When is it half-time?

I had to laugh the other day. It was during the Confirmation service on Sunday evening and Josh (who is now 8) leaned over and asked me "when is it half time?" Now, I am not sure if that is exactly what he said, but it sounded like that to me. In truth, he may have been asking 'when is it home time', but I still chuckled to myself.

By the way, I didn't have the heart to tell him that when we get to heaven, we will be worshipping Jesus day and night :)

Revelation 7:15 - This is the reason they are before God’s throne. They worship him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them.

 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

When you were a child

I had to laugh the other day. I was taking Josh (8) and his friend home from school and they were having a great chat in the back of the car. At one point I overheard them speaking about which playschools they had gone to and this is what I heard:

"When you were a child, what school did you go to?"

I had to laugh out loud, because they are only 8 years old themselves, so I wouldn't want to know what age a "child" is for them. Sometimes our kids can be so funny.

Matthew 18:3 - And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

1 Corinthians 13:11 - When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Two of me ...

I was helping Josh brush his teeth this morning when he suddenly said, "Look, I see two Daddies?" I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but then noticed he was pointing at the mirror and then at me - two daddies - one in real life and one in the mirror!

How true his little statement is! There are two of me. The person the world sees and the 'real' me. How different the two 'daddies' can sometimes be. We all wear masks - we all try to portray ourselves to be better than we truly are. The real struggle in our Christian walk is to allow Jesus to take the 'real' me and to transform him into the person I was created to be. God knows our potential and he is willing to chip away at all our rough edges, making us into his masterpiece.

Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Who are you?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The 'fatness' of God

You have got to love the language of kids. Josh was explaining something to me today and was trying to tell me how 'wide' his fort was, but he instead he used the word 'fat'. I gently tried to correct him, but it did make me chuckle. I thought of the passage in Ephesians that speaks of the height, width and depth of God's love and if we inserted the word 'fatness' into this scripture, it would
make interesting reading:

Ephesians 3:16-19
^"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide (FAT) and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

I thank God that he is so 'Fat', awesome and incredible. His love is so wide it covers every area of our lives.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

What do have to show for it?

My two older boys are doing a Market at their school this week and of course that means that mom and dad need to hand out cash to all 3 of them. Josh loves going to all the stalls and spending his (our) money. At the end of the day it is all in aid of fun for the kiddies, and a learning experience for the older boys, who actually run their own businesses.

When I went to fetch Josh from school I asked him, what he had to show for his pocket money. He honestly had no clue what I was saying? I had to explain myself again and then he pulled out a container with bright blue goo - "this is what I bought dad!" Needless to say, I put on a brave smile and said, "That's cool boy!"

I suppose that I need to be reminded that when I give my kids a gift, I can't always dictate how they spend it. Sure, I need to offer them counsel and make practical suggestions, but one day, when they are adults, they will need to make their own choices. Of course there are times when we can spend money on things that can't be 'seen', but there are also opportunities to spend wisely and then to have something to "show for our money!" 

1 Corinthians 7:30 - "...happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work."

"It's good to have money and the things money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." - George Horace Lorimer

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Encourage those silkworms!!!

"Come on silkworms!"

These were the very first words that our tiny silkworms got to read when they were born. The boys had scribbled this encouragement on the inside of their shoe boxes (see photo attached), just in case the silkworms needed a little encouragement when they came into the world. I had to laugh at the brilliance of kids.

However, they are spot on when it comes to encouragement. Sometimes we all just need a little encouragement to "Come on!" Life may have us trapped inside a cocoon and we feel that we are not going to see the light of day, and all we need is a little understanding and support.

So, if you are feeling a little down today, may you know that the Spirit of God is whispering to you...

"Come on _______________ (fill your name) - you can do it!"

 Acts 20:2 - "He travelled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people."

 Romans 15:5 - "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had..."

God bless you

Living in Grace
D3LM3

One size fits all.... or maybe not! (Lent #10)

I took the boys to get their Rugby boots this weekend and after a few attempts we managed to sort them out. I was just reflecting on how they all have different sized feet, so they all need different sized boots. I know it sounds obvious, but I need to say it out loud - "one size would NOT have fitted all 3 of them."

Sometimes we try and fashion our worship services, faith experiences and even devotional habits around a "one size fits all" mentality. This is not going to work. We are a all created uniquely and so we will respond to God in slightly different ways. Of course we can worship in community and still experience the same Spirit of Christ, but how we respond to Jesus will be unique to all of us.

This is perhaps why there are a number of different denominations and styles of worship in the Christian faith. Some of us may prefer contemporary songs, why others enjoy hymns. Some may prefer quieter, contemplative worship, while others like more expressive styles. This doesn't mean that we don't worship the same Messiah, it just means that we don't have to fit into each others 'boots.'

At the end of the day, my boys will all play the game of Rugby, but they will play in their own boots. One size can't fit all...

Job 11:7-10
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The Missing piece - Advent 2

Our Kids Church did an awesome Nativity play on Sunday. It was based around a story of "the missing piece" of a puzzle. We all try and find the best gifts, toys, food, trees, decorations and even holidays at Christmas time, but we neglect the most important aspect, which is Jesus. He is the missing piece of the puzzle for each one of us.

They sang a song called the "Missing Piece", which has the following words ...

Jesus you’re the one I’ve been waiting for

You’re the missing piece the missing piece

You’re the only one that I’m longing for

You’re the missing piece

The missing piece of my heart

Pre-Chorus two:

All the things that filled my life before

I found You Lord

They all just seem to fade away

Bridge:

You fill the hole

In this desperate soul

Complete with you

You’re the missing piece

We can try and fill our lives with all sorts of things this Advent season, but in the end it will not meet our deepest need. Generations of people have tried to exclude God from their lives and in the end they have still found that something was missing. 

May we turn to Christ this festive season and may He fill the void in our aching hearts.

"Since ancient times

no one has heard,

no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you

who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." - Isaiah 64:4

Living in Grace

D3LM3

P.S. If you would like to listen to that song "Missing Piece" (by Gateway United) click on this link.

God's number

Here is another gem from Josh...

We were talking about something, when suddenly he was telling me about "God's number."
I was a little amused by this and after asking him what he meant, he told me that anything that has a large number is "God's number!" (I guess this would include the stars in the night sky, the grains of sand on the beach and perhaps the many leaves that are starting to fall.)

So, I still chuckle when I think of Josh and God's number.
God's love can't be contained - he loves us more than we can count.

May you be blessed today, with the overwhelming presence of God.

Living in Grace
D3LM3