Lent: Spring Training for the Soul

Lent--the very name conjures up images of self-denial, of giving up chocolate or television.  Perhaps it evokes memories of fish sticks served in the school cafeteria on Friday.  Perhaps it means nothing at all. 

What is Lent?  Who celebrates? Where did it originate?  And does it hold any relevance at all for Protestant Evangelicals?

Lent--the 40-weekday period preceding Easter--begins on Ash Wednesday. Catholics traditionally celebrate Lent as a time of penance and fasting, a time of self-examination and recommitment.  Protestants, on the other hand, are mixed in their observance of Lent. Some attend Ash Wednesday services and observe Maundy Thursday with communion.  For others, it’s merely a passing reference to the days before Easter.

There’s no scriptural command to observe Lent.  It developed from three traditions. Early Christians observed a brief fast in the days before Easter, a fast that lengthened over time to 40 days.  The second tradition included a period of intense preparation that new converts underwent before baptism on Easter Sunday.  The third tradition involved welcoming back penitent sinners who had fallen away and wished to rededicate themselves to Christ. Lent, therefore, became a time of dedication, of self-scrutiny,  and of bringing oneself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ once again.

Evangelicals are mixed in our feelings toward Lent.  Scripture tells us that we don’t need to observe special days or seasons. (Gal. 4:10)  Yet Paul allows that some may consider one day more sacred and regard that day as special to the Lord, while another considers each day alike, but still gives thanks to God. (Rom 14:5-7) There is room for the work of the Holy Spirit in each heart.

So why should we care about Lent?

Perhaps the best analogy I’ve heard this year is that Lent is a Christian’s “Spring Training.”    Each spring professional baseball players come together to practice as a team, to work out the problems of last season, and get themselves into shape. Everybody’s supposed to report-- eager, young rookies, seasoned players, out-of-shape nobodies and sleek superstars. Everyone needs to prepare for the regular season.

Likewise we can use Lent to get ourselves into spiritual shape.  We come together as a community of faith--from the weakest sinner to the prayer warrior. We examine ourselves and strengthen our souls through Bible study, prayer, and worship. We pray for the Holy Sprit’s guidance. We renew our commitment to Christ.

Lent commences on February 17, 2010 with Ash Wednesday.  Interestingly enough, this year it’s the same day that pitchers and catchers begin reporting for Spring Training.  

Are you ready to report?

Book Review: Mom's Bible--God's Wisdom for Mothers

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Thomas Nelson has released the Mom’s Bible: God’s Wisdom for Mothers. The Biblical text is the New Century Version (NCV), a more sophisticated revision of the International Children’s Bible.  Although adults might balk at a Bible with a 5th grade reading level, the NCV is a solid translation based on Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, assembled by an experienced team of scholars.  What this translation loses in the poetry of the 23rd Psalm and other beloved verses, it makes up for with direct language which makes more obscure verses a bit clearer.

Notes by Bobbie Wolgemuth and others set this Bible apart specifically for moms.  You’ll find what you’d expect here--profiles of Biblical moms and lessons on Godly character.  A section entitled, “Answers to Questions Kids Ask” is worth the read. The topical index is really just an index to the various groups of notes: "Our God is . . .", "Walking In . . .", etc.

There’s nothing particularly new in the notes that I read. However, in the center of the cyclone that is motherhood, it helps to be reminded of what’s true and encouraged in my walk. And the Mom’s Bible does just that.  I found that, while I enjoyed the notes, the real appeal was the translation. The smoothness of its natural language appeals to the storyteller in me.

If you’re going to buy mom a Bible this year, why not make it one that she can read with her children?

Bible translations and reading level: a quick comparison

Pig Wig and the Pleasure of Reading

My 5-year-old is learning to read.  We're still a long way from War and Peace, but as a parent, teacher, and librarian, I'm thrilled to watch this process unfold. I studied reading methodology in college: learning the language, memorizing books, the "a-ha" moment when the brain decodes a word in an unfamiliar context.  It's much more fascinating in person.


I remember when he'd sit down with a book and "read" it to himself, using the same inflection that I used on each page.  I wish I could have recorded some of these moments, but he would have stopped if he knew I was watching.


