Faith and Science October 5, 2011

 

I am NOT a scientist and certainly not a physicist.  I would only take a quick look back at my college transcripts in order to provide sufficient evidence to this fact!  I have never had much interest in it and have not invested the time to wrap my mind around much of it.  It has been surprising to me the last couple of years how much I have learned teaching my kids!!

 

Despite my lack of interest, I read an article in TIME Magazine this week that intrigued me.  The article essentially points out that Albert Einstein might be wrong in his conclusion that nothing travels faster than the speed of light.  If this is the case, the whole concept of relativity is obsolete! 

 

Now, I did not find this interesting because I really care, but rather because it increases my faith.  Since the fall of man people have been trying to figure out the ways of the world.  In many ways God has revealed his glory and we have been able to discover information about the universe.  But just when we think we have it all figured out……we realize that we don’t. 

 

Scientists do all kinds of amazing experiments, which they should, and come to some incredible conclusions.  Textbooks are written and we are taught things as absolute truth.  The problem?  Sometimes they are wrong. 

 

This is not the first time,  it will not be the last!

 

Many people in this world worship the God of science, but as a group of European scientist have just proven……… this is not a reliable god!

 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1

All Good Things…. September 22, 2011

I went to speak to a wonderful group of ladies yesterday at a church in Sugarland, TX.  Our topic was addressing the heart of sin.  I am totally unqualified to speak on such an issue….

As I was leaving this incredibly wise woman says to me, “It is hard to take the time to dig into the heart issues, but I guess all things good require sacrifice.”

And she couldn’t be more RIGHT!

I can’t have big results with little investment.  Good things require more of me!  I know this so why do I waste my time on shortcuts?  Why am I so willing to settle?  Do I want to survive or thrive?

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”                 1 John 4:10

Sleepless Nights…. September 21, 2011

When my husband is out-of-town I have a hard time going to bed.  It is not a fear thing, most nights I actually forget to lock the door, but rather a lack of motivation.  I am by nature a night owl and my husband is a great man who knows that the kids are the ones to suffer when my nocturnal instincts are not kept under control.  But when he goes out of town….all bets are off.  Sleep is thrown to the wind and my nights are enjoyed well into the single digit hours!

 

Last week I decided at 1:00 am that I needed to bake some cookies.  I was having a hankering for some Carmel delites..you know the ones that you can only get ONCE a year from the adorable little girl scout giving you puppy dog eyes as you exit the grocery store.  I am a sucker for these cookies and feel compelled to buy a box every time I am asked.

 

Since there was no way I was going to find me a girl scout at this hour….I spent a little quality time with my good pal Google and found me a recipe.  One problem….I had NO carmel.  Not a problem.  I have learned recently that there is NOTHING I cannot make from scratch! 

 

A google search to find the carmel recipe left me with one missing ingredient.  Sweetened condensed milk.  Yet another google search and I was on my way.

 

This was actually SUPER easy to make and pennies compared to buying it. 

 

 Now…the carmel!

 

Carmel is a serious weakness for me.  I am ALMOST ashamed to admit that I practically ate the bowl in an effort to make sure that there was none wasted!  

 

 Now that I had that done the cookies were quickly whipped up and thrown into the oven. 

 

 

And the final product……

These were a little crunchier than the original ones, but DELICIOUS!!  It is a good thing I had a houseful of teenagers for small group the following night because I could have eaten the entire batch! 

I am so glad that my husband does not have to travel much….I might weigh 500 pounds otherwise!

My Evolving Playlist August 7, 2011

Most of you would throw my iPod across the room if it were handed to you in the middle of a workout, I seriously have 7 songs on it.  The rest of the space is taken up with sermons from pastors all across the country.  I am not some spiritual superwoman, I just don’t enjoy music that much.  When I am exercising I would rather listen to someone pound the pulpit than strum the guitar!

 

As a result, worshipping God through song has always been a little difficult for me.  I may clap along or sing the words, but I rarely allow it to go much deeper than that.  It is not that I don’t like the lyrics, I just never really thought it was that big of a deal. 

 

Until this week.

 

I was sitting at the table with my kids and we read Psalm 100:

 

 ”Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 
  Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs. 
Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name. 
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.” 

 

I was talking to my kids about how we are supposed to sing songs in worship to God when that still small voice cut right through my heart.  “Do you do this, Christy?”  I tried to ignore it but it ate at me all day long.  The honest answer is that I don’t.  I worship the Lord through the consuming of His word no problem, but to open my heart and joyfully sing the name of the Lord…..rarely happens! 

 

The next day, I committed to setting my excuses aside and popped in a worship CD in the car.  I intentionally chose to listen to worship music rather than preaching as I cooked dinner this week, and when I went to church last night I determined in my heart that I would enter his gates and sing with thanksgiving.  As tears ran down my cheeks I worshipped God in a way that I had let slide over the last few years.

 

I have a long way to go, and much to learn!  But I am grateful that He is not done with me yet…………

I AM A VICTIM!!! August 3, 2011

I have a friend who only eats all natural food.  As I watched her make this transition recently my eyes were OpENed!  I wish I could sit here and type about my deep conviction about hydrogenated oils and processed sugars……but that would be a lie.  I have nothing against ingredients that I can’t pronounce.  I have learned something though:  I have been a victim of marketing!  It honestly never occurred to me that the things I buy in a bottle could be whipped up in a matter of minutes.

Up until recently I thought nothing of paying $2.50 for a loaf of whole wheat bread…..I have been making it for less than $.50/loaf!  I used to spend $1.75 on a bottle of Hershey’s syrup…I can make it BETTER for $.45!!  Pizza crust is nothing more than flour, water and oil….who knew? 

