Simple Pleasures

He could have made every food taste the same. Simple manna. Just what we need to sustain us, but not necessarily anything to enjoy or savor. But He didn't. Thank you, Lord, for. . .
. . .tender, flavorful shrimp and scallops
. . .rich, luxurious chocolate
. . .fresh, fragrant breads
. . .plump, ripe, scrumptiously sweet strawberries
. . .oils and vinegars and spices that combine to create nothing short of a party for my palate

He could have made the moon look exactly the same every night. But He didn't. Thank you, Lord, for each of these:

He could have made the landscape purely functional. Big uniform square blocks of brown dirt suitable for providing the things we need to sustain life but completely uninteresting to look at. But he didn't. Thank you, Lord, for. . . 

. . .majestic green and snow-capped mountains

. . .sprawling corn fields

. . .lazy, winding rivers

. . .powerful, rushing waterfalls

. . .warm, sandy beaches

. . .rocky, lighthouse-clad coastlines

He sure didn't have to bother with all those seasons. But He did. Thank you, Lord, for. . .


Spring

Summer

Fall

And Winter.

He could have made flowers nothing more than pollen containers--all the same color, size and shape. Fuel for the bees; pointless for the humans. But He didn't. Thank you, Lord, for. . .

. . .yellow roses

. . .pink peonies

. . .purple petunias

. . .tiny forget-me-nots

. . .gigantic sunflowers

. . .clustered bunches of hydrangeas

. . .individual tulips in a vast array of vivid colors

Simple pleasures. None of them necessary to live. Gifts from God, who delights in our joy. Thank you, Lord, for the lavish and creative ways you love us!

Entitlement vs. Gratitude

"Gratitude is a beautiful thing. There is no Christianity without it. It is at the heart of worship. It should fill the heart of every believer."  --John Piper


Last week during Ladies' Bible Study, we touched on this topic just a bit as an extension of a "Vending Machine God" discussion. We agreed that pretty much every person has a tendency to treat God like a vending machine, expecting that if we do a, b and c, He should give us exactly what we want and deserve. This is flawed logic for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that none of us *really* want what we deserve. But on the other hand, God does give us amazing gifts every single day that we should enjoy. And this is just as difficult for some as avoiding entitlement mentality. Many struggle with feeling guilty over enjoying common graces like a nice meal out or a new pair of boots, etc. There is constant tension in the Christian life between these two extremes, and if we were to poll 10,000 people as to how often we should eat out, buy new things, etc, we would likely get 10,000 different opinions. The truth is that there are way too many factors to set hard and fast rules as to how this should look specifically for every single family. But certainly there are diagnostic concepts we can examine to figure out where we land on the spectrum.


Those who eat out more often than they prepare meals at home and then complain about more of the meals than they compliment might have an entitlement problem.


Those who "redecorate" their homes every 2 years and find that it is never quite what they want it to be might have an entitlement problem.


Those who find themselves angry with people who don't serve them perfectly might have an entitlement problem.


Those who exceed their budget each month or even find themselves going into debt for unnecessary items (but things that they *really* want!) might have an entitlement problem.


You see the pattern, I'm sure.


But don't misunderstand. I'm not condemning eating out, redecorating, or even enjoying good customer service. My point is that we should examine the condition of our hearts in regards to these things. If we see them as gifts, we are much more likely to be grateful for them, and gratitude and entitlement can't live in the same heart at the same time.


Since it's Christmastime, let's consider the following example:


Little Sammy gets up early Christmas morning to open up his gifts. None of these things are items he particularly "needs." They are gifts from people who love him and enjoy making him smile. When he opens the gifts, he is happy and thankful. He hugs all of the givers and tells them how much he appreciates their gifts. In the following weeks and months, he takes care of the items and uses them as they were intended, and each one brings him great joy. I'm guessing no one sees a problem with this scenario.


Now let's change it up a bit. Little Sammy gets the exact same gifts as mentioned in the above scenario, but rather than hug or thank anyone, he wants to know why there isn't more. He whines about one of the items being the wrong color and cries because another item isn't fun to play with unless he has 3 other items to go with it. He mentions to each of the givers that he gave them a list of everything he wanted and wonders why they didn't just follow the list. And in the following weeks and months, he doesn't take care of the items and doesn't even use them since they weren't exactly what he asked for. The givers are the same, and all of the items are the same. But this scenario is basically a disaster. Why? The only difference is the condition of the recipient's heart.


Certainly there are examples of excess all throughout our culture, and many of us are guilty of pursuing and expecting things that we shouldn't. But sometimes there are material things and experiences in our lives that I believe God intends for us to receive and enjoy as good gifts from Him with the kind of gratitude that expels any and all thoughts of entitlement. We don't deserve anything good. At all. So let's choose to be grateful when we get it anyway. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Movies

I'm sure we're not alone in our annual December tradition to make sure we watch a certain list of Christmas movies at least once each throughout the season, right? So I have a question-- What are your MUST see Christmas movies every year? Our list is pretty long, but I just want to make sure we aren't missing any. Tell me what you have to watch every year to make your Christmas season complete. Maybe I'll add a few to our list and start even earlier next year. :-D

The Good List 12-7-11

10. Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits. Y'all. Go to them. I promise they will not disappoint.
9. The Muppets. We tried to see it Thanksgiving weekend, but it was sold out. Just one week later, we shared the theatre with only 3 other people. So I guess Vermonters *only* see movies on Thanksgiving weekend. ;-) Either way, it was a great film.
8. A big ol' stack of Christmas cards, all addressed, stamped and ready to go.
7. The sense of humor of some of my "friends." Check out this little gem I got in the mail last week. No.

