A Little Child

As the boys were getting ready for bed tonight, something out of the ordinary happened. I heard sobbing in the bathroom. I peeked in and Owen was in tears. He's a pretty tough kid so I knew something was going on. I asked him what was wrong and he asked me if he was going to die. After some conversation, I found that this was a little boy who was fully understanding the impact of sin in the world and in his own life. I affirmed that his feelings of sadness were right on. Blessed are those who mourn. We talked about how it makes God sad too and that's why He sent Jesus. We talked about Heaven. Owen asked some great questions--some I could answer and some I couldn't. Owen expressed how much he wanted his friend at school to believe so he could go to Heaven too. I am humbled by Owen's pure heart and reminded that our time here is limited. I am also reminded of how important it is for us as parents to be in the Word and to always be prepared to engage our children in spiritual conversations. These conversations are always welcomed in our family whether we are at home, in the car, or even on vacation. As Brandon was tucking the boys in to bed, I heard him praise Owen for asking such great questions. As Owen continues to seek, I am so thankful to know that our God will never fail him. He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4

Alway Expect a Trial

I tried to prepare ahead of time, but it just wasn’t coming together. My boss had asked me to share a devotional with our staff that morning and here I was sitting at my desk 10 minutes before our meeting with nothing to share. It’s not that I hadn’t thought about it. Many ideas had floated in and out of my brain in the past 24 hours, but nothing seemed to stick.

And then I saw it. Of all things, it was a mug I had received from the fireman who had just visited our program to talk to the kids about fire safety. It had railroad tracks on it along with the phrases “Always expect a train” and “Any time is train time.” That was it. This was the message God had for me to share.

I headed upstairs with my new mug in hand. When it was my turn to share I held up the mug and announced… “Always expect a trial. Any time is trial time.” I used John 16:33 to share the good news, bad news message with the women. In a nutshell, I reminded everyone that we live in a fallen and sinful world, so trials in our lives are guaranteed. The good news… we can count on the One who has overcome the world. In the meantime, we need to prepare. It is crucial that we are spending time in God’s Word and in prayer. We need to be ready because… “any time is trial time.”

 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part 2

I learned a lot from the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 (see previous post), but then I discovered that she makes headlines again in 2 Kings 8. Here it is in NIV…

Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” ² The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³ At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land. ⁴ The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵ Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to beg the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

I was so excited when I read this! That horrible experience that the Shunammite woman went through was more than just a heart check. God redeemed that tragic incident in her life and used it for her good—to bless her and her family abundantly at just the right time! I guess I knew that, but to see it played out in Scripture reminded me of God’s love and goodness and grace.

To the God of grace who redeems our broken dreams and is working in ways we can not even fathom, to Him be all the glory and honor and praise forever, Amen!

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part 1

I recently read through 2 Kings for my Bible study. I was excited to revisit the story of the Shunammite woman that was first brought to my attention by Phil Vischer creator of Veggie Tales in his autobiography Me, Myself & Bob.

2 Kings 4:8-37 tells the story of a woman from the Biblical city of Shunem. We know that she was “well-to-do” with a knack for hospitality. Upon recognizing that Elisha was a “holy man of God,” she and her aged husband built a room on their roof for the prophet to stay whenever he came.

To thank the woman, Elisha announced that she would have a son. The woman objected, not because she didn’t want a child, but because she did not want to get her hopes up. She had given up this dream years ago.

Fast forward one year and, just as Elisha said, the woman was holding a newborn son in her arms. Her dream had come true. Now, fast forward a few more years… the child goes out to his father in the field and tells him that he has a headache. He is taken to his mother and ends up dying in her arms.

Was this some sort of cruel joke? Why would God allow her dream of having a child to come true and then snatch her dream away? This is the question Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer was asking in Me, Myself & Bob. God had given him a big dream. He wanted to do big things for God through media. He aspired to be the Christian Walt Disney. It looked like he was on his way to achieving this dream. God was doing amazing things as Veggie Tales exploded in popularity. Then it all fell apart. Eventually, Phil Vischer lost everything. His company went bankrupt and all he had worked so hard for was gone. What was God doing?

We know that God does not look at what man looks at. God looks at the heart. Perhaps God was looking into the hearts of the Shunammite woman and Phil Vischer to determine who or what they loved the most—God or their dream? When we suffer the loss of a dream, we have the opportunity to declare our allegiance. Who or what matters most to us? Will we cling to our dreams or will we hold fast to our God?

