When the Prophet at the temple told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart, that her Son would be the downfall of all Israel, the Gospel at that points says Mary held all these things in her heart.
When Mary did this, how did she not get an ulcer?
As a mom, there are so many things I am concerned about with my kids as they grow older; finding jobs, finding a good spouse. Most of these things I pray about and put in God's hands. But you know, if you are a mom, sometimes the worries wake you up in the middle of the night no matter how hard you have tried to put them in God's hands. Seriously.
Did Mary ever wake up worrying in the middle of the night? Did she ever get an upset stomach wondering if Jesus was okay wherever He was that night in some other town among people who were plotting against Him? Even though she was without sin, she was still a mom and would have been at least concerned about Him?
Was she able to trust God so much that these things didn't bother her in the least? I have a long way to go as a mom. I try so very hard but maybe my personality gets in the way, that whole control freak thing. Maybe Mary was a very different type personality, one that didn't worry as much as I do. So as I sit here typing I keep trying to look to her to guide my mom ways, to emulate the way she could put everything in God's hands. Meanwhile, pass the Tums...
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Civility Week 48, Nov. 25, 2012
Wherever
the Bible has been consistently applied it has dramatically changed the
civilization and culture of those who have accepted its teaching. No other book
has ever so dramatically changed the individual lives and society in
general. John Fl. Walvoord
There is no
mistaking, no matter what our media or portions of our government lead us to
believe, Christianity has brought civilization to America. Other belief systems and faiths may do that
too, but I say Christianity first and foremost because one of the main tenets
of our faith as Christians is to love one another. We are called as Christians to first love
each other, and then settle our differences.
The rules of a
civilized nation depend upon this Christian tenet of loving each other and it’s
this belief in this “rule” that creates a civilized society. It’s what keeps us from lawlessness, it helps
create rules that protect people, especially those who cannot protect
themselves.
A civilized society
believes in putting others first. This is why our nation has always been so
good about reaching out to help the poor, those hurt or displaced by tragedy or
disaster. It’s Christianity that preaches and teaches protecting women and
children, why Christian men put themselves between their families and danger,
why a Christian mother will go to any length to protect her child.
If you read or watch
too much of the media, you would begin to worry about civilization in our
country. But I would admonish you to take a closer look. Come to our church,
our food pantry, our church services. We are a helping religion. Christianity builds in each of us a want, no,
a need to put others first, to want to help.
Rare is the case where you see someone shrink away from a task at hand
when they see a true need. Look at the outpouring of helpful hands after
natural disasters, the number of people who volunteer as firemen, who work as
nurses, etc.
Christians have
always been persecuted. If you look at their true nature you would have to scratch
your head and wonder why, why do people make fun or despise Christian acting
people? Are they worried about becoming too civilized? Christianity is a wake up call to look inside
ourselves, to not become selfish, self centered. Is that what persecutors are afraid of?
Looking inside themselves?
So we are called to
fight the good fight, keep the faith and be civil doing it!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Civility Week 47, Nov.19, 2012
Don’t
mistake my kindness for weakness…I just hold it together in a civil way! Anonymous
Ah…the year is winding down. Didn’t we just get started a few
months ago? I’m taking a deep breath as we head into the Christmas season. And
I don’t even mean the shopping. When you work in a church office, the only
other season that rivals the Christmas season for crazy, busy, insanity is
Easter week!
So in these final days of my Civility Project, I thought this
quote was apropos. Since I am still
working hard on maintaining a certain level of civility towards all mankind,
especially when reading about the lack of it in the news, and in politics, it’s
enough to make you lose your nice self.
So when people think I’m being a pushover because I’m
smiling, they just don’t know the whole story! Honestly I’m still working on
the smiling part too.
But there are good people in the world. Truly…they just don’t make it in the news or
get their smiling faces splashed all over the internet because they are still
being nice people. I think the world
would have been long gone before now if there still weren’t nice people in it.
I always think of the reading where Abraham asks God if there are 50 righteous
people in the city of Sodom will God not destroy it?
And he gets God down to ten people. So if God won’t destroy a
town because even just ten good people are in it, that means I need to be at
least one of the ten in my town. So keep going on the civility and smiles.
Wars have been in our history, bad governments, people doing
stupid or horrible things. But God calls us to keep going on despite it all
because He is always there. It’s us that do the leaving, the quitting, the complaining
about how hard life is. He truly made it
easy for us to follow Him. It’s when we are tempted by the devil to give into
selfishness that we mess up again.
So when I say I forgive you for pulling out in front of my
car, flipping me off because you are angry about something, I can be civil about it. It doesn’t mean I’m weak…in fact it means I’m
strong, strong enough to resist the urge to lash out at your lack of manners or
sense of fairness. I am strong because I believe in a God of forgiveness and if
He can forgive all my mess ups, I have to try to forgive yours too!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Civility Week 46, November 12, 2012
The thing to remember, in working on our civility, is that trying counts. None of us is perfect. We don’t have to be perfect. We leave that to God. But we are asked to try to be better people, to work on being civil toward each other.
We’re always being told that we need fame, fortune and we need it now. It is so easy to get sucked up in that pursuit. But I was listening to a Rascal Flatts tune last night called, “Mayberry” and it reminded me too of days not long ago when life was slower, stores weren’t open on Sunday, you could sit outside and listen to the crickets and not be interrupted by the sound of loud leaf blowers, lawn mowers or your neighbor’s car stereo.
Containing our rage or even just reducing it comes about by finding peace in our lives, having the strength to love everyone, and knowing that with all the bad things going on in our world, there is a better world we will enter someday. Look through your history books, people were always managing through horrible wars, leaders who went control crazy, people who made slaves of each other or debased them, hedonistic living. There were still people living with love and carrying on the spiritual aspects of life and helping others learn it.
Trying to be civil means holding on to that peace and happiness of knowing that God is always there. We always have Him to turn to even if elections don’t turn out the way we want or bad people abound and scare us, nature gets really crazy and destroys things.
Sometimes it’s remembering to be simple. To sit on your front porch and wave to people, sipping on an ice cold Cherry Coke, calling neighbors by their first name. Thanks Rascal Flatts! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw0RpWRZC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXw0RpWRZC4
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Civility Week 45, November 5, 2012 Civility In Small Packages
Hebrews 13: 2 And do
not forget to show entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have
entertained angels without knowing it.
Anyway, the car moved on and I could see a man driving and
someone else in the passenger seat. They didn’t quite drive at the speed limit
and I found myself wondering if the passenger inside this car had just had
surgery, a long stay in the hospital, or whatever since the driver was
obviously being very careful in his driving manners.
Then I saw it. A little upside down U-shaped handle in the
back seat. Hmmm, it’s been a long time since I’ve had an infant car seat in my
vehicle, but that certainly looked like the top of one. As we stopped at a
light, I got close enough to see there was younger man driving the car, and a
woman sitting in the back seat. They were talking animatedly about something or
someone. I knew for sure then, they were bringing their baby home from the
hospital, probably for the first time! There is something that new parents give
off, a kind of happy force field even outside a car and says, “Hey, we have
good news! A brand new baby in our car and boy are we nervous.” As they approached the next intersection, the
car slowed down and very carefully and made a right turn. I began to laugh as I
recognized the over cautiousness of a brand new dad. It brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful
sight.
Silently I congratulated this new family, going home for the
first time all together. What joy they would experience in their small family
now and all the firsts that a brand new baby brings. I wished them happiness
and civility in their lives as they grow their family and teach their child
about the world. God bless them!
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