Sunday, August 11, 2013
Inspiration Can Come from Strange Places
I'm doing something I thought that I would never do. I'm throwing away and selling the baseball cards that I have had for ~30 years. I wasted many hours collecting and buying baseball cards as a kid. But now I also can see that I have learned a lot about life by collecting baseball cards. As an adult, my love of baseball cards is not something I like to admit. It seems silly. But I can see that it's something I truly was passionate about - collecting, buying, selling, trading. Baseball cards inspired me to start this blog several years ago. When I started messing with them, even to throw some worthless 'commons' in the trash, it made me think. It makes me want to write again. While I'm trying to avoid getting 'into it' again, I also don't want to loose the lessons I'm learning. All this is to say, I'm going to let baseball cards inspire me to think and write about things that are far more important than cardboard. There is my apology and my admission that it seems a little weird, but oh well.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Idol of Appreciation
"Age of Opportunity" by Paul Tripp, is a book about parenting teens. I have four teens at the moment; and in a few years I'll have even more.
He asks us as parents, what are your idols? What do we worship? Do we do things, above all, to be praised, to be respected, or to be comfortable? What really rules our hearts? Our hearts will rule our actions.
I'm struck by how this relates to appreciation. It can be easy to get frustrated when kids don't seem to appreciate all of the blessings they have. Why don't they wake every morning and say how thankful they are for all that we do for them?
"Children should appreciate their parents. Yet being appreciated cannot be our goal. When it becomes the thing we live for, we will unwittingly look with hyper-vigilant eyes for appreciation in every situation.... If parents have forgotten their own vertical relationship with God as they've ministered to their teens, if they think of it as an 'I serve, you appreciate' contract between parent and child, they will struggle with lots of discouragement and anger during the teen years.... Parents need to ask, "Whose desires rule the moments of opportunity with my teenager - God's or mine?"
The point is that we should not get discouraged if kids show a lack of gratitude - the kind that we dream of or wish for when it's really a pat on the back we want. Yes, as parents its very easy to see the bigger picture - to see how great they really have it, how much we sacrifice for them, and how much has been given to them. It's easy for them (and all of us) to take things for granted.
How often to we feel like they owe us something? That's that wrong attitude.
Jesus teaches that we are to give to those who can't give in return, for what credit is it to us if we give to those who can give in return, for even sinners do the same. If this applies to enemies and those outside the family, it certainly applies within. We are to be merciful even to those who are unthankful, because we are to be like our Father.
"The Most High is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your father also is merciful." L6:35.
the empty mind
"You don't need money. What's money if your mind is empty? Educate your mind."
"They believed that money without knowledge was worthless, that education tempered with religion was the way to climb out of poverty in America, and over the years they were proven right."
-the Color of Water.
"They believed that money without knowledge was worthless, that education tempered with religion was the way to climb out of poverty in America, and over the years they were proven right."
-the Color of Water.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Arrogant Anticipation of Gratitude
"But then I gradually being understanding how prejudiced we are with expectations of the poor. My arrogant anticipation of grattitude kills the goodness of the deed. She is hungry, exposed and sick; yet I resist reaching out, because she might not welcome me. Which one of us is truly sick?"
p.15 MM
Friday, December 10, 2010
Like Visiting an Old Friend
It has been a very long time since I have even visited this old friend called my blog. This evening we were looking for the movie the Grinch and it made me think of the quote posted here in May when we were having some hard days adjusting. I do miss these moments of reflection. Perhaps I'll try again. I remembered my password; that's a good start.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Family Life: A Heavenly Perspective
I have had some interesting conversations with Jubilee about family recently. As I was reading about the church, the body of Christ, in Corinthians, the relevance to family life was striking. I changed the topic to family. Hands and feet became children, and this became the message to mine.
For as our family is one and has many people, but all the members of that one family, being many, are one family, so also is Christ. For by one God we were all brought into one family - whether white or black, whether American or Ethiopian - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact our family is not one person, but many. If BK should say, 'because I am not Mads, I am not of this family,' is she therefore not of the family? And if Jubilee should say, 'because I am not Bron, I am not of this family,' is she therefore not of the family? If the whole family were BK, where would K-man be? If the whole were K-man, where would Ed be?