So, how does the story end? As Phil Vischer suggests, sometimes God gives us our dream back and sometimes he doesn’t… and that’s okay. The Shunammite quickly heads out to find Elisha who returns to Shunem with the woman and does a miracle. The boy’s life is restored. As for Phil Vischer, Big Idea and Veggie Tales are gone, but he is currently creating for his new company Jellyfish Labs. Perhaps God is giving him new dreams. The lesson we can learn in all this is that God plus nothing is enough. There is no dream, no ministry, no achievement that can add to who God is in our lives. He is enough… He is everything!

As important as this lesson has been in my life, I am so excited about what God taught me a few chapters later through this same woman. I’ll post again soon with the amazing sequel of the Shunammite’s story!

2011 in Review (my 100th post!)

January 1^st, 12:01am

I rung in the new year reading Phil Vischer’s book Me, Myself & Bob. It was all about our hopes and dreams and what happens when we lose them. If you want the Cliff’s Notes version check out Phil Vischer speaking on iTunesU.

January 5^th

Our first appointment with a fertility doctor. We spent 2 hours with the doctor reviewing our history and determining a plan, which included several tests and possible treatment.

February

Interview and accept a position with the Mom’s Day Out program at the church to begin the next school year.

February 12^th

Brandon organizes an amazing conference for teens and their parents called Uncomplicated.

February 23^rd

Positive pregnancy test.

March

Attend Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago. Brandon did a great job as a presenter and I learned a ton at the many sessions I was able to attend.

April

Lots of doctor appointments and not feeling well at all.

May 10^th

Voted in as PTO secretary for Owen’s school.

May 18^th

Move up to high school ministry after 11 years serving in junior high. No more sitting on the floor!

June

Head to Kentucky for the junior high missions trip. VBS was all about the Bible this year.

July 3^rd

Miles turns 4! We partied with our family and cousins at Monkey Joes.

July 6^th

Head to Galena with my friend Jessi to kick off a new Bible study that will take us through the entire

Bible.

July 22^nd

Memorial service for Grandma Schmidt in Celina. Brandon led the outdoor service.

July 25^th

My first official job event for MDO. I organized a workshop in which my mom was the featured speaker. She did great!

July 30^th

Brandon officiates his first wedding for the Carlsons. It was a beautiful day!

August 6-13^th

Family vacation in Door County. We rented a cottage on Lake Michigan for the week. The boys loved playing on the beach even if there were dead fish everywhere!

August 24^th

Owen starts 1^st grade with Mrs. Welden who was also his kindergarten teacher.

September 10^th

Head to Lake Geneva for a day with my mom and grandma along with Jody and June. We took a boat ride and went out for lunch.

October 2^nd

Brandon speaks at Walk to Remember, a special memorial for families who have lost children through miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death.

October 21-23^rd

Senior High fall retreat in Lake Geneva. I was able to go for the day on Saturday.

October 26^th

Samuel Brandon Early born at 3:46pm weighing 7lbs 13oz and 21 inches long. I ended up having an emergency c-section.

November 23-26^th

Head to Ohio for Thanksgiving. It was quite an interesting car trip with our family of 5!

November 24^th

Owen turns 7! He had chosen a birthday dinner at JMK Nippon a few days earlier.

December

Christmas parties and lots of family time. The boys enjoyed reading Jotham’s Journey for advent this year. We also made our birthday cake for Jesus. I think Samuel enjoyed his first Christmas!

Big, Fat Squirrel

As I was driving home the other day, I spotted a big, fat squirrel sitting under a tree having a nice little snack. What a lazy little guy I thought. Must be nice to just sit around all day and eat. Then I realized that this fat squirrel was not so lazy after all. He was simply preparing for what was sure to come... winter.

Although here in the Midwest we are all preparing for another winter, we are each experiencing different seasons in our own lives. Some are rejoicing in God's provisions and blessings while others mourn the tragedies that break our hearts in this fallen world. Unlike the fairly predictable weather patterns that occur each year, the seasons of our lives have no such routine. There is no way of knowing what each new day will bring.

It is easy to feel like sitting around and devoting time to Bible study and prayer is a waste of time and not very productive. I need to take notes from that big, fat squirrel and realize the importance of storing up for whatever lies around the corner. I believe it was Beth Moore who made the statement that you will never waste a minute in God's word.

Thank you God for your provision and thank you for those seasons in our lives where we can store up what we need to weather the harshest winters.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Brotherly Love

Wednesday is Awana night for Owen. In addition to having a great time at church, Owen enjoys getting to stay up a little later. He has become a master of dragging out his bedtime routine as long as possible. Tonight, as Owen was getting ready for bed, he came in to kiss his new baby brother one last time. After a last round of snuggles and hugs, I told Owen that Samuel has a really great big brother. As Owen walked out of the room to head to bed, he said, "I can't wait until Samuel asks Jesus into his heart."

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5