Snowmaggedon 2014. Snowpocalypse 2014. Snowpalooza 2014.
Whatever you call, it snowed here in T-town yesterday. At least two inches in my yard. I have driven in much larger amounts of snow. Gripping the wheel. On interstate traffic, near the Baltimore beltway. And yesterday I felt the same sort of panic driving through icy, snow-covered roads that had no salt, no dirt to prevent accidents. Watching drivers right in front of me, sliding as they lost control. I didn't see anyone go into a ditch, or anyone get into a wreck. But there were plenty around. I think the sense of panic was not just with me, but with so many others who wanted to get home, who didn't want to get stranded.
What do you do in those moments? Other than get mad at your daughter when she calls and starts talking about the fact that she wants you to turn around because she's having too much fun? Pray.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Conversations with KK
This is the conversation I just had, minutes ago, with KK.
Me: "I'm going to go get groceries for dinner."
KK: "You're making dinner? What are you making? It better be good."
Me, with atttitude: "Did you just say that?"
KK: "Was that bratty?"
Me: "YES."
KK: "What are you making?"
Me: "Some Indian food."
KK: "Mom, I don't waaannnt Indian food. Why didn't you make this the other night when we had guests?"
Me: "You're going to like it."
KK: "I think I'm just going to go get Subway."
Me, with attitude: "You're going to eat it, and you're going to like it."
Yeah, you better not get huffy with me, kid.
Me: "I'm going to go get groceries for dinner."
KK: "You're making dinner? What are you making? It better be good."
Me, with atttitude: "Did you just say that?"
KK: "Was that bratty?"
Me: "YES."
KK: "What are you making?"
Me: "Some Indian food."
KK: "Mom, I don't waaannnt Indian food. Why didn't you make this the other night when we had guests?"
Me: "You're going to like it."
KK: "I think I'm just going to go get Subway."
Me, with attitude: "You're going to eat it, and you're going to like it."
Yeah, you better not get huffy with me, kid.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
The appeal of the reformed faith
I got a book titled One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World for Christmas. Yes, I asked for it. I like books like this, but I'm not always successful at reading them all the way through. This one, I've had no problems getting close to finishing. It's a good take on how we are to live the Christian life, aka how we become sanctified. It's not by checking things off a to-do list, or by doing things that seem like they are Christian that eventually will exhaust us because we will never be perfect at any of it - it's about constantly going back to why we are justified, how we are made righteous, and realizing that our good works stems from His love. Good stuff.
Last weekend, I started listening to some sermons from the pastor that wrote this book. He did a series last year about the heroes of the faith. In it, he discusses that the heroes of the faith aren't really "heroes" - they are just like you and me, as sons of Adam. While there are certainly lessons to be gained from the Old Testament heroes, the point of their presence in the Bible is not for those lessons; it's to point to Jesus.
I have been reflecting on that this week. Why is it that Christianity appealed to me so much? I was raised an agnostic, pretty much. We were pretty self-sufficient, academically strong kids. I didn't "need" Jesus based on my performance in school. It was really the message of grace that drew me in, and the fact that everything I learned in school and my early adult life - that my performance was going to get me to where I needed to be - well, that was all a big fraud. My marriage was having issues, I didn't quite have the job I wanted, I was kind of an average mom, not one of those women who volunteered at the school all of the time. But the grace message - that Jesus was the saving grace, not me - that was a new one. I didn't have to look at other "heroes" to find an example of righteousness, because those heroes were flawed too. You do that, when you're a non-believer. You admire all kinds of people: successful, compassionate, cool, self-deprecating, smart, even maybe a little rebellious. The thing about it, that's what you have to do as a non-believer. You have to find someone to look up to, someone to emulate. If you're looking at religion, you might look at Gandhi, or a pope, or Joan of Arc. If you're looking at politics, you might look at a great president, or those in a specific party. What about if you were just looking at life? You'd think of Oprah, Jonas Salk, Marie Curie, maybe Angelina Jolie, or Audrey Hepburn, as sort of a wide variety of examples. But these people are all flawed, or too far-reaching. Eventually, you look at yourself and develop a high opinion of your own behavior.
In life, and even in other religions, no one ever told me that someone already did something so good, just for us, that you didn't have to do anything to get to heaven. No one ever said that it's not about you, but about Him. No one ever said that it was by grace that you could be saved. No one ever told me that nothing could separate us from the love of Jesus. That's why Christianity appeals to me. It's also not because Christians look at their behavior to make them righteous (even though that is the way it is presented and even lived, especially in the south). But when I started understanding grace as a new believer, it was mind-blowing.
Last weekend, I started listening to some sermons from the pastor that wrote this book. He did a series last year about the heroes of the faith. In it, he discusses that the heroes of the faith aren't really "heroes" - they are just like you and me, as sons of Adam. While there are certainly lessons to be gained from the Old Testament heroes, the point of their presence in the Bible is not for those lessons; it's to point to Jesus.
