Jesus at the fair

OK...So last Sunday we went to the county fair. I enjoy going. Tim on the other hand is not so much a fair person (such a city boy). As I was getting ready to go, I began thinking about the fair and the people that you see there. The county fair brings out people from all walks of life. I have one friend (whom I love) who jokes about people who have no teeth being seen at the fair. She understands this because she comes from a "fair" kind of family. However, as I began to think of the fair, something hit me...I think Jesus would have been at the fair. I think if he were living here today, I would have caught a glimpse of Him there because people at the fair need Him just as much as anyone else anywhere. Maybe more so. If you think about the crowds that Jesus hung out with in His time, they were similar to the fair crowd. People who were not necessarily on the high end of society, but rather people who were every day people. Sometimes even the outcast of society. All in need of a Saviour.

Sometimes I think we forget who Jesus was and what He did while He was on this earth. I just finished two books by Anne Rice, Out of Egypt and The Road to Canaan. Reading those I was reminded of the life of Christ. He didn't come to earth to hang out with kings and world leaders. He was born in the stable for a reason. Maybe so that ordinary people like you and me could understand Him better and understand that we too, no matter how rich or how poor, can have a relationship with The King of Kings.

There's a song that Grace did in one of her Christmas plays. The words go something like this:

If You had come on big white horse, so mighty and so strong. I might have been afraid to talk to you, afraid that I'd say something wrong. But when you came the way you did to such a simple place. You let us see an awesome God with the sweet and tender face. And you made it easy for everyone to come, cause everyone loves babies even God's own son. And you wrapped your power in sweet simplicity. Jesus I thank you for coming as a child like me.

He came in such an ordinary way to ordinary people...and for that I am thankful. So yep, I think He is definitely a fair person.

Saint or Sinner

I was just reading another blog and ran across a comment that someone had said and it struck me when I read it. The comment was, “we are all sinners.” Now, I know there are many theological differences between Christians. However, as I read those words I thought, “Really?” As a person in the Wesley and Arminian tradition, I don’t normally call myself a sinner. We believe that we do not need to sin in word, thought or deed every day. That God’s power is enough to bring us above that. However, as a former pit dweller, I know that I am, at any one time, a mere decision or two away from the next pit. Without God’s continual guidance in my life, without His pervasive Spirit revealing Himself to me, without a daily relationship with Him, I am lost! I need Him every moment of my life!

The words “we are all sinners” drives me crazy though, and I think I just figured out why. If I think of myself as a sinner instead thinking of myself as God’s precious and holy child, I believe I give myself the excuse to be that person – the sinner. If I fall one day, well, it’s because we’re all sinners. As someone with a degree in counseling, I often see people who have been labeled somewhere along life’s way and they live up to those labels. Parents are encouraged to be careful what they call they’re children. The labels often stick. The person who is called worthless believes themselves to be worthless. We can take on the persona of whatever it is we are called or labeled. The mind is a powerful thing and thoughts can influence our behavior. So instead of thinking of ourselves as sinners, why not think of ourselves as Children of the Most High, God’s child, prince or princess to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Maybe then we will begin acting the part. The Message states the first part of Romans 12 this way,

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best think you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-informed maturity in you.”

Or as the King James Version states: "And do not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable, and perfect will of God."

Maybe, if we see ourselves as the Children that we are, instead of the sinners that we were, we could, through the power of the Holy Spirit that is so freely available to us, live more victorious lives for our Father. As with any child, there may be days that we fall down, but that’s the most wonderful part…He is always there to pick us up! He loves us so! Amen. Amen.

Just an update

This is for Megan who checks my blog daily (or so she says). I told her I'm not that dedicated, plus just too busy to update often. I guess I'm overdue a post though, and so thought I'd write a quick one. To update everyone on our sweet bunny...he's doing really well and making lots of pellets. I've had to clean his cage this week and will have to do so again tonight. Can I just tell ya all how fun that is! But I'm just glad he's alive and so will gladly clean his nasty smelly cage.

A funny story about Grace...two nights ago she woke me up and said that she heard a chainsaw. Now, we really monitor her TV viewing and since my husband's not exactly Tim the Tool Man, I was wondering how she even knew what a chainsaw was. The funniest part came next, though, when she continued. She said that she believed that someone was down stairs cutting Fluffy into little pieces! Again...we do monitor her television/media viewing and so I was bewildered by this. Where in the world did this come from!! I told her to go back to sleep that I was sure no one was in the house and I did not hear a chainsaw. It was a restless night of sleep! Yesterday when I asked her about it she was adamant that she really did hear a chainsaw. Freaky!

