Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is upon us again, and visions of pilgrims and natives and turkeys dance through my head. I suppose it all started with a simple, undeserved act of kindness, extended across cultural bounds, that proved to be life-saving and life-changing. With that in mind I offer up my thanks to the Giver of every good and perfect gift:

for the seasons that remind me that everything has its time,
for the little yellow and orange leaves that crunch beneath my feet,
for your Word that speaks your love to me,
for your people whose lives have pointed me to you,
for my precious children who teach me so much about myself even as I try to teach them,
for my failures as a mother that cause me to marvel at your perfection as a Father,
for my loving husband who makes me smile,
for beautiful music that stirs the soul,
for the vast sky that reminds me I am small,
for family and friends who surround us with love,
for children's giggles and bear hugs,
for furry wiggles and wagging tails,
for blessings numbered like the stars,
for freedom,
for love,
for life.

Yes, it all started with that undeserved act of kindness, extended across cultural bounds, that proved to be life-saving and life-changing... Thank you for the cross.

Lessons From a Corn Maze

If I had my own corn maze, I'd call it The Amazing Maize Maze. Really, I can't believe I've never seen a corn maze with that name. There must be one somewhere.

I went to a corn maze twice last week, having never been to one before, and it was interesting. Looking at the map, it seems like a lot of fun. The paths are cleverly arranged to make a picture. You get to walk around through corn, which just doesn't happen every day. And the days I went to the maze were beautiful and sunny, with cheerful skies. What's not to like?

But, the whole point of a maze is to try to find your way out, which necessarily implies that there are lots of ways that do not lead out. And I happen to have some issues with getting lost. I don't like it. Not even the thought of it, really. But if my kids were up for the maze, then I was, too.

As we went through the maze (happily following a guide, which I think is kind of like cheating), we passed through an intersection and my son asked why we didn't take a different route. I explained that not all the paths lead back out. He asked why not. I asked him how much fun it would be to do a maze if we knew every path would lead out, so there was no way to "lose." He thought about it, and answered that it wouldn't be any fun.

Exactly. It's a paradox: without the chance of losing, winning is meaningless. Why even bother unless you just like walking around in the corn (which, in itself, is interesting for a certain amount of time)?

Another thing about the maze is that there are lots of paths people can choose to follow. But not all of them will take you where you aim to go, no matter how sincere you may be. Some of them are simply dead ends. And so it is in life, on so many levels.

Life is truly amazeing! (Yeah, that was bad, but I just couldn't resist!)

Reformation Day Challenge

Today we celebrate Reformation Day (and you thought it was Halloween!), remembering Martin Luther's nailing of his "95 Theses" to the Wittenberg church door in an attempt to start a dialogue with the Catholic Church. This act changed the course of history and Christianity as Luther challenged powerful church officials by rightly asserting that salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, rather than by good deeds and work.

Luther did not set out to start a new church, but was concerned about specific ways the church of the time had strayed from biblical teaching. He held up the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, higher than church doctrine and teachings. Martin Luther was passionate about the Bible, and translated it into the German vernacular (as opposed to Latin), making it accessible to everyday people.

You and I are blessed today to have so many English translations of the Bible available. But what if we only had access to the Bible in Latin? Or Russian? Or Swahili? How well would we understand it? How would our faith flourish?

In honor of Reformation Day, I invite you to check out the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators (www.wycliffe.org), a Christian organization busy making God's Word accessible to the everyday people of the world. There are currently more than 2000 languages in the world, spoken by about 350 million people, that have no part of the Bible in their native tongue. Of the 6800+ languages in the world, only 471 have the entire Bible available to them in the language they best understand.

The task is great. The workers are few. Consider how you might play a part in bringing God's Word - and the message of salvation by grace, through faith - to the everyday people of the world so the truth may set them free. Let freedom ring! Happy Reformation Day!

A Communion Surprise

It was Sunday morning at church a couple weeks ago, just as Jon and I began to make our way up to communion, when Will decided to come with us. But first, let me set the stage.

I know there are a lot of different ways for churches to carry out the Lord's Supper... passing it around, walking up to the altar, common cup, individual cups, etc. Our church proceeds to the altar for communion, and typically our own children remain in their seats.

Under our previous pastor it was the custom for children to remain in their seats for whatever reason while the adults went forward for communion. Last year a new pastor came to town, and there has been a shift toward having the children come forward, too, and receive a little blessing. But our family has not really made that change yet.

