I read until it was done. He bled until it was finished

My heart has been brought to its knees tonight. In a new kind of awe I look at an incredible Saviour who took all my sins and bore them, wore them and tore them in two, separating them as far as the east is from the west.

What brought me to this rarely visited realization was a parenting issue with Wolverine (nickname from school). Let me just begin by saying that parenting in the tech age is an enormous challenge if you want to raise godly children. Even with passwords on our computers, codes on our TV channels and random inspections of texting conversations, the wicked side of the media still has a very loud voice and some of our children are bent towards it.

Today, Wolverine was working an arm's length away from me at the table on our family's laptop. I entered the password to let him in, and then glanced every now and then to check what site he was on. What I didn't know, yet found out later by doing a history check, is that he was on a music site with lyrics that were xxx. My clue should have been that he had earbuds on.

Parenting failure on my part to ask what he was listening to.

Now I'll be the first to confess that I can be extreme when it comes to driving a point home. But my rational is that as long as I have children making extreme choices, then I'll have to come up with an extreme plan-of-correction method to get their attention.

I found the written lyrics for one of the songs Wolverine listened to. Then I asked him to sit in the chair next to me and read the words out loud. (No minors were present). My intention was to have him become horrified at the fact that he was being asked to read those nasty lyrics out loud - in front of his mother! My hope was that he would feel appalled at himself and apologize for going against our family values.

My intention and hope came to a dead stop.

He refused to do what was asked of him. But he didn't refuse with a repentant heart. He refused with determined defiance. I was firm in repeating the request. He was firm in refusing. He said he didn't see anything wrong with the music. It was just "Rap". I shot back, "If you don't see anything wrong with the music, then read the lyrics". He refused, standing stoutly in his position.

It is very rare that I am at a loss of what to do when I don't get compliance from the child I am requesting it from. But Wolverine is no longer a child. He's a young man. He is teetering between a dependent family member and a soon to be independent adult.

Reluctantly and with great hesitation, I slid over into the chair that I asked him to sit in. My voice quivered as I began to read the lyrics.

Out loud.

The words were nasty, and they were degrading. They were unconscionable and despicable. They were the taste of death in my mouth.

Wolverine stood there. He heard each word.
And he didn't tell me to stop.
He didn't cry out, "Mom! Don't read any more words! You don't deserve to have such filth on your lips! Mom, STOP! It was my bad so I'll take the seat and finish reading those awful lyrics".

He didn't want to own it.

I read until it was done.

Afterwards, I took a long walk to decompress. And to confess. And to address my God with a voice that cried out for reasoning. Then a new perspective, a glimpse of what redemption is all about, came to me in a fresh new way.

Without reluctance or hesitation, Jesus took the cross I should have been nailed on. His voice was broken as He read the "lyrics of the sins" in my life.

Out loud.

The words were nasty, and they were degrading. They were unconscionable and despicable. They were the taste of death in His mouth.

I stood there. I heard each word.
And I didn't tell Him to stop.
I didn't cry out, "Jesus! Don't read any more words! You don't deserve to have such filth on your lips! Jesus, STOP! It was my bad so I'll take the cross and finish reading those awful lyrics".

I didn't want to own it.

He took a long walk to Calvary. And His voice cried out "Father! Forgive them! For they don't know what they're doing".

I may have read until it was done.
But Jesus bled until it was finished.

Richest of Fare

What could fare mean, other than a fee you pay to travel somewhere? A second meaning from Webster says "fare" is fine dining.

Son, you've seen my life over the 25 years of your life, and you know that dad and I never do any fine dining. We do leftover dining, fast-food dining and made from scratch dining. Fine dining is for folks who have unlimited income. And a suit in the closet.

You, your bride, dad and I got the opportunity to go to El Gaucho in Tacoma last week. Our employees blessed us with two $100 gift cards to treat ourselves to the richest of fare. Parking is valet and costs $6. We found free parking and walked. My frugal thinking allowed me to believe that inviting your sister and her guest would be alright - as $200 would surely cover the cost for 6 adults. Wrong! We had to throw in another $200 so that we wouldn't have to do dishes (or jail time)! But my goodness, talk about the richest of fare. It was lavish what we had to eat that night! I will not soon forget that evening!

Isaiah 55:2 "Why spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."

Son - Our gracious God has a table set with the most succulent of food. Isaiah tells me that if I listen to HIM and walk in HIS truth (eat what is good), then my SOUL will delight in the richest of fare! Everyday I can have a continual feast that is better than any dinner at El Gaucho. And I don't have to pay for valet parking!

It all comes out in the wash

I had an interesting day with my dryer. A life lesson in the laundry room. Ironic how something that so seldom happens, happened back to back today. One of my dear family members left a tube of chapstick in their pants pocket. It must have gone through the washer alright - I suppose it was the cold water that kept it in tact. But a hot dryer??? The product melted and oozed out to give a blotchy look to our clothes. I took it in stride, after all - there are other things to get upset about. I continued with the next load. When I went to get the second batch out of the dryer, there was a minty clean scent that I recognized as speariment chewing gum. Another one of my beloved family members left a single, unwrapped piece of Orbit gum in their pocket. The washing machine took care of unwrapping it. The dryer took care of melting it all over the dryer drum and our clothes. Okay, Lord, what is the lesson here so that I can move on with the laundry?

