Christmas According to Charlie Brown

"Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?" The classic quote from the timeless, A Charlie Brown Christmas, resonates with all of us and takes us back to a simpler time. Most of us have seen it over 100 times, but it still seems to make the Christmas season complete and help us to focus on the true meaning of the holiday. Overwhelmed with the commercialism of Christmas, our friend Charlie Brown finally hits the breaking point. Lifting his hands in desperation, he raises his voice and makes his yuletide plea! "Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?" What timely words for me as I woke up this morning. And it made me wonder how many people ponder this same question.

I've been spending a lot of time just meditating on Christmas. This morning, my thoughts were much more vivid than usual. Not so much the "stuff", but just on what this time of year is supposed to mean to me. I have to admit, I've been a little jaded this year. For some reason, the commercialism seems to be more prevalent than it ever has been. The constant inundation of advertising at Christmas time, can cause many of us to slip into an almost mechanistic mindset that sends us forth in a spending whirlwind. We are inundated and it's almost impossible to avoid being sucked into the deception. But it's not just the shopping. We are inundated visually too: Christmas lights, store displays, television commercials, presents, our favorite TV shows, etc. etc. etc. The list is almost endless! If we are pushed to the limits of sensory overload, imagine what this does to our children?

Charlie Brown felt these same frustrations. Not experiencing the joy that he thought he was supposed to feel, he begins a quest to find the true meaning of Christmas. He seeks the psychological expertise of Lucy, but to no avail. He gets plugged into directing the school's Christmas play, but finds more frustration than he had before. Trying as he might to connect the dots, Charlie Brown finds more confusion and less peace. Finally, our ol' pal has had enough and with desperation and great passion, he cries out to his friends, "Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?!" Silence. He waits. I can feel it! He's desperately hoping that the light will come on and he will finally realize what he's been seeking.

And then the answer. Linus, always well beyond years, walks up and offers the answer that seems to clear the fog: "Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please."

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:8-14)

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown".

Pretty simple, huh? No commercials. No lights. No decorations. No elaborate dinners. No presents. Just the eternal truth of Christmas and the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ. Peace. Joy. Salvation. Like a knife, it cuts through the junk and speaks to our souls. This is the truth that our children need to hear from us. This is the truth that will resonate in their souls and convict them of what Christmas is really all about. But it takes us, as parents and teachers, to be willing to communicate that truth, not just in our words, but in our actions as well. I mean, let's face it; we all feel like Charlie Brown from time to time. But when we are overwhelmed preparing for Christmas, look back to these simple words, from a simple and nostalgic Christmas TV show. Slow down. Listen to Linus.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Thankfullness & Contentment

Thanksgiving? What's that? As we hurtle toward Christmas, I am amazed at how early we are inundated with the festive holiday marketing. Every year, it seems earlier and earlier that stores begin packing their isles with decorations, displays and Christmas themed products. This year it was well before Halloween, which makes me sometimes think that we are gradually moving toward one single Fall “Holiday Season”, rather than three individual celebrations. Thanksgiving is basically rolled over by the Christmas steam engine. Just a low profit holiday stuck between Halloween and Christmas. And I must admit, despite my frustration of the over marketing of Christmas, even in Christian stores, I get sucked into the web of consumerism that business weaves so strategically. What “stuff” do I want this year? What kind of cool “stuff” can I buy for my boys? How many more lights can I get on my house? How much larger of a tree can we squeeze into the living room? How can we make this the best Christmas so far? And before I know it, I’m spending more than I should and feeling less content.

Many years ago, my parents gave me an inspirational picture for Christmas that I hung in my office. The peaceful image was of a golden sunset silhouetted by a man in a kayak rowing across a calm, glassy lake. The picture was titled “Contentment” and the caption read, “When you can look at the past with pride and the future with hope, you can live comfortably with today”. It was'nt until many years later that I realized how true these words really are. The apostle Paul knew very well the true meaning of contentment and we see this repeated throughout many of his letters in the New Testament.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13).

From these words, we see that Paul understood that we have no real control over the past or the future. The only period of time that we can physically live within is the present. And our present situations in life can only be made peaceful through a complete surrender to God. The secret of contentment which Paul speaks of, lies in the last verse. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Paul reaffirms this understanding in his first letter to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Paul again links the secret of contentment to God. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” He then goes on to teach us that our physical possessions have nothing to do with our contentment. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” And doesn't this seem to be what being "thankful is all about"? No wonder marketers don't want to focus on Thanksgiving! We might not spend as much because we are content with what we have!