So Will suddenly decided he wanted to come up front with us and see what it was all about. Great, no problem. In the back of my mind I kind of wished I had a bit of time to explain the details more to him, but it was fine.

All the adults received communion and then our pastor came back around to the kids. He stood in front of Will and raised his hand over him in blessing. Will looked at him, assessed the situation, and promptly responded with a high five. I did all I could to keep my laughter from bursting forth!

Our pastor hardly missed a beat, but it took Jon and me several minutes to get over the communion high five.

Fundraising Blues

Oh how I hate fundraising! It may be necessary to many programs, but I despise it just the same. For the past few weeks, between my two school-age kids, we've been obligated to four fundraisers. Four. At the same time. I'm sure the neighbors were hiding in their homes when they saw our little troop walking down the street!

There was one fundraiser for Anna and another one for Will, and then one that they were both having to do. It was quite the challenge for me to try to make sure the sales for each of them pretty much balanced out to win the same prizes (since no one was especially motivated to sell).

And don't even get me started about those prizes they dangle before our unsuspecting children. "Sell 500 items and win your very own iPod!" That one really had Anna going. Sadly (or lucky for me) she still was not sufficently motivated to actually go door to door to achieve the coveted prize. But she did moan about what could have been. Thanks, fundraiser! Everyone needs a little more complaining around the house.

I spent several hours online setting up my kids with accounts so they could sell online. We sent out emails and postcards to innocent family and friends in the hope that someone would take pity on us and buy something. Apologies to all of you (we actually got some kind of credit just for handing over your information whether you bought anything or not)!

I would be just as happy (happier, really) to simply write a check for a donation to the organization and then pick up a couple cheap toys at the dollar store for my kids' amusement. It would definitely save me money compared to, say... spending $100 on fundraiser items I don't really need so my kids could "win" some stickers or a plastic toy.

I'm sure some studies have probably shown that fundraising is the way to go (versus asking parents for straight donations). But I hate it because I always feel so conflicted during a fundraiser. On the one hand I feel compelled to do our best for "the team" and to do our fair share. On the other hand I feel like a nuisance for pestering friends, family, and neighbors in order to sell our stuff. It really is a great relief when the selling ends.

So here's a huge "thank you" to everyone who bought something from us over the past few weeks! And the good news is that we are down to just one fundraiser, which we have actually been fairly successful with, so I think we're in the clear for a while. Of course, before I know it, it will be cookie-selling season. But who doesn't love cookies?

Where Can I Find a Classic Movie? Or a Kid Show? Or...?

Okay, what is it with all these television networks changing up their formats? Most recently Nick Jr, known for its preschool programming, added an adult-themed NickMom line-up that starts at 10:00 pm complete with stand-up comedy and "reality" shows. Granted, there probably aren't too many preschoolers up that late watching tv, but family circumstances can vary greatly, and wouldn't it be nice to know you can count on a kid channel to have kid programming? Maybe that's just me.

This isn't the first case of station identity crisis. AMC (American Movie Classics) proudly boasts its series, The Walking Dead (among others). Movie? No. Classic? No. I guess it's at least American? Travel Channel features food shows; Food Network promotes travel shows. And when is the last time anyone has seen music videos on MTV? Dire Straits is left wondering why they wanted their MTV to begin with.

Does any of this matter? Not so much really, in the big scheme of things. And some of these cross-overs have resulted in some truly fine entertainment. But still it leaves one asking, "what's in a name?" Why even have a name and a self-proclaimed genre if you then abandon it as you please? Some may call it progress or an evolution of sorts. Or maybe it's just an identity crisis resulting from trying too hard to chase the money.

Looking Up

This evening I was out in the neighborhood with my kids, selling popcorn for the Cub Scouts' fundraiser. It had been one of those days. Actually it has been about two weeks' worth of "one of those days" and I'm quite ready to move on to a different kind of day already.

Our kind neighbors were happy to support the Scouts as we made our way from house to house. At the designated last house for the day, while the friendly man was making his selection, Will asked me why the sky was red. I looked up to see the red clouds stretching across the sky as the sun hid behind the treeline in its pursuit of the horizon. It was beautiful. And peaceful. And somehow hopeful.

"The sun is setting. It's time to head home," I told my son. And I was thankful for the reminder to look up. There is a bigger picture, a bigger purpose. Sometimes it gets clouded by the crazy details that crowd me. But if I can lift my eyes and find the great sky and remember the greater One who hung it there, then am I settled in my heart and renewed in my spirit. Thanks, little Scout, for reminding me to look up.