Kids Are Sinners, And So Are We

Last week, I shared some ideas with you about involving children in corporate worship. You can read that post HERE. This is still an area that I am learning and growing in and so I appreciated the positive feedback from that post; I'm thankful to the Lord that it was an encouragement to many of you. 

I mentioned in that previous blog post that I was going to move on to discuss ways to train our children in worshiping the Lord in our homes. But before I do that, I wanted to take a quick detour. I felt that the Lord brought this to my heart, and I wanted to share it with you all. 

There are times that despite our best intentions and efforts, our kids don't cooperate. To put it frankly, they don't want to worship. 

And there are times, to put it frankly again, that it's not a problem with our kids, but with ourselves--with our own attitudes, lack of obedience to the Lord, failure to realize something that the Lord is showing us--and this is reflected in the attitudes/reactions of our children.

We are sinners. Our kids are sinners. We are all in need of help from a merciful Savior.

We need Him to teach us how to worship. We need Him to change us, to adjust our attitudes and habits, to teach us and to reveal new attitudes and habits to us. We need Him to show us how to daily lead our children through our actions in sometimes quiet, sometimes more visible or audible worship of Him. 

But we struggle with this as sinners. Other attitudes and actions come in--attitudes not born of His Spirit. We get busy and tired. We replace worship with other things and place the Lord on the "back burner" of our lives. This is so easy to do. 

And sometimes as believers we leave it right there. 

We are sinners; our kids are sinners--oh well; we'll never "get it right" here on this earth so why put in such an effort? Just let things flow; just go with it--it will all work itself out in the end. 

Or there is the attitude of "messy grace" which is so prevalent in the church today. I have no problem with the concept itself--but I do think that we need to start taking the grace and cleaning up the mess! Our kids are naughty--our kids are not naturally worshipers, they are sinners like us; ok--don't ultimately laugh it off, don't take it lightly--deal with it by the grace of God so that our lives and the lives of our family may bring greater glory to Him.

Admit your mistakes; admit your shortcomings and come before the throne of grace to ask for help from the Lord in how we raise our children. Fast and pray. Take Him seriously in daily life. Ask for wisdom and direction and He will give it to you. He promises that in His Word. 

Pray with your kids; pray with them daily. Deal with the "issues." Take the grace of God in your daily life with your kids. 

In other words, put the "grace" back into the "messy."

I am speaking to myself. If we want, truly want our kids to worship God aright, in spirit and in truth, then we must set the example. Do our kids see us on our knees? Do they see us taking God seriously, making sacrifices for the kingdom, putting Him first in our lives? Do they see that we value worship? Do they see that we care about the things of God? If our spouse is a believer, do they see their parents praying together and depending upon the Lord for the daily needs of the family? These are all important questions to ask and if we are honest with ourselves, we all fall short in many of these areas. We all could grow and change and make a greater impact upon our children for the glory of God. I know that I could. By the grace of God. 

I have a little sign in my house that I asked someone to make for me (thanks, Sara :-))--it says simply "Spend and be Spent." I wanted a reminder that my life is not to be used up for myself, to please myself, but to be used up for God--to be poured out for God--not for myself. 

I need this constant reminder. I am a sinner; my kids are sinners--we continually depend upon the grace of Almighty God. 

Everyday I face challenges with my children--and with my own ambivalence, or disobedience, or ignorance in some area that the Lord wants to reveal to me as I cry out to Him in my weakness. 

It is good to recognize our weakness so that we can lay hold of the great strength that is offered to us in our merciful Savior. When we do this, it gives Him the opportunity to pour His mercy out upon us as we teach ourselves and our children to worship Him aright--in spirit and in truth. 

As we establish these habits and patterns and seek to pursue the Lord as a family in daily worshiping our God, the key is--never give up. Through the grace of God, never give up and like Jacob, God will bless you and your family. 

Seek to worship God as a family; seek to put Him first in all that you do and your lives as a family will become a living fountain. Not a perfect example of holiness, but a refreshment to those around you. Admit your shortcomings and move on to embrace the grace of God and to grow and change in the areas that He would have you grow in your worship of Him. 

