Last night was so much fun. Doug and Nan Smith's daughter, Elizabeth Hill, her husband, Tommy, and their 7 children led us in worship. Tommy has put the entire book of Galations to music. The kids were so cute and did such a great job! What a neat family!
After the worship time, Chris Peck shared about Christian Surfers. Chris grew up at Otter Creek--the son of amazing parents. He was baptized like so many of our youth and yet nothing ever really connected. He is truly post modern. He experimented with about every kind of drug available, ran away, spent time as a dealer, etc. He got involved in the surfing culture in South Florida. While coming back through Nashville on a holiday, he met a guy in a coffee shop who began to ask him questions about his life. This guy had also been an addict. The short story is--he and his family offered to pay for Chris to go to rehab. While at rehab, one of the men there shared Jesus with him in a very real and raw way. Chris's first response was--"Dude, I've tried it all--even Eastern religion. There's nothing to any of it." The guy basically said, "It's your choice if you want to die like that"...and flicked the ash from his cigarette and walked away. Chris remembers going to his room and falling to his knees and asking Jesus to show himself.
I'll never forget the Celebration Sunday a few weeks later. Chris had just gotten out of rehab. We asked for 3 people to share what God was doing in their lives. He said that he just wanted to hide but knew he had to say something. He got up and spoke through tears and lots of snot. Chris is now working with Christian Surfers which is an organization that is purely missional--an outreach to surfers. One of my favorite quotes of the night was Chris saying, "Basically, the surfing culture in South Florida is very laid back and mellow because everyone is either a Christian or stoned." It was so encouraging to hear what he's doing. Maybe this is my beach get away???
The rest of the night Chris talked about overcoming his addiction. It was SOO powerful for our teens to hear someone who was so rebellious who is such a cool guy talk about his dependence on Jesus and his deep love for him. What a great night!! I'd highly recommend bringing Chris in to talk--or helping support that ministry financially. They are working to provide the "Surfer's Bible" for as many men and women as possible.
On a different note, I am still working to get my office packed and moved. It's amazing what you can accumulate in 10 years. It's disgusting, really.
One last thing--for those of you who are spending time with your kids talking about Jesus--how are you doing it? I'm curious. We're looking for ways to teach our kids and maybe even something more structured. We're thinking about having a Bible story time with a craft (since Sheryl is so great at that and the girls think that's the funnest thing ever) coupled with some other stuff...maybe like the Monday night dinner with the Room in the Inn folks. But--we need help from those who have tried some things and found something meaningful. I remember rolling my eyes as a kid when it came to family devo time. Boooring. Isn't that awful? I just want to approach it in a way that will really be fun and mean something. I'd appreciate your feedback.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
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Something that Chris said last night really stuck with me- he compared the life of abundance that God intends for us to a buffet.. the quote was something like, "It's like God has this incredible buffet spread out for us and we're on the end eating the croutons." I loved the analogy and really related to it. I find myself struggling to get past the croutons sometimes.. When I'm in the valley, it's easy to turn to God and pray for deliverance and perseverence. When I'm on the mountain top, it's easy to praise God and thank him for the blessings he showers upon me. During the highs and the lows, I feel so close to God and I'm so happy. But the times in between (and that's most of the time) I don't know how to approach God and feel that closeness. I don't know how to develop that relationship and it makes me sad... you know, like someone just put crab legs on the buffet and I can see them, but feel powerless to reach out and grab them. I don't want to struggle through this life, but in my struggles, I feel God's presence in my life and I'd rather that than to cruise along content but not feel God there. I pray every night for a closer relationship with God, but I know that requires action on my part and I don't know where to start. I often think of the lyrics to "Blessed Be Your Name" (a song I love!) and I want to add a verse that says, "Blessed be your name when I'm living every day, when I'm getting through life okay, blessed be your name." And I want to really feel it.
thanks, anon. I echo that same sentiment. Hey--and we're singing Blessed Be Your Name this Sunday!!
Peace-
While I think scheduled devotional times with the kids are great, I think the spontaneous moments are the ones that stand out. I think Connor and I had one of those over the weekend. We had "The Talk" and even though we discussed the science, most of our discussion involved God's plan for respecting others and honoring God andthe people you love. I think it was a great foundation to build on even though it was a somewhat spontaneous.
Some ideas that popped into my head - I actually haven't tried all of them are: Go to the zoo & talk about Noah's Ark, go fishing & talk about Jesus' disciples, go to the pool & see if the kids can walk on water. Kids (& adults too) will remember the Word a lot easier if it's tied to something tangible! Good Luck!
The previous home owners had these teenagers that put annoying little glow-in-the dark stars all over the ceiling in one of the bedrooms that now belongs to our boys. We thought we got 'em all but there are still a few left. One night at bedtime, the boys said "We want to see stars." Guess they'd seen them before when the lights go out. Now, every night we talk about the stars and we ask "Who made the stars?" - "GOD MADE THE STARS" is the usually loud response. Kinda cool for a 4 and 2 year old.
