End of Days

There has been a lot of talk about the end of the world lately.  There was the kooky Harold Camping, who predicted the rapture would occur on May 21^st of this year (after his previous failed predictions in 1988 and 1994) followed by the end of the world coming in October.  There is also the Mayan calendar ending, which some predict is the end of the world coming in 2012.  

Here is the deal.  The end of the world is coming.  It’s a sure thing.  There will be a day when Jesus returns.  BUT even HE doesn’t know when that is!  (Matthew 24:36: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”)  If even the SON doesn’t know when he will return … I’m sure Harold Camping isn’t going to figure it out … no matter how good at math he is.

As for the Mayan calendar … come on now ... can’t we just be impressed that they made a calendar that went that far?  I mean, that was quite a calendar!

We need to live ready. Jesus is coming back and I hope it is soon.  I will never believe a person who puts a date to it… in fact, it kind of makes me mad when someone does make a prediction because then I know it won’t happen that day.  It says in the bible we won’t know… so we won’t know!

Live ready. Don’t worry about the rest because….. it’s a process.

Reset Button

Have you ever bought a digital camera and tried different settings and messed with it until it didn’t take good pictures at all anymore and you didn’t really know why?  At that point, you can choose to “reset to manufacturer’s settings” and go back to the beginning.  When you choose that option, suddenly your defunct camera is working again.  Your (bad) influence over your camera is removed.  You get to admit your mistakes and return the camera to it’s original intended state.  Now, if you are a camera buff and really understand your camera and know how to change the settings in just the perfect way to make the lighting pop, you probably don’t need this feature.  But if someone like me gets hold of your camera and I just want to mess with it to see what is different when you push that button or move that setting until eventually the camera is all screwed up, you would be glad for that feature.

Don’t you wish we were made that way?  Don’t you wish that there was a code or a hidden switch someplace that would turn us back into the person God created us to be, with all the features and characteristics HE intended for us. If only we could reset ourselves and leave out all the damage we have received from the things we have experienced in life.  No more bad self esteem because of the way kids at school made fun of us, no more trust issues because of how our spouse let us down, no more addiction to certain sin because of past mistakes.  It would be good to reset to the “manufacturer’s settings.”  It would be good to be unbroken and undamaged and as the creator intended us to be.  Unfortunately we are not equipped with that feature and we have to just muddle through…….trying to learn from the mistakes that we made and others made around us….. It’s a process.

Chores

How many chores should a kid do?  I want to teach my children that they need to “work” without complaining and be responsible with what they have.  I do not want to overload them, keep them from having time to play, or stifle their creativity. I believe that kids who come from “messy” houses are more likely to have creative side.  I have taken comfort in my messy house for many years because of this information--seeing my clutter as a gift to my children, releasing them to creativity instead of tying them to conformity in a completely orderly home.  I don’t want to live in filth but I want to have a nice balance of creativity and orderliness.  In my home we divide the chores based on what’s appropriate for their respective ages.  There is some choice in the matter; if a kid is particularly annoyed by dishes, that kid can vote to vacuum. Everybody is probably going to have to do something they do not like to do.  That is a good lesson for any kid on the planet to learn.  Life isn’t always fun; in fact, a lot of the time it isn’t fun.  We all need to make time for fun, but the work must be done, too.  Some parents like to tie allowance to chores, but I do not subscribe to this view.  I think my children have to work to help maintain the home because they are a part of this family, and that, in itself, comes with responsibility.  Some parents tie the allowance to the attitude that goes along with the chores: The chores will be required regardless, but the way the chores are done is what the allowance is dependent upon.  I can see how that would be a good motivation for the children.  In the end, it’s all about teaching my kids to become responsible adults--good wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, employees and employers.  Probably the best compliment I can get in this regard is hearing that when my kids are away from home they are dependable, they work hard, and they have good attitudes.

Child's play

I love kids.  I love their feet. I love their smiles.  I love what they choose to smile about.  I love that when they get a free game in a happy meal that includes a deck of cards they immediately start “playing” the game.  My two little girls are sitting on the floor with smaller than normal sized cards between them playing some game they invented in their head in a matter of minutes.  I asked them if they wanted me to read the instructions and teach them the “real” game and they said, “no, we already have a game we are playing.”  That is pretty cool.  I’m not exactly sure how the rules work… I have noticed that the 6 year old seems to be winning more than the 4 year old (before you start feeling sorry for the 4 year old, know that she will always alert me to any injustice she feels … and if I don’t act quickly enough she will take matters into her own hands).  They are happily engaged in a game of their own creation and I had no hand in trying to get them to do it or create it for them.  We don’t have to “teach” creativity and imagination.  It is a God-given gift.  Today I’m thanking God for putting that creativity in each of us… and taking the time to enjoy how that creativity comes out in my children.  It’s so fun….. and… it’s a process.

Heaven

Let me start this by saying I am not a Bible scholar and am in no way proclaiming to understand what heaven is really like.  I don’t even know if the word “heaven” should be capitalized.  But, since I am someone who loves to ponder the things not-of-this-world, and then talk about them, and ask questions about them, and maybe take a less-than-normal view of them… here I go:

From my research (okay, by “research” I mean looking in my Bible’s handy dandy concordance for verses about heaven) the things I do know about heaven are that it will have a city of pure gold that shines like fine jewels.  There won’t be death, mourning, crying, or pain.  There will be no sun or moon – God’s light will be enough.  There will be no night.  The city gates will never shut.  No one will do anything impure or shameful.  No thieves.  There will be a tree of life producing fruit every month… and if you are thirsty, there are free drinks.  We will have “treasures.”  Our inheritance won’t perish, fade, or spoil.  Moths won’t destroy our stuff.  Our homes won’t be built by human hands. There is no curse there. (There is a whole lot more about thrones and freaky looking creatures and stuff... but I’m mainly focusing on the “heaven experience” for a human). 