I faced a situation last year which is somewhat funny (in a terrible way ;-)) in retrospect but which taught me a lesson that I could not have learned any other way--a lesson involving high heels.  

It was Christmas Eve. At our church we have a Christmas Eve Service. For those of you who attend these services, you know that they are usually quiet and reflective. 

My 3-year-old son was in a surly mood. Obviously, he had not yet caught the holiday spirit. Or perhaps he was re-enacting the part of Ebenezer Scrooge in a Christmas Carol--the live version ;-). 

My husband and I have been training our kids to sit quietly in church since they were babies. But my strong-willed son would have none of it on this particularly reverent night of nights. 

He couldn't have challenged me on a sunny Sunday morning; it had to be performed on the evening when the sanctuary was full and there were visiting churches joining us for worship, when the lights were lowered and all was supposedly calm and peaceful. 

No. He could not. 

We had just finished singing a hymn (or maybe it was the prayer--I cannot remember--or maybe it is because I have been trying so hard not to ;-)). 

My son was fidgety and I asked him to sit on my lap where I thought that I could better deal with him and his wiles. 

No, he told me in a cheeky manner and I insisted, picking the little stinker up to sit on my lap.

The end result was humiliation. 

No! No! No! He loudly yelled (I think that that is the appropriate word) just as there was complete silence in the sanctuary.

Well, I would not be challenged--the little three year old would not get the better of yours truly--

So I scooped him up still squawking No! and proceeded to trip over one of the folding chairs that was set up for extra guests who attended the service.

Red-faced, I brought my child out of the sanctuary and vowed never, never to wear high heels to church again with young children. 

I quickly disciplined my son and brought him back into that sanctuary, even though I wished to run back home to Rhode Island. I also took my heels off and went barefoot the rest of the evening. 

I knew that the battle would be lost if I kept him out of the service for bad behavior. 

Later on I lamented to my Mom about the whole, terrible embarrassing ordeal (she had witnessed it, by the way--thankfully she was still willing to be associated with us ;-) standing with me in the foyer over a Christmas cookie that I think that I ate out of depression ;-). 

I can't remember her exact words, but she encouraged me so much over that incident. My Mom is not one to beat around the bush or just to say what someone wants to hear--she tells you the truth gently, whether you like it not--it's what I love about my Mom even though sometimes initially I balk at it. 

My Mom told me, "Bekki; you dealt with it (the disobedience)--that is the important thing. If you hadn't, that would have been much worse-- a lot of people would have just allowed the child to disobey--you removed him and didn't give him his way." 

(The back story of this whole episode is that I had just asked my Mom for advice on what to do when my son wouldn't obey me in the church service and she had told me just to scoop him up and take him out of the service, discipline him, and come back in. This advice was fresh on my mind at that service--unfortunately it was the first time that I tried it. ;-))

Then she added, with her usual humor--"but did you have to choose the Christmas Eve Service to deal with it?" 

My older sister, also a comedian, ;-) asked me later, "didn't you know enough to put your hand over his mouth? That's the first thing you do!" I think that she was counseling me to try it the next time--I was hoping that there wouldn't be a next time!!

And even if I had thought of this I suppose that it would have been impossible as I was using both hands to steady myself after tripping over the chair with a husky three-year-old in arms. 

The point of the story is this. Kids are sinners. We are sinners--things like this happen when we are trying to worship--when we are trying to teach our children to worship. 

The key is not to ignore the bad behavior, or to try to cover it up, but to deal with it, by God's grace. There were things that I needed to learn about being firmer in my discipline --there were things that my son needed to learn about obedience. We are both sinners. 

No one wants attention drawn to themselves--no one wants to be the one who looks like they have a strong-willed non-compliant child. But I'll tell you one thing--I admire the mothers who deal with the behavioral issues swiftly rather than ignoring them. I want to be more like that --in a loving way, of course, and with the discernment and the direction of the Holy Spirit. We have been working on this all year, and though my son will still challenge me at times, we seldom have any dramatic episodes. 

We are learning to worship together--two sinners, under the cross of Jesus Christ--my little son and I--the strong-willed little boy who loves to sing hymns and to dress up in a tie like his Dad and reveres the men who bring the tithe up to the front of the sanctuary. 

