Everything Is Awesome

(If you've seen The Lego Movie recently, you will now have this song in your head for the next 12 hours. You're welcome.)

For about a year, the wallpaper on my phone said simply 2 words: be awesome. As cheesy as it is, there was something about that phrase that struck me--in a good way. Because there are so many things in this world that aren't awesome, and yet they are able to take up so much of our time, money, and thoughts. It was my reminder every time I turned on my phone to return to what is awesome.

For some reason, this is what came to my mind the other day when my 8-year-old asked, "Mommy, why do people give up things for Lent?"

Now, this blog already has some awesome explanations of what Lent is and how to celebrate it with children, so I won't repeat all of that here. But I can tell you the answer I gave to my daughter. I fast from something in Lent because it is an opportunity to let go of something that isn't awesome. Something that has crept into my life and taken over in a way that keeps me from living my best life with God. It's a chance to create a new habit or give up an old one and turn our lives back in the direction we're wanting to go. Because everything is not awesome, and we have the ability to choose what will be a part of our lives.

So what am I giving up for Lent? In a word, shopping. If you know me in person, this may surprise you, as I am a fairly... frugal person. But giving up shopping for Lent is more about my time and less about my money. Because, as a homemaker, much of my responsibilities involve spending our money in the best possible way. And a cheap perfectionist can spend hours trying to find the absolute best deal on everything. So I have found my days have gradually become more and more about searching for deals and coupons online, driving around to different stores to buy everything at the best price, and even occasionally rewarding myself by wandering through the aisles of Target or World Market while the kids are in school. And while I don't think any of those things are necessarily bad in and of themselves (and it is certainly important to be good stewards of our money), they are not the best way for me to be spending so much of my time. I think God is far more concerned with how much time I spend with Him and serving others than with how many dollars I saved on my last shopping trip.

So I am receiving Lent as an opportunity to make changes in my life. I will still do the grocery shopping every week (because it's my job!) and I will still buy the necessities that my family needs. But no online shopping for me, no window shopping, and no hours spent in search of the best possible deal ever. I see it as a chance to take back some of the hours in my day and an experiment in being more awesome.

What about you? Have you asked God what He would like you to give up for Lent? Are your children participating this year? I really would love to know--and feel free to ask me how the shopping fast is going. Have a blessed Lenten season.

~Carolyn

Prayer, Fasting, and Giving with Children

We are not suggesting you fast from your children or give them away. (Tempting though it may be on some days.) Instead here are a few suggestions, a few practices to engage with children during Lent. A few suggestions from Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide on celebrating Lent, at home, family style. The Big Three: Prayer, Fasting, Giving

Prayer begins in the heart.

• Family Altar or Prayer Corner: Cover a small table with a purple cloth,. Arrange on it a cross, or a family Bible, maybe a small shallow box with sand in it, where children can draw their prayers to God, maybe a family prayer journal.  Choose a Christ candle to place in the center. (Battery powered candles are wonderful for the not yet fire worthy.) Invite children to light the Christ candle in the morning or evening, or when you are reading the Bible as a reminder that Jesus is the Light of the World. This is the light of Advent that continued through Christmastide and Epiphany--and still shines on in Lent. Invite family members to visit the Altar at least once a day during Lent.
• Prayer Box: Take a 3x5 index card box and write prayers from the Bible, or from saints, or beautiful pieces of poetry on the card and place them in the box. Read one each evening before bed, or at the dinner table. Try prayers from This is What I Pray Today by Phyllis Tickle or Prayers for Each and Every Day by Sophie Piper.

Fasting begins in our bodies.

• Fasting from Meat:Traditionally many folks fast meat on Fridays and they will also choose some other vice to give up for 40 days. If this works for you and your people, go for it.
• Fasting from Superfluous Foods: Others I know have fasted eating out for 40 days, still others have fasted sugar, or chocolate, soda.
• Fasting from Technology: For children giving up nutritional food is not an option, but giving up TV, or video games, or texting is certainly a good choice.

Fasting is not popular in our culture. To deny myself something I want will sound strange to others, but it is imminently important that we and our children learn to tell our bodies, “No.” Letting our bodies and our desires run our lives will destroy us. Fasting is directly related to prayer. We will need strength beyond ourselves to die to our wills. The will is loud, and irritating; only the peace of God can quiet it.

Fasting is directly related to prayer. In fasting we teach our wills to ignore our mere desires and focus on our true needs. But the will is loud, and irritating, and is the habit of responding to the body's wants. We need strength beyond our own to die to our desires and retrain our wills. Only the peace of God can quiet  the will long enough for it to learn.

Giving begins with others.

Giving begins right where we are. We look to our families and see where we take instead of give. We make the effort to overcome our natural pet peeves. We do something nice for someone who irritates us.

• Giving Money: We choose to eat simple meals, or to fast junk food, and send the extra grocery money to someone else. There are many great organizations that truly give life to others.
• Giving Time: We fast our favorite TV show and instead pack the family up and visit the local nursing home.
• Giving Attention: We give up always having to talk about ourselves and give the gift of listening.

 Let us know how it goes.

