Preparing

I love the Christmas Season, don't you? Even more than Christmas Day itself, I love the preparation that precedes the big day! All the preparations may seem a little hectic, but they just seem to fit into the overall joy of the season. We prepare. But have you ever stopped to wonder what exactly we are preparing for? Sure, we prepare by shopping for the perfect gifts, getting the perfect tree, listening to our favorite Christmas music or watching out favorite Christmas TV shows. We prepare by decorating our houses with enough lights to be seen by the International Space Station. We prepare by scheduling family get-togethers that will build up enough "credit" so that we can avoid visits the rest of the year. We prepare. And prepare. And prepare. But what is it that we're really preparing for? And more importantly, what are our kids preparing for?  

Advent is a season of preparation. The first Sunday of Advent was Sunday 12/2, and will continue through Christmas Eve. I just finished writing and updating daily reflections for the first week of Advent on my other blog, Naked Theology, and will continue writing through the Advent Season. Basically, the word Advent comes from the Latin word "Adventus", which means "coming". It's a time of reflection and repentance as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ. It's a time for us to slow down and redirect our priorties on what truly matters in our lives. It's a time to remind ourselves that Christmas is not about all the "stuff" that goes with the season, but a time to remember the real reason we celebrate. 

Now, do we need to disregard all the decorations, gifts and festivities of the Christmas season? Of course not. Christmas is also a time of fun, especially for kids. But by meditating on the stories of Christmas through the Advent Season, it gives us and our children a daily reminder of what preparing is really all about. Are we preparing for the coming of Christ? Are we making straight paths for Him? Or are the paths blocked with packages, gifts, decorations and strings of lights?  Are we preparing?

Consider starting here:  Advent Reflections

New Stuff: A Back to School Devotion for Kids

Well, it's back to school time again! Can you believe that Summer is already over? Wow! It went by fast, didn’t it? A new school year can mean different things for different people. Some of us are

happy and some of us might be sad. Some of us might be feeling excited to see old friends and make new ones, and some of us might be a little sad that summer is over. You might even be a little scared about going back to school because of all the “new” things that you will have to face. You will have “new” teachers, “new” friends, and some of you might even be going to a “new” school. School is not always easy and when there are “new” things to experience, it can be even more challenging for all of us.

The beginning of a new school year is also a time when we see that many people around us seem to have “new stuff". Some people might have new clothes, a new phone or ipod, new backpack, new school supplies, and maybe even a new bike to ride to school. Sometimes we can get sad because other people have “new” things that we don’t have. When we see a lot of “new stuff", it can even make us a little angry because we want those things for ourselves. When we feel like this, it’s called “envy”. Envy is when we feel jealous of other people and want the things that they have. When we feel this way and compare ourselves to others that can lead to feelings of jealousy or sadness. Envy can also cause us to feel bad about ourselves because we don’t feel good enough.
 

Everyone feels like this sometime, but the problem with envy is that it can lead to feeling unhappy, sad and lonely. But the great thing is; we don’t have to feel this way! God wants us to know that “new stuff” is not always things that we can see or hold. By trusting in Him, He can give us a “new” way of seeing life and the world around us! Instead of being angry, he helps feel joy! Instead of feeling sad, he helps us find ways to feel happy! Instead of feeling lonely, he helps us feel like we’re not alone, even when no one else is around! And instead of feeling envy, God can help us feel happy for others and love them because of who they are, not what they have or don’t have! That’s a “new” way of seeing things, right?
 

By trusting in God, he gives us a new way of life that is not based on the things we have. The “new stuff” that God wants for all of us is on the inside. He wants us to love instead of hate. He wants us to share the things we have, even when we have just a little. He wants us to not be alone, but live together in families, schools, churches and all kinds of communities! God wants all of us to have “new stuff”, but most importantly, he wants us to have a “new life”!

He is Still Risen!