Last summer we discovered a series of books by Yukiko Kido and Harriet Ziefert.  He's read Pig Wig and Stop Pop. They're simple--3 sections of word families, 1 word on a page, and short sentences at the end of each section.  Today I found Snow Bow at the downtown library.  It was waiting in his car seat when I picked him up from school.  I love hearing him sound out the letters and puzzle through the complexities of consonant blends.  Each word read is a little victory;  a sentence like "Feet meet on the street," a triumph.


He already knows the pleasure of listening to a good story being read or told.  Someday he'll have the pleasure of getting lost in a really good book.  His journey is just beginning.

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do: 8 Principles for Finding God’s Way

by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

Every once in awhile I come across a book that I purchase just to give away.  This is just such a book. 

Feeling lost? Battling addiction or depression?  Experiencing a difficult relationship or medical condition?  Overwhelmed by the condition of the world or the condition of your soul?

In this brief volume, Drs. Cloud and Townsend provide a guidebook for finding your way back onto the path of spiritual and emotional wholeness.  Begin your journey with faith and trust in God. Then take steps to seek supportive relationships and wisdom, forgive, take responsibility, accept that problems can help you grow, and learn to love God.  Three final chapters specifically address depression, addiction, and problems with sex and intimacy.

This book is a deceptively quick read, only 134 pages, but it’s loaded with practical advice gleaned from years of experience as clinical psychologists. Cloud and Townsend emphasize God’s grace, but insist that the journey is a two-step process involving ‘a step of faith in God” followed by “a step of action.”  I like the authors’ conversational tone and the hopeful message.  You are not alone. God will make a way. 

I’m giving my review copy to my pastor, for use in counseling or in Celebrate Recovery.  Then I’m buying another copy--to give away.

Frozen Floridians

Cold. Colder. Coldest.  That about describes January so far in the Sunshine State.  Here in the Bay Area we've set new records for longest number of days below 60 degrees and coldest overnight temperatures.  I've found frozen lizards in our backyard and ice on the kids' picnic table.

Baby, it's cold outside.

We've finally reached the end of this two week cold snap and our daytime highs should return to the normal range of upper 60's to low 70's.  Finally, a proper Florida winter.

I had to pull out my heavy blue jacket, the one from Land's End with the Polartec lining.  I only get it once or twice a year, but it became my constant companion for a few days, even serving as a blanket over my legs while sitting in church last Sunday.

It's the jacket I bought several years ago for an early spring trip to Greece and Turkey.

We were following in the footsteps of Paul, traveling to Athens, Corinth, Thessoloniki, and Ephesus.  That area of the Mediterranean is cold in March, enough so that we needed heavy jackets, hats, scarves, and gloves.  I'd read about the hardships that Paul suffered on his journeys: shipwreck, illness, prison.  But I wasn't prepared for bitter cold.  No wonder Paul asks Timothy to bring him his cloak and to hurry before winter sets in. (Rome must have been similarly cold.)

I don't think I would have made it through that trip without my windproof, lined, winter jacket.  How much more do I appreciate Paul and the early missionaries for braving the cold to bring the warmth of the gospel to the world.

Shalom y'all

Review of The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister

Joan Chittister’s book is her love letter to the liturgical year.  The first few chapters engage the reader in the beauty of spiritual development, guiding us toward a more meaningful relationship with God.  Subsequent chapters outline the various seasons of the liturgical year: Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, and Easter.  She finishes with an overview of why saints days and Marian feasts are observed.

I’m a bit lukewarm on this selection.  The first 30 pages, explaining the role of the liturgical year, seem repetitive.  I wanted her to come to the point and get on with observing the seasons.

The book appears to be searching for an audience.  The author, a Benedictine nun, is careful to make the book less Roman Catholic centered and more inclusive of Protestant and Orthodox traditions, but ends up being somewhat vague and apologetic.

I did find some gems and kept my highlighter handy as I read. I found myself quoting her chapters on Advent and Christmas and I’m sure I’ll reread the sections on Lent and Easter next spring.

