Not Always a Cake Walk

By Hally Franz –

I love Italian Cream Cake. I’ve not made it myself, but Mom still bakes one for me occasionally. I hear it’s not difficult, but involves a lot of steps. I could do it, if I were to take my time and follow the directions exactly. My finished product would likely be just fine.

Some might see parenting in this same light.

My husband’s 4-H aerospace project group is planning to build model airplanes. I am sure they will do quite well with their projects provided they exercise care and diligence. I don’t believe any advanced training is required for that.

Perhaps, parenting is a bit like building a model.

It’s science fair time at my children’s school. They’ve done background research to help understand the experiments they are conducting, and to develop hypotheses based on the research. They anticipate a certain outcome, but only time will tell what the results will be.

Could this be a parenting analogy?

The fact is that we parents want to believe that a simple (or complicated) set of instructions can guide us through the rearing of a happy, successful and Godly child. We bank on the fact that some basic study may be required to prepare for parenthood, but no advanced degrees are required. We optimistically set about the parenting experience anticipating the desired results, feeling confident that things will go as planned.

That isn’t always the truth, though. In most cases, great parents raise great adults. Most of the time, the hours of toil and worry, the tears, the time, the energy and the prayers all pay off. But, just as there are resilient children who become wonderful adults even when they’ve had hard and dysfunctional childhoods, there are kids who seem not to thrive, even under the best circumstances. In both my professional and personal experience, I have known the best of parents who have had much heartache and discouragement along their parenting journeys. It is important to recognize that not all parents are challenged equally.

It’s easy to become arrogant about parenting if we find our offspring have matured into contented Christian adults. Some children, young or old, may spend their entire lives in search of peace. Like the Prodigal Son and King Nebuchadnezzar, some of our children must learn lessons the hard way. In any case, those child challenges are loved as much as the low-maintenance ones.

And, blessed be those resilient parents.

PRAYER: Merciful Father of us all, please give Christian parents encouragement and hope when we face challenges in child-rearing. As You have loved those who are slow to learn, help us to love our children unconditionally, to have patience, and to gain peace throughout the process, even when there is heartache and disappointment.

“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:24 NIV).

Untidy Josephs

By Elaine James –

Sitting in my kitchen having a cup of coffee with a friend, we discussed how boring we feel our family meal choices have become. She blurted out that when her Mom wanted to spice things up for their family, she would come up with funny names for sandwiches. One of her favorite names was “Untidy Josephs,” which is more popularly known as “Sloppy Joes.”

After my friend went home, I decided I would make “Untidy Josephs” for dinner. As I was making them, I reflected about Joseph in the Old Testament, and decided to use that name to write about the “Untidy Joseph” of the Bible.

Joseph’s life was far from being tidy. It was actually quite the opposite, it was rather untidy. He endured his brothers abusing him, being sold to slavery, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and then imprisoned. After years and years of chaos, he finally was given what God promised him: the favor from the king to help run a country. Truly, an amazing story!

Our lives also tell a story. In that story, our lives may become untidy, but it doesn’t always mean we have made a mess of it. It could just be God taking care of the details for the future. He wants to show His power and grace for the next generation. Joseph’s life lessons are valuable for us all. He taught us that honesty is the best policy, perseverance is worth pursuing and reminded us not to give up on our dreams.

What is going on in your life right now that seems “untidy”? Ask God to help you look at the “mess” His way.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, my life may get untidy at times, but I am grateful I have You to guide me.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” (Genesis 50:19-21 NIV).

Flowers from a Stick

By Peter Lundell –

My wife bought an orchid. But it was really just a two-foot-long stalk as thick as my thumb. It sat in a pot on her table, this green stick. It was not beautiful, and to my eyes didn’t show much promise. It only took up space.

After a few weeks, it still sat there gathering dust. For some reason she watered it. Seemed like a waste of water to me.

For two months the green stick sat on her table. Several spikey leaves had sprouted at the base, and a big bulge grew at the top. Probably a tumor.

Then one morning we stopped and stared. The tumor had bloomed into a magnificent flower. Now it’s the glory of the house. Soon, a second flower bloomed. And two more buds have formed.

So many things in life are like that stick. Things we build. Things we work for. Things we attempt. So many people are like that stick too.