How I love my son --my fiery little Elisha--I love him enough to discipline him, to teach him through action and example, how to worship, how to obey his parents, how to love the Lord with all of his stubborn little heart. 

We are learning to worship.

We are not perfect families; we are sinners saved by grace pressing toward the goal.

We have a high calling; we have a job to do as parents. To teach little sinners to worship--and to worship aright ourselves.

May we do it with the grace that God supplies. 

You might find me on these link-ups:


Inspire Me Monday, Literacy Musing Mondays, The Modest Mom, Raising Homemakers, Classical Homemaking, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries,  Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, Messy Marriage,  Imparting Grace, Thought Provoking Thursday, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Counting My Blessings, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, SHINE Blog Hop, RaRaLinkup, Word of God Speak, Booknificent Thursday, Living Proverbs 31, Coffee For Your Heart Weekly LinkUp, You're the Star Blog Hop, Homesteader Hop, Fresh Market Friday, Heart Encouragement Thursday , Sitting Among Friends Blog Party, Fabulous Warm Heart Party, Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday Linkup, Writer Wednesday, Tea and Word

Children and Worship

Reading about Susannah Wesley and the way that she ran her home has always inspired me and challenged me. To be honest, it has awed me. I believe that the Lord at certain times in history places His hand upon parents in a special way. He does this when He is preparing to use their children in a great work of His hand. We see this in the lives of Moses' parents; we see it in the life of Susannah Wesley, the mother of the great evangelist John Wesley and his brother-hymnwriter Charles. 

The other day, I read a story about Susannah that pertained to the way that she raised her children. It really encouraged me and spurred me on to press on with my little ones. We all have to admit that though there are many joys in bringing children up, there are also challenges and discouragement that comes along with the territory. We are not raising robots; we are raising fellow sinners saved by grace with wills sometimes as strong as iron. We have need of perseverance and I love how this story involving Susannah and one of her children speaks to this aspect of parenting. She was teaching one of her young children a piece of information in one of their lessons and her husband was listening. She repeated the same lesson over and over again and her husband interrupted her to say, "I wonder at your patience. You have told that child the same thing twenty times." She answered him with these words: "If I had satisfied myself in mentioning it only 19 times, I should have lost all my labor. It was the twentieth time when the lesson was finally learned." 

We have an opportunity as parents to lovingly and patiently impress lessons upon our child's hearts. They are listening. God has given us authority over them--but only for a short time. We have an opportunity by the grace of God, to be "unusual" parents--the kind that teach the lesson twenty times. God will reward us for our diligence and give us the strength that we don't have in our own flesh. One of these areas is teaching our children to worship. 

I believe that this is an area that is vital in encouraging children toward having a heart that loves and reveres our great God. Teaching our children to worship at home and in church is a tremendous part of their understanding of who God is and of how He impacts and relates to them--and what response this should illicit from them. 

This week, I've compiled some idea for encouraging children to worship in the house of God. Next week, I'll share some ideas for encouraging children to worship God in our homes. I pray that these would be an encouragement and I would love to hear your ideas as well! 

Encouraging Children to Worship in the House of God

Ideas for involving children in worship:

Preparing children for church~

• Talk to children about church during the week; encourage children to be excited about going to church. Talk about how wonderful it is to be able to go into God's house and to meet with God's people. 
• Prepare clothing, bags, anything else that is needed beforehand so that the morning isn't chaotic and rushed.
• Play hymns/quiet music in the morning before going to church. Encourage a quiet atmosphere in the home that will be helpful in encouraging young, active children to sit still in church.
• "Play" church at home. My kids love this! They will "act out" the service and play the different roles of Pastor, song leader, etc. It prepares their little hearts for "real" worship and sets the stage for participating in "real" church.
• Practice sitting still at home. For a while, I believed that the Lord laid upon my heart to teach my children to sit quietly in church through listening to sermons at home together while they were expected to sit quietly. This was helpful in going to "real" church where they are expected to sit through the service quietly (this does not always happen, of course, but it is a work in progress! :-))
• Talk about people who attend your church in a positive way during the week. Talk about how we are excited to see them, etc., and how good it is to be able to worship with the people of God. 

