Generation i-easter…

Wouldn’t it be amazing and wonderful, if when you asked a young person how they were going to spend this Easter they replied,  “I’m gonna spend some time with Jesus, seeking His will for my life…”? 

Is that a scoff or a sigh I hear?

Well I don’t blame you if it was, because many of our young people today can be quite narcissistic and shallow.  It may be sad, but the likely response you’d receive would probably be more along the lines of… “Well I’ve downloaded this cool Easter app, so I’m gonna play that on my i-pod…”

Hmmm…

I’m sure you’ve heard people comment on how appropriate it is that Apple have called their products i-phone, i-pod, i-pads and so forth, because who is it all about? God is the great I AM, not us!  So then, what are we going to do about it?  Yes, I did just write we, it wasn’t a typo!

We cannot be idle and let the truth about this life go untold.  Personally I don’t think taking your child or grandchild to church is enough for our kids today.  Now that’s not an attack in any way, if you’re able to take them, please do as it will introduce them to God and His people.  However more importantly build a relationship yourself with your child or grandchild that allows you to introduce them personally to Jesus. 

Do you remember Generation to Generation I wrote how academics assert that younger people relate to authentic personal stories?  Well then who better than you (someone they know, love and respect) to introduce them to the best authentic personal story of all? 

This Easter, avoid just showing your young people religion and giving them chocolate eggs, take some time and tell them about the REAL Easter and how it changed your life.

In His love, Melanie :)
 

Anniversaries

Do we all like them?  Are they a fuss for nothing?  

Do they create excitement or dread?

How did they begin in the first place?  Do you limit your marked anniversaries?

Sometimes it seems like there is a special date for nearly every day of the calendar year…but then again there probably is…and if you include birthdays well then there definitely is J

Do we categorise and sub-categorise? Prioritise and deprioritise? Of course we do, otherwise how else would we manage our what-can-be time poor lives?

Personally I do like anniversaries and there are so many good ones…

But what about the not-so-good ones? 

The anniversaries that just invade your life and seem to come from no-where?

I mean the anniversaries that you’d rather not think about.  In fact, ones that you’d like to totally ignore, and give no significance to…but there’s just no escaping them!  Anniversaries that mark trauma and despair…the ones that leave a mark and become a milestone in your life…wanted or not.  The type of anniversary that makes you feel at a loss, when you realise that someone you care about is having to honour one such day.  The type of anniversary that you hope you never have to honour…

How do you react to such an anniversary as this?

Melanie!
 

How much do parents love their kids?

Crazy Randomness!

I assume a lot…an awful lot…I know I do…

I think that in general most of us parents would agree that even after enduring the most awful pregnancy or birthing experience, we’d do it all again no questions asked if that was the only way we could receive our child…

Then as the child grows we willingly undertake some of the most disgusting tasks to keep our child clean and well…ok, so maybe it’s not that disgusting when the child’s your own…but have you tried to clean up someone else’s child who is probably old enough to be toilet trained?  Let me tell you I have…and I’m someone who loves all kids, and it almost made me sick!  It’s something I wouldn’t do again in a hurry.  However if it was my child…no problem!

However this is just one task that we perform when they’re so young!  Aside from supplying basic needs, which can cost us a small fortune and take up most of everyday, what about the sleepless nights, supplying expensive medicine, and the sacrifice of personal pursuits?  Then there’s the barrage of pressure that we, other people and society can put upon us, which can diminish our enjoyment of parenting as we constantly analyse our performance…

Fast forward a few years and we enter the schooling years…whoa…what a surprising challenge these can be!  As loving parents we all want the best education for our child…but what is the best for your child?  Which type of schooling is best? Which influences do you allow? Who do you let care for your child when you cannot? And what do you do when you’re child faces a crisis?  If you haven’t experienced this, I can tell you that I have, and children are not immune.

Then add hormones to the mix and what do you get…challenging teens of course...and so on and so on.  I mean I don’t think I even need to explore the teenage years; we’ve all heard soooo much about them from other people, yet as committed parents we still go into them alongside our child ready for whatever challenges there may be…right?  Of course, because what loving parent would back out at that stage…even parents who have teens want more children…and we know they’re not crazy!  They just love being parents and love their kids. 