As we just celebrated another Easter with our children, and some of us in children's ministry, one thing became very clear to me this year: The Easter message is the sole reason that we teach. It all comes down to the Resurrection of Christ. It’s that simple. If it were not for this powerful fact, I would have no reason to write this blog and we would have no reason to teach children.

As we move on from Easter Sunday, let us remember that that He is STILL risen!  The same Resurrection power that radically changed the world is still as strong today as it has ever been! If we hold this truth in our hearts and live it with all that we are, it will come through in our teaching and parenting. We need to strive to make sure that this comes across to our children every day in their spiritual development. Easter is over and now we have set the stage for what the Resurrection is all about. As we move forward, we have the perfect opportunity to build on what salvation really means. Now we can focus on what God’s grace and love is all about.

Realistically, most of our children are not 100% clear on what a relationship with Christ is all about, nor can we be assured that all of them will come to Christ. But remember, it is not our job to "save" anyone; including our children. We like to carry that burden, don't we? But in realistically, it I only our job to be faithful, teach Christ, plant seeds and do our best to cultivate healthy soil. Let’s leave the "saving" up to God and love our children as much as we can. Teach them that He is STILL risen and that reality is just as powerful as it was over 2000 years ago.

Post Palm Sunday Reflections

Hosanna! The word translated means “Lord save us!” "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"  (Matthew 21:9 & Psalm 118)  Three days ago, we celebrated Palm Sunday.  Although we are moving toward Easter, I find myself still reflecting on Palm Sunday.  Can you imagine the excitement in Jesus' day? Can you imagine the electricity that must have been surging through the crowds of Jerusalem as Jesus approached on that first Palm Sunday? The culmination of Jesus’ ministry was coming together as the crowds praised the long hoped for Messiah! And Jesus’ acceptance of their praise left nothing hidden. He was who He claimed to be, and it appeared that the crowds seemed to understand exactly what was taking place. Passover was only five days away, and as they shouted the words of Psalm 118, one of the traditional Passover Psalms, everything seemed to be coming together with perfection!  Jerusalem was honoring their Messiah! Their King! Throwing their clothing to the ground before Him, they soon ran out and began covering His path with palm branches. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

And five days later, many of that exact same crowd, had Jesus beaten, humiliated, ridiculed, flogged and finally crucified on the cross. Have you ever asked yourself, “What happened!?” How could many of the same people that praised the coming of their King have changed their views so drastically?  How could their devotion be so quickly change to hatred?  Quite simply; things are not always as they appear. Even the disciples did not fully understand what was about to happen and the true reason Jesus entered Jerusalem. Not until He died and was raised from the dead did His followers, and a small number at that, realize what “Messiah” really meant.

My question for us this week is “Do we really understand what Messiah really means?” Do we sometimes expect Jesus to come riding in to save the day by wiping out enemies with one slash of His sword? Do we expect Him to take away all of our pains, troubles and hurts with one instantaneous prayer? Do we expect Him to establish the kingdom that we long for, or the kingdom that His will demands? Are we looking at a future victory, or celebrating in the victory that already is?

Many children were present as Jesus entered Jerusalem. They joined in the celebration, shouting "Hosanna!", running beside mom and dad or possibly perched atop Dad's shoulders. They heard the exaltation. They heard the praise. But a week later, they heard some of the same voices shouting, "Crucify him!" Can you imagine the confusion? And I wonder if today's children are just as confused by what they see and hear from adults and the Church today? We shouts praises to God on Sunday morning, but then when things don't work out they way we think they should, we respond with the proverbial "Crucify Him!"

I encourage you this week to celebrate Christ! Allow Him to be Messiah in your life, in your family, in your ministry and in your home. Celebrate when He triumphantly enters Jerusalem, and celebrate when He is nailed to the cross.

Time to Clean House!