Encouraging children toward a worshipful and reverent attitude in church:

• Encourage children and set an example of wearing our "best" to church (something special, according to your convictions). Iron it and prepare it ahead of time. Let your children see you do this.
• From when children are very small, teach them to regard the sanctuary of the church as a special place to meet with God in worship. Encourage children not to run or shout in the sanctuary. Speak quietly as you enter the sanctuary and demonstrate a quiet, reverent attitude for your children. 
• Children should speak quietly in the sanctuary as the family sits down and settles into their pew; help children to practice this.
• Talk quietly to a child about each aspect of the service (without distracting those around you). Direct them to focus on what is taking place in the service. 

Encouraging Children to be Involved in Church: 

• Let children hold a hymnal; encourage them to follow along and to sing the hymns and if they are not able to read yet, to hum the tunes of the hymns!
• Let children bring an offering or hold the family's offering and let them put it into the plate as it is passed around. 
• Point out the different leaders in the church. 
• Encourage children to listen to the speaker as they bring the Word. 
• Demonstrate an attitude of serving/helping at various functions that the church holds. Encourage children to come alongside in helping at these functions rather than always allowing them to play while the adults work. 

Enjoying children in church:

• At times we wish that we could listen to the sermon/be able to worship ourselves without distraction. Remember that children are only little once--for a very small window of time. Cherish this time of training your children in church while they are young--this season will soon pass, and you'll probably wish that you could have it back! 
• Remember our Lord's admonition to Peter to "feed (His) sheep." What a blessing and a privilege it is for us as parents to train these little ones in the ways of the Lord! 
• Be thankful for the little souls next to you in the pew and enjoy watching them worship as little children. They can actually teach us a lot about true worship. 

Of course, many of these ideas will look different at different ages/stages of a child's life . . . the goal is not perfection, but purpose. Are we purposing in our hearts as parents to teach our children how to reverently worship the Lord? Or are we distracted or distanced from our children? It may also look different for different families--some families have one child; some have 7; obviously the dynamic in the pew might change according to the number of children a person has. Family situations are different. Some people face parenting alone as a single parent or as the partner of an unbelieving spouse. They are trying to parent alone. God gives grace in every situation. Lay hold of His promises and obey Him to the best of your ability and He will bless you. 

Above all, press on . . . some weeks may bring discouragement. Children misbehave. Parents get tired and frazzled, but press on. The Lord will reward your efforts with your children and give you fruit as you seek to honor Him in raising up your little ones to know and to love the Lord. He will bless you. Do you want children who love and serve the Lord as they grow older? Is that the desire of your heart? Press into His ways and He will bless you--we will never train our children perfectly, but the Lord knows the intent and desire of the heart. Do your best and don't quit. I was listening to a sermon from Pastor Charles Stanley the other day that really spoke to me in regards to my children. He was talking about prayer, but this applies to any aspect of our walk with the Lord. Stanley said, "Just beyond where we stop is God's very choice blessing. When you want to stop, DON'T STOP." 

Train your children to worship. Help them, guide them, direct them. Children need and crave direction. Enjoy them; enjoy this season in your life. And above all, don't stop. 

You might find me on these link-ups:

Inspire Me Monday, Literacy Musing Mondays, The Modest Mom, Raising Homemakers, Classical Homemaking, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries,  Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, Messy Marriage,  Imparting Grace, Thought Provoking Thursday, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Counting My Blessings, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, SHINE Blog Hop, RaRaLinkup, Word of God Speak, Booknificent Thursday, Living Proverbs 31, Coffee For Your Heart Weekly LinkUp, You're the Star Blog Hop, Homesteader Hop, Fresh Market Friday, Heart Encouragement Thursday , Sitting Among Friends Blog Party, Fabulous Warm Heart Party, Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday Linkup, Writer Wednesday, Tea and Word

He Lifts Us

The sky is ashy and pale as I back out of our slushy driveway. 

Alone. 

For the first time in weeks. 