But as we begin our plans for Christmas, let's not forget take a break and actually give thanks for what God has done in our lives. Observe Thanksgiving and take some time to discuss your blessings with your children. Help them to understand what it means to be thankful and who we are thankful to. Let us help them to see that contentment does not lie in all the "stuff" of life. Contentment lies in being "thankful" for what God has given us each day; whether good or bad; whether a lot or just a little. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

21st Century Abram

Abram wakes up on Monday morning feeling a little uneasy. Maybe it was a bad dream. Maybe he just didn't get the sleep he needed. Maybe he's coming down with something. Who knows. He ritualistically walks into the kitchen, pours himself a cup of coffee and tosses a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. He sits down with his Bible and begins to read through a few Psalms for daily guidance, but he just can't escape the uneasy feeling he awoke with. What's going on? He begins to pray, but only hears silence. He meditates on God and what He has been doing in his life, his career, his family; but Abram just can't seem to shake the feeling that something is just not right. The sun is peeking through the window. He finishes his toast. The coffee is cold. His heart is cold. Why?

He gets into his car, leans back, adjusts his seat, takes a deep breath and heads for work. He begins to feel a little more comfortable about his day, after all, Abram loves his job and has reached a point in his career that he feels very good about. He makes a very good income and has acquired a level of success that affords him and his family a more comfortable living than he ever imagined. God has been good and Abram knows that well.

Abram works just outside of his hometown, and as he approaches the exit to his office building, he passes a sign that he has seen a thousand times. But this morning, something strikes him to the core of his being. "Leaving Haranburg". The uneasiness returns. His heart races, as well as his mind. His hands start to sweat as he grips the steering wheel, and before he knows it, Abram is pulling off to the side of the road. "Leaving Haranburg...Leaving Haranburg" He repeats this in his mind over and over. What does this mean? "God, what are you up to? Why did this common sign, that I pass each morning, cut into the normality of my commute? Am I losing it? Am I cracking up? God speak to me!?" And God does speak. Does he ever!

"Abram, sell everything that you can't get into this Land Cruiser. Sell your home and everything else that you can't take with you, and turn in your resignation today. Leave your friends, family, get your wife and children, get on I-45 and start driving. I'll show you where you are going." I'm sorry...WHAT?

This sounds a little different with a modern perspective, doesn't it? A little scary? A little crazy? Unrealistic? Irresponsible? But that was the lot (pun intended!) that Abram faced in Genesis 12. Abram left it all to follow the God he believed in and trusted. He gave up much of his wealth, family and security, to follow the uncertainty. The unknown. The ridiculous. The senseless. But despite all this, he remained faithful and followed the promises of God. He walked the walk. Relied on faith.

Our ways are not His ways. Our plans are not His plans. Does God still lead us into uncertain, and sometime cathodic situations? Just look around you. Take an inventory of your life and see what kinds of things have happened in your life. The pieces may fit together today, but more than likely, they didn't at one time. And if you haven't been tested like Abram was, the chances are that you will be someday. You will because His ways are not our ways. His plans are not our plans.

When we teach children the story of Abram (Abraham), let us be sure that we focus on the similarities of modern day. God still leads us where we don't want to go from time to time. He still brings us through uncomfortable situations because His ways are not our ways. His plans are not our plans. These are uncertain times that we live in, and our children will be facing many uneasy stages of life. They may never have to make radical life changes like God led Abram to make, but what matters most is that we are building the foundations of faith that they will be able to stand on. As teachers, as parents, our job is it instill the values of faith and what it really means to trust in a God that is real. No matter what sacrifices and challenges our children face, they need to know deep within the essence of their soul, that God will show them what they need to do. Where they need to go.

The Birth of Laughter

Do we laugh enough today? Do we laugh with our children enough? Do they see us laughing? Laughter is a good thing, isn't it? Laughter is a blessing. It's a release. It's healing. It's joy. It's natural. It's life. Have you ever found yourself in one of those brief moments of life when you are so filled with joy, that you just start laughing? One of those times where you are having so much fun that laughter just seems to pour out of you uncontrollably? It might not happen very often, but it creeps up from time to time, doesn't it?

