Eternity

If you didn't read my last post, I'm sharing the devotions I'm working on for our upcoming fall retreat for high school students.  I'm hoping you can get something out of them as well as let me know what can be changed to improve it.

In our last “God Time” we focused on the fact that Jesus is our one, true hope. Without Him we have nothing. But with Him we have an eternity in Heaven. And that’s what we are going to look at today: Heaven.



When you think of Heaven, what are some thoughts, words, or pictures that come to your mind?






Instead of coming up with our own ideas of Heaven, let’s see what the Bible says about it.


Read Hebrews 11:11-16.


Think about all of the amazing creation God has made here on earth. What is the most beautiful place in nature you have ever been to? Describe it.














Think about this: If God made something here on earth that beautiful, can you imagine how awesome the city is that God is preparing in Heaven for us?


Read Philippians 3:12-4:1.


Who will be in heaven with us?






What will our bodies look like?










Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. In this passage Paul is comparing his body to that of a tent.


Do you like camping? Why or why not?










Most of us like camping for a short time, but we wouldn’t want to live in a tent for a long period of time. Why?










Think about how our bodies are like tents. They sustain us through this life, but they don’t last forever. They are fragile. They get torn and damaged. And that’s just another reason why we long for heaven. This tent of a body will be replaced with one that will never be destroyed!


The book of Revelation is full of descriptions of Heaven.


Read Revelation 21:1-4 and 21:22-27. What are some things about Heaven in these verses that make you excited?














Revelation 20:10 gives us one of the best parts of Heaven.


“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”


We will never have to deal with Satan, his lies, his schemes, the pain he causes, any of it!






So, Heaven is going to be amazing. Awesome. Beyond our wildest dreams. And the best part is that we get to spend eternity praising Jesus, who is the reason we get to be there at all.


But what does this mean for me right now?


Read Revelation 22:12-13 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.


Don’t give up! Life is hard. It is full of struggles, temptations, frustrations, and disappointments. But we must live with eternity in mind! This life is not the end, it’s just the beginning.


Think about all of the day-to-day problems that you encounter. Do they matter, in light of the fact that we have eternity with God waiting for us?














Think about the hard situations you are going through right now. Please be comforted in knowing that it is not going to last forever! Think eternally!

You're the Inspiration

I've been a little overloaded in the writing area as of late, so I've lost some of my creative "juices" (if you will).  Right now I'm working on some devotions about hope for an upcoming high school retreat.  Instead of writing twice, I'd like to share my first devotion.  Let me know what you think, cause I still have a few weeks before it will be given to the students.

What kinds of things do you hope for?


What is the difference between hoping and wishing?


The only reason why we have any hope at all in this life is because of Jesus.


Who is Jesus?


Who is He to you?


How is Jesus our hope? Read the following verses and come up with a 3-4 word summary of each verse/passage.


Romans 4:25 ________________________________________________________________________


Romans 5:7-8 _______________________________________________________________________


Romans 6:23 ________________________________________________________________________


Romans 8:1 _________________________________________________________________________


Acts 2:21 ___________________________________________________________________________


Acts 4:12 ___________________________________________________________________________


Ephesians 2:13-18 ____________________________________________________________________


Colossians 1:12-13 ____________________________________________________________________


Look back at all of the things you just read. That is how Jesus is our hope!


Think about all of the things that you hope for. What if they were gone? Think for a moment.


What if the car you hoped for was gone?


What if the spouse you are hoping for doesn’t happen?


What is the career you are hoping to have doesn’t work out?


What if your future plans change and aren’t what you were hoping for?


We might be discouraged, upset, or frustrated if these things we hope for are gone, but stop for another moment and think about this:


Where would you be if all of those hopes came true, but you didn’t have Jesus?


You see, nothing in this world matters if we don’t have the one, true hope of Jesus. Take a few minutes and write a thank you prayer to Jesus for being our Hope.

Our Father, who art in Heaven

Those are the first words of the Lord's prayer.  Words Jesus used to teach us how to pray.  Yesterday, my small group of girls talked about prayer:  struggles with prayer, why we pray, what to pray about, etc. And I think I learned more than the girls did.

I learned that while some parents are great, some parents are very immature and make their children have to grow up way too soon.

I learned that in a room of just 10 girls, one of them might have cancer, one hears voices telling her to hurt herself, and one has fallen away from God and desparately wants to come back.

I hurt for these girls.  I wish I could make their problems go away.  But more than that, I give these girls to God in prayer.  If I truly believe that God answers prayer, then now is the time to show it.

Everyone is going through something, but we just don't take the time to sit and talk to them about it.  We pass through so many days with shallow conversation and miss out on opportunities around us.  While our Father in Heaven is whispering to us, "Talk to them, ask them how they really are.  They need you."

I pray that I make time to have more of those conversations.  That I don't get so caught up in what I'm doing that I miss those around me who are hurting, who need my prayers, who need to know there is more out there than what we see in front of us.

It's kind of like a hat. . .

Okay, sorry for all of the focus on Noel, but he really does some funny stuff. Plus, I spend almost every waking hour of my life with him.  Think of all the stories I could be telling.  Ha!

So, tonight we had coupons for free Frostys and the kids had eaten a good dinner, so we headed out to Wendy's.  As you can imagine, Wendy's in Kokomo on a weeknight at around 7:30 was hopping.  Besides our family there was one employee eating a meal and an elderly lady dining alone.

For some reason, we have this tradition that when we are at Wendy's we play "I Spy".  And we had played for about 10 minutes, when Noel comes up with "I spy something white."  David and I are looking all over and guessing, and Noel keeps saying no.  Then we see him looking at the lady out of the corner of his eye.  We both start realizing that it's probably her he's "spying" (how many things can you point out in an empty Wendy's?  Plus, who am I kidding?  He is my boy, of course he is a people watcher!)