I’d recommend this as a supplemental academic work, but not as an introduction for someone not already familiar with the liturgical year.

I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program.

Advent Adventures: Seek Him

“If you seek this

baby Jesus,

seek the Lord 

with all your might,

you will find him

as the shepherds did

as they searched for him

one starry night.”

--Luke Gambill “One Starry Night”

I have a confession to make: I’m a bit of a Christmas crier.  Every time the people of Bedford Falls unite to help George Bailey at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, I reach for the tissues.  When Linus cues the lights and recites Luke 2:8-14 to the Peanuts gang, hand me a Kleenex.  The Grinch realizes that Christmas isn’t about presents and feasting?    White Christmas’s Wallace and Davis surprise General Waverly with his old unit singing “We’ll Follow the Old Man”?  Start the waterworks.

A couple of weeks ago I subbed in one of the pre-Kindergarden classes while the children rehearsed their song for the musical One Starry Night.  I sat behind the class as those cherubic voices sang about seeking and finding Jesus.  I was in big trouble.  It was either pull myself together or use the only absorbent surface available, my sleeve.

These simple, yet profound lyrics sum up what we’ve been doing this Advent season, seeking Jesus with all our might.  Our search is not in vain, as scripture reminds us:

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  (Jeremiah 29:13)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  (Matthew 7:7)

I’m astounded at the simplicity of this message.  God does not demand that we pass a test, or pay a fee, or make ourselves worthy before entering into a relationship with Him.   There’s no fine print, no levels we must reach first.  He assures us that He will be found if we seek Him with our heart and soul...with all our might.

Have you found Him this Christmas?  He’s not hidden away--but ever present. When the shepherds heard the angels’ proclamation they went to Bethlehem as fast as they could to see for themselves what God had revealed to them.  Seek Him this week, as the shepherds did and see for yourself.  

“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Matthew 7:8)


Shalom y'all

Advent Adventures: Joy

Poor little pink candle.  Every Advent season she stands alone among the purple candles, ready for this particular Sunday, in which we celebrate the joy of Christ’s coming.  We should be joyful all season--but especially on this day, the third Sunday of Advent.  The candle waits, but every year she’s passed over.

Evangelical churches, in my experience, don’t know what to make of the pink candle.  For many years running I’ve watched believers approach the church’s Advent wreath with hesitation. They light the first two purple candles--but nobody wants to touch the pink one.  Better to keep doing what we’ve been doing so far--lighting purple candles. So a third purple candle is lit and the pink one is left for last, not by design but by default.

It’s not the fault of the candle lighters.  Contemporary worship tends to shun tradition--and the lighting of the pink candle on the third Sunday is an old tradition.  We simply don’t understand and miss out on an important symbol of the season. It’s too bad.  With our emphasis on praise and worship and the Advent Conspiracy movement, this is a tradition Evangelicals could really embrace.

The third Sunday of Advent is about joy.  Not the “joy of toys” or the “big joy” of “lower prices” that the sales circular promised today.  No, this is the time in Advent in which we celebrate our Lord’s coming and our redemption. This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday--gaudete being Latin for “rejoice”.  It takes its name from the first word of the traditional worship introit, which is taken from Philippians 4:4-6:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice; let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.

Have no anxiety?  Pray with thanksgiving?  Throw off the shackles of holiday materialism and let others witness your joy in the real Hope of Christmas?  Sign me up!  What a wonderful kick in the pants as deadlines loom and chores pile high.  We need the bright pink candle to remind us, once again, that Christmas is all about the birth of our Savior.

Just as it’s easy to pass over the pink candle on this third Sunday, it’s easy to miss the joy of Advent by doing what we’ve been doing so far.  No matter the deadlines, no matter your circumstances, stop what you're doing and just rejoice:

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  (Psalm 118:24)

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. (Psalm 51:12)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2)

Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again : Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)


Shalom y'all

Advent Adventures: Praising

Today begins week 2 of our family’s journey through Advent.  The first Sunday in December is a busy one in our church.  The Christmas Cantata is a big production: adult, children, and college choirs, musicians, pipe organ, and handbells (that’s us). The sanctuary glows with white lights and greenery.  Already we’d had 3 morning services of traditional and contemporary praise and worship with carols and communion. 

