Genesis 26:17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 3:9-10
Today it was my reading from Proverbs that caught my eye:
Honor the Lord with your wealth
With the first fruits of all your crops
Then your barns will be filled to overflowing
And your vats will brim over with new wine
Proverbs 3:9-10
Of course this passage is often used to encourage tithing, and I do believe it applies to monetary "fruit", but today I keep thinking about the word "first". Am I giving God my leftovers? Does he get my leftover time at the end of my day? Do I give Him leftover attention once my circumstance demands I turn to Him as opposed to being firmly rooted in faith all the time? In my bible study today, the teacher referred to this as a glance vs. glare dilemma. Do we glare at the material things in our life while merely glancing at God once in a while instead of glaring at God and just glancing at our lives?
I am completely guilty of this. Sometimes I think I even manufacture drama just to have something to worry and fret over! It would be so much better and easier if I could spend the time glaring at what is truly important in life. Why does it always require a tragedy or a horrible accident for us to wake up and realize this? I think this is an area I will always be working on in my life!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Day 11 - Raising Children for Eternity
Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, Proverbs 3:7-8
A lot happened in today's Genesis reading. Rebekah leaves her family to become Isaac's wife, and one of the great love stories of the Bible begins. As a little girl, I was always drawn to the romance of this story. Rebekah's family pleads with Abraham's servant to allow her to remain with them for a few more days before she must leave to be married. Her home is very far from her future husband's and she knows she will likely never see them again. Abraham's servant protests wanting to leave immediately, but Rebekah's family insists on asking her what she want to do. She simply replies, "I will go" (Genesis 24:58). I am always humbled by Rebekah's obedience to follow this servant to marry a man she has not yet met. Then later as she approaches Isaac's home she sees a man in a field. Immediately, she jumps off her horse and says, "who is this man?". When the servant replies, "it is my master", she veils herself knowing she has just seen her fiancé. (Genesis 24:65). Perhaps it was this image which led me to decide to use a veil myself when I was married ten years ago. Many tried to persuade me not to do this as it is not very common these days as everyone wants to see a blushing bride walking down the aisle, but it was something I always envisioned for myself. This scene with Isaac and Rebekah is almost epic, and I can see it in my mind as I read these passages.
Now that I'm married with children though I was more interested in the blessing that Rebekah's brothers say over her before her departure:
Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them. Genesis 24:60
Of course, Rebekah's brothers don't literally expect her to have thousands of babies. They are referring to their family lineage. It struck me that back in these days the primary if not sole reason to have children was to preserve the family name and to have a long lineage. In short, the desire to procreate was to approach the infinite-to reach for something greater than oneself, if you will.
What a stark contrast to the reason we have children today! Today, we usually view our children as extensions of ourselves. We primarily have children in order to satisfy our earthly desires to fit in, to nurture something or to satisfy the "maternal clock" we hear so much a out. I'm not saying this is wrong but it does lead us to spend our time raising our children differently than children were raised in the past. You see, in the past children were raised with an eternal goal in mind, and today we raise children with a very finite goal in mind. Write down the goals you have for your child. I guarantee you almost all of them will be things you hope he/she will achieve in this lifetime. I fear that I am starting to sound a bit preachy here, but please know I am speaking more to myself than anyone else. This just started me thinking about the goals I have for my own children. What would happen if I started thinking less about what my child can achieve in this lifetime and more about how my children are an extension of God's eternal family? What if I spent as much time preparing their spirits as I do teaching them proper grammar, manners and other necessary skills for life? I think of how many times a day I answer the same question or patiently correct a verb tense or even dole out a much needed consequence for bad behavior but then find myself at the end of the day with no time or energy to teach my children about God. Just food for thought.
