Whatever It Takes

This will be a bit different than any of my previous posts. I've hesitated to write about "household" issues, just because it seems it would be a bit boring coming from me. I'm not full of wit nor do I find it very easy to write things in a new or clever way. But some things speak for themselves............

Recently we've started noticing "new" odors coming from our oldest child. Yes, you guessed it--Body Odor--the kind coming from the armpit area. It appears our little boy is growing up in more ways than one! With much reluctance, I've accepted this new step and purchased him his own stick of deodorant. Now comes the hard part--getting him to remember to actually put the stuff on everyday!! So far, he hasn't YET remembered to put it on in the morning. First we tried explaining to him the importance of smelling fresh. Then we tried scaring him by telling him he won't have any friends because no one will want to be around him. None of this has seemed to phase him. Finally, I just put down a good old-fashioned THREAT. I told him this morning, (as I recall my exact words), "Do WHATEVER you have to, Isaac, to remember to put that stuff on every morning." Then I proceeded to lay out a few potential courses of punishment in the event that he STILL can't remember. (Hey, desperate times......)

I've gotta hand it to the poor little guy--he's trying. I couldn't resist but to take a picture of the "solution" he came up with today--his stick of Arm&Hammer deodorant hanging from duct tape which is firmly secured to the ceiling above his top bunk. Hopefully this will help him remember, though I'm curious as to HOW he's planning on putting it on--whether he's going to unwrap the whole stick from the duct tape every time, or whether he's going to actually just stick his armpit up there and rub it on while its hanging in mid-air!

Childlike Faith Comes to an End at............9?

I was hoping we wouldn't ever have to visit this place. Today my 9 yr old son uttered words that absolutely GRIEVED my heart. "But Mom, how do I know the Bible's true? How do we know those bunch of guys didn't just get together and make it up?" And later, upon my asking him if he really loved Jesus and wanted to please Him, "Well, I don't really know. It just doesn't seem like very much.....fun".

In trying to do everything I can to train him up in the Lord, I recently added a Bible curriculum to his schoolwork "load". He is less than impressed, to say the least. For him it's just MORE WORK. I have sat down with him numerous times and tried to tell him my HEART on this; that Mom is not doing this just to make him miserable, or just to add to his workload and make it take longer. But that the FIRST, the ONLY, desire of my heart for him is to learn to love the Lord. I've explained to him that his other subjects, when it comes right down to it, aren't that important, because they're not ETERNAL. But learning the Bible, God's Word revealed to us, is the only thing that's going to prepare him for eternity. So, of course, his response then is, "Then why do I have to do schoolwork if it won't matter in heaven?" I knew that was coming. "Well, because you have to learn things to survive on this earth in order to serve God the way He wants you to HERE. And oh yeah, you'll need to be able to support your wife and children someday." It doesn't take him long, "But nobody's going to ask me to divide words into syllables before they give me a job!" Though I didn't admit it to him, he makes a good point and I'm just as confused as he is.

Can anyone tell me what happened to my LITTLE BOY???? It looks to me as if the era of "childlike faith" is giving way to the age of accountability. I am fighting FEAR here. Fear that I'm falling short. Fear that I'm not praying hard enough. Fear that the Holy Spirit isn't powerful enough to save him from the lures of this world. God forgive me!!

I've recently reached the point in my prayers for my children that I truly pray first and foremost for their salvation. Health, safety, protection from painful circumstances, happy future marriages, clear direction for their vocations: these things I still hope for my children. But I truly, TRULY desire only that God use WHATEVER He has to in order to bring them to saving faith in Him. If we must go through years of rebellion to get there, so be it. (and God HELP us!!) As long as the END is a good one, that's all that matters, right?

...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

I'm counting on it.

Comments on Modesty

I had been thinking recently about posting on modesty anyways, then today I visited our church's blog, where our pastor had posted a link to an article on modesty by C.J. Mahaney. This blog gives excerpts from a his yet-to-be-released book, Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. Wow!! Really good article--take the time to read at: http://sovgracemin.org/Blog/post/Worldliness-Resisting-the-Seduction-of-a-Fallen-World-CJ-Mahaney.aspx I was aching to leave a comment right there on the church blog that people (especially women) should read the WHOLE article, and not just the section on fathers teaching their daughters modesty, as was suggested. But I realized I had way too much to say than could be left in a comment.

