Seems to be the theme in my life this week and hopefully the rest of my life.
Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Not Your Typical Garden
Last Monday, my Mom and I packed up the car and headed down to Shelbyville, Indiana. We were making a much-needed visit to my Uncle Steven, his family, my Grandma and Papa. After the roughly five hour drive and obligatory Chick-Fil-A stop, we arrived at my Uncle Steven's house and the visit began. The two days included a lot of talking and catching up on each others lives. One of my personal highlights of the trip was spending time with my Papa who I had not seen in thirteen years. Needless to say, we had both changed tremendously in that span of time.
I was entranced by his passion about his relationship with God and sharing his story with everyone around him. He was a farmer basically his whole life and because of recent health issues he decided to leave his farm to be closer to family. Most people would be resentful about having to leave what they love to do, but not Papa. I am sure that he went through a period of adjustment and wondering what his purpose is now that he is no longer on the farm, but when he spoke all I could see and hear was love of his animals and work, acceptance of what God has for him in his life now, and gratefulness that he is still on this earth to do God's work.
One story in particular that Papa told about his farm stuck with me. I don't remember all the details of the story, but it happened very shortly before he got sick and decided to leave the farm. In fact, this event was part of the reason he ended up leaving. He began by saying, one day he had planted hundreds of tomato plants and bell pepper plants. Since my Papa is old school, he had done all the planting manually (on his hands and knees). After a long, hard day of work, he looked over what he had done and was so happy. He even said that he looked up at the beautiful sky and thanked God for the beautiful weather. Not long after this, him and the guy that had been helping him, returned their gazes to the sky and saw an ominous storm cloud looming above them. Before they knew it, hailstones about the size of tennis balls were plummeting to the ground not sparing a single tomato plant. After the storm had passed the next day, Papa got up and headed to buy more tomato plants. So with plants in hand, he replanted over a hundred tomato crops, once again on his hands and knees. When time came to harvest his work, he paced through the rows of tomatoes noticing something was wrong. His crops had been scavenged by rodents, who had peeled the tomatoes and then eaten them. Another crop ruined. Stubbornly, Papa returned to buy even more tomato plants for his last try at harvesting them. After planting them, he returned later to discover that they had been struck with blight.
Now Papa did not tell this story in search of pity or to show his human determination. No, he told it to show God's imprint on his life. Many comments were made about the similarities of these events to some sort of divine plague issued by God. Papa, in his calm and straightforward way, agreed that God was sending him a pretty clear message. Papa continued by explaining that, after that third crop of tomato plants were ruined, he finally got the message. God wasn't testing his strength or determination, because God clearly knows that Papa is a stubborn, hard-working man. God was saying "This farm is no longer your home or your work. You work solely for Me now." Shortly after that Papa fell ill and left his farm.
Papa spoke with such purpose and saw the humor in the way God chose to speak to him. God knew that the only way to get straight to Papa's heart was to target his beloved farm. Although he misses his goats and chickens, Papa repeatedly explained that he is where God needs him and he now more than ever sees that the things of this world are temporary. When God calls how should we respond? In the same way my Papa did: "Lord my ears are open and my tired feet are ready. Where to next?"
I was entranced by his passion about his relationship with God and sharing his story with everyone around him. He was a farmer basically his whole life and because of recent health issues he decided to leave his farm to be closer to family. Most people would be resentful about having to leave what they love to do, but not Papa. I am sure that he went through a period of adjustment and wondering what his purpose is now that he is no longer on the farm, but when he spoke all I could see and hear was love of his animals and work, acceptance of what God has for him in his life now, and gratefulness that he is still on this earth to do God's work.
One story in particular that Papa told about his farm stuck with me. I don't remember all the details of the story, but it happened very shortly before he got sick and decided to leave the farm. In fact, this event was part of the reason he ended up leaving. He began by saying, one day he had planted hundreds of tomato plants and bell pepper plants. Since my Papa is old school, he had done all the planting manually (on his hands and knees). After a long, hard day of work, he looked over what he had done and was so happy. He even said that he looked up at the beautiful sky and thanked God for the beautiful weather. Not long after this, him and the guy that had been helping him, returned their gazes to the sky and saw an ominous storm cloud looming above them. Before they knew it, hailstones about the size of tennis balls were plummeting to the ground not sparing a single tomato plant. After the storm had passed the next day, Papa got up and headed to buy more tomato plants. So with plants in hand, he replanted over a hundred tomato crops, once again on his hands and knees. When time came to harvest his work, he paced through the rows of tomatoes noticing something was wrong. His crops had been scavenged by rodents, who had peeled the tomatoes and then eaten them. Another crop ruined. Stubbornly, Papa returned to buy even more tomato plants for his last try at harvesting them. After planting them, he returned later to discover that they had been struck with blight.
