Sitting in a church service is no guarantee that your life will continue. But having your earthly life end is no guarantee that God's Truth will be silenced.
Singer, songwriter, author, speaker, wife, mother, blogger Carolyn Arends has shared a piece in reaction to the Charleston killings that gently reminds us that there is hope even in the midst of tragedy. Click here to read her short piece and listen to the song The Last Word. (There is also a link to Steven Curtis Chapman's new song, You Will Not Be Overcome.) Truth is...every day, everyone's life can include a desire, and a reasonable reason, to despair. For all of eternity, those who trust in the name of Jesus can live with a greater reason to stand strong and have hope.
The year was 1996. The event was the Cornerstone Music Festival, a gathering of Christian artists and fans, celebrating music with a message. Rich Mullins was being his normal self: fielding questions from the press with utter transparency, humility, and the twinkling eyes of sassiness.
He spoke of moving to a Navajo reservation. He spoke of what Christian music is and is not. He spoke more truth in five minutes of a press conference than I've heard in many a 30-minute sermon. "Maybe God is bigger than the conventions of middle-class American Churchianity."
When our kids were very young, we discouraged them from using the word "stupid". We felt it was generally a disrespectful word, whether applied to a particular person (like a sibling, for instance) or someone's idea or question.
This restraint of free speech resulted in our kids falling in love with a particular song on Randy Stonehill's 1991 album, Wonderama. The title was "Great Big Stupid World". The delivery was definitely tongue-in-cheek, but the message was sadly true: we members of the human race can certainly get side-tracked by a lot of things that, in the long run, are practically worthless...if not indeed harmful...and at the very least, stupid-er-silly.
Truth is...there are a few typographical errors in the video, but the fact that I felt the need to appear flawlessly intelligent by letting you know I noticed is, in the long run, practically worthless...if not indeed harmful...or at the very least, stupid.
The sun was strong Matched only by the emotions The small-town church had no AC And the place was packed to the rafters No, really The balcony was full And so were the steps leading up to it The heat was Well Hot That wasn't a tear trickling down my nose But our friends still thought it sweet When you reached up to brush away the sweat We would have worn the dress And the tux To the same building on the next day But they were sweat-soaked And decidedly not nose-pleasing Your smile As you walked up the aisle Reflected more joy and hope Than one heart could hold So we joined our hearts To see if we could do it together Thirty-six years We've done it together For thirty-six years Not all of them happy Or sunny Or sweat-soaked But none of them alone None of them hopeless None of them lacking joy The Son was strong Unmatched And that has been enough
Truth is...the fairy-tale expectations of any wedding day will all surely fade away, but something much stronger, deeper, and truer remains.
With a name like Penelope Leach, you must be thinking the lady is from Great Britain, right?
Well, you're right. But that fact is the least important for today's bit-o-truth. What's pertinent today is that she is one of the world's most respected developmental child psychologists, holds a PhD from Cambridge, has all sorts of research and child development society cred, and has authored several popular books on the subject of child-rearing. In a recent interview published in TIME, there were a few questions that elicited answers from her that absolutely resonated with me...and so I share them with you: Parenting is much more intentional than it used to be. Have we gone too far? I'm sure there are situations where it goes too far. The tiger mom seemed too much - too much focus, too much attention, not enough room and space to grow and be. At 77, what other trends in modern parenting alarm you? We are really much too concerned with academics and testing for our 4- and 5-year-olds. We're cutting off both physical and social development that ought to be leading us at that point. Sitting 4-year-old boys down and expecting them to keep still and listen - it ain't in their nature. We'd do better with our boys if they were spending more time rushing about, pushing each other and shouting like boys need to do. Are kids eating too much sugar? Can I give you a phooey reply? The effect of sugar on children's behavior is nil. There's lots of reasons against eating lots of sugar, but your child bouncing off the wall isn't one of them.
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Truth is...this is all more a matter of opinion than truth, but it matches MY opinion and this IS my blog, after all. So there.
