Some quotes from One Thousand Gifts  that make me think or say AMEN!

"Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering.  The converse does. The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world."

Wow, that grabbed me.  To help the suffering I need to choose joy? To help the suffering I need to be truth and grace and light.  Well now.  I need not choose suffering, to make a change.  Isn't that what Paul says in Phillippians 4:4-8?  Choose Joy.  How do I choose joy?  By focusing on the good, right, true, noble, pure.  Which when you boil it down... is God.

"That life is so urgent it necessitates living slow."

This is easier said than done.  It also seems contradictory.  But the point is you need to slow down, and pay attention to the details of life because that is where thanksgiving and joy are found.

" It is suffering that has the realest possibility to bear down and deliver grace."

Mmm, thought provoking.  This is beautiful and frightening.  I need to think about this one more and what that really means in my life.


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Choosing Joy

Have you read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp yet?  You totally should.  This post is about the book, and the thoughts it is triggering in me.  It's "part 1" because I'm only halfway through the book, and a review-ish will be happening on my other blog when I'm done.  But for now, I want to write these things here.

I love this book.  It makes me think.  She writes in a way that I can not.  She uses words beautifully.  But she uses more than I would.  The descriptions are distinct and it makes me feel like I am entering her world, which is very different from my own.  I had a hard time getting through the first chapter.  I really had to get used to the way she writes, because it is so different, but once I wrapped my brain around her writing, I really have enjoyed the book.

I told my mom, who has read it, twice, that I am torn between scarfing it down, or forcing myself to slow down and savor the writing and ideas.  Now, perhaps what someone else takes from this book will be slightly different from my reading, but for me, her decision to look for gifts and a focus on thankfulness translates in my brain and life to focusing on joy.

I have started to look for gifts, started my own list.  I'm not very far, and it's a hard discipline to develop, but it's good.  The gifts I'm finding are truly the thins that make me pause and smile.  And sometimes that make me smile in my heart, not just my face.  Things like midnight cuddles.  I'm not so happy about it in the moment, but the joy that I get from snuggling and comforting a sleepy, frightened child... that's joy.

Somethings are simple, lightening bugs on summer nights, children laughing together, the kids "reading" to each other.  Those are the easier ones to see.

I have learned that when you choose to focus on joy you have joy.  This intentionality, it makes the difference.  I am, by nature, an optimist, a romantic, I am always looking for the silver lining.  But when I intentionally focus on joy, it's different.

My senior year of college I was a Resident Assistant.  My partner and I chose Joy to be our hall's theme  for the year.  I believe that was the best decision we made that year.  By all accounts it should have been a very difficult year.  We had some theft problems, a "flood" on the 3rd floor out of a clogged toilet (YUCK!), and several other things that were going on that should have made us both frantic, stressed out maniacs who were sorry we had ever signed up for this job.  But we were focusing on joy.  That was probably the best year of my college experience.  I was not focused on the problems surrounding me, but the God who was big enough to handle them.  I wasn't worried about the things that should not have been happening, but on the joy of living aware that these are not defining incidents in my life.

All that to say that choosing joy, and thankfulness, and peace, which are all tied up together in my mind, makes life different.  It is this choosing joy that makes us stand out in a crowd.  Is it choosing joy that makes us holy?


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The Hand that rocks the cradle... Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about how Audrey Saint came and spoke at my Mom's group about grounding our families in the Word.  I also left it hanging about the most important part!  That came right at the end.  Audrey looked at us and said, I'm going to be radical here.  Then she suggested that we make a plan to have our children read through the whole Bible twice before they graduate from High School.  She suggested that the first time be from (roughly) ages 2 to 12 and then again from 12-18.

I love this idea.  It's new for me.  It is radical.  But, I think I'm ok with radical.  Especially if it's radical for Jesus.  I want my kids to be familiar with the Word of God.  I want them to have parts memorized. 