I've struggled with how to teach my children about Jesus, also. I came from a family that went to church every Sunday, but was a mess when we were home. I used to resent the fact that my mother always wanted to have a family "devo" whenever we had company- when we never did it when no one was there. I never saw my parents open their Bibles, never saw them pray, and to this day, I struggle to talk about spiritual things with them. I once heard a guy talk about how we, as parents, need to incorporate God into everything we do and talk about so that our children will know that He's just a part of our lives and that's just the way it is. He said, "Sing Jesus Loves Me while your vacuuming. Play worship music in the car. Pray together, but also let your children see you pray alone. Read your Bible together, but also let them see you doing it alone." I'm sure you're much better at all this than I am since you get to do it for a living, (I'm a stay at home mama) but it's a challenge to incorporate the Lord into changing dirty diapers. I think the planned family devo times are just as important, but I think it's equally important to just let your whole life be a walking Bible.
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Hey Brandon! Your blog is my home page so I feel like I talk to you all the time. Miss you guys! Anyway, I am getting ready to home school my two oldest and something we are going to do is have a service day. Our church has Meals on Wheels and we can deliver the meals, help pack the meals, etc. Also, we have something called the MAGI project where we take a coffee mug with some info about our church to visitors' homes. I think teaching our kids to love others and to serve others is what Jesus' ministry was all about. I think it teaches them that the world is not all about them.
Well, as things come and go, I'll tell you something we've done before...when Tori was 3 (only child then), we'd have SING PRAISE time. We'd do it in the mornings from 7-8 and we'd try and pick the most upbeat praise CD's (not just kid stuff; I'm sure a ZOE was in the mix somewhere...gulp). We'd turn the music up real loud and all dance around the dining room table, into the kitchen and back to the living room (usually with a drum or tambourine in our hands...scandalous). It was so much fun....our little 2 year old is just now getting where he could enjoy that, so maybe we'll start up again (uh, guilt). Anyway, I used to love to listen to Tori get so excited when she'd hear the music to "Days of Elijah"...of course she used to love "Sing Praise" along with MWSmith. Today, I took my boy with me to visit a sick little boy (grave malaria) in the hospital...a newborn of one of my favorite leaders. I could sense Timothy was uncomfortable with the crying of the little boy (turned very shy), but then we were leaving, he waved and said, "bye bye" to everyone in the entire room. Kinda like "take-your-son-to-work" day. We are now doing "Bible Book" (my 2 yr old's name for it) at night. Admittedly, while the kids seem to look forward to it, I even yawn sometimes during that, and I'm the one reading the story.
Lots of good stuff on here. I would agree that the spontaneous is the greatest impact for our family. We have two girls, both grown, one married with two girls of her own.
I can remember times while baking cookies, we talked about the church. What ingredient is most important for these cookies, was the question I posed for them. Then we talked of who is the most important person in church! It was a great time and a great teaching time. This is just one example of how to use every day happenings to steer your thoughts to spiritual matters.
Of course, the daily routine times of study and praise are great, but we were just not disciplined enough for every day. It is hard to expect your children to do what you find hard to do yourself!
I know from experience that the lives you are living with involvement in the church family is a great testament and witness to your family. Love each other and love them and God will give the increase!
Great ideas, friends! Keep 'em coming.
By the way, I forgot to mention that Elizabeth (Smith) Hill is the triplet sister of the owner of Baja Burrito. The most excellent Baja...ahhhhh chips and pineapple salsa mmmmmmmm.
Dog--thanks, but no thanks for the Days DVD from the early 90's. I'm sure there's a link from the comments on your blog! HA!!
BST- Love hearing your heart.. am praying for your family..Why are you moving your office?
Miss you brother...ty
From your previous post, I think you have this one covered....
I just want you to know how much I appreciate how "real" you are. Not just everybody talks about how much snot someone produces.... I love it!
I can't believe Elizabeth has 7 kids. I graduated with the triplets and it's amazing to see what God has done in so many different lives. Is that Elizabeth in the picture with the kids? How beautiful is there family!
Ditto, Ditto all of the comments on family share time. It's not the spontaneous moments or the well planned moments that leave the lasting impression, but how consistent we as parents are with our lifestyle and those teachable moments that we encounter every day.Kuddos to you for putting a plan into action with your family.
We have started family "StarTime" at Richland Hills and it is all about having those teachable times at home. We get a DVD packet that has stories, questions, ideas for conversation at the dinner table and even something to listen to in the car and each month has a different focus. I'm not sure where the material comes from, but we could probably get you hooked up! Blessings on your endeavors!
Your children are watching you live your everyday lives. They will see if you get too caught up in your 'service' and can resent that time spent away from them as well. It seems that you have a great balance of family time vs. 'service' time. Keep that up!
Just remember to love your wife like Jesus loved the church. Be happy that you 'get' to go to church and involve them in the church programs with their best friends.
As they grow, they will see what kind of mate they should look for, how to serve the body of Christ and have lifelong friends that will be able to help them through the rough times.
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