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the family just as He pleased. And if they were all one person, where would the family be?
But now indeed there are many people, yet one family. And Nes cannot say to Omega, 'I have no need of you;' nor again Dad to SoSo, 'I have no need of you.' No, much rather, those members of the family which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the family which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our weaker members have greater modesty, but our presentable members have no need.
But God composed the family, having given greater honor to that member which lacks it, that there should be no division in the family, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one person suffers, all the members suffer with him; or if one person is honored, all the members rejoice with her.
Now you are the Schus, and members individually. And God has appointed these in our family: some sprinters, some long distance runners, some gymnasts, some good students; after that artists, and swimmers. Some have the gifts of gab, helping, or organizing, and to others varieties of language. Are all gymnasts? Are all long distance runners? Are all organized? Are all dancers? Do all have the gift of gab? Do all speak two languages? Are we all the same? But earnestly desire these gifts.
And yet I show you a more excellent way. LOVE. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Follow after love, and desire spiritual gifts.
For as our family is one and has many people, but all the members of that one family, being many, are one family, so also is Christ. For by one God we were all brought into one family - whether white or black, whether American or Ethiopian - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact our family is not one person, but many. If BK should say, 'because I am not Mads, I am not of this family,' is she therefore not of the family? And if Jubilee should say, 'because I am not Bron, I am not of this family,' is she therefore not of the family? If the whole family were BK, where would K-man be? If the whole were K-man, where would Ed be?
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the family just as He pleased. And if they were all one person, where would the family be?
But now indeed there are many people, yet one family. And Nes cannot say to Omega, 'I have no need of you;' nor again Dad to SoSo, 'I have no need of you.' No, much rather, those members of the family which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the family which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our weaker members have greater modesty, but our presentable members have no need.
But God composed the family, having given greater honor to that member which lacks it, that there should be no division in the family, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one person suffers, all the members suffer with him; or if one person is honored, all the members rejoice with her.
Now you are the Schus, and members individually. And God has appointed these in our family: some sprinters, some long distance runners, some gymnasts, some good students; after that artists, and swimmers. Some have the gifts of gab, helping, or organizing, and to others varieties of language. Are all gymnasts? Are all long distance runners? Are all organized? Are all dancers? Do all have the gift of gab? Do all speak two languages? Are we all the same? But earnestly desire these gifts.
And yet I show you a more excellent way. LOVE. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Follow after love, and desire spiritual gifts.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
But What Would I Wear?
Given some of the recent challenges we have had with Jubilee, the following quote from the Grinch has whole new meaning. We were watching the movie this afternoon, and several of us could not stop laughing at this part:
"The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there, Oh and on such short notice.
Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it.
4:00 Wallow is self pity
4:30 Stare into the abyss
5:00 Solve world hunger... tell no one
5:30 Jazzercise
6:30 Dinner with me (I can't cancel that again)
7:00 Wrestle with my self-loathing
Oh, I'm booked.
Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9:00 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and slip slowly into madness.
But what would I wear? "
We also talked about the part where the Grinch tries to scare away Cindy Lu Who. Of course it didn't work.
Sometimes when we try to scare people away and they are not scared of us, we become friends. Jubilee said that she was like him sometimes. I assured her that we were not scared away. We smiled and continued watching.
"The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there, Oh and on such short notice.
Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it.
4:00 Wallow is self pity
4:30 Stare into the abyss
5:00 Solve world hunger... tell no one
5:30 Jazzercise
6:30 Dinner with me (I can't cancel that again)
7:00 Wrestle with my self-loathing
Oh, I'm booked.
Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9:00 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and slip slowly into madness.
But what would I wear? "
We also talked about the part where the Grinch tries to scare away Cindy Lu Who. Of course it didn't work.
Sometimes when we try to scare people away and they are not scared of us, we become friends. Jubilee said that she was like him sometimes. I assured her that we were not scared away. We smiled and continued watching.
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