It was a wonderful, worshipful time, but I knew we’d all be tired by the evening.  It was tempting to shorten our family night--or even move it--but what a loss that would have been.

Tonight’s theme was “concern for others” and our activity was to make cards for people with whom we want to share the joy and love of Jesus during this Advent season.  My 2-year-old son wanted to make a card for a friend at school.  He scribbled a picture, stuck on some stickers, signed his name, and danced around with his card--singing his friend’s name.  My 5-year-old made his best friend “the best card he’s ever seen.”  Bruce and I chose family members who are facing tough illnesses.

The most beautiful part of the evening was the time when we shared when each of us felt close to God this week.  I wasn’t sure that the boys would understand the question, but DW got very excited.  He called out, “We feel close to Jesus when we praise him!”

I reflected on the joy I’d felt this morning as the choir and congregation sang carols and songs of praise--telling and retelling the Christmas story and offering praise to God for the gift of salvation.  Each song was like a present held out to Jesus--”Master, open this one!” At the time I’d wished I could bottle up that closeness to save for later.  My son reminded me that I don’t have to.  Just praising brings me close to my Lord all over again.

I pray this week that I will have a child-like heart, that I will offer praise to Jesus with the full assurance that he is close.  Emmanuel.  God with us. 

Shalom y'all.

Journey Through Advent--The Cypress Times

Speaking of Advent.....


The following article is featured on the front page of  The Cypress Times today.


Journey Through Advent: Our Family's Adventure


I'm hoping to continue the series this season. 

Advent Adventures: Waiting

Can it really be Thursday already?  We celebrated the first Sunday of Advent 4 days ago and the week is almost over. Feels like I’m in one of those old movies that shows the passing of time by the flipping (and flying) of pages from a daily calendar.  I’m compiling lists and checking things off; making plans and filling my schedule.  Are there enough days to get everything done before Christmas?

On the other hand, my children feel that time is moving too slowly.  Christmas will never get here.

I want time to slow down and wait.  My boys are tired of waiting.

Advent is a season waiting: not the secular-Xmas waiting in line for Black Friday sales and Santa Claus, but of learning to live in the post-Resurrection time of waiting by revisiting those who anticipated Jesus’ birth. We read Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. We remember the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, waiting years to conceive a child. We tell the story of Mary and Joseph, waiting for the fulfillment of the angel’s promise.  We recall the story of Simeon and Anna, who waited for decades in the temple courts for the promised redeemer.

Yet, they weren’t characters in a Christmas pageant, waiting offstage for their cues.  They were full flesh-and-blood participants in the life around them: doing laundry, sewing clothes, preparing meals, shopping, repairing, visiting, consoling. They went about their daily tasks, season by season, anticipating the fulfillment of a promise. Their hands were busy, but their hearts and minds were focused.

In her book, The Liturgical Year, Joan Chittister says, “the function of Advent is to remind us what we’re waiting for as we go through life too busy with things that do not matter to remember the things that do.”

I have a million little things to do in the next three weeks.  I pray that, like Zechariah and Mary, Simeon and Anna, I’ll remember the things that matter.  I’ll watch and wait for Jesus, our Messiah.

Plant Good Seeds

Summer was not kind to our yard. An agreement to put down new sod never came to fruition. White grubs attacked the front yard. Weeds ran rampant in the back.  An extra month of Florida's broiling summer temperatures baked the remaining lawn.  If I had a dollar for every dollar weed.....


Still--our grass continues to fight on as I try to remedy problems which have developed over the past few years.  I haven't been able to do much yard work since the birth of our first son.  My boys have only recently allowed me to work on household projects while they amuse themselves.  It's hard to mow and trim with preschoolers clinging to my shirt.  It's been over 5 years since I've been able to help with the yard and it shows.  The condition of my lawn fills me with equal parts despair and determination.


So my heart and mind were primed for a recent sermon illustration.  Pastor told the story of a man who battled crabgrass in his yard, digging it up wherever he found it.  He discovered that he never could get rid of it.  He could dig forever and the crabgrass would spring up somewhere else.  Finally, he asked a lawn expert what to do.  The man told him, "Forget the crabgrass. Plant good seeds."