I love watching little babies or toddlers laugh! You know the laugh I'm talking about. That little repetitious, giggling, vibrating, almost mechanical, uncontrollable laugh! You can't help but get caught up in it and begin laughing yourself! It doesn't matter what the child is laughing at! It's contagious! And when you think about it, children laugh a lot, don't they? It's almost as if they instinctively have the disposition to laugh at almost anything. Maybe they know something we don't, and laugh at how goofy we can be as moms and dads? I don't know!

But one thing I have learned as a parent; kids teach us to laugh more often than we do on our own. It's a huge factor of raising kids, just as much as crying! And the one thing that it does more than anything else is that it "connects". It bonds us together with our kids because we share in a moment of joy that is pure and real. In fact, I would go so far as to say that these are divine moments that come from God, and is the kind of joy in life that He longs for all of us to have all the time.

The Hebrew meaning of the name Issac is "he will laugh", "he laughs" or just "laughter". In Genesis 21:1-6, we read a little story about the birth of baby named Issac. He was born to an old couple named Abraham and Sarah as a promise to Abraham from God. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. But there were a couple of problems with this promise. Abraham and Sarah were old timers! Well beyond the age that most of us start trying to have kiddos! And this would be their FIRST baby! Why? Sarah was unable to carry a child! Kind of makes it difficult to fulfill this promise, huh? In fact, what does Sarah do when Abraham tells her about this promise from God, besides "what have you been smoking?" You guessed it! She LAUGHS!

But there's more to the meaning of Issac's name than Sarah's initial "laugh". When Issac finally comes into the world, she laughs again. But this time, it's not out of disbelief or bewilderment. She laughs because her joy is overflowing! It's almost as if she realizes in the instance of Issac's birth, the reason that God chose his name! God had done what He had promised and she is overwhelmed with joy! Can you imagine the joy that they felt at that moment in time? "Laughter" was born! Uncontrollable. Overflowing. Divine.

Back to the Basics

Lately, I've been reading through the Gospel of Mark. In Mark 10:15, Jesus basically tells us that unless we have faith like little kids, we won't get into Heaven. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty sobering thought! Sometimes I think that grownups make faith more complex than a Stephen Hawking book! And I guess that's what caught my attention in this verse. I like stuff like this because it's simple. Simple is peaceful. Simple takes the pressure off. Sometimes it's good to get back to the simple basics of our faith, isn't it? Have you noticed that when we take a break from deep theological concepts, we seem to find a deeper understanding of faith? We seem to have a refreshing view of what faith is all about and how simple it really is. I think this is one of the main reasons why I enjoy teaching children.

In the pages of Genesis, we see the themes of creation, human rebellion and sin, God's judgment and His grace, God's covenant with mankind, and the first hints of the message of salvation. These concepts are what the Christian faith is built upon. When you think about it, all of redemptive history comes down to the first books of the Bible. Understanding the story of creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah and the flood and Abraham are so critical to our understanding of the New Testament and what Christ's death on the cross was really all about.

So here we are, finishing up the first quarter of Good News Club, and we've talked about a lot of stuff! We've talked about how God created the world around us. We talked about how God created these strange things called "people", and how they screwed up, but God gave them another chance to make it work with a weirdo named Noah. In the weeks to come, we'll be moving into a five lesson series on the "Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the upcoming blogs, I want us as parents to meditate on a few things together: What do all these Old Testament stories have to do with Christianity? How can we use these stories in bringing children closer to a healthy relationship with God? How can these stories bring children to a deeper level of understanding of their faith, and further along in their spiritual development?

It's one thing for our children to know the stories, but to know how they connect with their faith in Christ is how they will begin to see that their faith is real. They will begin to see that faith in God is not just something we do at church on Sunday or at Good News Club. Rather, they will begin to see that faith is who they are.

Noah - Stepping Out on Faith

How have you stepped out in faith this week? What's holding you back? How can we teach our children what it means to have real, active faith?

Walking with God

We all want good relationships in our lives, right? Most of us strive to develop relationships and make noble efforts, but it’s not always easy. We live in a fast-paced culture, and unfortunately relationships get put on the back burner, or the microwave for that matter. But spend a few minutes thinking about the people who are closest to you in life, and then ask yourself why. What is it that makes those relationships stand out? If we really desire close relationships, it requires that we do a few things to make it work, right? We have to spend time with the other person. We have to make an effort to not only talk to that person, but we have to listen to them as well. We also have to do things that are important to the other person. And most importantly, when times are hard, we need to stand by the other person, no matter what the circumstances are. If you neglect one or more of these areas, chances are the relationship is not going to be as strong as you would hope it would be.