Modesty has always been a huge issue for me. There is NO self-righteousness in saying that. By "issue", I mean I've struggled with it A LOT over the years. As with everything else, it seems another example of the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. When I read the above article, (and I'm not exaggerating here) my heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my whole body. This shows how much I've wrestled with the issue. Through the years I've read books on modesty, and prayed much that God would give me the right heart when I dress (and when I shop). I have seriously considered many times setting up "restrictions" for myself regarding my dress. (Such as choosing to wear ONLY skirts or dresses). However, my desire is not to resort to any form of legalism in order to "protect myself" from sin. I am aware that sin begins in the HEART, and what a person wears may or may not reflect what is in the heart. So, I guess I've concluded that protecting myself by setting up rules wouldn't do a thing to guard my heart. It must be an intentional decision, DAILY, to honor God, and to help protect my brothers from sin when I choose my dress.

Without any system of "rules", though, it presents a problem whenever preparing to go outside the house. Modesty is quite relative. How short is too short? How tight is too tight? And so on. I've struggled in particular with whether or not its appropriate to wear pants at all. I don't care for the way I look in "baggy" pants. Therefore, the only other option is pants that form closely to the body. Because of this, I've resolved so many times that only dresses or skirts would be appropriate for me to wear outside the house. Usually I stick with my "resolution" for a day or two. Then I rationalize that its too legalistic, too impractical (I'd have to buy many new clothes and we can't afford it), or I see other women (whom I respect and consider godly) wearing pants, so I reason, "What's the big deal?", I give up my resolve, and you'll see me walking around in jeans again. So, what do you think?

Here's another aspect: How do you, with grace, approach a sister who is dressing immodestly? In the article, Mahaney warns us to "be on guard against the temptation to be self-righteous toward those who choose differently". (He is specifically talking about wedding attire in this instance, but I think it applies to dress in general.) While I consider this good advice, isn't it our responsibility to encourage an immodestly dressed sister to consider how her dress is affecting the man sitting behind her in church? Once again, I remind you that I'm not speaking as if I'm the perfect example of modesty. I still struggle. Tell me what's appropriate. And PLEASE love me enough to gently point me to Christ if you ever see me dressing to please men and not our Lord.

I would appreciate comments on this one. This is a huge issue for us as sisters in Christ and I think we need to talk more about it.

The Cross

It seems the only time I muster up the energy to write on this blog is when I'm feeling a bit emotional. I truly pray that my faith would never consist merely of empty emotion. But these times when I am gripped by emotion are the times when I seem to get just a glimpse of the magnitude of who Christ is and what He's done.

In these final weeks of studying the Gospel of Matthew in BSF, and looking in depth at the suffering of Christ in the last hours of His earthly life, I am struck. I hesitate to even write about it on this blog, because I know I can't begin to get it into words for anyone else to understand. Yet, if you've been to "this place" before, then I guess you already understand.

I have written in earlier posts of my struggle to "accept" my sinfulness. I GRIEVE (sometimes, I think, more than a "healthy" grieving) over my sin, because I SO BADLY want to be like Jesus. In anger, I've accused Him at times of not really understanding what it's like to have to live in a "fallen" body. While it is true that Christ lived on this earth without experiencing what it was like to sin, he certainly "experienced sin". God was somehow able to transfer all the guilt and shame of my sin onto Christ as He experienced the Cross. In my feeble little mind I know I don't begin to appreciate this as I should. But in studying the Cross, God has given me moments--glimpses--when I seem to "get it".

As I try to get a grip on the magnitude of what Christ experienced--the pain of the shame and the separation from His Father, I am simply.............GRATEFUL. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21 My sin on Him, His righteousness on me. It wasn't fair, God. It isn't fair. Thank you.

It's only at the foot of the Cross that I can even begin to understand the magnitude of this Sacrifice. I pray that He would draw me to my knees--to THIS place--every day, and give me more love for my Savior.