Then Noel says, "I'll give you a hint:  it's on your head. . ."

(At this point we are both trying not to laugh)

" . . .and it's kind of like a hat."

He was, of course, innocently spying her white hair. 
Just when Noel takes me to the brink of frustration, he reminds me that you can't buy 4-year-old entertainment like that.  Thanks, Noel Man.

The CD dilemna

I've really been convicted about having too much "stuff" over the last year.  And we have done a pretty successful job of keeping our things to a reasonable amount.  If we buy something new, something old has to go.  We consider purchases instead of making kneejerk decisions.  David just recently cleaned out Noel's closet and got rid of some old/broken toys.  And although we still have much more than we really need, I am feeling better all of the time about the materials we have.

But I have an dilemna.

And I'm reminded of it every time I sit down to the computer.  Right to the left of the computer desk is a cd tower with probably 150 CDs.  CDs we never listen to.  Most of these CDs have been burned onto the computer.  Almost all of them are old.  Let me give you a few examples (not joking):
Audio Adrenaline "Don't Censor Me"
Dixie Chicks "Fly"
Steven Curtis Chapman "For the Sake of the Call"
Dave Matthews Band "Under the Table and Dreaming"
Mr. Holland's Opus Soundtrack

I cannot tell you the last time I've listened to any of these, let alone the rest of them, minus the 6 Christmas CDs we bust out in December.

So what do I do with them?

Try to sell them?  Who wants to buy our terrible CD collection (no offense, Mr. Holland, you had your time in the sun, trust me).

Give them away?  Who wants this collection, even if it were free???

I'm at a crossroads, and don't know what to do.  Any suggestions?

Listen up, sonny

I teach Sunday School (we call it Insight) on Sunday mornings to high school students.  I really enjoy it.  The kids make me laugh.  They make me think.  But most importantly, it encourages me to look at the Bible in different ways to keep things interesting and relevant for teens who are diligent enough to show up at 9 am on a Sunday morning to learn about God. 

So the past few weeks we've been looking at the 10 Commandments, and I am always so surprised (why am I still surprised) that God shows me something new every time I let Him lead my lesson planning.  This week we're looking at the 5th command:  Honor your father and mother. 

Here are just a few things that I've come to realize through the course of this study:

*although I am still someone's child (and should still honor them) I am now on the other side of this command.  Am I being a parent who is teaching my child to follow God?
*The command doesn't say to "obey" your parents, but to honor them, which encompasses a lot more than just obedience.  To honor someone is to prize them highly, to respect them, to care for them, and (yes) to obey them.  Once again, God's plan is so much more than just rules.
*This command was sooooo important back then because the only way a child really learned about God's law was from his parents.  And even though we have Bibles and internet and programming and more resources than I can name, we are all just one generation away from being a people who do not call on God.  Read the book of Judges.  Even the godliest of leaders had kids who turned away, and the Israelites were back at Rock Bottom before they knew it.

So, if your parents are with you, please tell them how much you appreciate and respect them.  Don't take for granted all they have done (and continue to do) because you are their gift from God.

My Cup Runneth Over

Noel went and got a step so Elise can see outside with him. 
Here he is explaining the porch lights.

Playing house with a dishwasher box.

There is a fine balance between motherhood and insanity.  I'm sure of it.  Some days I just want to bury my head back in my pillow and not have to be in charge.  In charge of meals, cleaning, diapers, discipline, entertainment, clothing, schedules, the list goes on and on. 

And then I take a breath and look at these two amazing people.  And my heart is overwhelmed.  With love.  With responsibility.  With thankfulness.

Please take time to look around and let your heart be overflowed today.

Farmer Up

Okay, so I have had all kinds of intentions of writing more on my blog this week.  But the combo of writing small group questions and Sunday School questions for our high school students at church has kind of zapped all of my creative writing energy.

Excuses, excuses, right?

Anyway, not to make every post about Noel, but we did celebrate his birthday this weekend.  I now have a four-year-old.  Wow.  We had a little get together with a few of Noel's friends on Friday night.  A month or so ago we read a book from the library (it was a Franklin book, in case you're interested) that told the story of a birthday party that had games in the back yard.  Ever since then, Noel has wanted that for his birthday.  So we had cornhole, parachute games, a sandbox, a hammock, and the highlight:  a fishing pond.  We filled the kiddie pool with water and about 50 goldfish.  The kids used nets (and eventually their hands) to catch as many goldfish as they could.  They loved it!  It was so much fun to see them play and scream and run and enjoy being together.  There was also a Cookie Monster pinata, which was obliterated by the end of the night.  Noel ended up sleeping with Cookie's head that night.  I hope he doesn't need counseling later for that.

His actual birthday was Monday, and for his big day David took him out to a friend's farm to ride in a combine.

Do you know how exciting that is for my son??  He has not stopped talking about it since.

Not only did he ride in the combine, but he got to ride in "Mr. Anthony's" semi, help move the corn to the silo, and sweep the leftover corn into the grate. 

He's still smiling 24 hours later.

I asked him if he thinks he'll be a farmer when he grows up, and he says, "yeah, or a semi driver."  And then he thinks for a while and says, "or maybe I'll just be Mr. Anthony's helper and ride in the semi with him."  Not sure if that's a career option, but we'll leave it on the table for now.

Farm on, big man, farm on.

A beautiful view of the combine right before sunset

sweeping up the corn

John Deere boy

so excited to be in the semi

watching the corn drain out