Great is His faithfulness

Ever have one of those weeks where God just keeps showing up?  In every situation, no matter how you mess it up, no matter what rotten attitude you exhibit, no matter the mistakes you make.  You attempt over and over again to screw things up with your complete and utter “human-ness”, but there He is.  Making things ok.  Reminding you that He is in control and that all you have to do is rely on Him and obey.  That is exactly the week I am having. I’m not very proud to admit that trusting God is not really my strong suit.  I teach my kids that they can rely on Him for everything.  I tell them that they can go to God with anything that burdens their heart and if they hand it over, He will deal with it. I tell them that they will look back on those burdens one day and realize that what once seemed so huge to them will look much smaller and more manageable.  But, I don’t always practice what I preach.  I hand my burdens over to God with the full belief that He will work them out in my best interest. And I let Him deal with them. Until I don’t.  Until I feel like I am not getting the results I expected or until things aren’t happening fast enough to suit me.  I don’t do it on purpose.  I don’t consciously think “God had failed me.  I’ve given Him the one thing that He couldn’t handle.”  But by snatching my worries back from His hands that’s exactly what I am saying to Him.  By hanging onto things I had previously turned over, I am suggesting that I am bigger and more capable than God.

But He remains faithful.  He shows up.  Even when He could leave me to my own sad devices.  Even when He could fold His arms across His divine chest and say to me, “go ahead. You wanted to take it back so badly.  You deal with it.”  But He doesn’t do those things.  He walks alongside me and gives me more chances.  So many chances that I feel as though I must be coming to the end of my share.  Until I remember that there is no end to the chances.

I am so grateful for those times when God keeps showing up in unexpected ways.  When I hear the same message in different ways in a short amount of time.  When the same Scripture keeps popping up and speaking to me in different ways.  And when He makes His presence known in a situation that reminds me to stop, go to my kids and remind them of His great faithfulness.

The Eyes to See

Often in Good Dirt we asked reflective questions. These are great for children beginning in about late 2nd grade depending on the child, but any earlier and it goes something like this... On Mark 10:32-45, "What has the Son of Man come to do? How can you serve others today?"

After asking this young children will often look at you with a blank stare, or if you've got a budding comic on your hands it might be more like, "I think he's come to eat dinner with us. And Legos are my favorite."

For children under the age of roughly eight, the beauty of the Seasons of the Church are in the ritual. ("Rhythm" if you are not Catholic.) It's the daily opening of the Bible and quietly listening to the same stories that will seep in over time, over years. The reflective questions are of little help.  The questions will help the older children and certainly the adults, but the younger folks don't quite have the language to express what they know is true. Their knowledge of the subject is limited.

I know you're thinking, "Just what do they know?"  They know that goodness is something they want. No kid wants bad stuff. None. In my years of teaching I never saw a kid who wanted to be bad. Yes, there were many who couldn't find their way to goodness, but they always wanted it.  Goodness is a characteristic of God.

They know that truth is good. They may not always tell the truth, but they always want the truth told to them. No child likes deceit.  Truth is a characteristic of God.

They will always stop and wonder at beauty. Children under the age of eight will still follow a butterfly around the yard just to catch a glimpse of it's beauty. They will pick the petals of a rose to feel the beauty in their fingers. Beauty is a characteristic of God.

So how do we teach them the language they need? How do we help them connect with the goodness, truth and beauty of God?

When you tuck them in for the night ask,

"When did you see something good today?" Then remind them that God is good.

What made you happy or sad today? (This is telling the truth about themselves. This is the first truth we learn.)

What did you see today that was beautiful?

Don't choose all of these. and don't look for a specific answer. Let them simply work their knowledge of God into language. It's a bit like when they first learned to talk. Lots of babbling, many mispronunciations, joyful laughter and celebration.

Going for Gold

Olympic season and the Quinns are taking in some winter sports in Russia these days! We're rooting not only for the USA but also for Norway, Switzerland, and the Ukraine. Our high-schooler is part of a competition in his Global Community class and his threesome bid for these countries in their class Olympics. They chose well; we've celebrated more than a few golds.

It's fun to watch these exotic winter games and witness the amazing victories, along with the crushing upsets, injuries, and nerve-wracked sub-par performances. As we do, though, the mom in me can't help but ask questions that span far beyond Russia. It's these questions that run deep and wide, but that really circle back to the heart of each one of us and what it is that we're really striving after.

Is it gold medals and physical accomplishments my kids look to as the height of success? Does the personal training and dedication of these athletes mirror, for my kids--and, yes, for us parents--the training we do on the inside of us in our life with Jesus? Does the single-focused living these athletes must embrace point us toward single-focused lives where Christ is Coach and Trainer and we choose a run with Him that is for a lifetime, no turning back and in pursuit of a prize that doesn't wear out?

Or does the glory dwell just here, in Sochi and in the athletic accomplishments on snow and ice?

God's timing is good. On a Friday night we open Good Dirt and read from Mark 10. Two disciples are asking Jesus about receiving places of honor next to him someday in glory. Jesus proceeds to turn glory upside-down as he answers. "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. "

So, we talk about serving, about using our bodies for others and getting nothing in return. We talk about seeing the needs of other people and thinking about how we can meet those needs. We talk about praying. And we ponder the question, "How can you choose not to get your way?"

The next morning, this mom continues her own pondering. I'm banking on the fact that God's Word is alive and active. The words of Jesus take on a life inside my kids that no skier slaloming down a hill can ever do.

And then, before climbing out of bed I flip on a light, prop my pillows and read these words from Dallas Willard:

But Christ-likeness of the inner being is not a merely human attainment. It is, finally, a gift of grace. The resources for it are not human, but come from the interactive presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who place their confidence in Christ, as well as from the spiritual treasures stored in the body of Christ's people upon the earth. Therefore it is not formation of the spirit or inner being of the individual that we have in mind, but also formation by the Spirit of God and by the spiritual riches of Christ's continuing incarnation in his people, past and present--including, most prominently, the treasures of his written and spoken word. ~ The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship, pp. 105-106

Thank you, God, for speaking into the Olympics. Thank you, Jesus, for speaking with your life and truth into this family and into this global community of people who need, more than anything, your gift of grace.

Why Practice Lent with Children?