6. Overripe bananas and the role they play in baking various healthy and yet still fabulously delicious treats. (Pumpkins play a similar role.)
5. The lead character in the new Disney animated film Brave. I LOVE her crazy, wild, brilliantly red hair!
4. Homemade cookies. I would pretty much choose these over just about any dessert in the entire world. I guess I'll never be able to be a food snob. ;-) 

3. That feeling of being snuggled way down deep in my warm, comfy bed with no need to turn on the alarm clock. Sleep late Saturdays rule.
2. The fact that Jody and Jon recruited the entire Middletown Fire Department to help hang Christmas lights on our church. Gotta love small towns. ;-)
1. This guy.

He loves me so much, it doesn't even make sense. But I love him more, and somehow that makes perfect sense to me. ;-)

Prayer Time 12-6-11

It's a good day to pray. Let me know if there is anything I can lift up on your behalf. Comments on this post will not be published publicly for the sake of those concerned with privacy.


"But we will devoted ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." --Acts 6:4

Quick Reminder

What you and I *deserve* is eternal death and separation from God in the form of hell. Anything we get that is better than that (which is basically everything) is a blessing.


Let's adjust our perspective and expectations accordingly.

More Than Just Photos on a Page. . . So Much More

Three years ago, my ever-growing family decided it was time to simplify our Christmas traditions. I am 1 of 4 daughters, and together we have 10 children, and we all LOVE Christmas in a way that could very easily turn to excess. So in an effort to guard against that, to be financially responsible, and to free a portion of our budget for giving outside of our families, we made some pretty big changes in 2008 which have proven to be huge blessings to us in every way we expected and even many we did not. I may talk more about the whole big picture of this a little later, but today I want to focus on just one of our new traditions.


As my Mom and sisters and I were talking through what our new practices should look like, one of the questions we had to ask is, "What is it that we really even *want* for Christmas? Do we really want to keep trading gift cards and sweaters and DVDs and soon-to-bo-obsolete electronics?" The answer was no. What we decided was most important to us was togetherness. Participating in each other's lives. Communicating. Sharing pictures and stories and adventures. Geographically, this can sometimes be difficult. When we first started this conversation, my family was living in Nashville, TN while everyone else was in Texas, so frequent physical proximity just wasn't an option. Now, my family AND my youngest sister's family live in Vermont (YAY!!!!!), so it's even more difficult to be physically together as an entire family on a regular basis. BUT--we are a creative bunch (or so we'd like to think), and some of us are stubborn :-D, so we were undeterred in our pursuit of this goal. And this is my favorite part of the solution:


Each year I and all of my sisters each create a digital scrapbook--a "yearbook" if you will--which offers a glimpse into what that year looked like for our family. Through this year, each book was 100 pages of kids growing up, family trips and adventures, holiday celebrations, etc. (but we recently discovered you can now add additional pages, so I'm guessing the books will get a little fatter next year. :-D) We work on them throughout the year (or some of us cram and frantically do the entire thing 2 days before ordering. . .), and then when they are all finished, my Mom orders 2 of each book--1 for each family and then a full set for her to keep. This is the only gift the adults receive, and it is a greater treasure to me than anything I can ever remember opening up on Christmas morning. And not just because of what it *is*, but much more because of what it *does.* 


For me, this practice has been a life-changer in so many ways. First, it changes the way I take pictures. Which might sound silly, but for one who is passionate about photography, this idea greatly impacts my thought processes and behavior with my camera (which I spend a LOT of time with, so that's a good thing.) I'm so much more deliberate now. Every picture bears the potential to tell a story, to draw my 2000-miles away parents and sisters and nieces and nephews into my life and the lives of my children. I love the way this shapes my thoughts toward the way we spend our time.

Additionally, this has become an incredibly fun way to spend time with my sisters even when we are across the country from each other. We can all log in at the same time and work on our books while chatting together online. We can copy from each other's books, share pictures, etc. Some of my favorite conversations with my oldest sister have happened in the middle of the night (or early morning to be more accurate) as we share pictures and stories and record life events together. One click of the mouse instantly shrinks the distance between us. So awesome. 


And finally, these books are becoming my love letters to my children. Certainly they are filled with all sorts of silly and fun and not necessarily deeply meaningful pictures (and hopefully they always will be), but as we strive to turn our lives more and more toward pursuing Christ, I am equally hopeful that it will be impossible not to see the thread of faith woven throughout the pages. I don't mean that the fun and silliness will decrease. I sure hope not! And I don't mean there will be scripture and really bad morose pictures of Jesus on every page (since that's about the only kind you can find ;-). I just mean that Christ would be evident in the patterns of our lives. The way we spend time together and with others. The activities we choose to participate in. The pursuits that capture our imaginations and draw our attention. You know. . . . Matthew 6:21 stuff. One of these days when my girls have a stack of 15 or 20 of these to flip through, I hope they will see that we treasure Christ. Very imperfectly for sure, but I hope in such a way that leads them to do the same.


And with that said, here is my 3rd installment in this library of legacy--