It took him 3 years of planting and nurturing the good grass, but he looked out one spring and his yard was beautiful.  The crabgrass was on the edges of the yard, trying to get in, but it couldn't. The good grass was too thick. Its roots were too deep.


As I approach this Advent season, it's easy for me to look back over this year and see where I've failed. Resolutions made at the beginning of 2009 were choked out by the weeds of busyness and neglect.  The demands of projects and appointments cling to me, keeping me from tending the garden of my soul.


I could keep digging at these regrets--or I could get busy planting good seeds.  The season of Advent begins next Sunday: the first Sunday of the liturgical year.  Our family will begin a weekly devotional time. I have my "Bible in a year" plan ready.  I've discovered some tips that other busy moms have shared for meditating on God's word during the day--and will share those here. I'm ready to plant good seeds and encourage deep roots. Life's weeds will still be there, but hopefully they won't grow in as far.


Yesterday, I hauled out the spreader and put down the first bag of fertilizer toward reclaiming our yard. We've sprayed for grubs.  I'm preparing to re-sod or re-plug parts of our yard in early spring.  Hopefully one day our lush, green lawn will return. In the meantime, every weed will serve as a physical and spiritual reminder to plant good seeds.


Shalom y'all.

Black Bean and Corn Soup

Fall is here and the weather's finally cool enough to think "soup".  The St. Petersburg Times featured an article on 25 quick recipes that sound easy (and yummy).  I went right for the Black Bean and Corn Soup--healthy and tasty.


Yes--there's a whole jalapeno in there, but the soup is not spicy.  My only complaint was that the soup was a little thin and 1 cup of corn looked a bit lonely.  So I added 2 cups. 


I plan to make this again--with either a little less chicken broth or more black beans.


Black Bean and Corn Soup


Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans drained black beans
1 tsp cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels (I used 2 cups)
sour cream (optional)

1-  Saute onion, jalapeno, and garlic in olive oil.
2-  Add chicken broth, black beans, and cumin.
3-  Simmer for 10 minutes.
4-  Puree soup and return to pan.
5-  Add frozen corn and heat through.
6-  Serve with sour cream.


Working my way through some new recipes.  I'll be sure to share the good ones.

Getting Ready to Get Ready

Christmas is coming. That means the Advent season is upon us in just a few weeks.  With 2 kids in the house quiet time is a rare commodity.  But I don't want to miss Christmas in a flurry of Thanksgiving cooking-shepherd costume making-cookie baking-gift wrapping hyperactivity.


So now I'm getting ready to get ready to observe the Advent season again.


Advent is the four week period prior to Christmas in which we celebrate the birth of Christ and anticipate His second coming. The word "Advent" comes from the Latin "adventus" which means "coming" or "arrival". Advent is a time of reflection, confession and preparation.  In our household we light candles on each of the Sundays of Advent as we reflect on a different Advent theme. Our Advent wreath contains 4 candles: 3 purple and 1 pink. [More on that later.] The wreath surrounds a white candle, which is lit on Christmas Eve.


I've been shopping for candles, much easier to come by in previous years.  Where are the purple and pink votives this year? (!)


I'm also digging through our seasonal devotions and looking for one to do with my family--and possibly our Sunday School class.


November 29, 2009 is the first Sunday of Advent.


Don't miss the Messiah this year. It's time to get ready.

Book Review: Kabul24 by Henry O. Arnold and Ben Pearson

In August 2001 the Taliban kidnapped Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer after a gathering in an Afghan home where they’d been invited as guests, then betrayed by their hosts.  For the next 48 hours, the Taliban unleashed their fury on the offices of Shelter Now International (SNI) imprisoning a total of eight western aid workers and sixteen of their Afghan colleagues.  The harrowing 105-day ordeal of the Kabul24 was just beginning.

Henry O. Arnold and Ben Pearson present the real story behind the CNN headlines.   Told primarily through the experiences of Georg Taubmann, director of the Kabul branch of SNI, the authors recount the hostages’ betrayal, increasingly hellish imprisonment, and miraculous escape.  

