A humble challenge

Does God like secrets?  Yep.  When we read the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is very specific about keeping certain things secret- your "righteous" acts- or good deeds.  Why?  So your Father in Heaven (who sees what is secret) can reward you.  Did you catch what was in parenthesis?  God knows our secrets.  So what do we tend to keep secret?  I don't know about you, but I tend to keep my vices a secret and proclaim my virtues.  In other words, I keep my sins very secret and tell the world about my good attributes.  

Not this week.  It's Holy Week.  The week we focus on the journey Jesus Christ took to the Cross.  So every day this week, I will be proclaiming my own vices.  Care to join me?  Comment your own vices if you so dare.  Are we brave enough to follow Christ in humility?  I'm not looking forward to this...

until soon,

b.

Hunger Games and boot spikes

While I was in Haiti my family took a trip to the Grand Canyon.  Both of my little guys hiked the 35 miles down to the Colorado River and back out.  While they were at the river, Kaden lost his front tooth and threw it into the water, donating it to the river tooth fairy.  Dad gave him $5 for the tooth- quite a profit! 

On the way to the top, Keane plunged on ahead of the group- walking a good half hour hike ahead.  Eric told him to wait when he reached the snow line because it was icy and cold and slippery near the top of the canyon.  Obediently, he sat on a large rock and waited for Eric and the rest of the gang to catch up.  While he waited, his muscles began to relax and cool down which resulted in sore aching and cramping.  Poor guy.  Eric said he was miserable.  His ankles hurt, his back was sore, and he didn't feel like he could go any further.  Plus, his hiking boots didn't have great traction so he was sliding all over the ice.  He sat down on a rock to catch a breather when another hiker walked by, stuck his walking pole into the snow and said, "Hey, what's this?!"  There in the snow was a boot spike.  He said he didn't want it so Keane strapped it onto his boot and successfully hiked on out of the canyon.

So?  Isn't it beautifully kind of the Lord to show Himself in the smallest of details?  Keane was miserable because he had been obedient to his dad, had stopped and waited for the group, had allowed his muscles to cool, had cramped up, and was sliding all over the ice.  At that moment, the Lord would send a stranger to provide the essential necessity- a boot spike. 

It reminded me of the Hunger Games that I saw this last weekend.  Small, parachute necessities falling out of the sky providing the perfect gift in the perfect moment.  Know what I mean?

Ponder- Are you sliding around, aching and sore, in need of a "boot spike?"  What do you need to get  out of the canyon?  Watch and wait.  You may find it in the most unusual of circumstances.

until soon,

b.

Cookies for Breakfast

Below is a story my sister wrote this weekend.  I wanted to share it with all of you.  She is an incredible writer...


This is something that I was blessed to be a part of this beautiful morning...an exchange between grandpa and child. As some of you may or may not know, my relationship with my Grandpa was one of my relationships I hold the nearest to my heart. My grandpa led a troubled life, but once he had aged and weathered, he was a big teddy bear. In his eyes, Katie Bug could do no wrong. He was my Cookie Monster, the buyer of my first pair of light up shoes, and my ice cream truck companion. Because of that, the love shared between a young girl and her grandpa is something that I see and cherish, as many of my feelings relate. 

(Around the dining table-just the child and her grandfather, I was watching from the kitchen)

The sweet little girl is sitting at the breakfast table eagerly awaiting the arrival of crispy bacon. As she waits, she plays with rocks and coins, slowly stacking them again and again. The grandfather watches this sweet child and sits down to join her. As he does, he brings a tray of cookies. He opens the tray and sits the sweetest of all cookies, the one with brightly colored m&ms, in front of the child. As she looks at this cookie, with awe and confusion, the following exchange occurred.

Child: Can I eat this Grandpa?
Grandpa: Sure you can Baby
Child: Is it a special breakfast??
Grandpa: It sure is, It's a Special Day. You can eat it, it's okay.

You may be asking-Why is it okay for this child to eat the unconventional sugar loaded cookie for breakfast? 

With gut wrenching sadness, this "special" day is the day that Grandpa will bury his Son and child will bury her Father. She is young enough that she likely will not remember this day, but through photos and family stories, it will live in her mind for the duration of time. 