This post is taken from Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide. Lent begins on March 5 with Ash Wednesday—we hope you'll join us on this journey! Lent is the season of the divine paradox. We must die to live. While the previous seasons of the church year burst with life, Lent brings us firmly to our deaths. Lent teaches us that the path of wholeness comes through sacrifice. Jesus himself said that we must die to live. Nature echoes this paradox. Seeds must die to live. Stars die to birth galaxies. It is the way of creation, and we are created. If we live in a constant state of indulgence we will never live a whole life. When we deny ourselves, die to our wants and needs, wholeness seeps into us and we live. Lent is our salvation from the superfluous.

It seems Christmastide and Advent, with all their indulgences, are seasons custom made for children, but what about Lent?

What do we do with children and death? Aren’t we to teach them to live?

Herein lies the paradox. It is our job to teach them to live, but they must learn to die to themselves in order really to live. They must learn to die to having their own way, and they must learn to give what they have in order to receive what God has for them. We are to teach them to love themselves. The next step is to teach them to give up their lives.

However, we cannot hope for that change in our children until we, their parents and teachers, embrace it ourselves. We teach them to die, by dying ourselves.

So we also make a way for death. We clear the path, clean the space, and set our houses in order. That is what we do during Lent, as we participate in the three disciplines of prayer, fasting and giving. Together these disciplines do what we cannot do. They clear the path, clean the space and set our houses in order so that God can bring death and then wholeness.

With all this death talk we may think we must walk around with sour looks on our faces. Not us, the people of God—the paradox kicks in, and we are joyful. Love makes Lent joyful. What we do, we do out of love for God and for neighbor.

SQUIRREL! (Or, Dealing With Distractions)

Wow. Keeping a five-year old's attention is a chore. At least it is with our little dude. We've been trying different ways to help him listen to Good Dirt devotions. Sometimes I start making things up during the reading to see if he notices ("then Peter got on a motorcycle and started doing wheelies!") His sister thinks it's hilarious, but usually it goes over his head. One night we tried offering him M&M's if he could answer questions based on the reading. But mostly we just say stuff like "Are you paying attention?" "Stop squirming." "Get off of your sister!" "What did I just say?"

I figured it would get better after he got into the habit of daily devotions, but alas, three months in we're still dealing with distractions every night. Not unlike the dog from Up.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSUXXzN26zg]

It's hard to help everyone keep focused night after night. I might have a better attention span than a kindergartener, but I'm not immune to distractions (case in point: I'm writing this blog post while watching the Olympics, texting and playing a game on my smartphone). In fact, I think the distractions are what have derailed our family devotions in the past. After the excitement of Advent and Christmas, we tend to run out of gas after a month or so--then we get distracted with other things and the habit slips away.

Epiphany is also called Ordinary time. Carolyn has been learning a lot lately about finding God in the ordinary, but doing that takes discipline to avoid distractions. Because the ordinary seems so--well, ordinary. It's easy to get caught up with distractions and miss the still-small voice. But God is patiently waiting to give us the gift of His presence if we'll put down the phone, turn off the TV and listen.

And stop chasing the squirrel.

Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide is now available!

We are excited to share that Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide is now available! In this second volume, seasonal activities and readings guide families through a journey with Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection as he invites us to follow him as his disciples.

The season of Lent starts March 5 with Ash Wednesday. This devotional will lead you through to the end of Eastertide at Pentecost.

You can download a free PDF of the book, or order a physical copy from Amazon.

Thanks to everyone for going on this journey with us!

Moments in Time

As most of you know Wendy my gorgeous wife paints houses now and then with her sister Christy.  Their most recent accomplishment was wall papering a "castle" outside of Delta (Delda for those who speak Deldonian).  I call it a castle because it sits on the south side of Grand Mesa, is 11,000 square feet and has just a magnificent feel to it.  A secret door, a giant tiled living space that could fit a half basketball court in it, a kitchen that makes cooks like myself drop to their knees exclaiming "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"  Anyway you get the idea.  It's a nice place. Last week I was in "Delda" with my two boys while Wendy and Christy were working at the castle.  It was one of the very snowy days of the week and I'm in our Buick Lasabre with bald tires and the castle sits 7 miles off the hyway straight up the extinct volcano's reaches.  I, now 47 years of age,  hesitate to take the journey as it's a blizard in "Delda", but adventure awaits and my boys' sense of adventure is getting to level six on "Skylanders Swap Force" video game and the snow is lifting a bit.

The journey up goes by a ranch house with old dead monstrous cottonwood trees on one side of the road and an abandoned small orchard on the the other.  Then it comes to several chicken raising barns and then the final ascent to the castle is steep.  We make it up no problem.  After I tour the place and determine its castle-like status we venture back home after a farewell smooch from my lady.  The snow now is back with a force and our visibility is down to 50 yards.  I put the Buick in low and we just creep down getting up to a top speed of maybe 20. I start expounding on the moment with my boys, for what we can see is only just what's ahead. "What if there's only what we can see and nothing beyond?" I exclaim to the somewhat worried looking boys.

We then approach the old ranch and we can see as we near the cottonwoods several Ravens and they are fighting with a Golden Eagle.  Whiteout of snow around us and God clashing before us in battle with our enemies.  There's no show of fear from the eagle even outnumbered 12 to 1 and we in the old car as mere spectators to their clash.  The boys just exclaim (raised from their 80's era father) "cool!"