A lot happened in today's Genesis reading. Rebekah leaves her family to become Isaac's wife, and one of the great love stories of the Bible begins. As a little girl, I was always drawn to the romance of this story. Rebekah's family pleads with Abraham's servant to allow her to remain with them for a few more days before she must leave to be married. Her home is very far from her future husband's and she knows she will likely never see them again. Abraham's servant protests wanting to leave immediately, but Rebekah's family insists on asking her what she want to do. She simply replies, "I will go" (Genesis 24:58). I am always humbled by Rebekah's obedience to follow this servant to marry a man she has not yet met. Then later as she approaches Isaac's home she sees a man in a field. Immediately, she jumps off her horse and says, "who is this man?". When the servant replies, "it is my master", she veils herself knowing she has just seen her fiancé. (Genesis 24:65). Perhaps it was this image which led me to decide to use a veil myself when I was married ten years ago. Many tried to persuade me not to do this as it is not very common these days as everyone wants to see a blushing bride walking down the aisle, but it was something I always envisioned for myself. This scene with Isaac and Rebekah is almost epic, and I can see it in my mind as I read these passages.
Now that I'm married with children though I was more interested in the blessing that Rebekah's brothers say over her before her departure:
Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them. Genesis 24:60
Of course, Rebekah's brothers don't literally expect her to have thousands of babies. They are referring to their family lineage. It struck me that back in these days the primary if not sole reason to have children was to preserve the family name and to have a long lineage. In short, the desire to procreate was to approach the infinite-to reach for something greater than oneself, if you will.
What a stark contrast to the reason we have children today! Today, we usually view our children as extensions of ourselves. We primarily have children in order to satisfy our earthly desires to fit in, to nurture something or to satisfy the "maternal clock" we hear so much a out. I'm not saying this is wrong but it does lead us to spend our time raising our children differently than children were raised in the past. You see, in the past children were raised with an eternal goal in mind, and today we raise children with a very finite goal in mind. Write down the goals you have for your child. I guarantee you almost all of them will be things you hope he/she will achieve in this lifetime. I fear that I am starting to sound a bit preachy here, but please know I am speaking more to myself than anyone else. This just started me thinking about the goals I have for my own children. What would happen if I started thinking less about what my child can achieve in this lifetime and more about how my children are an extension of God's eternal family? What if I spent as much time preparing their spirits as I do teaching them proper grammar, manners and other necessary skills for life? I think of how many times a day I answer the same question or patiently correct a verb tense or even dole out a much needed consequence for bad behavior but then find myself at the end of the day with no time or energy to teach my children about God. Just food for thought.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Hiatus
There have been a couple of things that have unfortunately been keeping me from posting. Sam and I had a lapse of Bible reading over the weekend. We celebrated his sixth birthday with 27 boys over at our house (I guess that rule that you should have the child's age plus one extra child went out the window) and my husband went out of town for business. Combined all of these things proved a major setback for us, but not to worry we are continuing on our race thanks to the following episode.
A few nights after our three-day reading lapse, I went in to check on the boys about 30 minutes after putting them down. Sweet Cal, my almost four year old, was awake in the dark sitting up in bed and straining to read one of his books. I crept closer and realized he was in fact looking at his toddler Bible. I was almost moved to tears upon seeing my sweet boy enthralled in the word of God. It was such a sweet and tender moment that I will never forget. So we now have a new runner joining us! My prayer for sweet Cal today is that these nightly Bible readings will teach him that no matter how dark his world becomes, he can always squint in the darkness and find God.
P.S. Little does he know, Cal's devotion to God's word was the impetus for getting me back on track with my daily readings. These kids are more diligent than I am, who knew!
A few nights after our three-day reading lapse, I went in to check on the boys about 30 minutes after putting them down. Sweet Cal, my almost four year old, was awake in the dark sitting up in bed and straining to read one of his books. I crept closer and realized he was in fact looking at his toddler Bible. I was almost moved to tears upon seeing my sweet boy enthralled in the word of God. It was such a sweet and tender moment that I will never forget. So we now have a new runner joining us! My prayer for sweet Cal today is that these nightly Bible readings will teach him that no matter how dark his world becomes, he can always squint in the darkness and find God.
P.S. Little does he know, Cal's devotion to God's word was the impetus for getting me back on track with my daily readings. These kids are more diligent than I am, who knew!
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