Now think about you relationship with God and ask yourself the same questions. Ouch! Let’s face it. If we’re honest, I’m afraid that many of us would have to admit that on occasion, we might have more of an acquaintance with God rather than a true relationship. Sure, we go to church, maybe a small group, we might check in with Him a few times a day and read a little bit of our Bible. But when it comes to actually building a relationship, we might as well be building a skyscraper. God might be in the same room, but do we actually walk with Him during our day?

Kids are no different. They long to have healthy relationships with people, as well as with God. They may not understand everything about faith, but it’s almost as if they instinctively have an attraction to God and things of God. Walking with God was the theme of our lesson last week and came from a very obscure little passage in Genesis. In Genesis 5:21-24, we are introduced to a guy named Enoch; the great, great, great, great grandson of Adam and the Father of the oldest living person on record; Methuselah. It is said that Methuselah was 969 years old when he died. Hence, the reason many folks shout, “Get out of the way, Methuselah!”, when they find themselves behind a slow elderly driver in the fast lane!

As we read through Genesis 5, we find that it is nothing more than a family tree from Adam to Noah. It begins with Adam and moves on through his family line something like this: “When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. And after he became the father of Kenan….” Well, you get the point? It goes on like this through chapter 5 and ends with the birth of Noah and his sons. For 32 verses you can read the same repetition of Adam’s lineage, line after line. In fact, I had a theology teacher in high school that made us write out this chapter 50 times for punishment! I think I had it memorized at one time!

But in verse 21, something stands out that causes us to pause. There’s a break in the repetition. Something is different. “When Enoch became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

We know very little about Enoch, other than what we just read. But the one thing that stands out, and speaks us today about our relationship with God, is that Enoch walked with God. In a culture that had for the most part turned its back on God, Enoch’s priority was on serving God before anything else in life. A person that “walked with God” practiced a lifestyle that was radically different from most people. Their faith was a holistic way of life rather than a regimented system of following the rules.

This week, I spent a lot of time thinking about Enoch, and what it really means to walk with God in our culture. I spent a lot of time thinking about our kids, and how much more difficult it will be for them to walk with God as they grow older. I also spent some time wondering what kind of example I am for my two boys. It’s not easy, but our children watch us very closely and they notice what kind of lives we live. When you get right down to it, the best example of what it means to walk with God is not Enoch; Its Mom and Dad.

Walk with God, Moms and Dads!

Marc Driscoll's Family Dinner Devotions Method

Do you have trouble finding time to have family devotions? When you do, do you face the frustration of wondering what to do? Does it work? Are the kids getting it? Well, I found this approach from Marc Driscoll that seems very realistic and effective. Give it a try, and let me know what kind of results you get! Marc Driscoll is Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, founder of the Acts 29 Network, author and speaker.

Step 1 - Eat dinner with your entire family regularly.

Step 2 - Mom and Dad sit next to one another to lead the family discussion.

Step 3 - Open the meal by asking if there is anyone or anything to pray for.

Step 4 - Someone opens in prayer and covers any requests. This task should be rotated among family members so that different people take turns learning to pray aloud.

Step 5 - Start eating and discuss how everyone’s day went.

Step 6 - Have a Bible in front of the parents in a translation that is age-appropriate for the kids’ reading level. Have someone (parent or child) open the Bible, and assign a portion to read aloud while everyone is eating and listening.

Step 7 - Parents should note key words and themes in the passage and explain them to the kids on an age-appropriate level.

Step 8 - Ask questions about the passage. You may want to begin with having your children summarize what was read—retelling the story or passage outline. Then, ask the following questions: What does this passage teach us about God? What does it say about us or about how God sees us? What does it teach us about our relationships with others?

Step 9 - Let the conversation happen naturally, listen carefully to the kids, let them answer the questions, and fill in whatever they miss or lovingly and gently correct whatever they get wrong so as to help them.

Step 10 - If the Scriptures convict you of sin, repent as you need to your family, and share appropriately honest parts of your life story so the kids can see Jesus’ work in your life and your need for him too. This demonstrates gospel humility to them.

Step 11 - At the end of dinner, ask the kids if they have any questions for you.

Step 12 - If you miss a night, or if conversation gets off track, or if your family occasionally just wants to talk about something else, don’t stress—it’s inevitable.