A week later I'm taking my oldest son Quinn to his tutor outside of Montrose.  She lives about 6,000 feet and has had some accumulation after several days of heavy snow so she says that her husband will meet us at the bottom of the hill to help us with the journey.  Sounds like another adventure to me so I take our SUV.  We get to their driveway and see there is probably a foot of new snow. I roar the SUV down the drive in four wheel drive slipping a bit several times to the side of the mile long treacherous driveway.  I take extra care to go beyond the limits of a 100% safe trip down the drive just to exhilarate my son a bit.  On the way out I take my time viewing the covered landscape covered with the engineered frozen crystals that transformed the mesa to something magical.  Millions of tiny mirrors reflecting beams of sunlight.  Odd shapes of snow covered trees make a rounded lumpy white terrain.  The trail is just a moment in time going through a free tour of Gods transformation.  No troubles exist here for this mile is God's orchestration.

Later that day I pick up Quinn in town from his tutor and he wants to go to his favorite pizza place for lunch.  Colorado Boy is our local fire brick oven pizza/brewery.  The responsible father in me that thinks we have sandwich stuff at home is easily swayed because I too like the pie at Colorado Boy.  While I'm there I usually help the place out and purchase a pint of Irish ale,  just to be a good patron of local business. I hold several gold medals for eating slowly and savoring the food and beverage of the moment.  However, Quinn is now a definite contender of eating as slow or slower than his old man so, we are not in a hurry.    It's getting past 1:00 pm and with the fill of beer and pizza and the view from the gunfighters seat in the booth of the quaint restaurant it all goes kinda slow motion.  The place is clearing out people are talking, laughing, enjoying the atmosphere of the fire brick oven and the brass laden bar, I see God again.  He's enjoying the moment with us.  Father and son, no words need to be spoken. These are moments I cherish and wish they could last forever.

Prayer for Kaiser

We, the community of saints, gather to lift one another up. We can gather through the waves of internet, passing through time zones and seasons.

Today will you join us in lifting up Kaiser Liebenthal. He is in the hospital in South Korea.  He has pneumonia. His parents, Mark and Tamara, who blog for Good Dirt, need our prayers and loving encouragement as well. 

 Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd of the sheep, you gather the lambs in your arms and carry them in your bosom:We commend to your loving care this child, Kaiser. Relieve his pain, guard him from all danger, restore to him your gifts of gladness and strength. Hear us, we pray, for your dear Name's sake. 

We also ask for an awareness of your care and presence for Tamara and Mark. Help them to unmistakably see your hand, feel your strength. Protect them from the "what if" devil, and help them to lean into your goodness and light. 

We, your people, bring this family to you. Thank you for helping us. Amen. 

Sin boldly

"Go to your room," I said in a firm tone. A little too firm. The offending 7 year old sulked off. Afterward my wife kindly pointed out I could've handled that with a little more gentleness.

She was right.

But here's something wonderful: I didn't beat myself up about it as I usually would. No cyclical self-analysis or inner slow-motion replay of my every motive, just a simple recognition of wrong.

This peaceful repentance came at the end of Sunday on which I had actually rested body and mind. And the rest bore fruit in an unexpected way: I sinned boldly. Boldly in the sense in which I think Martin Luther meant that oft abused quote. That is, I wasn't bound up under the tyranny of trying not to sin. So I sinned, I recognized it, I turned from it. No gluttony of guilt necessary.

And when I went to my daughter in her room, asked forgiveness--without excusing my or her offense--she had some words of wisdom for me from a story she'd heard recently. "Daddy, when someone was mean to Saint Francis he was kind to them back." Too true, small one. We hugged. God, the master recycler, had done it again. He wove sins the Enemy meant for evil into a teary eyed moment of grace.

"Simply to Thy Cross I Cling"

I will confess right off the bat that this month has been a season of clinging to Jesus for me.  I think I might be part ostrich, because my natural tendency is to just stick my head in the sand whenever life gets ‘too tough’.  But whether I’ve allowed myself a little time in that soft, cool sand or been out in the thick of it, I’ve been clinging.  And not gracefully clinging, either.  I’m talking the fingernails dug in and feet dangling kind of clinging.  There is a battle raging, I have no energy to fight – and so I cling. If I were to write about our family experiences with daily devotions, you would hear about the time when Kaiser was going to draw something about the Sabbath healing at the Pool of Bethesda.  He diligently hovered over his notebook adding precision details before proudly showing us a drawing of himself playing badminton.  I know that I’ll come across that picture one day and faintly remember the despairing of my heart as I wondered if my son would -ever- experience God intimately.

When I ask my son the leading questions in our devotions, his most common response is, “Uh, Peace! Love! Courage!”  (See, Wendy, I wasn’t joking)

So I’ll leave those stories for another day when my heart isn’t despairing quite so much.  And I’ll just say that the reading of Scripture every morning and every evening has been a form of clinging for me.  I loved Lacy’s post about eating the Book.  Yes, I have it with honey for breakfast (Psalm 119:103).  We do like honey in this house.  To prove my point, I’ll share just one more kid story. Kaiser smelled honey when we were living in the story of the feeding of the 4,000 (Mark 8:1-10).  Turns out he had some honey toast along with him.  He even shared some of his honey toast with Jesus.  And when Jesus stood and gave thanks, I leaned over and whispered, asking Kaiser who Jesus was thanking.  Loudly, he says, “Me!”  4,000 heads turned our way……..  *sigh

Lord, thank you for Your Word.