Well, another winter has closed it's door, and we are well into another Springtime in Houston. For those of you who might be reading this from up north, we begin Spring a little sooner around here. Usually late February sees the last of the cold snaps and we begin to feel the first taste of what will soon be oppressive heat, humidity and another long Summer. And as we usher in warmer temperatures, there is one activity that we all seem to participate in to some degree: Spring cleaning!

Whether it's the the house or the yard, there is something about this time of year that causes that little cleaning "switch" to be flipped on, and we suddenly find new strength and motivation to tackle those jobs that have been put off since late September. It's almost ritualistic. All you have to do is walk outside on a Saturday morning and you'll see lawnmowers coming back to life, hedges being trimmed to reveal the houses that lay hidden behind them, and bags of mulch lining the flower beds, ready to be poured as the smell of manure fills the air! It's intoxicating! And before you know it, you have a rake in your hand, joining the troops of weekend warriors!

This year in particular, I've been pondering why we fall into this frenzy of Spring cleaning so quickly. What changes inside us that causes us to have renewed energy and motivation to begin this annual process? Is it just because the temperature is becoming more comfortable? Is it the smell of the flowers, grass and trees beginning to give birth to new life? Is it just a natural instinct that is implanted in our psyche that naturally aides us in keeping things organized and clean in our lives? Is it a little of everything? Well, one thing is for sure, we all begin to change, and this time of year it seems more apparent than others.

As we move closer to Holy Week and well into the forth week of Lent, I found myself reading the story of Jesus clearing the Temple in John, chapter 2. And it was no coincidence that I began to see the parallels to Spring cleaning. Just before Passover, Jesus makes His way into Jerusalem with His disciples. As He enters the Temple, He finds that the Jewish leaders, and people of the city have basically turned this holy place into a profit-making flea market. Animals were being sold for the required sacrifices for more than 25 times the normal cost, and money was being exchanged from Roman coins to temple currency at exorbitant rates. Needless to say, Jesus us furious by what He finds, and He decides to clean house!

Jesus grabs some rope, makes a quick homemade whip, and starts driving out the animals as well as the vendors. He turns the tables over and rebukes the money changers for ripping off the people of Jerusalem. Scripture says that Jesus had a deep passion for the Temple, after all, this building represented the very presence of God to the Jewish people. To Him, it was as if the leaders were trampling upon His Father with filthy shoes and spitting in His face.

Jesus knew what had to be done. Quite realistically, this had been going on for some time and Jesus finally reached the point of his ministry where He could no longer allow things to remain as they were. God's people had become complacent and apathetic toward the things of God, and much like we do in winter, they allowed firth to gather, inside and out.

I wonder if we are we any different. As with own homes, do we allow ourselves to be lulled into a complacent routine of spirituality? Do we ignore the dirt that has accumulated or just simply sweep it under the couch? Do we refuse to pay attention to the overgrown hedges and forget about the weeds that are beginning to choke the life out of newly forming grass? As winter drags on, I think we all do this to some extent. And as New Year resolutions begin to remain unresolved, we find that our spiritual lives have been left unkempt.

Over the next month or two, our kids will see us doing some Spring cleaning. They might even help lend a hand, and as with my own 2 boys, they will probably make more work for Mom and Dad as they "help"! But I see a two-fold teaching opportunity here. We can take the time to teach them about the importance "spiritual" Spring cleaning as well as a learning a good work ethic.  But we can also ties this into showing them the importance of "maintaining" our spiritual live as well as gardens and homes. Let's use this as a time to tell the story of Jesus cleaning house, and how we should share His passion of keeping our Temples clean.

And have fun while your at it! Wear sunscreen!

Praying WITH Your Children

Every once and a while, I feel like I'm a complete failure as a parent.  Have you been there?  Are you there now?  Have you ever felt like there are times when you just can't do anything right?  We get these great ideas and plans, try implementing them, but every single one of them seem to fall flat.  Our kids ignore us and seem completely complacent to what we are trying to teach them; especially when they become teens!  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying that we are always like this, but let's face it; there are times when we consider if we are accomplishing anything as they grow physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Well, this week has been one of those weeks for me.  Maybe it's because some kind of a bug has been going through our house and we've all been under the weather.  Maybe it's because we're still getting into the school routine.  Maybe it's because I have a 15 year old!  Maybe it's politics, the economy, the weather or all of the above. Either way, I don't think the reason is half as important as what I'm beginning to see as the solution.  It's something pretty obvious, pretty simple and I have to admit, pretty neglected in our home lately.

