Me and My Stuff

My aunt occasionally sells her possessions so she can give more to one of her favorite charities. I admire her, but I haven't emulated her. Of course, very few of my possessions are worth anything by the time I get done with them. However, in my Lenten fast from sweets in my house, I haven't given away the money I saved. We tithe to God's work, and sometimes give beyond that if a need comes to our attention, but we haven't developed the mindset of giving up things to give more to others. If I want something, I generally buy it; if we have extra money, we generally save it. I can't think of a time when I wanted something, but didn't buy it and gave the money away instead.

I have decided to quit looking at the catalogs that come in the mail, whether for clothing, books or fun little gadgets. If I need something, perhaps I'll use the catalog as a possible source, but otherwise, the temptation to buy something just because it's fun or cute needs to be eliminated.

Question: If the Body of Christ followed John Wesley's advice - "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can" - would the problems of poverty in the world be solved?

Some politicians and governmental officials desire to tax the rich more so the poor can have more. The appeal of this approach for Christian voters and politicians lies in God's grace, and His concern for the poor. We feel the government - of the people, for the people and by the people - should follow these Christian principles. The problem, though, is that God gives his grace voluntarily, and He gives only what is His to give - whether through His Body or any other way. The government, however, can only have something to give to one person if it takes it from another - by force. That creates resentment, feelings of superiority and inferiority, and ingratitude.

I'm selling a bunch of books, primarily to remove them from the shelves and the house. I was planning to use the money to pay for the Kindle I bought, but now I think I'll give the money away. May Your Body, O Christ, do Your will and serve others.

Failure or Fruitful?

I was feeling dragged out and unmotivated. This week Andrew and Philip acted in Prairie Fire Children's Theater, Sarah practiced with the softball team, and we cared for the neighbor's puppy, so I kept moving, but I didn't want to - for sure! The pictures of our friends the missionaries, our friends the doctors, our friends the camp directors, our friends the world-changers, our friends whose children desire nothing more than to please them rose up to haunt my nights - okay, maybe that's a little over-dramatized, but not much. I felt like a failure.

Wednesday night's Lenten service started with the Holden Evening Prayer liturgy - beautiful, but I felt that I hadn't prepared the leaders well. It improved as we went along, and then Pastor Mary gave her sermon on Martin Luther's view of vocation. I needed that. She quoted his thoughts on God's approval of changing diapers and sweeping streets as much as preaching sermons or governing the country. Tears came to my eyes as I realized the same is true of making menus and meals, paying bills and chauffeuring children.

Lord, thanks for speaking to me through Your servants at just the right time - may I hear Your voice always!

Procrastination Pays

My friend Yvonne and I have been concerned about a young friend who recently had her first child. Jill's husband, Jack, has been insisting that Jill go back to work when John turns 3 months old, because otherwise they may have to sell their home. Jill was working at a day care which is understaffed, often resulting in cranky children; she didn't get that many hours; and she would have to pay for John to be at the day care with her. Yvonne and I were thinking that working probably wouldn't bring in that much money, and that Jill's family could probably benefit financially if she would learn to save money instead of earning it. We prayed together for Jill several times, and were wondering what we needed to say to her or to Jack. Yvonne's been learning from the Lord that she has this feeling, left over from her childhood, that if she doesn't do something it won't happen, and that He wants her to trust Him more in certain situations, instead of trying to do something. Sure enough, a few days ago Jill called Yvonne and asked if she could work at the church day care (with Yvonne!) a few hours per week. Jack had run the numbers and determined that the net income from Jill's job would be miniscule.

Whether the Lord prompted someone else to talk to Jack, or gave Jack the idea, Yvonne hadn't lifted a finger, I hadn't said a word, and the job was done. John will be better cared for by his own mother; Jill will be happier and healthier; and Jack will have just as much money for his family. Thanks, Lord - may we know when to procrastinate and when to act!

Bustin' Our Buttons

David presented his senior voice recital on Saturday at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. Including our immediate family, sixteen relatives came to applaud and enjoy his performance. He sang in six languages - English, German, Norwegian, Italian, French and Spanish - with flawless pronunciation. His range, tone, pitch, diction and expression impressed the crowd - even Weston Noble, the 93-year-old interim director of the Augie Choir who has seen students come and go for over 60 years, most of them at Luther College in Iowa. When Liz Stadem asked him, "Wasn't my grandson good?" he replied, "He wasn't good. He was fabulous!" I agree - we're all pretty proud of what he has accomplished with hard work (and superior instruction by his voice teacher, Cheryl Koch) over the last three years.

We also got to see Callie in the musical, "Zombie Prom," and her junior voice and harp recital. Wow! Her acting and vocal skills shone as Miss Delilah Strict, the strait-laced principal of Enrico Fermi High. She had so much fun with the part, it was a joy to watch. The skill displayed in playing the harp astounded those of us who haven't had much experience with it. There are so many strings! She tossed off her first song with incredible ease, and made the modern English pieces enjoyable (not an easy task).

Basically, we're bustin' our buttons with pride - what a musical duo!

Honor your Father and Mother

(by Pete)

John (not his real name) called me last night and asked if the men were meeting in the morning. They weren’t, but I had wondered about going to the church every Friday even if no one else was there. So he brought muffins this morning, and we chatted, then read the Daily Text, Mark 4:22. That led to the Masterbuilders Bible with its questions, which led to discussion about family stuff. John is having issues with Mike, who won't listen to him. His grandpa started him in a pickleball league and it has been as many as three nights a week playing pickleball. “That’s too many.”

"John Jr. is home from college and I tell him to clean his gun from last fall. He doesn’t do it so I hide his shirt and tell him he can get it back when he cleans his gun. The gun still isn’t cleaned. Mike was told to feed the dog when he feeds his rabbit and he doesn’t do it."

We talked about honor and I turned to Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” If only our children would trust that this commandment is for flawed and broken parents as well as good ones. We need to emphasize the promise attached, I told John. We looked at Malachi and reviewed how our hearts need to be turned to our children or there will be a curse. John has tried to get his children to join him hunting and fishing. . .

We talked about the mustard seed size and marveled that the little thing can even germinate. Yet we are to plant the seed and trust that God does the growth. In our prayers we asked God to help us turn our hearts to our children and for our children to see the blessing in the commandment and for the seed to grow without our anger or manipulation to help it along. Apparently John's wife sided with John Jr. and told John to give back the shirt, but John prevailed. We also prayed that our wives would respect us and that we would love our wives.

I shared my own family struggles. And ours are good, strong, stable families! Lord have mercy.