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.

Hairbrush

Today is picture day at St. Mark's. If anyone else has a house like mine that day is filled with a bit of anxiety over whether a certain three year old is going to allow her hair to be brushed, or pulled back, or is going to go with her usual "messy hair" look that she loves. This probably stems from memories of my own picture days, figuring out what to wear and hoping for a good hair day. When I was little our prize for having our picture made was the little black comb each of us was given so we could freshen up in the few moments before the photographer called "next".

So today I put a small hairbrush in my box and we talked about hair. The funny thing about hair is that most of us want what we don't have. Those of us with curly hair would love for it to be straight, while all my friends with straight hair say they would love some curl. Some of my friends would love to have any hair at all. We put it up, pull it back, color it and style it. Think about the times and ways hair is described in the Bible. We know that Esau had red hair and that Samson had long hair. We also know that long, long ago, a woman named Mary loved Jesus so much, she got down on her knees and dried his feet with her hair.

What would it take for us to give Jesus all of us, from the soles of our feet to the tips of our hair?

Playdough

When I was little I loved playing with playdough. I still do. There is still something comforting about rolling out shapes, making cups or bowls, or animals with it. Playdough sculptures are short-lived, the minute you finish one masterpiece it's time to squish it all together and start over. Playdough doesn't last. All of us can remember the sadness of leaving a masterpiece out too long, only to find our snake or duck or tree dried out and brittle. At our house we love making playdough and a fresh ziploc bag of purple playdough was what I brought in my box today.

As I showed it to the children and started kneading it in may hands, I talked about two stories the playdough brought to mind. The first was of Jeremiah, who was sent by God to observe a potter working at his wheel with clay. The potter was making a cup or a bowl, but somehow it was spoiled, so he mashed it and molded it and reworked it into another one, this one strong and fine and ready for use. The second was when God created the earth, and formed man from dust or clay on the ground.

I think, if playdough had been around in Biblical times, the prophets might have talked about it. While I like the idea of being a strong, finished vessel of clay, a beautiful cup that is filled with the Holy Spirit, I think I am more a work in progress, like a squishy playdough ball. God is constantly molding me into what I am supposed to be at the moment.

What is God creating of you today?

China Tea Set

The guesses for what I had in my box today were very funny. I gave the clue that it was very old and the guesses were, Lego's, a sweater, and lipstick! But instead, today I had an old toy tea set, in it's original box. It had been my aunt's when she was a little girl, and when I was little, it sat on a high shelf in the playroom. My grandmother (Sarah) told me I couldn't touch it, but when I was older she would get it down so we could have tea parties together. The playroom was stuffed with everything, books, dolls, blocks, my father's electric train set, but all I wanted was the tea set. So one day I stood on a chair, and got it down to play with it very carefully, and of course I broke a saucer. I then very carefully put everything back in the box, so that you couldn't tell the saucer was broken, and put the box back on the shelf. I'm not sure how my grandmother found out, she had a sixth sense about us misbehaving, but she did & I was punished & then she told me no matter what I did she would still love me. Now I have the tea set, on a shelf, waiting for my daughter, Sarah Frances, to be old enough to play with it.

Telling this story then led to talking about the garden, and how even though the first people could touch anything in it, all they wanted was what was forbidden. From the beginning of time we have always wanted what we couldn't, or shouldn't have. We all have apples in our lives, the tea set on the shelf that is attractive in part because it is off limits. We all covet. From time to time, we will all choose to touch what we shouldn't. And poor choices almost always have consequences. Thankfully, grace means no matter how many times we break the tea set, God's love will always be there for us.

Back to School

Parents everywhere are rejoicing as by this time of year everyone is back to school. The first chapel back is always fun. The new kindergarten students serving as acolytes for the first time looked so proud, and a little unsure, as they processed. In honor of backpacks and making lunches and the return, for many of us, of routine, I brought an alarm clock in my box.

This clock is older, and it chimes the hours and will chime at a certain time if you set it to, although it is too old to have a snooze setting. In our house everyone has an alarm clock. Mine goes off at 5:30am, so I can go to the gym. My husband's goes off a bit later, and he leaves to run. The older boys are supposed to be up around 6:00am, to slowly shower, eat breakfast, make lunches, and be ready for the carpool at 7:00am. Round three of wake ups are around 7am, when my two at St. Mark's repeat the process so they can be at school by 8am. And then every once in a while there is the day. The day when, for some reason, the alarm doesn't go off, it doesn't ring, or buzz, or turn on loud music or if it did the soundness of our sleep prevented us from even noticing it. The day when we all wake up and realize we are going to be late or have missed the start of school already. And while I try to get everyone to pack up backpacks and pick out clothes and be as prepared as possible the night before, on the day, the day when we oversleep, none of those preparations have happened either.

When I think about the story of the ten bridesmaids, the ones waiting patiently for the bridegroom. The ones who fell asleep while waiting and half of them woke up with lamps that were out and no way to light them again in time, the ones that miss the banquet, I think of that sense of panic when we sleep through the alarm. That sense of confusion, of waking up and wondering what time is it and then looking around at your room, and then realizing you've missed it. Whatever it was-no matter how important-you aren't going to be ready in time.

We never know when opportunities to serve Christ are going to present themselves. We never know when he's going to come back. And so our hearts need to be prepared for him all the time, so that even when we oversleep, (as God knows we will) we can still make the party.