons. One, I feel like a terrible mother (long story of the past) and two, I feel like I did not adequately teach him the Word of God and that he is going to walk away from church. But, here's truth: God is sovereign, I am not. I could have been the best Bible teacher in the world and lived the most respected Christian life (which I assure you I do not) and he still could leave and not follow Christ. 

  Relationships cannot be forced and definitely not a relationship with Christ. God's Word and prayer are part of my life and therefore, it is in my home but when children leave, they have to choose who or what they will serve. No matter what my children choose, I love them, pray for them, and when led, give advice but I cannot truly know the result of what their hearts took in until they live life.

  It is a lot like the chicken coop my husband built for me. Never having built many things and having no real experience with chickens, made it an interesting undertaking. The coop looks great though and, yes, that is a plastic playhouse. I am so pleased and happy to show it off to anyone who comes over...

 (Isn't it great!)

 but the real test is not how great it looks, it is how well it functions. After a few days, the coop design revealed some problems. Cleaning it is a pain. Ugh! Hundreds of flies took over and the buzzing was sooooo loud that it would made you dizzy. Why????

  Luke 6 reminds me clearly that it takes trial to test the integrity:
⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

  Whether we like it or not, we will face trials and those trials will expose who we are and in what we trust. Even Christians sometimes find out that there is an area where they were not trusting in Christ. The difference is that when the flood comes, the ruin of the house is not "great" because the foundation exists, a lot like the chicken coop. Overall, the coop is solid but the issues inside cause frustration. When I realized the problems, I could have given up on the coop or sat down and had a pity party but I decided that the coop was worth correcting. If I did not correct it, the chickens would eventually get sick and Henna, Nilla, Poe, Jules, Auntie Em, Paislee, and Brownee would cease to exist. They depend on me to care for them.

  It took a drill, some aspen wood chips, and diatomaceous earth to correct the problem. By drilling a small hole in the floor, I can spray out  the inside and the water will drain out. Putting in a layer of aspen chips mixed with diatomaceous earth (the food grade kind) keeps the coop dry and the flies are discouraged from breeding but if they do, the DE kills them. Daily, I scoop out anything too nasty if needed and once a week, I scoop it all out and scrub it down. The coop is a thousand times better.

  The process is a lot like my own life. Christ decided long ago my life was worth changing but it took a lot more than a drill and wood chips. As I repent, the nastiness is scooped out, Christ pours in grace and I am able to grow. Of course, I build up nastiness a lot quicker than my chickens and need scooping out on a daily basis but the process is functioning not frustrating. I depend on God to care for me and without Him, I would have ceased existing long ago (another long story from the past). I have entrusted God with my children as well and in that is peace despite my shortcomings as a mother. They will leave my coop one day but I can keep them before God through prayer.