Worship: Are you "Abel"?

This morning, I was reading through Genesis 4:1-16, the story of Cain and Abel. I've read through these words hundreds of times and never really applied them to myself in a practical way. Sure, we see how jealousy can destroy lives and we see how anger can utterly consume us. But is there something deeper to this story? What does this really say to us in the 21st century? And more importantly, what can we teach our children through this story? Well, here's my thought.

If you really listen to the words of this story, it focuses on one primary thing: Worship. It has everything to do with proper worship of God and less to do with a man killing his brother. Cain and Abel had both prepared sacrifices to God. Basically, Cain brought God some heads of grain and Abel gave God some animal fat. God seemed to like Abel's sacrifice, but not so much Cain's. Was it because Abel shed blood for God? Probably not, because the sacrificial system had not been established yet. Was it because Abel's sacrifice was worth more monetarily? Probably not. More than likely, both sacrifices would have been worth equal amounts. Actually, I think it had less to do with their sacrifices, and more to do with their intentions.

You see, I think that what we are looking at here is a heart issue. Abel came to God with a heart of thanksgiving and praise for what God had done in his life. He brought to God the best sacrifice that he could possibly think of. He was overflowing with thanks to God and in an act of worship, he gave God his best. Cain, on the other hand, simply gave God a sample of what his crops produced. He was acting in a manner of obligation, in hopes that God would continue to bless his life. His heart wasn't right with God.

God wants the best that we have to offer Him, not out of obligation, but because of who He is. He wants us to overflow with praise and worship to the point that we feel we cannot give enough! Unfortunately, many of us are not much different than Cain. We come to church and worship a God that resembles Santa Claus, because He's gonna find out whose naughty or nice, right? We look at worship in terms of what's in it for us, not what we can give to God. But, imagine how radical kids lives would change if they grasp this very basic concept or worship! Imagine the blessings that could be poured upon them if they begin to worship God like Abel! Imagine the impact on culture, if we could raise a generation of children that worship God with ALL they have and bring Him the BEST they possibly can! Imagine!

Adam, Eve, You, Me and God

Teaching children stories from the Old Testament is not always easy, is it? Hey, I admit it! When I served as a Children’s Pastor one of my biggest struggles was how to present a curriculum that would teach kids the essentials of the Old Testament without causing them to stare out the window or want to skip Children’s Worship altogether! Equally frustrating was encouraging my teaching team through our Old Testament levels without getting that much dreaded call, “We really need a break from teaching for a while.” But this got me thinking, and I might have an answer to this. Have you ever noticed that when we teach children the stories of the Old Testament, we tend to kind of focus more on the stories, the people and the events, rather than focusing on God? We focus on the “creation”, but less on the “creator”. We like to focus on the cuddly animals, the cozy ark, Noah and his family waving from the windows, but we sheepishly shy away from God’s judgment. We focus on Adam and Eve, apples and a mean green snake that creeps out from under a tree, but we shy away from the seriousness of the fall of man, and how we suffer for it today. In a way, we focus more on what man has done, rather than what God has done.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking fire and brimstone here! I’m not saying that we need to scare kids into the kingdom of God. Teaching kids is, and should be, fun! We don’t have to throw out all the cute stuff and there are some Biblical issues that kids just can’t handle within their spiritual development. We still need to teach on their level and makes things fun and applicable to their age and learning level. But after teaching this week’s lesson on Adam and Eve, I came to a conclusion that I wanted to share with you.
When you get right down to it, I think that we sometimes feel that the events of the Old Testament are just too difficult to understand, complex and quite frankly, boring for children. We look over an Old Testament story or lesson and our first reaction is, “No way! This is too deep for kids to grasp. I don’t even get this myself? Why can’t we just stick with the stories about Jesus? They understand that stuff!” And what happens? We inadvertently cut off the nose to spite the face. We break scripture down into Cliff's Notes Versions of what “we” think they can understand. And in essence, we compartmentalize God’s Word, without linking it to redemptive history and ultimately to Christ.

Let’s look for a moment at the story of Adam and Eve. Our first reaction might be to focus our lesson on the “man” and the “woman”, what they looked like, what the animals and Garden of Eden looked like and maybe how they functioned within creation. We might focus on what they did, how thy lived and how they related to one another, and to God. And these are all very significant issues in helping us contextualize the story. But let’s briefly take a different approach to this. What is the emphasis of this story? What do you think the author of Genesis really wanted to get across? What did God want to communicate as He spoke through Moses? Well, here’s my thought.