I stayed up reading Kabul24 late into the night.  This story fascinates with its details regarding the cultural and political climate in Afghanistan during the dictatorship of the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies. It inspires as the hostages support each other and live out their faith: sharing food and medicine with their fellow prisoners, refusing to harm anyone to gain their release, composing songs of praise in the midst of deplorable conditions.

A movie, based on their story, is available for purchase at http://www.kabul24movie.com/

My Howling Heart - Monday Manna

"Monday Manna," is hosted by Joanne Sher at An Open Book.  Visit her blog for links to more meditations on Exodus 14:14.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Right now life is going pretty smoothly. Today anyway.  Yet, when I'm knee-deep in troubles I have to remind myself that, over and over again, scripture tells me to "Fear not."  Moses and the Israelites knew a thing or two about fear and the context for today’s verse is found in the Exodus narrative. Passover joy has turned to terror.  The Israelites are backed up against the sea. As Pharaoh’s chariots close in, Moses tells the Israelites--

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.  [Exodus 14:14 NIV]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My Howling Heart

Forgive me Lord for freaking out

When I turn my face toward trouble and my back on blessing

I see attackers closing in and miss the waters opening up

My secret heart fears that you will not fulfill the promises you made to me 

In my captivity

Forgive me Lord for complaining

When I slap at your face in the wilderness

I grieve familiar shackles; flinch from fresh freedom

When I fight with you; when my fight is not with you 

You fight for me

Forgive me Lord for moving

My mouth

My lips

My tongue

Quiet my howling heart and turn my feet toward the promised land

As chariots tumble in the sea

One of the Good Guys

It's a conversation I'd hoped we'd be able to avoid until he was older.  But television commercials, playground talk, and the natural curiosity of a 4-year-old forced my hand.  Last week we began addressing one of the mysteries of life.

Is Anakin Skywalker a good guy or a bad guy?

When I was a kid (and I love saying that) life was simpler.  Darth Vader was bad. Period.  Sure, Luke ultimately saved him from the Emperor and they were reunited as a redeemed father and son.  But Vader was the villain.

Then along came episodes 1-3.  We see Anakin grow from a cute little boy into a lovesick teenager into a vengeful Jedi.  He's the hero--albeit a doomed one-- and Anakin doesn't become Vader until the very end of chapter 3.  As an adult I can appreciate the epic story cycle. I understand the complexities of character and the symbolism of fall and redemption.

D doesn't care about complexity and he hasn't seen any of the movies. He just wants to know where Anakin stands. When it comes time to play pretend with his buddies, he wants to play one of the good guys.

I pray that both of my sons always want to be the good guys.  I love their gentle hearts and desire to do good and be the heroes.

So last week, I punted.  Anakin starts out good, but he turns into a bad guy later.  We moved on to Obi-wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo. Safe territory.

Satisfied for now, D's moved on to Transformers, a show that debuted after I'd graduated from high school.  I guess that's a subject we'll study together.

The Jesus Book by Stephen Elkins; ill. by Claudine Gevry

Who is Jesus?

What did he do?

Where did he live?

Why did he die on a cross for me?

Author Stephen Elkins created The Jesus Book "to help teach children about the life of Christ and how to enter into a life-long relationship with him." Gevry's whimsical illustrations lovingly portray Jesus as a man who laughed and cried, while Elkins explores Jesus' humanity and divinity.

Elkins has done his homework. The text is comprehensive, introducing prophecy and theology in a manner that's simple enough for primary grade children to understand. The section entitled, "What Jesus Did" explores Jesus' power over nature, sin, life, and death. The section on "What Jesus Taught" introduces the Lord's prayer, the Golden Rule, and the Great Commission.

Yet it's not simplistic. Elkins's explanations of "ministry," "baptism," and "God's kingdom" are deep enough to inspire parents to use this book to refine their own understanding as they learn along with their children.

The Jesus Book is designed for families to read together. My two preschool children have commandeered the accompanying CD, which contains children singing classic hymns, scripture, and songs about Jesus. As they grow older we'll work into the lessons in the text using it to supplement and support scripture.

