random thoughs

  I was coming home from an arousing game of cards and my grandmas house and I got to thinking on some sermon notes I read through yesterday.  The sermon notes were on how to be a godly parent and training your children in ways that they should go and they wont stray from them.  What got me thinking is what is my role in child rearing?  Just to be clear, I am single and no where close to having the children conversation with anyone.  There are people who do not have children either because of singleness, choice, or life circumstances, and I truly believe that we can come along side the people in our lives and help them in the raising of their children. 

  I may not agree with most of her political positions, but Hilary Clinton said something when her and Bill were in the White House that has not only stuck with me, but I agree with mostly.  She said something to the affect of that it takes a village to raise a child and I agree with her for the most part.  The only part I would add is that, this statement does not take away the responsibility of the parents and the parents need to take the lead in raising their child(ren) and I hope and pray that they are instilling a solid Biblical foundation for their children, both in action and in word.  I also hope and pray that they are modeling Biblical character in their own lives and it is not do as I say and not as I do.  We learn the most (both the good and the bad) from our family or the people who we spend the most time with. 

  Here is a quick rant, parents can teach a Biblical foundation and display what they teach, they child still has to accept that teaching and making it their own.  Sometimes having a free will stinks because we can control what other people do or don't do.  This still doesn't negate the parents responsiblities, to teach, pray for and with our children.  At some point children need to make faith their own and live with the positive and negative consequences of their actions.  Ok I am done with my rant

   So here is my question, how do people who are kidless, whether they are empty nesters or not kids whats so ever, come along side the people in our lives with children and help them raise Godly children?  By no means do I want to overstep boundaries or their authority, but I also don't always want to sit passive and let the parents do all the heavy lifting.  There are two kids that go to my church and they are brother and sister.  They can't be older than 6 and 4 and every time I see them, they want me to throw them in the air and then catch them.  For some reason, they find it fun, and their grandma usually has to drag them home.  How do I go from just being the big teddy bear to coming along side the parents and supporting them in raising the kids.  The Biblical image I get is that Moses lead the Israelite's into battle and he is sitting on top of a hill, and as long as he raises his staff above his head, the Israelites are winning.  As soon as that staff drops, they are losing.  It turns out that two people come along side Moses and help keep his arms up and Israel wins the battle.  So how can us people who are not at the stage of life of children, or who have children that have grown out of that stage come along side parents and aid them in the raising of children?

Contentment

  I will be honest with you all, I have two home churches and the problem for me is that my second home church is ten hours away.  Every summer I make a trip to Kansas for a Roayals game with my friend Russell.  While I am down there I attend his church and I have been there a couple of times and I feel really comfortable there.  Another thing that that makes Lifepoint of Topeka my other home church is that Russell often sends me the sermon notes to my iPhone.  It makes it really nice and when my phone vibrates every Sunday afternoon I know its him.  Well this Sundays sermon was good and the notes were what I needed to hear and here is what I needed to hear. 

  One of the issues that really hit home for me this week was this whole idea of complacency, and it is a very tough thing to get out of and break free from.  Being complacent for me is this whole idea of not caring along with throwing my hands up in the air and doing nothing.  There have been a few times in my life where I have been complacent and it has been a very dry spell for me spiritually.  One of those times for me I was going to grad school full time while working over thirty hours a week and it got to the point of being burnt out.  Luckily for me, I had a friend come along side me and not only did she listen to my rant about not caring, but she also told me to take care of myself.  Luckily, it was at the end of my semester and I was able to take some time off and do some traveling and some well needed rest and baseball.

  Another dangerous area where complacency can affect us is through our obedience, whether to God or others.  We may not me directly disobeying orders, but here is the thing, we are not doing all that we should.  Whether it is avoiding conversations that we need to have, not spending the time with God or the other important people in our lives as we should, or to put it bluntly, we are half-assin things.  We are not doing things to the best of our abilities or like we know how they should be done.  I find myself to be moody and kind of sarcastic when I am in this stage.  I often find myself in this stage when I don't like where I am at or what I am doing.  Whether it is a physical location, the work I am doing, or the stage of life I am at, this is when complacency sets in.

  So whats the cure for complacency and a heart that is rather disobedient.  Outside a trip to the woodshed, here are some more gentler practical ideas that I have been pondering.  In Jeremiah 29 the Prophet Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Israelite who were hauled off into captivity.  I, essence what he is saying in this chapter is that quit praying to God that He will smite the bad guys and that He will let you go home to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  I am sure at least some of us have prayed that prayer to have the wrath of God come down on someone and for us to get out of a particular situation.  Whether it is being fired from a job and you want the former boss to pay for firing you, or the crazy former spouse or significant other who screwed you over and you want God's wrath to be upon them. What Jeremiah is saying here is not only be content where you are at, but start family, and for your kids to start families.  Not only pray for the city you live in, but actively get involved where you are at.  When we are on our knees for our location and where we are at in our lives, it makes being obedient a whole lot easier, and it also changes things and the circumstances.  Nothing great has ever happened without people spending time praying seeking after God and His direction.  In this chapter, it states that God is willing to be found, but we have to be willing to seek Him.  The big difference between complacency and content in this chapter is that complacency is often a spirit of laziness, distrusting and self reliance.   Contentment is relying on God and having Him be are all in all. 

  Through out Scripture, but especially the Psalms we find that God is to be our all in all and that we can take refuge in God.  Psalms 46 shares with us that even though our world may be crashing in on us, we are to be still and know that God is still God.  Peace isn't the absent of strife, but how we react to it when it is happening.  God does not command us to things and know that He is God, He calls us to be.  Everything we do, is an outpouring of who we are.  Being still allows us to commune with God and for us not only to talk with God, but for us to listen.  How can we be obedient to God when we don;t listen.  Being is more that just about doing and saying the right thing, it is about character change and being in right relationship with God and others. 


   So to wrap things up, being content is more than just being satisfied to where we are at.  It is seeking God where we are at.  Its transforming my thoughts, actions, desires from a me first to others first and that God is not only at the center point of what I do, but the energy and the change agent for doing those things. In essence we are replacing our yoke (or cinder blocks) of burdens and works righteousness with God's yoke of grace, mercy, fellowship and the justice of being in right relationship