I think the intended emphasis is not really on the “creation”, but the “creator”. The greatness, creativity and power of God! Through His divine power, God brought all of this into being, and we had nothing at all to do with it. And guess what? We still don't. And that’s OK! But let's go a step further. How did God create Adam? Did He simply speak him into being as He did with the rest of creation? No! God personally, intricately and specifically formed Adam out of the earth. And then we see a very distinguishing action that isolates man as the pinnacle of God’s creation: He “breathed” life into Adam! This is not only a physical creation. This is the creation of a spiritual being from the very breath of God! There is so much more here than just physical creation. No other part of God’s creation received this designation.

But the story doesn't end there. God sends a procession of animals before Adam, so that he can give them all names. Was that the only reason that God produced this circus like parade? I don’t think so. I think that the main reason God called on Adam to name the animals was for him to say, “Hey, God? I don’t think any of these are going to work for me? I may be wrong, but I can’t see myself making more of “me” with these things. They’re cool! They’re awesome! But they’re not quite like “me. Something’s missing...” God may have whispered, “Adam, you’re exactly right! Let’s fix that.” And he did!

So, as we teach children about the events of the Old Testament, let us be encouraged and excited by the simplicity of these stories. When we keep the focus on God and His works of creation, children will understand. They will see that the awesome God of the universe created all that we see, and we are really just bystanders to His power and glory. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty cool!


(Art - "Adam & Eve" - Oil on wood by Christina Saj, 1996. www.christinasaj.com)

Beginnings

As I sit down to write this first blog entry, I realize that we have a lot of "beginnings" going on with Good News Club at Hyde, don't we? I'm sure that you've noticed some of them by now. New leaders? New meeting time? New meeting place? New blog? We're not confusing you too much, are we? Trust me; it's been a big adjustment for all of us. But man, has it been exciting! I don't know about you, but when things are changing a lot in my life, I tend to get a little stressed out. But through the chaos and instability, one thing seems to always remain clear: I can't do much of anything without God. Change is a great reminder of humility. When things begin to spin out of control faster than we can keep up with, change reminds us that we really have no control. And that reminds me just how big God really is.

Appropriately enough, our first 5 weeks of Good News Club are titled "Beginnings". We started off by looking at Hebrews 11:3, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command,". Why do we have this faith? Pretty simple, when you think about it, right? Just look at the "beginnings"! Genesis 1:1 tells us that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." God created. Out of nothing, God made the elaborate system of life that we now see spinning around us. Thousands of years have passed. People have come and gone. Nations have risen and fallen. Technology advances faster each day. Life. Death. Change. And guess what? We still have faith that after all is said and done, the earth and universe around us, were created by God. Nothing changes that simple fact.

When was the last time that you just went out into nature and soaked in God's creation? When was the last time you just concentrated on something as simplistic as tree in your backyard, the sand on the beach or a bird sitting on a branch? More importantly, when was the last time you did one of these things with your kids? I find that when I experience nature with my children, I get a new appreciation of it's simplicity and complexity as well. Through a child's eye, we get a fresh look at creation and the unconditional acceptance that God was behind it all.

One time I was sitting in the back yard with my youngest son, watching a woodpecker on a branch of the neighbors tree. I began to be astounded at the complexity of the woodpecker and how it's anatomy is so incredibly constructed. I began to rattle off all these scientific facts about how the woodpecker's head is intricately made and how the amount of energy created from each peck should cause the birds head to explode...but it doesn't! There is this delicate system protecting the bird's head: it's extra long tongue wraps around the inside of its head, and it's head has muscles that acts like shock absorbers... they have these ocular protective mechanisms that keep their eyes from popping out, and on and on I went! Then I said to my son, "Isn't that amazing? Wow! How can anything like that just evolve from nothing?" And without hesitation, my theologian son said, "It didn't! God just made it that way!"

God just made it that way. Pretty cool wisdom from the mouths of babes! This week, I encourage you to spend some time in God's creation. Don't make a big deal about it. Just look, listen, smell and talk about what you see with your kiddos. Think about the fact that at one brief point in time, God spoke creation into being and the after-effects are swirling around as we speak, or type, on a complex and intricately made laptop! But this has nothing on the woodpecker!