I loved seeing that this Grandpa would do anything to ease this child's spirit...including something my own Grandpa would do; 
Eating cookies for breakfast.


- Katie Fritz

winter recalls

winter recalls

march rain

and today my skin

is not waterproof

I am the rain-soaked

stone foundation

February flurries

I remember them well

when I felt

like my feet were full

of froth

Ponder:  what do you remember about winter... now that spring is here?

until soon,

b.

You are mostly stubborn

Now let's get this straight.  I'm not giving you good things because you are upright, obedient people.  Everything I have given is for a reason- for a purpose concerning my Kingdom- not for your own benefit.  I repeat... I'm not giving you good things because you are upright, obedient people.  Nope, you are mostly stubborn.  (Paraphrase Deuteronomy 9:5-6)

I'm sitting in my little personal sanctuary.  The kids are off to school, the house is quiet.  I have the window open as I listen to the birds converse.  Barber's Adagio is playing.  So many good things. 
Now I am thinking about my life.  I was born.  I was immediately fed, bathed, and clothed.  Someone took me home, warmed my frail body, rocked me to sleep, and sang over me.  They continued to feed me until I was grown.  They sent me to school, put braces on my teeth, and lavished me with gifts on every holiday.  Now I am grown.  I have a home, a car, food in the kitchen, food in my belly, a window to open, a green tree to admire, a song to play.

None of these gifts were given to me because I am an upright, obedient person.  Nope, I am mostly stubborn.  I disobeyed my parents.  I refused to complete my chores.  I grumbled every step of the way.  I ran away from home.  I am dissatisfied with my home.  I grumble about the food in my kitchen.  I complain about the clothes in my closet.  The grass has too many weeds, the tree provides too little shade, the birds are way too loud. 

The Lord has given and given and given and given...

Father, Dad, Abba- forgive us.  Show us your Kingdom in the midst of our grumbling.  Show us your plan in the midst of the chaos, the dirty, the annoying, the misshapen grievances of life.  Take it away until we are truly thankful.  Strip us of our entitlements.  It is a hard prayer to pray, Jesus.  Make us honest.  Heal us of our stubborness.  Teach us to love.

Ponder:  Do you have anything that you don't deserve?

until soon,
b.

Feed Shark

www.Hypersmash.com

Rewards

"Watch out!  Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others... Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."  Matthew 6:1, 4

This morning Pastor Nick gave a message about this Scripture, continuing on a series of messages on the Sermon on the Mount.  I was really challenged on a few levels.

First, I admit that I have had ridiculous thoughts about "rewards" in Heaven- I can eat as much as I want and never get fat.  I will have a huge contemporary house on the beach with angels as maids and servants.  I will be able to transport myself to anywhere, anytime- even exploring the stars and far corners of space... etc.  My children think Heaven will be an endless supply of Legos, Pokemon, and video time.  Yet Nick reminded us that Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," meaning, Heaven is NOW so your reward is NOW.  I immediately thought of Haiti.  I thought of a little orphan boy named Job (pronounced "Job"- like the place you work).  He and I became good friends last week.  Maybe it's because I'm a mother of boys but I tend to love the rough and tumble way of boys and would throw him around, fling him upside down, tickle him, and bite on his neck while he giggled and giggled and giggled... it was so sweet.  Toward the end of the week, he would come running to me whenever I arrived at the orphanage and would smother me with little snotty kisses and wrap his arms and legs around me like a spider monkey.

This is the reward.  I sat in church today remembering him- and crying.

The Lord knows what our hearts really want.  True, I want to eat only chocolate and pizza for eternity without any consequences.  And I would really love a house on the beach someday that I never have to clean- with no dust, no mess, and music filling every room.  But at the core of me, I want something much more simplistic and real.  I want the love of the Lord.  I want to feel it without ceasing.  I want to know it in every relationship in my life.  I want to see it in the eyes of children and friends.  I want my family with me forever and ever.  I want to see my sons basking in the Spirit of the Son- including Canaan, who awaits me on the other side.

... and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.  (vs. 4)
... and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.  (vs. 6)
... and your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him. (vs. 8)
... and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.  (vs. 18)

Our Father, who is kind and good and perfect in love and justice and righteousness, will reward.

Ponder:  What reward would you ask for?  What do you want as eternal inheritance?

until soon,
b.