Loving parents are the ones who hold on through the tough times, in hope of better times to come.  They hold out for the loving smile to appear. They are committed 100%...in it for the long haul…no matter what it takes they’ll be there…even if it means standing firm and seeing through loving consequences or patiently waiting for the delinquent child to come home.  Their love isn’t fleeting even if it’s rejected…they keep giving good advice and don’t turn a blind eye…they sew values into their child and nurture their talents, even when they’re unappreciated…simply because they love.

Do you know parents like this?  Were your parents like this?  Are you a parent like this? Do you want to be a parent like this?  I know I do…

I know one parent like this, who is even better than this simple blog describes.

It’s God…the loving parent of us all…The perfect parent…the one who gave us His only begotten Son to restore us to Him.  The one who loves us despite our rebellion and waits patiently for us to realise just how much He loves us and gaze upon Him with a child’s loving smile…

How much do parents love their kids?

Melanie :)

Look before you leap...

Ever stuffed up by letting your emotions get the better of you? Yes? Well I think we all have experienced this…but I’ve just had one of these moments tonight, so it’s still raw…

I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done, I acted too quickly, was impulsive and didn’t seek God before I dove into a conversation that I shouldn’t of.  I didn’t pause when I had the slight thought of no, maybe I shouldn’t call.  I just leapt straight in and didn’t wait…even when I knew everything was sensitive, including my relationship with this person and even the topic of the conversation.  Instead of seeking God first, I let my emotion take a hold and I just reacted…

You see I received some very difficult news in an email…and I panicked…I suppose I was like a kangaroo stunned by a vehicle’s lights and just put myself into a messy situation…

No-one is to blame but me…you see I know I’m not stupid. But I do stuff up.

I should have looked before I leapt…or in other words sought God’s wisdom first, letting him handle my emotions before reacting…

But instead, I did just leap straight in and yes, there were not so good consequences…

I got into a highly emotional argument over the phone with someone who really needed reaching out to, and that went on and on…and afterwards I felt sick L

I felt awful, I knew I’d stuffed up…I prayed and read my Bible and knew I hadn’t acted Godly…

I repented and sought peace with this person…and not because I’m good, but because God is, I’m now at peace with this person…praise HIM!!!

Oh and I reacted to the email the way I should have, by prayer and with a Godly reply…not because I’m good, but because He led me in His way…

Not in a kamikaze, head first dive, but in a gentle and humble way…

What have I learnt once again…look before you leap!

How much is enough?

How much spare cash?

How many holidays?

How many toys for your kids?

How many shoes do you need?

How many handbags?

How many spare coats?

How many houses?

How many investments?

How many cars?

How many hobbies?

How many luxuries?

How many relationships?

How much IS enough???

Now, let me warn you before you read any further, that I am deliberately trying to push you in this blog to THINK!!!  So if you are offended in any way…ok I accept that…but I’m not trying to mollycoddle you here…so be warned…

We really are a rich country here in Australia. Yes, we have groups of people in our country who are not in a good way or living to a good standard, but I’m speaking of our country as a whole.  Don’t forget we were rated the 2^nd best country in the WORLD recently…and some still argue that we actually are really THE BEST country in the world.  This blog is not about individual groups of people…it’s about the majority.  The majority of the population IS fine…

This includes me…now I try not to get too personal in my blogs, so I’m not going to provide specific details here about my income and living arrangements.  But I will say that some people may think that I’m NOT rich (by their Aussie standard), yet others which includes myself, know how wonderfully blessed and financially free I am. Oh yes, by the way, this is not a blog giving financial advice…so…

How much is ENOUGH?  There are those of us who work really hard and diligently, yet seem like we need a lot of holidays…  Some of us are overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we’ve accumulated… What about our fridges which are so overcrowded we have food which goes off?  How much clothing do we own or buy for our kids?  How many jobs do you need to pay for your child’s education? How many of us feel like our kids are being neglected if they don’t have the latest technological device?  How many of us feel like life is passing us by unless we’re constantly busy?  How much money do you need in your bank account to get a good night’s sleep? How many cars, houses, investments, and friends do you need in order to feel that you’ve ‘made it’?  What do you consider is enough? 

Do you even think this way…or do you just believe what the world tells you? Are we impersonal consumers, raging a war with the world, by which we think we can win successful lives?  Or are we just so indoctrinated by our western consumerist culture and affluent upbringings, that we don’t realise just how much we crave stuff?  I’m not trying to provide you with answers here…just trying to prompt thought…how much IS enough? 

If you knew that tomorrow was your last day, how do you think you would have spent today?