1 Corinthians 5:6 - Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - the bread of sincerity and truth.

Something as small as a tube of chapstick, as small as a piece of gum, as small as a white lie, as small as a piece of gossip, as small as an envious thought can create so much damage in our lives. Let's get rid of it. And in the meantime, check all the pockets before doing laundry.

Contentment

There's a conversation that goes off like clockwork everyday after school, one that is so predictable and can be likened to a constant drip. It greets me minutes after my sixth grader walks in the door after school. I think her version of the verse in Timothy must go like this:

1Tim. 6:8 - "But if we have food, clothing and a cell phone, we will be content with that."

This is one deprived child. You see, she is one of the only students at her school without a cellphone (so she thinks). And she wastes no time after getting off the bus to engage me in a 17 minute conversation about how irritating all her friends are with their cellphones and how rude their texting is because it causes them to ignore her and about their "chatting amongst themselves" about their razors which causes her to feel left out. She hopes her life of despair will be solved by me rushing right out to buy her a cellphone. I listen with empathy and respond with great wisdom: "You need to choose new friends".

So I pondered today - do I whine and complain like a child to God when I want something that I can't have? Of course I do. Do I sound like a constant, irritating drip? Probably. Does He listen with empathy? I'm sure He does. And He always responds with His infinite wisdom: "You need to choose me". Ahh, yes. How simple the solution and how wonderful the contentment that follows.

1Tim. 6:6 - "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Sustainability

Psalm 54:4 "Surely God is my help; The Lord is the one who sustains me."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on The Lord and HE will sustain you."

We sing these promises in worship. We read these verses in our devotions. We know with our mind that God's word says He will sustain us, but do we believe with our heart He will follow through on His promise when difficulties come? It's too easy to pull out the plastic when an unexpected expense arises. It's too tempting to rely on the advice of a friend instead of the knowledge of the Lord. It's too common to fix something ourselves without waiting on the Lord for His plan and purpose.

sus·tain:

To keep in existence; maintain.
To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
To support from below; keep from falling or sinking.
To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
To bear up under; withstand.
To affirm the validity of.
To prove or corroborate; confirm.
To keep up.

Son - allow your human instincts that demand human solutions to rest at the feet of Jesus. Experience what it is like to be rescued and sustained by the Lord!

Chose Integrity

Psalm 41:12: "In my integrity YOU uphold me and set me in YOUR presence forever."

I was compelled to read this verse "opposite" this morning.

"In my lack of integrity YOU can't uphold me and won't set me in YOUR presence forever."

When read as an opposite, it comes across much more powerful in producing a challenge that will prompt an action of integrity. I want God to uphold me. I want to be in His presence. What will keep me from that? My lack of integrity.

Son, make it your daily discipline to be a man of integrity. This chosen (as we have to chose integrity) characteristic pleases the heart of God.

Recovering What Was Lost

There is a parable of a woman with ten coins who lost one and now has nine. Luke 15:8-9 tells us that she lights her lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it. Then she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin."

Just recently I lost something of value. It was the memory on my hard drive. The diagnosis: it had failed and all data was lost. My digital pictures, my excel spreadsheets and my word documents were gone. There was nothing I could do. Lighting a lamp, sweeping my house and searching carefully would not bring back the treasured data.

With hope, I took the hard drive to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. They sounded optimistic that they could recover the data. After not hearing from them for a week, dad went to see if he could "encourage" them to put us as a priority since we had been shipped a new hard drive and needed to mail the defective hard drive back. It was then that a divine intervention took place: Dad ran into Richard, a man who attends our church, at Best Buy. He told him about our dismal situation. Richard offered to take a look at the hard drive if the Geek Squad couldn't recover the data. He mentioned that he has been able to retrieve information when others couldn't.

And the Geek Squad couldn't. Thus ensued a phone call to Richard, then a quick delivery of the dead hard drive, and finally a resurrection of all my data! A light was lit, the house was swept and the careful searching produced what was lost.

I called my friends and neighbors together and said, "Rejoice with me; my lost memory has been found!" Thank you, King of Kings, for showing up at Best Buy at the appointed time.

Matthew 19:26 - "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Preparing a Place

I overheard you telling granny that having company over was hard work! On Christmas Eve you had family visit and now you were expecting more company on Christmas Day.

It is a lot of work if you want to present your company with an experience they will enjoy! Preparing a place for them to hang their coat, an area for them to sit and exchange conversation, a place at your table for a feast they will savor . . . yes, it really is a lot of hard work to prepare a place for company!

John 14:2 says "In my Father's house are many rooms . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you." In some small way our preparations at Christmas connect us closer to the truth of this scripture. We prepare our homes for the company that is coming and we deeply desire for their visit at our house to be a warm and welcoming experience.

In this New Year that is quickly approaching, let your preparations be not only in your home but also in your heart. The song Joy to the World says it best, "Let every heart prepare Him room."

Son, preparing a heart that has room for Jesus is also hard work! Let's break a sweat, sweep the floors and remove all the garbage from our lives so that the Savior can hang his coat, sit for a lovely visit and enjoy the feast at our table!