I have a doctor's appointment--

Worried; thinking of Debbie, thinking of her little face as I left -- knowing that she will be safe and cared-for while I'm gone; my Mama is with her -- but feeling so strange without her little person following me here and there and everywhere . . . 

Frustrated; by situations out of my control, by the "clutter" of life, the "clutter" of anxious thoughts, the "clutter" of trying to neatly figure everything out--

Situations, beyond my control, rise up like serpentine phantoms and the tears come -- and I force them away. 

Frustrated, overwhelmed-

Drive down the familiar street, the street where I've lived, played on, ridden my bike up and down, for the past 31 years. The street that has been so familiarly comforting to me.  

But it's icy now, covered by a thick sheet of glassy laminate and I turn the corner and it's the same, so I creep along. I try to brake and the brakes don't take, so I slow down even more. 

Where has that old familiar pavement vanished?  

And I creep along until suddenly the ice is gone and I can drive again on clean pavement and know that the wheels are gripping something. 

My husband has a CD in the player -- I don't know what it is, but I turn on the volume and the sweet music fills our old car with grace and light. 

I'v never heard this CD before -- a collection of hymns -- Chris Rice -- and I listen. And the music ministers to my weary, hungry soul. 

It is well with my soul . . . 

How Great Thou art . . . 

Speak to me, Lord; I am listening now. I wasn't before. 

Too preoccupied with my own worries, fears -- and now the tears come again, but they are not tears of anxiety, but tears of rest and peace. 

The music speaks to my soul; He speaks to my soul. 

Refreshed. 

He has never failed us -- will He now? 

Rock of ages, cleft for me -- let me hide myself in Thee--

In Thee -- the All Sufficient One -- and sing--

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

And this is what I've discovered in my life--that it's not so much that He meets me where I 

am, but that He lifts me up to where He is -- plants my feet on a "Rock that is higher than 

I," where I couldn't pick myself up, couldn't pick up my emotions, couldn't change my 

circumstances. He lifts me up to where He is--my great high Priest who is seated at the 

right hand of God-- and my name is written on his nail-torn hands. 

Praise His name . . . 

Perseverance, Plodding, and the Father's Pleasure

"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done. whether good or bad."

II Corinthians 5:10

 

I think of my teabag, soaking, drenched in the steaming water and I think, "That's how my life, my moments should be--steeped like a teabag in prayer, saturated with the heaviness of petitions uttered, silent groanings, deep cries to the Almighty from the depth of gratitude and sometimes desperation. 

Because sometimes we are desperate. 

And sometimes we are grateful and our thankfulness pours out like a gurgling, bubbling joyful stream, and we just can't contain it. 

I remember moments like these--slow brimming tearful moments, silent, heavy praise to my Father of mercy--

The day that our five-year engagement suddenly snapped closed in what could only be a miraculous triumph of the Father's kindness and faithfulness. 

The morning in the garden when I realized and felt the Father's love for me.

The day that my baby came into the world and lay in my aching arms. 

Those days . . . 

And there are those times when all of a sudden, after long hours, days, months, years of plodding and praying and fearing and wondering and listening, when the Lord breaks through and we see His hand working where we hadn't seen it before. 

Some area of obedience, where we have listened to the Spirit's voice, maybe in praying for an unsaved loved one or friend, maybe in an area that we are learning faithfulness and self-control, maybe a breakthrough in our prayer life--our Baal Perizim where we suddenly "see" the hand of the Lord in a fresh way blessing the obedience that we offered through His Spirit. 

A moment like this came quietly for me a little while ago. Not like a gust of power or wind, but quietly and I saw the Lord's hand.  One of my favorite quotes is of the Baptist missionary William Carey. When asked about the "secret" to his "success" with missions, he answered that he "could plod." He could continue year after year after year in a given pursuit without "giving up," (even when there were no visible results) when he knew that the work was of God. 