Praying with the kids in our lives is probably the single most important tool that we have at our disposal as parents, ministers and teachers.  Note that I said praying WITH your kids.  I know it feels uncomfortable sometime, especially when they see you screwing up all the time, right?  But the power of prayer in their lives is immeasurable as they learn to journey through this world and it accomplishes a lot more than you might think.  And they need to see it from you!

Here's four things that praying with children accomplishes:

1.  They receive the power of your prayer.  When you pray with them and for them, God's Spirit unites you with them and they receive the reality of Matthew 18:20 as the two of you come together.  Prayer is power!

2.  Praying with a children teaches them to pray, and here's the important point of this one.  Just be yourself!  Don't worry about being the "grown up" and having to have all the perfect words!  Just pray for them.  It teaches them the importance of just approaching God as they as.  Prayer is simple!

3.  Praying with children teaches and reminds you how to pray in general.  Praying with a child helps you realize that ALL of us are God's children and He wants us to come to Him just like that: a child.  Praying with kids helps you see that sometimes we need to simplify our spiritual lives and just be ourselves with God.  Just talk to Him.  That's all He asks from us in prayer.  Remember Matthew 18:3?  We need to be more like them!   

4.  Praying with kids helps to reveal God to them.  Many of the children that cross our paths have no concept of who God is.  We are in the midst of almost two generations of kids that are getting further and further away from the idea of who God is, what He is and how He works in our lives.  Most generations before, including mine, always had God incorporated in some aspects of life, culture and society.  Not so much anymore.  It's becoming rare that we see God connected to the everyday world.

Now go pray with your kiddos!  

Peace & Blessings!          
      

Creativity and Kids

I'm convinced that kids need to have as much freedom as possible to creatively express themselves, while they are learning and growing within God's framework. When we stifle creativity in kids, in many ways we are essentially stifling the working of God in their lives.  For whatever reason, whether intentional or not, when we place unnecessary restraints on kids, it makes their sphere of imagination and creativity much smaller.  And unfortunately, I think this is what happens to most of us.  When we were young, we looked at life with endless wonder and endless imagination.  Through a broad filter, we could create almost anything that our minds conceived.  Boxes became spaceships, gardens became battle fields, bathtubs became oceans and empty fields became sports arenas.  Creativity and imagination is limitless within the mind of a child, and essential to their understanding of God.

Faith in God is not finite, manageable or easily definable.  Faith is different from one person to the next, not always explainable or easy to concretely understand.  The older we get, the more barriers we construct that affect our faith in God.  Life becomes more rational and less imaginative.  We limit ourselves because we begin trying to rationalize faith and God in general.  When Jesus confronted this way of thinking He responded with, "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15  Basically, what he was saying is something like, "Stop trying to rationalize all of this!  Accept faith for what it is and be blown away by the mystery of it all!"  Kids get it!  We don't!   

When we begin to look at God and faith through a much simpler perspective, we open the limitless door of imagination and creativity and in essence, this expands our view of God.  Let's face it.  God is not tangible.  He's not easily figured out.  As hard as we try, He won't fit into the compartmentalized boxes that we build for our lives.  Only with great imagination can we begin to grasp that which is so incredibly difficult to grasp with our limited minds.  Kids see the world through eyes of wonder, and if they are going to build a healthy view of the wonderful world around them, they have to see Him with wonder as well.  Let us not allow ourselves to limit the imagination and creativity in the minds of the kids in our lives.  And if we pay attention, we might learn something from them as well.