wrestle us and win

I can hardly stand to read the news...and watching a debate? Please.
It's nauseating. The pride of men, the arrogance of our pampered and
ignorant people. Since when were we entitled to "free" anything?
What happened to working? What happened to giving to another
without big brother government serving as middle man? What happened
to understanding our identity as we are born, as we are set with people
in our care, families, husbands, friends, children? Since when did we
demand the right to think only of ourselves and no one else? How do
we rewrite who we are? Such confounded arrogance applauded as self-
discovery and confidence. Please.


Watching politics used to infuriate me much more than it does now. I
still get frustrated, but not because people are failing to meet an unrealistic
expectation--no person or party is going to save us; because they are so far off the mark from where they need to be. 


Sometimes I genuinely wonder, how does God continue to watch us--myself included--in all our puffed up "glory" and not snuff us out? How does He continue to give time to us when He sees the ravaging, trafficking, slandering, neglecting, and overall, putrid self-absorption. 


The Bible tells us that He continues to wait because He doesn't wish for one to perish. 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance

       2 Peter 3:9



He gives us the free will to listen and accept His lavish grace and abundant eternal life, or He gives us the option to turn away and say "no, I'll figure it out myself." Thanks, but no thanks.


A friend of mine recently posted on FB about an experience she had in college. She was visiting some friends and drove to their apartment, parking nearby in a free spot. When she left the friends' place, her car was gone. It had been towed! Her friends nodded, "Yeah, sorry, if you don't have a parking tag, you get towed." 

She was amazed, "Why didn't ya'll tell me?"

Their response? "We didn't want to tell you what to do." 

What? Really? 


There are far too few people speaking truth anymore. Quite honestly, we're afraid to. Whether it's because of a relationship or a lawsuit, we'd rather "keep
the peace" please.  But the problem is that there's no truth apart from peace.


The foundation for everyone remains the same.


*You are broken. So am I. So is she. So is he. 

*You can't fix yourself. Not Buddha, not science, not technology,
not government, not karma.

*There is Only One Savior. And He came to make a way. To open the door
to a different life, a redeemed life, an abundant life. 


So, please, Creator and Sustainer, wrestle with us. Don't relinquish us to
our ignorance, our pride, our blindness. Rescue us and save us from
what we think is enough. Be our more-than-enough. Be our everything. 

Lent: Getting past the word to something more

Around Christmastime our pastor reminded us that Jesus does not command us to remember or celebrate His birth, but rather, to embrace and revisit His death and resurrection.
But, oh, the permissive excess of Christmas in comparison to Easter's brief nod leaves something for the Christian home to reevaluate. After all, shouldn't we be spending more time--not less--preparing for that which makes our eternal life possible?

Our hope.
Our joy.
Our purpose.
Our fulfillment.
Our salvation.
Our very life.

All depends on His death and His resurrection.

When I reflect on my childhood memories, Lent was a strange word, associated with Catholics (a questionable denomination to my Baptist upbringing). Easter meant a frilly, new dress, and resounding "special" music, and chilly sunrise services at dawn, and egg hunts, daffodils, and an extravagant meal with my family.

All well and fine. However, I want this season to carry so much more for my kids. I want them to understand that Lent is more than just ashes and giving up.  Ash Wednesday begins our six-week trek to the Cross, the only place--by the Only One--who could pull us up from the ashes and restore us to something beautiful. 

So many people think that something beautiful reveals itself from within--"we're all basically good people who can earn our way to heaven." Is that right?  The glorious afterlife comes only because of the glorious sacrifice. Without it, we are dust. Nothing. And nothing within us will change that.

"It is a period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth..." -- Pope Benedict XVI

Furthermore, we need to revisit our broken human state if we are to grasp the overwhelming gift of the cross--our death, our deserved punishment, our grace.  We needed Him, the perfect, sinless Son of God to sacrifice Himself if we are ever to be who we are intended to be. The prison cell forever barred our freedom; Jesus was the key.

At some point — your Love runs out, and You need a Love larger than your own to Love Larger than evil.

The only Love that can come take down the kind of evil that’s invaded our world, has to come from beyond the walls of the world.The only Love that can crush undeniable evil is the undeniable love of the Cross.When you’re just dust — your love alone will not be enough.Super evil can only be absorbed by a supernatural kind of Love. ~Ann Voskamp

I want to recognize with joyful gratitude the journey Jesus made for me. Yes, we can give up and fast and pray--necessary components to our walk with Him--but my desire is that Lent would carry this excited anticipation that bows down, "God, you did this--for me..for us! God, your are glorious. Thank you." For if nothing else, we should be led to worship. 

For practical application with small children, try one of these ideas:

Here are the printables for the wreath.

Another idea.

Take time to pray together as a family, read through the Gospels and journey with Jesus,  make palm leaves out of paper and sing a praise song as a family, wash each other's feet on Maundy Thursday and take Communion together, make a crown of thorns and talk about how He suffered for us on Good Friday, and on Resurrection Sunday...celebrate. Oh, yes! For just as He is alive, so are we made alive forever in Him!