This is a delightful book and a great addition to our family bookshelf.

Throwing Rocks

I never realized how rocky the Appalachian mountains were until this week. My boys have hoisted heavy rocks, climbed boulders, and pocketed pebbles. However, their favorite thing to do with rocks is throw them: into the woods, off a ledge, down the slope, into the water. They can't get enough of this.

I was thinking last night about stone throwing in the Bible. David felled Goliath with a stone (at least my guys don't have slingshots--yet). Jesus saved the adulteress from the mob in the Temple, saying "Let him who is without sin among you, cast the first stone." A mob stoned Stephen, while Saul/Paul watched.

Our rock throwing adventures brought to mind something else: a service I attended a few years ago at a local messianic synagogue. Tashlich is a ceremony carried out on the afternoon of Rosh HaShannah or on the following day. Tashlich means "you will cast away" and during the service we symbolically cast off our sins. After a time of reflection and preparation we walked down to Tampa Bay, picking up small stones along the way.* We collected stones to symbolize sins. It was humbling to pocket each stone and feel the weight increase with each new addition. After a time of prayer and repentance we threw our stones into the bay--casting them off as far as we could throw. Those rocks were gone, never coming back, you couldn't have retrieved them from the bottom of the bay if you tried. My pockets felt empty and light.

As we threw our rocks, we remembered that God is faithful to forgive sins, that Jesus (Yeshua) died for our sins, and we meditated on the text for Tashlich: Micah 7:18-20.

Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will give truth to Jacob
And mercy to Abraham,
Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.

In all the times of confession, in all the worship services I've ever attended, I don't think I've ever felt as forgiven as I did on the shores of Tampa Bay. So much of our Protestant worship is abstract and emotional. It took the weight and feel of throwing rocks to really imprint one of the basic tenets of our faith.

Vacation's almost over. I'll be thinking about this on our final few rock-throwing days--thanking God and praising His holy name.

Shalom y'all.

-----------

*Traditionally bread crumbs are cast into the water, or pockets emptied of lint, but some congregations use stones instead.

Flat Tire on the Shoulder of Life

Our Sunday drive didn't go quite as we'd planned. We were cruising through a construction zone, northbound on I-95, preparing for a quick stop in Brunswick, GA. The boys happily watched Kung Fu Panda on the portable DVD. The snacks were holding out. We only had about an hour to go to our destination--a hotel where we could spend the rest of the afternoon swimming and resting after the first leg of our trip.

We were making excellent time.

thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump

BW quickly threaded our minivan through the phalanx of barrels dividing the highway from the shoulder. I got out and looked at the back right tire. No problem there. I turned around and saw our flattened, shredded, smoking right front tire. Somewhere we'd picked up a large nail.

As I spoke with the AAA agent I realized that we were in probably the safest spot we could be in, given our situation: a construction barrier behind us, barrels to the side, a wide shoulder, and the mile marker and exit marker just ahead. We praised God for gently placing our damaged minivan in a barrel-sheltered cove.

A half hour later Joe arrived in his company pickup truck. He had all the necessary tools. He followed us to a gas station to add air to our spare tire. He shepherded us toward the local Sears. He even called me back to make sure we were OK.

3 1/2 hours later our newly aligned vehicle sported 4 new tires and we were on our way. We even made it to Savannah with time to swim. As we continued along the northbound lanes we both noticed that, for many miles, there was no safe place to pull off the road. Had our flat occured elsewhere, my family would have been in danger. Further, Brunswick was the only city where a major retailer was open on Sunday--for 80 miles in either direction. We'd stopped in the only place where our car could be fixed that day.

Skeptics might say that if God were really looking out for us, we'd never have had a flat tire. I disagree.

Nowhere in Scripture are we promised that this world will be easy. Our lives don't always go according to our plans. Unexpected nails flatten us with illness, job loss, death of loved ones, pain, heartache. But we serve a mighty God. When dangers surround and threaten us, he shelters us in the palm of his hand as he ministers and changes us.

I pray that I remember this the next time I'm stuck on the shoulder of life.