I have been reflecting on that this week. Why is it that Christianity appealed to me so much? I was raised an agnostic, pretty much. We were pretty self-sufficient, academically strong kids. I didn't "need" Jesus based on my performance in school. It was really the message of grace that drew me in, and the fact that everything I learned in school and my early adult life - that my performance was going to get me to where I needed to be - well, that was all a big fraud. My marriage was having issues, I didn't quite have the job I wanted, I was kind of an average mom, not one of those women who volunteered at the school all of the time. But the grace message - that Jesus was the saving grace, not me - that was a new one. I didn't have to look at other "heroes" to find an example of righteousness, because those heroes were flawed too. You do that, when you're a non-believer. You admire all kinds of people: successful, compassionate, cool, self-deprecating, smart, even maybe a little rebellious. The thing about it, that's what you have to do as a non-believer. You have to find someone to look up to, someone to emulate. If you're looking at religion, you might look at Gandhi, or a pope, or Joan of Arc. If you're looking at politics, you might look at a great president, or those in a specific party. What about if you were just looking at life? You'd think of Oprah, Jonas Salk, Marie Curie, maybe Angelina Jolie, or Audrey Hepburn, as sort of a wide variety of examples. But these people are all flawed, or too far-reaching. Eventually, you look at yourself and develop a high opinion of your own behavior.
In life, and even in other religions, no one ever told me that someone already did something so good, just for us, that you didn't have to do anything to get to heaven. No one ever said that it's not about you, but about Him. No one ever said that it was by grace that you could be saved. No one ever told me that nothing could separate us from the love of Jesus. That's why Christianity appeals to me. It's also not because Christians look at their behavior to make them righteous (even though that is the way it is presented and even lived, especially in the south). But when I started understanding grace as a new believer, it was mind-blowing.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The 'rents
My parents are two people I am so grateful for. They have had such a huge impact on who I am, and God used them - non-believers - to teach me about Him.
As I've written in past posts, Dad was an academic. He apparently liked other things too, because I learned at Thanksgiving that he was a goalie in soccer during his younger years. But he was crazy-smart and skipped two grades in school, and went to the big city after growing up in a small village to stay with his uncle and get better schooling. He got his college degree and taught at Madras Christian College. I find that sort of fascinating because that's where he developed some of his feelings about Christians and "proselytizing" - he often doesn't want to be influenced in a "religious" manner. He taught me to be hard-working, he taught me to always strive for the best, and he taught me to think logically. He taught me to stand up for myself when others talked down to you (to the point of being condescending to them), he taught me to be decent (he rarely, if ever, swears), and he taught me that it was okay to want to learn.
Mom certainly cared about academics but she is the social creature in our family. She is so protective of her three daughters and always has pointed to us as the standard that all others should compare themselves to (this isn't always a good thing). She grew up in a family of seven, the third child, and sometimes was the one that always ended up taking care of her younger siblings. She was apparently quite a runner and has described herself like a gazelle when she ran short track events. She got a Masters degree in psychology, but I don't believe she has ever used that skill professionally. She taught me to love stories - we loved her stories when we were little - but she also loved her "stories" (Days of Our Lives) as an adult. She taught me about how easy it is to be mistaken about our own natures. She taught me to love crafts, she taught me about how easy it is to accept disrespect because she took it all the time from me, and she taught me about true servanthood. She never ate until we finished our meal.
Sometimes we as Christians look at our parents and find it easy to see the biblical virtues in them and we are grateful. Sometimes we look at the lack of biblical virtues in our parents and find it easy to try to be just the opposite of them. I certainly have done the latter, and I never did the former because I never saw their good qualities as "biblical." But I now see the complexity in my parents' personalities and realize that they were flawed with some wonderful, loving traits, that they shaped me irrevocably, and I realize that God providentially placed me in their care.
As I've written in past posts, Dad was an academic. He apparently liked other things too, because I learned at Thanksgiving that he was a goalie in soccer during his younger years. But he was crazy-smart and skipped two grades in school, and went to the big city after growing up in a small village to stay with his uncle and get better schooling. He got his college degree and taught at Madras Christian College. I find that sort of fascinating because that's where he developed some of his feelings about Christians and "proselytizing" - he often doesn't want to be influenced in a "religious" manner. He taught me to be hard-working, he taught me to always strive for the best, and he taught me to think logically. He taught me to stand up for myself when others talked down to you (to the point of being condescending to them), he taught me to be decent (he rarely, if ever, swears), and he taught me that it was okay to want to learn.
Mom certainly cared about academics but she is the social creature in our family. She is so protective of her three daughters and always has pointed to us as the standard that all others should compare themselves to (this isn't always a good thing). She grew up in a family of seven, the third child, and sometimes was the one that always ended up taking care of her younger siblings. She was apparently quite a runner and has described herself like a gazelle when she ran short track events. She got a Masters degree in psychology, but I don't believe she has ever used that skill professionally. She taught me to love stories - we loved her stories when we were little - but she also loved her "stories" (Days of Our Lives) as an adult. She taught me about how easy it is to be mistaken about our own natures. She taught me to love crafts, she taught me about how easy it is to accept disrespect because she took it all the time from me, and she taught me about true servanthood. She never ate until we finished our meal.
Sometimes we as Christians look at our parents and find it easy to see the biblical virtues in them and we are grateful. Sometimes we look at the lack of biblical virtues in our parents and find it easy to try to be just the opposite of them. I certainly have done the latter, and I never did the former because I never saw their good qualities as "biblical." But I now see the complexity in my parents' personalities and realize that they were flawed with some wonderful, loving traits, that they shaped me irrevocably, and I realize that God providentially placed me in their care.
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