Another form of clinging for me has been found in a gift from my sister-in-law.  A book called “Then Sings My Soul” by Robert J. Morgan.  In it are 150 Hymns with descriptive narratives alongside each one about the life of the author.  I have an hour at taekwondo class where I sit in a cold office and read.  Since this book arrived, I’ve been reading and singing, reading and singing.  And I’ve even begun to sing some of these to Kaiser to put him to sleep at night.  These words are medicine.  Listen.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages cleft for me / Let me hide myself in Thee

Let the water and the blood / From Thy wounded side which flowed

Be of sin the double cure / Save from wrath and make me pure

Could my tears forever flow / Could my zeal no languor know

These for sin could not atone / Thou must save and Thou alone

In my hand no price I bring / Simply to thy cross I cling

While I draw this fleeting breath / When my eyes shall close in death

When I rise to worlds unknown / And behold Thee on Thy throne

Rock of Ages cleft for me / Let me hide myself in Thee

“Just As I Am” was written by a woman wrought with physical disabilities and angry to the brim because of them.  When she faced her own epiphany that Jesus bids us come just as we are, she gave herself, full of anger and distrust, to Him - and He received her (John 6:37).  Her story brings healing.

Just As I Am

Just as I am without one plea / But that Thy blood was shed for me

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee / O Lamb of God I come / I come

Just as I am and waiting not / to rid my soul of one dark blot

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot / O Lamb of God I come / I come

Just as I am though tossed about / With many a conflict many a doubt

Fightings and fears within, without / O Lamb of God I come / I come

Just as I am poor, wretched, blind / Sight, riches, healing of the mind

Yea all I need in Thee to find / O Lamb of God I come / I come

Just as I am Thou wilt receive / Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve

Because Thy promise I believe / O Lamb of God I come / I come

Lord, we encounter you in all sorts of dusty regions.  We see you healing those who are sick and feeding those who are hungry.  We recognize your compassion.  As we cling to you, increase our faith.

-Tamara Liebenthal

Just Like a Snowflake

This week we reach the mid-point of Epiphany, and this morning two of my boys and I had a fitting conversation on the way to school. First, I will backtrack.

We started off Ephiphany in early January talking about Jesus, the Light of the World. This season of Epiphany (between Christmastide and Lent) is focused on just that--Jesus revealed to us as Savior, Messiah, Light of the World. And as we have basked in the glow of Jesus during this season, we have also considered how he calls us to let our light shine before others. Our family has prayed many prayers thanking Jesus for being the Light and asking him to shine his light in our lives. I wrote a blog about how we even entered into discussions of Jesus, the Light, with our neighbors one night.

The family and neighbor time has been meaningful, though devotional. We don't often know how the talk will translate into the rest of life. And then last week my 8-year-old came home from school with a paper from Bible class asking what he could do to help another who was hurting. His answer, in a 3rd grader's block print, was to

"share the light with them."

And then this morning on the way to school, after a weekend of Colorado snow and cold, this same 8-year-old asks, "Mom, why does the snow sparkle?"

"Well, snowflakes are little ice crystals, and when light shines on water or ice it reflects back to us and sparkles."

And then Derrin's response, "Why  doesn't dirty snow sparkle?"

Hmmm... Teaching moment appears, despite early morning and a Monday. "Dirt fills up the snowflake so that light can't shine through it. It's kind of like sin, huh? When we're filled with sin we can't shine Jesus' light. But when Jesus' life is living in us it clears away the dirt so that we can shine just like a clean snowflake. "

The car gets quiet and we ride alongside banks of clean, sparkling snow and also dull, dirty roadside slush.  I think about how God brings truth to life again and again in our lives. His Word is living and active--with a house full of people of many ages and backgrounds, at a 3rd grader's desk, in a car on an almost-tardy morning. And God lives through his Word, through Jesus' life in us, differently every time and for each person. Kind of like a snowflake. No two are the same. Every time, every one, new and unique.

An Epiphany of shining moments.  An Epiphany of Light.

From the Mouths of Babes

My boys want to share their thoughts about this season and our Good Dirt readings. Please remember that Kadin is 4 and Quinn has a very hard time verbalizing his thoughts and feelings. That being said.... I type their words... Kadin: We talk to each other and about Jesus. We hug each other and we love each other. I know that Jesus is the best Jesus. I like that we have a great time in our Bible study. I like to draw the pictures. I draw my shepherd pictures. I like to pray for my Tt (aunt) that she has a great night sleep and that Rilynn (cousin) will have a sleep over again at our house. I like when Daddy prays for me. My favorite is the kids Bible. My favorite story is about Jesus when he talks to persons and heals persons. I like that we have a great time every night. I miss it when we don't do it.  We pray for each other and I like to pray for Daddy. That's all!

Quinn: Every night we pray for blessings and forgiveness and our ability to know Jesus. I like to pray for Lacy and Easton and Grandma Nonie and our neighbors and believing. I like to draw pictures of what you're saying of the stories. My favorite picture I have drawn is of the Jesus giving the woman a loaf of bread. I like this picture because that lady was grateful and she said thank you to Jesus for the loaf of bread. I am always grateful! I am grateful for friends, pets, toys, clothes, bed, food, water, lions, movies and video games, parents, family, wood for our stove, ipods, funny youtube videos, Max (the dachshund), real trains, giggle fits and our home/farm. (truly he can keep going but my fingers are not fast enough). I love to light the candles every night... OH YEAH! I learned about Jesus how he is a good man and our King. How he made our world very good. I have learned how He loves us by how He made us and how He gave everything for us. I like when we do our (Good Dirt) Bible study after dinner because we want to learn more about Jesus and it helps us know Jesus better.

I am beyond blessed listening and talking to these two precious boys. They are my heart and soul! Just a minute ago I was frustrated with Quinn and his difficulty getting his schoolwork finished and with Kadin for not finishing his room chores. Now I am humbled and honored to just be able to talk with them.

They remind me why Jesus liked to spend his time with the children. They are profound and simple and fun.

How often do we adults just make things too difficult... to detailed... to big... to complicated. I think now all of my concerns of this life I will just take to my kids and let them answer with their perfect faith. (PS... Isabella is not here. She is on a "date" with her daddy. That makes me love him even more!)

