Why I don't....

Take an obsessive amount of pictures of my kids: 

• Because I do not want them to think they are the center of the universe. 

Pictorially chronicle every act of kindness that I have my children do, and then display it in a public place for everyone to see:

• Would you stand out on a street corner handing out pictures of yourself doing something nice? Or go around Walmart telling everyone you met that you and your kids wrapped Christmas presents for the less fortunate? No! Make no mistake, Facebook and blogs are as much public places as face to face meetings. Sure you know everyone you are talking to, but bragging is bragging. And it's still bragging. 
• Kindness and good deeds should be an everyday part of your life. Not something you do with your kids once or twice a year on emotional holidays. I don't want my children to think that they are something special because they are being nice to others. I want them to grow up knowing that being kind and doing things for others is the way we should live all the time. 
• Also, I don't want them to think it's okay to brag about the good things that we do. Good works should speak for themselves, and if you are a Christian your reward should be God's pleasure with your actions. If you brag about your good works, then you already have your reward for them. 

Allow my kids to have a ridiculous amount of toys: 

• I really have tried to keep it under control, but people will keep giving them stuff! But our limited space has helped a lot. I've had to make them make some hard decisions about what to keep and what to give away. Why do I do this? Because I grew up with a hoarder. I am teaching my kids how to let go of things. I also want them to understand that there is not THING that you can't live without. It is very important to me that my children understand this from a young age. That things are just things, and hold no intrinsic value over us unless we let them.  

Compliment my children for every single thing:

• It's easy to spot those children who get praised for every little thing. Now, if my child draws me a picture, I say thank-you and give him/her a hug. I'm not talking about being ungrateful. But every action does not require affirmation. Save your praise for when they REALLY do SOMETHING and it will mean more. 

More coming...

What God has done 2

In a previous post I outlined my financial situation in college. Sometimes it became desperate! But as I stated before, God always provided what I needed. But, every once in a while, he also provided for something I wanted just because :-)

Each evening the dorms were put on study lockdown. If your GPA wasn't high enough you had to stay in your room and study. I was a prisoner for the first year, but the second year I was able to skip out on this detention. Since neither of us had a car (or a license) my room mate and I would go study in the snack shack instead. She would usually get a snack or a cup of coffee. Her parents sent her money now and then.

I on the other hand, almost always starved.

For some reason this weighed on me. I felt deprived. Let down. Almost embarrassed that I didn't have money enough for a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone. She would often offer to buy me something, but you don't want to abuse that kind of generosity too often. One night it just got to me worse than others. As I lay in bed that night--brooding over my finances-- I said, "God, I'm not asking to be rich. But is it too much to ask for a couple dollars to get a snack from the Snack Shack?" Whether he answered this prayer or no would not affect my belief in Him. I still knew He existed and would continue to serve and learn all I could about Him.

But He did answer it.

The next day. Again, THE-NEXT-DAY----I got a letter in my mailbox.

My church in Maine would put addressed and stamped envelopes at the back of the church for all their college students. They encouraged church members to grab an envelope and send off a letter to encourage or help the students. This was one of those letters. It was from the man who acted as our youth pastor. He sent me a letter that went something like this:

"Dear Marie,

I know this isn't much, but don't use it on anything you need. Get yourself a snack or a treat.

A****"

I hope your eyes are as big as mine were! And all this is the honest to goodness truth, guys! This happened to ME. This isn't hearsay. It is my personal experience. I prayed for God to send me a couple dollars, and guess what Mr. A sent me?

Two Bucks. That's right. $2.00.

God answers prayer. That night, I had coffee and a Blizzard. It was the best tasting Ice cream I ever had. I am so thankful for people that allow God to use them. I have striven to be such a person. Not because I think I will earn a spot in heaven. No one can earn that. But because God has GIVEN me a spot in heaves--through no effort of my own-- and I hope to please Him out of my gratitude for all He has done for me.

What God has done --1

God has done some amazing things in my life. Some big and huge, some small and intimate. All undeniably more than can be explained by coincidence.

I really started to see God work in my life when I began attending college. I know some people think God exists to serve them, but it's pretty clear to anyone who has studied the Bible for more than 5 minutes that we are actually here to serve Him. Your life is not about you. It is about Him. Nothing is about you, and you have no worth, apart from who you are in God and how you live for Him.

I knew that, and so the first thing I wanted to do when I realized that God undeniably existed was learn who He was and what He wanted from us. I mean REALLY learn who He was, and what He REALLY wanted from us.

So I attended a Bible Institute.

Now, I come from a poor family. What Oprah calls po'. Food stamps, food pantries, Medicaid, social security. You name it, we received it.

So at school, I was also poor. I had a roof over my head and food to eat, but I had no money. The school I attended did not provide much opportunity for employment, so I basically gave all my summer savings to the school and then scrounged for change to take care of everything else. Even getting laundry done was an adventure. I don't think you've really lived until you know the thrill of finding that last quarter on the sidewalk that finally allows you to wash your clothes!

In the midst of this time, God did some amazing things to grow my faith and teach me that He would always take care of me if I trusted Him.

I remember one time I was walking back from church services; my arms were loaded down with my huge Bible, a notebook, pens and those metallic gels that were so hot in the late 90's. Of course I kept dropping things. It got frustrating because every time I bent down to pick up one thing, another thing would fall. I told God that it would be really nice to have a Bible case to carry all this in.

But I had no money for even a small thing like a Bible case. So I put it out of my mind.

The next day (re-read that---THE NEXT DAY), I received a note in my mailbox saying I had a package.

       ***Side note: college students love packages. If you know one, send a package today***

I went to the window and got my package--a plain, unmarked, wrinkled up brown paper bag. No identification whatsoever. And what was inside?

A maroon Bible case. Not fancy, but just what I needed to keep all my things together. I was floored. I asked all my roommates and everyone I knew if they had sent it. They all denied it. To this day I don't know where it came from, but I do know who it was that prompted someone to send it.

God is real you guys. We have a serious problem. Let's go beyond your kindergarten Sunday School, shall we? Sin is NOT doing bad things. Sin is the nature inside of us that prompts us to act in our own self interest instead of pursuing God's interests. Sin is WHY we do bad things, not the actions themselves. Sin is the CAUSE of wrong action, not the wrong action itself.

And everyone is guided by sin unless we make a conscious and permanent decision to stop being guided by our selfish sin nature, and start doing things God's way. We can never do enough good actions to tip the balance against our sin nature. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes that clear. It is a core part of who we are, and we can never pay the debt it puts between us and God. But God made a way, for those who wanted one. It's your choice. No one can force you to convert, because no one can force belief. You either do believe or you don't.