Costumes

Halloween is right around the corner. In our neighborhood one can now see giant spiders climbing on houses, ghosts swaying in the breeze and makeshift cemeteries popping up in yards. Every year I love the costume parade we have here at school. It's so much fun to see what all the children have chosen to wear. As a child I loved Halloween. Unlike me, my mother always made our costumes and after trick or treating in the neighborhood we ended up at our elementary school's Halloween carnival. There were games, and lots of food, but the highlight was the costume contest, with awards by age and an overall grand prize winner.

I suppose my love for costumes and dressing up was what made me put a wig in my box this week. It has long dark hair and will be part of my costume this year. Pretending to be someone else is always fun. With a few simple props I can transform myself into someone completely different. Someone who is scarier, or funnier, or smarter, or stronger than myself. In the Bible we read about Jacob, who dressed up as his older, stronger brother Esau, in order to trick his father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau. The simple disguise worked (of course it helped that Isaac was almost blind) and Jacob got the blessing he craved, although he then had to run away and it cost him his family, at least for a time.

We need to teach our children to think carefully about what masks they put on, because we can become who we are pretending to be. While the world tends to judge us by our outward appearance, God sees through our masks and costumes. Does the inner you match the costume you put on for the world?

Have fun this weekend, and as you are helping your child dress up, think about how you can also help her to be the person God is calling him to be.

Dog Biscuits

I love animals. Over the years I have had cats, dogs, fish, hamsters, frogs, turtles, mice, a guinia pig, a rabbit and even for a brief time a snake. I've had good pets and not as good ones. I've had a dog who used to steal the neighbor's milk after the delivery man set it on their porch, and one who ate the legs off my kitchen table. As a child these animals taught me responsibility, and allowed me to love, and also to grieve and experience death.

I also love stories about the saints. I always have. Growing up I loved the idea of ordinary people being called by God to do extraordinary things. This past Sunday we honored St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was born in 1182 and had a carefree childhood as the son of a very wealthy family. However he turned his back on that weath and lived a simple life of poverty, committed to God. He established the rule of St. Francis which exists today as the Order of St. Francis or the Franciscans. He was known as being kind and loving to all, even to the animals, and died in 1226 at age 44.

So today to honor St. Francis I brought dog biscuits in my box. We talked about our pets and the Blessing of the Animals which happened at St. Mark's this past Sunday. I reminded the children that we are called to share God's love not only with each other, but with all of creation. I leave you with the Prayer of Saint Francis- another one of my favorite things.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Luke 17:5-10

Today I had the pleasure of speaking at the SMEDS Friday chapel. Our lesson today was from Luke:

Luke 17:5-10 (New International Reader's Version) The apostles said to the Lord, "Give us more faith!" He replied, "Suppose you have faith as small as a mustard seed. Then you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up. Be planted in the sea.' And it will obey you. "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. And suppose the servant came in from the field. Would you say to him, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? No. Instead, you would say, 'Prepare my supper. Get yourself ready. Wait on me while I eat and drink. Then after that you can eat and drink.' Would you thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? "It's the same with you. Suppose you have done everything you were told to do. Then you should say, 'We are not worthy to serve you. We have only done our duty.' "

Even though it was the "big kid" chapel, I brought my box and in it I had a trophy that is so big it wouldn't fit in the box, so that I had to cover the end that was sticking out so that it wouldn't show. We have two of these huge trophies. They are soccer trophies that were given to Quinn and Thomas when they were 4 and 5. I'm not sure if your house is anything like mine, but we are filled to the brim with trophies. With three children playing three to four team sports a year, each with its own participation trophy, the shelves fill up pretty quickly. And I have to admit that participation trophies drive me a little crazy. While I know we want our children to feel good about themselves, I believe we also want to teach them that we do our best because it is the right thing to do, but that we shouldn't expect honors and awards for simply doing what we should do.

In this what can you do for me culture, it is important to remember that it is not about us, it is about God. And I think this at least one of the points Jesus was trying to get across in the very difficult lesson from today. We are created to serve a loving master. And we serve not because we are expecting a reward, a participation trophy, but because it is our duty. Putting God at the center of our lives allows us to experience God's love and spread that love to others. So as we go about our routines this weekend, I hope we can remember that it's not about us, and in remembering that it is about God, we can live the life planned for us.