After my baby was born and when I began to bring her to church, I felt led to keep her with me through the worship service--to teach her slowly from when she was very little to be able to eventually sit quietly in the worship service with the intent of worshiping together as a family through the entire service. (I bring this up as a situation in which the Lord taught me to "plod" in an area that I felt He desired for me to obey Him in--not as a form for every family/person to follow. Although I believe that worshiping as a family is important, the Lord can lead different families in different ways in this area, and it is between them and the Lord to determine the individual course that He would have their family take. The important thing is that a family is walking with and listening to the Lord and that their desire is toward true worship. Obviously, this may take a different form for a larger family or for a family with a toddler and an infant, for a single mother, and so on.) 

At any rate, I believed that the Lord had laid this particular course of obedience upon my heart in my individual circumstances. Week after week I sat in the back of the church and kept my baby and now toddler with me during the time when the worship service was held. At first, I had to go in and out of the sanctuary many times when she was fussy, noisy, etc. But as time wore on, she began to sit for longer periods of time through the beginning of the service, before the sermon was given. When the Pastor began speaking (usually a good 45-minute sermon or so) I took my daughter into the foyer, right outside the sanctuary and sat there on a folding chair with her as if we were still sitting in the worship service and where I could faintly hear the sermon. Again, at first, we could only sit outside for a few minutes, but as the weeks wore on, we have been able to sit quietly for longer periods of time (aided by a snack, and the Lord's mercy--with quite a few "ups and downs" :-)). 

It struck me the other week, that Debbie finally seemed to understand (in her age-appropriate way) that we are quiet when we worship and that different behavior is expected of us in church than during playtime, time at home, etc. She is becoming more interested in the hymns as I point them out to her and direct her focus on what is going on around her. She looks at the Bible when we read it and understands that something "different" is happening. She is increasingly more attentive to the different parts of the service. 

When I am no longer able to keep Debbie quiet in the foyer, we go to a quiet room somewhere else in the church and again I speak softly to her and we do "quiet" activities together until we hear the last hymn being sung. I'm trying to impress upon her the "spirit" of worshiping the Lord with other believers in the way that I feel that the Lord has led me--and of course, He may lead someone else in a completely different way.

But I say this to illustrate the principle of "plodding" in an area where the Lord is drawing your heart toward some particular step of obedience. Many weeks, I felt like "Why am I doing this? Why am I putting so much energy and effort into this?" And some weeks my daughter is not as attentive and sometimes she's distracted, and I've felt discouraged. But I want to teach her this principle of "worship," and so I plod on . . . 

And then, all of a sudden, it seemed, the Lord showed me that He was blessing this obedience. I noticed a small change in Debbie, and my heart was glad in Him and in what He had done through simple, plodding obedience. 

For some reason, the Lord has continually impressed that principle on my heart, that is, the principle of "plodding." For years I walked for exercise, day, after day after day in sunny weather or bad, usually going along the same route for months and months. This, in some kind of a "practical" way taught me how to "plod," something that I've needed to learn in my life. The simple act of day after day doing the same activity was building not only a physical, but also a mental endurance and stamina in my person that has helped me in my walk with the Lord.

My Mom was talking to my sister and me in the car the other day and she said something that stuck with me. She said (in reference to how we as Christians can become complacent in different areas of our lives and more and more like the world), "Be fanatical! Don't be normal like everyone else!" Her words strongly impressed upon me the urgency of walking, plodding, living my life as a follower, a lover of Jesus Christ. And she meant it not in the sense of being a misfit or a fanatic just for the sake of drawing attention to oneself, but in the sense of determinedly obeying the Lord even when others were choosing a "wider," "easier" way. 

And it's so easy to be "normal," to be a little bit spiritual and a lot like the world--distracted, shifty, our hearts set on things that are passing away and rejecting what is eternal.

How well I know . . . 

And when everyone else forsook Him, He turned to His disciples and asked them if they would also go away (implied--"like everyone else")  And Peter answered, "To Whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!" (John 6:67-68)

To whom shall we go? To pleasures, to more and more entertainment? To friends or food or pets or work? Or to the One who has the words of eternal life?

To Him I go . . .