Seeing for the first time...again

I find it interesting that the word smothering is only one additional letter from mothering, which is exactly how mothering feels like some days; smothering. Now please hear my heart, I love my children and I am so thankful for the privilege of motherhood but a woman does need to be able to use the restroom without interruptions or visitors! Reading through the book of Mark with my children has been eye opening to me; I have always read the gospels through so quickly that I didn't take time to ponder the flow of Jesus’ life. Reading it in small batches each day, expounding on the small points so that my five year old understands it, makes me really understand it too. And much to my delight, I see Jesus constantly surrounded by crowds of people, so much so that He and his disciples cannot even eat! That brings comfort to this mommy who is often crying out, “Can’t I just eat please?”  The beauty of it for me, is that I see Jesus never got frustrated with the crowds, he didn’t yell at them to just leave him alone, He patiently taught them and healed them. Now I acknowledge that Jesus is fully God (and human) and perfect, both of which I am not (thank goodness!) but he is my example and I think I have realized his secret.

He knew that his earthly ministry was limited to three short years. He knew that the hearts in those crowds were desperate for his life, his teachings, his hope and those were the only years He had to show it to them. His years on this earth were limited and most of all, he was teaching his disciples the most important things so that when His time was finished they would know how to go and spread his life to the world.

Thankfully God has given me the same opportunity. Every day I am smothered by mothering, yet I realize that these are short years indeed and every time that my daughter calls “Mommy look!” I need to stop and look, because that only lasts a few short years. Some days feel like they will never end but the years do fly by. I know too, that each day I have the privilege to walk in such a way that when my children leave my house and live on their own, they will know the way to walk.

I want them to know that each day, we can’t do it by ourselves, we need God each day. I love how my son loves to hear the scripture reading each day, he gets excited when he knows what Jesus is doing, like a miracle. The scriptures are alive and breathing to him, and I remember in that moment that yes, they are truly amazing. These stories can grow stale after years of hearing or being taught about them, but when I see my son hear the story for the first time, I feel the awe once again and breathe a small thank you to God for his everlasting power. Jesus was God, yet fully man, and thankfully one that in those moments of my day, that I feel like I can never get a little time to myself, he whispers in my heart, “I know darling, I have been there too. Just hold on, it will be over before you know it.”

This is the God that I have given my life over to, the one that is always with me, who understands because he was a man, tempted just like me, and knows how it feels to be smothered and yet chose to die to yourself and delight in those smothering you. He is Immanuel who has come for each of us.

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

How to “EAT THIS BOOK”

“He said to me, O mortal, eat what is offered to you; eat this scroll, and go, speak to house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said to me, Mortal, eat this scroll that I give to you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.” Ezekiel 3:1-3 is always a hard one to explain to children who have been told most of their lives to keep things out of their mouths.

“If you are going to pick your nose, please don’t eat it.”

“No. You cannot eat the candy you found in the sofa.”

“The gum underneath the table is definitely off limits.”

However, in this passage God is clear, he want Ezekiel to eat the word of God. God wants Ezekiel to place that dry, inky word in his mouth and chew. And perhaps chew some more. God wants Ezekiel to swallow those words and let the process of all that he has eaten become part of his very being. Eugene Peterson translates this command as “Eat this book.”[1]

In Romans 12:2 Paul gives his readers a leg up on how the transformation into Christ likeness happens. We are “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” One way mind transformation happens is when we “Eat this book,” when the words of Scripture become part of our very being.

Often when we expose our children to Scripture we get surface level understanding, but that isn’t all they are capable of. If we want to go deeper with them; we have to speak the language they know best—the language of imagination.

C.S. Lewis said that, “Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” [2]

Ignatian meditation is one way to chew and swallow the word of God. It becomes part of our being, it transforms our minds. The practice is quite simple.

1. Choose a passage of Scripture from one of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. A passage that has some action is particularly good. Also choose something short. If you are following along in Good Dirt, you can use the passage from that day. John 6:1-14 is one of my favorites with children.
2. Pray a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to speak through the passage into your hearts. Then read the passage through once.
3. Remind everyone that they have five senses. Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell, and Hearing. It is with these senses that we experience the world. Invite everyone to close their eyes and enter into the passage using their five senses just as if they were actually there. Read the passage again.
4. Ask the questions: What did you see? What did you hear? What did you smell? What did you taste? What did you feel? Some responses to these questions might be… I heard a lot of people talking. I saw Jesus. I smelled fish. I touched the bread. I felt hungry. Give everyone a chance to share their experience.
5. Read the passage through one more time. Do 2 things this time. Ask, who are you most like in the story? And ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. When you finish share your responses. (Remember that nothing you ever hear from the Spirit will go against the character of God found in 1 Cor. 13: 4-8, and further the words of the Spirit produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control.[3])

Once when I was explaining to a third grader why chewing the end off of his pencil and swallowing it was not really a great health choice I said, “It’s not that I don’t want you to eat. I just want you to eat things that are good for you.”

So how about it? Grab a kid or two and give it try. Let us know how it goes.

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[1] The translation I’m referring to is the Message.

[2] C.S. Lewis, Selected Literary Essays: “Bluespels and Flanlansferes: A Semantic Nightmare,” Cambridge UP, 1969, p. 265.

[3] Galatians 5:22-23

Immanuel, God Still With Us

God Dancing

During Advent, my 5-year-old son, Jon, drew this picture. As part of one of our Good Dirt devotionals, we asked the kids to draw what it looked like for Jesus to come to earth. "This is great, buddy!" I said. "I can see baby Jesus in the manger on the left. And who is that on the right?" Jon answered, "That's God, dancing in the hay!"