Fluffy Lives!

I have grand news! Fluffy is doing much better. After three days in the vet hospital, we brought him home and continued to give him pineapple juice over the weekend. He is now eating really well and making pellets. ;o) So, it seems our sweet little bunny is on the mends.

Kimberly

Fluffy (aka Captain Jack Sparraow)

OK...so Tim took Fluffy to the vet today and they did an x-ray. They say that his stomach is about half full of hair, and that it is blocking the intestines. They are keeping him at the animal hospital for several days during which time they will give injections and pineapple juice to try and dissolve the hair. The vet was very optimistic that they will be able to help him. Hopefully (and prayerfully) he will be home in a few days healthy!

My husband has been such a trooper to help him through this. Even with his allergies, he's been right there helping out as you can see in the picture. We all really love him.

Heartbroken

It's been a tough week in our household. It all started on Sunday when Grace's nanny quit. Grace really loved her a lot and so we had one brokenhearted little girl when we finally told her Sunday evening. At 11:30 pm she finally fell asleep after crying for quite some time. What can a parent do in a situation like this? Honestly, I was crushed just seeing how upset Grace was.

Monday started off on the down side. If Sunday was bad, Monday got even worse. Tim got up early as usual and then came and woke me up to let me know that our bunny Fluffy was not moving, seemed very lathargic and was just not being himself. Usually he's hopping around his cage in the morning, but not that day. After a trip to the vet Monday afternoon we found out that Fluffy has a blockage in his digestive tract. Laymen's terms: Fluffy has can't poop. So, every day we've been giving him medicine, which means I'm up early to help Tim give it to him, but still nothing has passed.

We called the vet again today and now we're giving him pineapple joice as well. Not only is he not pottying, he's not eating either. The vet said that if he doesn't go potty by Monday we have to bring him in. We all have been fervently praying for him and I believe God does care. My mom even called me the other day just to see how he was. We all love him so. Tim is allergic to dogs and cats and so we thought the bunny would be a pet Grace could have. However, we've found that Tim is allergic to him as well, but because he too loves Fluffy he faithfully holds him while I give him medicine even though it makes him sneeze his head off. Frankly, we need a miracle for our bunny!

We've let him out of his cage so that maybe some exercise will help. So, right now he's running around the basement. I don't even care if he makes an incredible mess all over the place. I just want him to potty!! After the exercise, he's right now going to town drinking his water so maybe that will help.

Today Grace was at our pastor's house playing with his kids in their front yard. They having a great climbing tree and Grace was playing in it and fell. No broken bones, but some major scapes up her side and belly. She was pretty brave and didn't even cry (or so she says).

All around, it's just been a tough week. Please pray that next week is better in our house. I've never been more excited to see poop in all my life.

Innocence lost

My sweet innocent little girl has officially learned her first really bad word. The nice thing is she didn't believe it was a word at all. We were laying in bed the other night and Grace said something about "potty words". To which I said, "Like what?" She then gave me the normal list:

Stupid
Shut up
Dumb

Yes, I agreed those are all bad words. Then she said:

"Mama, Alex (the 3 year old next door) keeps saying a word, but I don't think it's really a word."

Me: "What's the word?" I couldn't really understand her so I asked her to repeat it, then spell it.

Sh** (Yes, she spelled it correctly). My heart sank. "Yep, that's a bad word Grace. A really really bad word that we don't ever want to say."

Grace: "So what's it mean?"

Tim: "It doesn't matter what it means. You just should never say it."

Grace: "OK" (after asking a few more times)

As a parent, I just felt horrible. Now that word is stuck in my baby's head. And as long as she plays with the neighbors she's probably going to hear it again. It's not that I want to put her in a coccoon (we'll maybe) it's that I want to keep her as pure and innocent as I can for as long as possible. Isn't it my job as a parent to keep her safe? I'm all about letting her grow and experience life, but I truly believe as a parent it's up to me to make sure she does that within some boundaries. Tim said that we're lucky that she made it to the age of 8. I guess he's right, but it still feels sad. My baby is growing up and fast.