No pain – that is a good one.  I’m really looking forward to this idea… I’m sure the whole “hanging out with God in an eternal like fashion” thing will be good... but I have no concept of that in my current skin/sin state... so, for now, I’m really looking forward to no more headaches. As a chronic headache sufferer for the last 28 years, I can REALLY appreciate the idea of no more pain.

I like that there is no cover charge for the drinks.

City of gold?  Really, I think I’d prefer chocolate… but I can see how chocolate wouldn’t be as reliable a product as gold, so I can see why God chose gold over chocolate for construction purposes.  I haven’t seen chocolate mentioned in any of the references to heaven and I gotta say, if there is no chocolate in heaven that will be a serious downer for me.

I like that our stuff won’t spoil or break… I recently had a dryer and two dvd players go out within like a week’s time and that was a total pain.  If our stuff is just ongoing… we won’t have to shop… and I hate shopping so that works well for me.

If the gates are never shut (because there is no night), why even have the gates?  

Am I gonna get one-on-one conversation time with Jesus?  I’m looking forward to having some good conversations with Jesus…. I wonder if that can happen, what with all that singing and crown-laying-down going on.  People like to say, “when I get to heaven _____ will be the first question I have for God”  but maybe when we get to heaven we won’t have any questions at all… maybe we will just KNOW when we get there.

Can we fly? It isn’t in the bible that humans can fly…. but it does say we won’t die, so I suppose if we want to strap on some wings we made and jump off a tall building, that could work.  So, if we fall off of a tall building in the golden city, do we land on our feet like a cat?  Or bounce? Or just fall really hard but not die… like Superman?  The idea of being a superhero type person is so cool.  No need to save people from crimes like Superman, but it would still be fun to leap over tall buildings with no human body consequences to fear.

It says that people are wearing white robes. Is this mandatory? I don’t look good in white… I’d rather wear purple, black, or red.  Do you think in heaven everyone looks good in white?

I wonder if we really will never get tired of the same songs of praise.  I wonder what our “treasures in heaven” will be.  Do you think we will each get a gift package when we enter?  Will everyone have the same gift box or will they be customized to each individual person?

What is the thing you are most looking forward to in heaven?  What is your biggest question about it?  What is your quirkiest hope for heaven?

I don’t think I have all the answers about heaven….but it’s fun to think about...cuz, well…..it’s a process….

It's not easy being green

I tend to be slightly green lately.  There are two different types of green I’m talking about here……the “green” that conserves and the “green” that envies.  Both of these types of green show up more at Christmas time (funny that one of Christmas’ color’s is green).

The first type of green is something I lean toward all the time.  I’m not an over-the-top greenie, but I do like to conserve, reuse, recycle and take care of the earth in the ways I feel I can.  I have some hippie blood running through my veins… but not enough to feel secure running around with no makeup in clothes that reveal my views.  I will remain the gal in the jeans, t-shirts, and crocs who may or may not wear makeup…. depending on my mood.  The conserving green-ness comes from the crazy consumerism that is always pointed out around this time of year…..we are such a “stuff-driven” society.  Jesus’ birth marking the best time of the year to really go for materialism…. SO wrong.  Don’t get me wrong… I do like the gift exchange, santa, the whole deal….but not to the point that we (Americans? Humans?) take it.  Many are choosing to go into debt for the Christmas they envision.  That is just crazy talk!  Buying your kid that big item cuz he just REALLY REALLY wants it… is NOT showing Jesus’ love to the world…. It’s modeling irresponsible behavior for your kids and setting them up to feel sucked into that same trap when they are the parent trying to copy the Christmases they witnessed as a child.

As to the other type of green…..I’m not a person who normally struggles with envy. It isn’t my sin of choice (I have others, believe me).  I have had a struggle with it of late, however.  I’m not jealous that I can’t buy my kids the latest new thing,  I’m not jealous of Hanukkah with it’s 8 days of gifts,  I’m not jealous that I don’t drive a really new,really cool car, I’m not jealous of your paycheck, I’m not jealous of your figure (well, maybe a little)…..I’m jealous of your intact family.  I’m jealous that you have a relationship that has lasted through the thick and thin.  I’m jealous that when your mate said “I do” he/she did.  I’m jealous that you aren’t sending your kids away for half of your holiday vacation. 

Recently I hosted a small gathering of friends from my high school.  In that group that showed up, all the men were still married to their first wife.  I’m in my early 40’s.  I’m divorced twice.  I don’t have the life I thought I would.  When those men from my high school sat in my house… I really was envious of every single one of their wives…. the wives who got husbands who stayed……the wives who got husbands who didn’t wish for their harm, but their good.  Now, I do not have close relationships with all these men… I’m sure they don’t all have perfect marriages….. BUT the fact that they are still married after all these years says something to me.  It was the picture I had for myself.  I thought when I said “I do” the first time that it was forever….. I pictured laughing with my husband at all the inside jokes that were built after years and years of togetherness.  But that isn’t my lot in this life... instead I get to be empathetic to the divorced and downtrodden…… and plod through as a single mom. I have to agree with Kermit on this one… it isn’t easy being green. 

I will work on this problem of envy in me.  I know it is not a good thing….I’ll let you know when I can claim victory in this area (Holy Spirit power, baby)… cuz… it’s a process.