His words have stuck with me ever since. I loved Jon's view of God, just dancing away, as His son was born here on earth. We spent much of Advent talking about Matthew 1:23: “'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)." And in the weeks since then, I have thought about how Immanuel is not just for Christmas time. God is still with us. God is always with us.

On Christmas morning, celebrating the birth of Christ. God with us.

During visits with loved family members who don't know God's saving grace. God with us.

Waking up each morning, going to bed each evening. God with us.

When the doctor says, "It could be cancer." God with us.

On a birthday, rejoicing in another year of life. God with us.

In every day, every moment, every laugh, every tear. God with us.

Last Christmas morning, we wanted to find a special way to remind ourselves that God is constantly with us. My husband suggested that every time we hear a beep--any beep, coming from anything--we all say, "God is with us!" Do you know how many times something beeps through out an average day? The phone, the computer, the car, the washer and dryer, the toys... so many beeps in this society. And every time: "God is with us!" I still think this (almost) every time I hear a beep. Our Good Dirt devotionals have kept God with us at the forefront of my mind, and I am so grateful. Because we need Immanuel all the time.

Beep!

~Carolyn

Faith

Faith.  Such an important word in our home.  My oldest daughter’s first name, given because of the walk that God took me on while I was carrying her.  And it’s the overriding topic of discussion in the Daniels home during this Epiphany season.  It’s a simple concept…but so much harder to live out in daily life. Mark 5 tells us of a dying girl’s father, Jairus.  There was no wavering in Jairus’ words when he said to Jesus, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” (NIV)  He believed.  So he asked.  In the same way, the sick woman came to Jesus in a place that couldn’t have been easy for her to be.  The people were pressing around Jesus.  It was standing room only, so to speak.  Bleeding for 12 years, I picture her, pale and wan, desperate after having tried every healing ointment and potion that others could recommend.  And yet, day after day, the very source of her life continued to flow from her body.  There is nothing to suggest that these two people had any knowledge of each other but they had one very important thing in common.  A firm faith in Jesus.  They both believed that He was exactly who He said He was.  And they both believed that a touch from Him could restore life and health.

This is the faith I want to have.  This is the faith that I want to share with my daughters.  I want them to rest fully in the knowledge that one touch from their Savior will set things right.  Maybe not in the way that they think, but always in the way that they need.  I hope that they will take the desires of their hearts to Him and that they will allow Him to shape those desires so that their hearts more fully resemble His.  I long for this for myself.  To rest so fully in the capable hands of the Son of God that I can’t help but search for Him, even in a place that is uncomfortable.  I want to be the kind of person who calls to Jesus first before I seek answers and comfort elsewhere.

Jesus restored health in both the life of the sick woman and the life of Jairus’ daughter. The sick woman felt health and vitality return to her body immediately.  A child, who had been dead, stood up and walked around and then had something to eat.   And all it took was a touch.  And faith enough to seek Him.

The Long Devotion: Singing for my Supper

We have a great propensity for love, and sometimes for loving the right thing. Kids need to see their parents struggle. Kids need to be involved in our struggles. Their observations and involvement will prepare them for a healthy, mature transition into adult life.

I made a deliberate decision that my son will not observe me playing X-box games. I determined this because of the current technology addiction people succumb to.

In Korea, I often see toddlers playing with their parent’s phone. When we go out with friends, they often entertain my son with their smart phone. Later in life these parents will complain about their child’s obsession with their phone. Solzhenitsyn was right to ask, “…and who is prepared to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

There is nothing wrong with kids being quiet, or bored while adults are talking and drinking coffee. When we go out with friends, we always bring coloring books and Hot Wheels and our son has never complained. We want him to be able to acknowledge and appreciate the world around him. When he is an adult, we want him to be the man who can sit and have a conversation with anyone; to be engaging.

Adults spend a lot of time in lines, at: airports, grocery stores, libraries, amusement parks. Reflecting on one’s own thoughts is a lost art, as is soul searching. Standing in line is a poor man’s sport, but it can be enriching—if we teach that. Also, we are preparing him for parenting by modeling a parenting style that will be natural for him. When he is standing in line with his kids, he will know what to do.

I teach the long devotion. I hope I am teaching how to be the man in line that people want to be next to.

When I stand in line with my son, I often hold him up so he can see what we are doing and explain everything. I let him know when it is a good time to play, or not. Most importantly, when we hear sirens, we stop to pray for the rescuers and the victims. Faith must be active at all times.

Back to gaming. I determined that it is better for a boy to watch his dad struggle at playing guitar, than to watch him enhance his on-line stats. Ironically, a few weeks after I purposed in my heart to lead acoustic devotions, I was given an X-box 360 and a stack of great games.

I don’t know anything about making music. I can play the radio and that’s it. Struggling to accomplish something beautiful is a life-long commitment to spiritual enrichment. Accepting the challenges and punishments for pursuing Beauty is mysticism, it is a practice that both destroys and renews the soul. Men need this. Men need to be crushed by absolutes, infinite truths and tenderness. Men who are destroyed by spiritual beauty, are humbled; vulnerable. They have feelings. Men like this count the days of their lives, making them meaningful. They have perspective. They die well.

I made this commitment and began the painful process of earning callouses on my fingertips. Guitar strings can’t hold themselves down, someone has to do it. I downloaded lyrics and chords for songs I thought would be enriching to my family and my son in particular. I started with “Christmas for Cowboys”, by John Denver. My commitment includes playing in church once a month. We will learn some songs together and play them Sunday mornings.

My wife and I often hear him singing the Cowboy song to himself. That makes us happy. I chose this song because of the line: All of the good gifts given today, ours is the sky and the wide open range.