And, she wasn't totally saying that this is something that has to be done all at home.  Certainly it can be.  And it should be something that is encouraged at home.  But we were encouraged to keep a finger on what they were reading and learning in Sunday School and youth group.  Count that!  But the other part of this idea is being responsible for my children's spiritual training.  It is MY job.  Well, mine and Sid's, to make sure that Bruce and Stella are grounded, and rooted in faith.  Sunday school should be a supplement to what we are teaching at home, not the other way around. 

Audrey shared a sobering statistic.  Fewer than 1/20th of all Christian Families worship as a family outside of church. (Barna)  Wow.  That's less than 5 in 100.  And we're not really part of that 5.   Hmmp.Guess I better get on that. 

She talked about how opening the Bible begins a discussion.  Issues will come up during that time.  Questions, things that ae happening in their lives come out and are able to be discussed openly.  These times of conversation around the Word of God will produce fruit.  That's something I want! 

So, again.  What am I going to do?  Well, I'm gonna sit down with Sid and make a plan to get our kids through the Bible before they graduate.  I'm gonna sit down with Sid and see if we can figure out a good time to sit down and study the Bible together with the kids, at least 2x a week. 

I'm so thankful for the Godly women who are in my life, who challenge and encourage me.  Thanks, Audrey, for being faithful to share Godly principles and wisdom with us!

The hand that rocks the cradle...

Rules the world.  -- Napoleon Bonaparte

The name of the Young Mothers Group at my church is called Garlands of Grace.  There is a verse, but I'm not sure of the reference.  Anyway, we had a speaker come and talk to us last week (Nov. 2nd).  Her name is Audrey Saint, and she talked to us about Grounding our families in the Word.  It was excellent.  I've been mulling over some of what she said.

The thing that most stood out to me, that she said several times, was "be jealous for your kids."  I had never thought of it quite like that.  I mean, I knew I didn't want someone else to educate my kids. And I knew that I was primarily responsible for their spiritual development. And I knew a lot of things.  But to be jealous for my kids... that was a new idea for me.  I like it.

I am jealous for my husband. I get that.  I want his time, attention, and affection.  Why shouldn't I also be jealous for my kids?  Why shouldn't I be the one to teach them in the ways of the Lord?  Why shouldn't I be the one to teach them their academics?  I need to be jealous for their time and their hearts.

 She took us to Acts 17:26-27a.  Which says "And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him."  We talked about our boundaries and periods.  Our job is to help our children to seek God.  She talked about taking advantage of teachable moments.  I've been trying to do that with more purpose.  To really answer the questions. 

We talked about verses that describe what we want our children to be like.  Psalm 3 talks about a tree planted by a stream.  It grows strong and bears fruit in season. I want that for my kids.  We talked about really being purposeful!  She took us to Deuteronomy 6:6-8, of course.  You know, where it talks about teaching your children God's laws when you sit, stand, walk, lie down.  I knew that.  I love those verses. But one of the things she said was that you can't ground your kids if you aren't first grounded yourself!   Oh, yeah.

I love that we talked about honing your craft.  Audrey said if you had a job you would always be working to better yourself in your field.  Taking courses, or going to seminars, or reading the latest trade magazines.  That sort of thing.  This is no different.  Read books (good ones), and be purposeful.  Don't leave it to chance!

We discussed Bible reading, too.  As in DO IT. At. home.  And Dad too. In front of your kids. And WITH your kids.  From a real Bible.  Those little story books are all well and good, but they need to know that you think it is important enough to share with them from your Bible.    There is more. That, maybe, is the most important part.  But I think that will be a different post, for a different day.     

But to wrap up this enormously long post, What am I going to do with all this info?  Because it's one thing to HEAR good, sound, Biblical advice.  It's another thing altogether to follow it.

I am going to try to be more intentional about answering my kids questions Biblically, and making sure they understand that it's biblical. I am going to surround myself to the best of my ability with like-minded Christians.  I am going to try to make sure that my kids are hearing the Word of God regularly.  From my Bible or Sid's.