Some things–and some people–have a critical mass, a tipping point, where months or years of effort or waiting reach a point when something happens. A project is finished, a conflict is resolved, a child grows up, a skeptic comes to faith. Transformations occur that could not have occurred without that time of waiting.

Are you attempting to do anything that’s like that green stick and hasn’t yet produced its flower? Or is there something inside you that’s like that green stick, quietly developing and will someday come out as something beautiful?

If your flower hasn’t bloomed yet, don’t give up. Keep tending to it. Be patient. Work hard. Hope. Big or small, you’ll get your flower.

PRAYER: Lord, empower me to be patient about _____________. I will persevere and not give up. Whatever it takes, by Your grace, I will bloom.

“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32 NIV).

Have You Ever Thought of Fasting?

By Rosemary Flaaten –

Fasting. Isn’t that just for the Super-Spiritual-Christian? Isn’t that what you do the morning you have to weigh-in for your weekly weight loss program?

I hate fasting. I hate feeling hungry. Maybe it’s some deep fear that if I don’t eat when food available, there might not be any left. “Eat now, or your food will be sent to starving children in Africa and you’ll regret not cleaning up that plate” says a voice from the past. Probably though, it’s much more about a stubborn human will that has a stronghold on my heart that is fighting tooth and nail to not lose its grip on my life.

The heart of spiritual disciplines, such as fasting, is to take part in an activity where the Holy Spirit enables us to do something that we cannot do by willpower alone. Fasting gives us a physical means to experience what must become a spiritual reality in our lives.

The dictionary describes discipline as “an activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill.” Spiritual discipline helps us practice the regime of detachment. We need to engage in activities that help us to let go of our attempts to do it our own way. Peter said it this way: “Abstain from fleshly lusts which ward against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11 NIV). Fasting, as a spiritual discipline, affords us such an opportunity.

When I abstain from food, my desire for indulgence takes a beating, propelling me into an offensive stance against my fleshly will. There is a recovering of lost territory and a moving into previously unoccupied territory. Realms of my will that had been ruled by my flesh are now occupied by the Holy Spirit. Fasting sharpens my dependence on God.

Let me be honest. When the topic of fasting surfaces, my human will still resists. However, I have experienced the joy and freedom that comes with disciplining my desires and detaching from its stronghold. As I practice the discipline of fasting, my resistance is turning to acceptance and I suspect that someday, as I grow in maturity and wisdom, I will embrace it.

PRAYER: Lord, give me the desire to follow You even into the discipline of fasting so that I might grow in my likeness of You.

“His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love” (Ephesians 4:16 The Message).

A Healthy Appetite

By Rosemary Flaaten –

As my age has increased, so has my waistline. You may understand this. Extra weight creeps on and before we know it, we’re 10, 20, 50 pounds overweight. Despite many different methodologies and programs, there is no secret formula for losing weight. If we want to lose that extra fat, the number of calories that we expend must be more than the amount we take in. Recent studies show that the type of food from which those calories come from are less significant than the simple volume we eat.

And that’s where appetite comes in. My desire to put more food into my mouth than what my body needs is my problem. I don’t just eat because I’m hungry; I eat to experience satisfaction. Rather than listening to my God-given hunger reflex, I respond to my desire for love, approval, comfort, and strength by opening my mouth and eating. My hunger is not for food, it is for fulfilment. In my attempt to satisfy this need, I have made food an idol in my life.

God spoke these words about His people’s incessant idolatry: “They’ll realize how devastated I was by their betrayals, by their voracious lust for gratifying themselves in their idolatries.” (Ezekiel 6:9 TM)

This verse hits me between the eyes on the topic of self-indulgence. I set out to satisfy my deepest longings of my heart, but instead of turning to God, who has promised everything I need, including all the food my body requires, I seek to gratify myself. I stuff my face with food that quickly shows up on my hips and in doing so, my heart remains impoverished and gaunt.

I realize we cannot stop eating. We require physical food. But when we allow God to fill us with Himself, then our deepest needs will be met with the Living Water and Bread of Life. Instead of eating for reasons other than physical hunger, we will feast on the riches of the Holy Spirit. Food will take its rightful second place and become a means of sustenance rather than indulgence. That’s when we’ll have a healthy appetite.

PRAYER: O Father, show me where I have replaced my first love of You with a desire for food.

“Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35 NIV).

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