No matter where he is, or the circumstances of his life, I want him, in his heart, to be standing under an endless sky with his arms outstretched. I want him to be grateful. I think a simple song can teach him that.

I have added some new songs to our acoustic devotions, songs that I believe will cultivate the good dirt of his soul: “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash, “Downtown” by Petula Clark, “Some Days Are Diamonds” by John Denver, and “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, (just because).

A man can find and share solace when he plays guitar. I was reminded of this when my friend spoke of her father’s recent death. She showed a picture of him as a soldier in the Vietnam War. He was the guy in the platoon who played guitar and led the singing. That determined it for me. I want my son to be that man, the one who plays guitar and leads the singing, even during war (or financial ruin, divorce, loneliness, unemployment…).

There are existential truths in some songs that lift and educate Everyman. When a man knows his place in the universe he can be comfortable with his place with God.

I plan on including many Johnny Cash songs because of the street smarts he shares. When I am ready to play Man in Black for my son, I will also share a lesson about how a man needs to help others, to be associated with those in need. He is to carry a burden for those who cannot carry it for themselves.

I wear the black for those who never read, Or listened to the words that Jesus said, About the road to happiness through love and charity, Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose, In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes, But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I didn’t have a dad and I’m not from a Christian home, so my devotions are going to be unconventional. But when you are teaching the long devotion, you need a song in your heart.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day, And tell the world that everything's OK, But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back, 'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

-Mark Liebenthal

Dirty Work and New Growth

Kids never cease to surprise. Over Christmastide, the period of the twelve days of Christmas beginning December 25, our family had a time of sitting together and focusing for more than 30 minutes on both the spiritual parallels for the 12 Days of Christmas song and then on what spiritual disciplines are, why we practice them, and some discussion on a few specific disciplines.

We are using a book titled Good Dirt: A Devotional for the Spiritual Formation of Families by Lacy Finn Borgo and Ben Barczi (which you can download for free to use with your family or purchase in paperback from Amazon, with two  subsequent issues for upcoming parts of the church year available soon). The book has a brief family devotion for every day, centered around the theme of planting and growing--our souls, both kids and adults, are like plants that need good dirt and helpful conditions in order to grow and flourish with God. Each of the few steps in the daily devotion fills a planting metaphor: we till the soil with prayer, we plant the seed of God's Word by reading a noted Scripture passage, we water the soil by acting a story, drawing a picture, or talking about how God's Word applies to our lives, and later on we weed, considering how we applied or failed to apply these themes in our day.

Our family has taken easily to the Good Dirt format and we've experienced meaningful times of listening to God and each other. That day during Christmastide stands out because we'd had a few days of being in and out of the house, active with extended family and various activities of the Christmas season. We had not spent time in our Good Dirt devotions for three or four days and there was much good material we'd missed. On this day, we started by discovering what none of us had known:

"Some say that the words of the [Twelve Days of Christmas] song were secret code for people to remember their faith during times of persecution." ~ Good Dirt

For example, a partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments, three French hens are the three virtues listed in 1 Corinthians 13: faith, hope, and love, and on it goes. This song with it's Christian faith parallels is a fun way to help kids review important, foundational themes of our faith.

The Christmastide period, being twelve days, also fits ideally for bringing into discussion each of the twelve spiritual disciplines (as identified by Richard Foster in his classic book Celebration of Discipline). These disciplines are grouped by inner, outer, and corporate disciplines and include prayer, meditation, study, fasting, simplicity, solitude, service, submission, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. They all will be re-visited throughout the coming year in Good Dirt.

I mentioned that kids never cease to surprise, and here is why. On this day during Christmas, we didn't set out to make up all of our lost ground in the devotional. We just started reading together and one thing led to another. Before we'd realized it, we had spent time on the song, talking about spiritual disciplines, and reviewing the first disciplines covered in the days we'd missed. And our boys tracked with us on every bit of it!

Our 8-year-old has been in perpetual motion since he was a toddler. He focuses just fine but cannot stop moving his body. Every Good Dirt session he is rolling on the floor, playing with a ball, walking around, or moving in some other sort of way. He learns and processes by moving;  it's just who he is. Our 14-year-old is a teenager. He's wonderful ... and also a little hormonal at times. Our middle guy at age 11 is on the quieter side. He usually ends up helping to re-direct his brothers.

Three personalities, three stages in childhood. So, the reality of sitting for such a long period together and discussing some pretty involved areas of theology and spiritual training is something I wouldn't have thought possible or advisable for us or anyone. Yet it became a time of fun and absorbing discussion and learning.

I've often thought about how much I have read and learned and experienced in my life with God and his people in the years I've lived, and how I want to share so much of that with my kids. A lot does come up in the living of life, often at the most unexpected moments. Yet, some of what I hope to share with them, like the spiritual disciplines and some of the more complex foundations of our faith, seems to stay on the periphery of our lives together, and though these do come into conversation at times, sometimes they do so without much framework or intentional commitment toward living out and practicing these habits and truths  in ongoing ways.

Good Dirt has begun to change that. I'm learning about my kids in the process. They are deep people. They can discuss and absorb spiritual ideas typically thought to be adult territory without missing a beat. They can venture deeper in their lives with God. We can do it together and learn from one another and God in simultaneous ways.

Getting dirty together has its benefits. Everything may not work, but sometimes the things we never would have tried become the soil for a brand new season of growth.

Have you experienced a similar time of spiritual growth with your children, where a surprising and unexpected route became a catalyst? Would it help your family to try out a resource like Good Dirt?

**You can follow various families blogging on their use of Good Dirt and its themes by subscribing for free here.