Now Papa did not tell this story in search of pity or to show his human determination. No, he told it to show God's imprint on his life. Many comments were made about the similarities of these events to some sort of divine plague issued by God. Papa, in his calm and straightforward way, agreed that God was sending him a pretty clear message. Papa continued by explaining that, after that third crop of tomato plants were ruined, he finally got the message. God wasn't testing his strength or determination, because God clearly knows that Papa is a stubborn, hard-working man. God was saying "This farm is no longer your home or your work. You work solely for Me now." Shortly after that Papa fell ill and left his farm.
Papa spoke with such purpose and saw the humor in the way God chose to speak to him. God knew that the only way to get straight to Papa's heart was to target his beloved farm. Although he misses his goats and chickens, Papa repeatedly explained that he is where God needs him and he now more than ever sees that the things of this world are temporary. When God calls how should we respond? In the same way my Papa did: "Lord my ears are open and my tired feet are ready. Where to next?"
Monday, August 9, 2010
Movie for a Monday!
I know I know I am slacking on the actually blog writing but I wanted everyone who reads this blog to watch this movie: "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers"
This is just the trailer, but I want you to get the feeling for what this extremely interesting and well-done documentary is all about. Here you go:
This is just the trailer, but I want you to get the feeling for what this extremely interesting and well-done documentary is all about. Here you go:
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Music for the Weekend--8/8
So this newer artist is Katie Todd! I had the pleasure of seeing her and her band perform at the Lilith Fair a couple weekends ago with Thais and Jackie. She had a unique sound and her band even included a trumpet player. Needless to say it was a very enjoyable show! Here are her songs Love, Love, Love and Leave. Enjoy!
Peace.
Peace.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
This post is a little different. For now, I just want to share this Bible passage without providing any of my own commentary. Man, how this kind of situation can be seen everyday!
Luke 10:25-37 NIV
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
My own experience to come... M.C.
hmmmmmm...
Luke 10:25-37 NIV
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
My own experience to come... M.C.
hmmmmmm...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A Question of Manhood
I recently saw a commercial for a popular, largely-feminine, soap product, which has started a campaign to target male consumers. The goal of the commercial was essentially to persuade men that if you have accomplished all the basics that are required of a man, including being "good at sports," "always looking cool," "getting a nice girl to marry you," "having three kids," etc, then you should be comfortable enough in life and in your manhood to use this soap product.
When I saw this commercial, which initially ran on Superbowl Sunday, I was left wondering: Is this the checklist that men need to go through to feel comfortable with their life? Is this what manhood looks like or should look like? I know I am bringing this rather superficial commercial to a deeper level, but this hit me pretty hard. Most of these steps or accomplishments don't define manhood, nor do they, alone, make a man. I think that manhood should be defined more by who the man is, how he loves, what he values, rather than a checklist of accomplishments. At least that is what I would search for in the man who could someday be my future husband. I will let you decide what you think. Here is the commercial:
Mackensey
When I saw this commercial, which initially ran on Superbowl Sunday, I was left wondering: Is this the checklist that men need to go through to feel comfortable with their life? Is this what manhood looks like or should look like? I know I am bringing this rather superficial commercial to a deeper level, but this hit me pretty hard. Most of these steps or accomplishments don't define manhood, nor do they, alone, make a man. I think that manhood should be defined more by who the man is, how he loves, what he values, rather than a checklist of accomplishments. At least that is what I would search for in the man who could someday be my future husband. I will let you decide what you think. Here is the commercial:
Mackensey
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Music for the Weekend
This weekend's music post was delayed a day due to events to be related to in future posts. Here you go. Actually this recommendation comes from a lifetime friend of mine (David Ulrich) and our childhood obsession with the group Hanson. This photo to the left shows the boys during their 1990s prime, which just so happened to coincide with my tween years!
Just releasing their new album, the three brothers reunited to create this song that is actually quite catchy. Gotta love there nerdy dance moves, reminds me of their boyish charm.: Thinking 'Bout Somethin' by Hanson
Enjoy!
Mackensey
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