 This has been an extremely useful article for me, written by Noel and John Piper:  
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-family-together-in-gods-presence

The Gratitude of Worship

True gratitude is not sporadic. It cannot be spent or exhausted. It is the transformation of a mind that is more grateful for the giver than for the gift, for the purpose than for the present, for life itself rather than for abundance.
--Ravi Zacharias



We drive through the thick traffic and I keep glancing over at my sleeping Debbie, so peaceful and quiet beside me. Thanksgiving Day, and we’re headed towards my sister’s house with her cozy walkway and her fresh berry cobbler and her cheerful candles that chase away the gloom of November. We drive and we drink coffee and talk and we hope that Debbie will sleep the entire drive, which she does and I’m grateful because her naps have been so short lately.

We talk and we get a little loud now and then and I say “Shhh!” and we’re almost there now and the sky is partly overcast, a perfect Thanksgiving Day.

And when we get there, we take the pies out of the trunk and my Mama’s savory French stuffing that her mother used to make, and my sister’s stuffed mushrooms and her delightfully pecan-browned sweet potato casserole and I lick my lips and imagine the lovely repast that awaits inside.

We walk up the path to the house and we smell the delicious aromas that belong to Thanksgiving . . . the roasting turkey, almost done now, and the beautiful mound of mashed potatoes, and the sweet, crisp corn and the warm buttery biscuits.

And I see my dear sister and her hair pulled back as she prepares this feast of delights and her cheeks are warm and rosy from bending over the stove and her hands are made beautiful from the love and hard work and the creating of things lasting—she is one of the blessed and the joy pours from her eyes and she is grateful and her eyes quietly reflect their gratitude . . .

Sing praise to God
Who reigns above
For perfect knowledge, wisdom love
His judgements are divine, devout
His paths beyond all tracing out
Come lift you hearts to heaven’s high throne-
And glory give to God alone.

We give glory, and we gather around the table that He has set before us and we pour out thanks from hearts of praise. And we laugh and we talk and we smile and the warmth of His love surrounds us.

The table is set and the meal is served and we eat until we can’t possibly fit any more stuffing inside of our full bellies—though we’d like to.

And we give praise to God in our hearts knowing that He is the One who has provided these good and perfect gifts for us—His material gifts of food and warmth and clothing—and we sit in a warm house in our cozy sweaters and shoes and we bask in the knowledge that He has provided all things.

And we remember the years of severe want, when times were difficult and we had sold almost all of our furniture and when we didn’t have heat upstairs and when my sister and I piled blankets high on our beds to stay warm at night and humbled our “educated” selves by working at a fast food chain in order to survive. And God was gracious. And He gave us what we needed. And He brought us out into a spacious place and delighted to do us good. Even in those difficult times. And when other’s hours were cut, for some reason ours stayed steady. And the manager gave us free iced coffee and even though he was an unbeliever, was merciful towards us . . . the Lord was merciful towards us . . .

We celebrate Thanksgiving this year, and we don’t give thanks glibly, because we have felt the strain of need, the strain of eating spaghetti night after night, the strain of anxiety over finances, the strain of cold and worry and of crying out to a merciful Father who never left us desolate.

And we try to celebrate the holidays now in that knowledge, and place the emphasis where it belongs . . . ultimately not on family, food, football, good times, friends . . . but on a faithful Father who gives us all things richly to enjoy and under Whose umbrella all of these other “lesser things” fall. We love Him and we have felt His presence in times of plenty and in times of want. And He has been faithful to us.

We see the invisible empty place at the head of the table and we worship the One who has given and taken away and we know in our heart of hearts that "blessed is the name of the Lord.” And He inhabits that place and pours His balm of healing thanksgiving into our
hearts . . . blessed, blessed be the name of the Lord.

And later we gather together and sing and my sister’s husband, Alex plays the guitar, strumming to the great old Thanksgiving hymns, the words to which I love . . . and they are deep and they are rich and they speak testimony to a Mighty and merciful God.

And then Londie’s husband says, let me teach you a simple chorus that I know and he strums it on his guitar and he sings the words so that we can repeat them and it touches my heart today with a message so sweet and unembellished and plain—

Thank You, Jesus
For the grace that You have given us
We could not repay
But from my heart I choose to say
Thank You

And that simple song plants a melody of praise in my heart and later we drive home and I am full . . . of simple, heartfelt joy in the One who has given all that we may give Him thanks—not to repay, but to worship.