I know that most of you are thinking that I am a hippie or something, but I have been shocked at how easy this stuff is to make.  With the punching of a few keys I can find a recipe for ANYTHING.  It does take a little time, but not nearly as much as I would have thought.  5 minutes for homemade cream of chicken soup and 20 for homemade hamburger buns!  Seriously…..

Don’t be surprised if I decide to share some of my new-found recipes in the days to come!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”  Psalm 34:8

PINKILICIOUS, KENNARD STYLE….. June 20, 2011

I am not very good at being a girl.  Well…what I mean is that I am not good at being a girly-girl.  I like things as simple as possible and pink is not in my top ten.  It confirms that God certainly has a sense of humor in that he gave me 3 daughters.  My oldest, Miriam, is girly enough for both of us!  She has pink oozing out of every pore of her body.  My other two girls are not far behind!

A couple of weeks ago my two boys went off to church camp.  Naturally the girls were a little disappointed that they were going to miss out so we declared it “Girls Only” week at home!  I pledged to do my best to make it the girliest experience possible for my little princesses! 

We spent the week watching princess movies, painting our nails, curling our hair, and putting on make-up.  We ended the week with a pink party.  Here is a pink peek into our celebration:

                                                                                               

  We made PINKTASTIC cupcakes!

  We baked PINKTACULAR pizzas!

 

  We had a BLAST stringing necklaces!

 

We finished the day with a pedicure!

 

But the best part of the entire day was that the girls did not want their daddy, the only boy left in the house, to be left out.  They all agreed that in order for him to be a part of the PINKTIVITIES he needed to wear a tutu…………

 

 

So I did what any loving wife would do and I made him one!  He was super excited, can you tell?

I HATE public restrooms!!! June 18, 2011

I very rarely wish that I were a man.  In fact, the only time I really ever catch myself dreaming about it is when I have to use a public restroom.  Wouldn’t it be nice if I could stand and pee in the bathroom that looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since the toilet was installed?  Public restrooms are just not my thing!

Sadly, the other day I walked into my bathroom and felt a little De Ja vu.  I seriously felt like I had just walked into the facilities at Chevron.  What is wrong with me?  Don’t I know how to clean a toilet?  As I took a moment to mentally scan through the past few weeks I could not remember a single time that this particular bathroom had been given a wipe down.  The other two bathrooms in my house had been cleaned multiple times, but not this one!

As I got on my hands and knees to make up for lost time I knew exactly why this bathroom had been neglected.  We have people over to our house all the time.  The bathroom in the kitchen is normally the one what will be used by our guests so I make an effort to keep that one presentable at all times.  The one upstairs certainly gets a dose of bleach once a week because it has to be ready to go for small group.  My bathroom, nobody ever goes in there!  In fact, if I need to hide some messes when someone is coming over this is always a safe place to do it!  As a result, it is by far the most neglected room in the house. 

Although I have just ratted myself out, the truth is that I want everything to look good on the outside.  I want people to come into my house and think that I have it all together.  I spend way too much energy making sure that I don’t blow my cover but if anyone took a sneak peek in my bathroom they would instantly know the truth!

Isn’t this kinda how our spiritual lives go?  I know for me it is certainly the case sometimes.  I am faithful to go to church, attend small group, and offer a prayer for someone in need.  These things are all outward.  People see me doing these things and it gives the impression that I am solid and committed to this whole God thing.  But when I am totally honest with myself, I have some dirty bathroom areas in my life.  I don’t want everyone to see the areas in my life where I struggle so I like to keep them in the “do not enter,” area.  I will make sure that everything looks good on the outside, but don’t spend as much time investing in the things that only God sees!  It all seems a little backwards to me.  If I really had it all together I would pull out the gloves and scrub every corner of these areas of my life and spend a whole lot less time kicking things under the couch when I know someone is on their way over  for a visit!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Psalm 139:23-24

Saving the Earth…..one trash bag at a time! June 12, 2011

I recycle!  Each and every Wednesday my green recycling tub is eagerly set out on the curb for pick up.  I have learned what can, and what can’t, be thrown into the bin and try to be diligent in my efforts.  You would think that my motivation is that I love the earth and I want to do my part to preserve it.  That is the good answer, but if I am really honest it has nothing to do with that.  It is all about the….trash bags.  I know this sounds ridiculous.  Who recycles just so they don’t waste trash bags. 

I am not totally crazy, the things that I recycle are typically big things.  Pizza boxes, newspapers, egg cartons…these things take up a lot of space in my trash can.  The more I can reduce my trash load, the less often I run out of trash bags.   

Trash bags are what I refer to as, “oh crap” items.  I go to the store and get everything we need for the week and get home before  I realize that I forgot the trash bags.  “O crap!”  Then I am stuck using the plastic bags that I just pulled my groceries out of until I make it back to the store to get some trash bags.   It is not that recycling eliminates my forgetting the trash bag problem, it simply reduces the reoccurrence of it.  I run out of trash bags less often!

I wonder how often this happens in my spiritual life.  I do the things that God wants me to do, but I do them because it is convenient or because it makes my life easier.  My motivation is not out of love for the Lord, but rather out of selfish ambition.  This just isn’t good enough!  1 John 5:3 has always been one of my favorite verses.  “This is love for God; to obey his commands.  And his commands are not burdensome.”  Sometimes God will call me to do hard things, inconvenient things.  Am I willing to do them out of my love for him, or am I going to opt for the easy way out?

The UGLIEST shoes ever…… June 4, 2011

I HATE to spend money!  Seriously….it makes my stomach hurt.  I would rather clean the house than go shopping.  As a result, I have a crazy obsession with finding a deal on everything I buy!  “Full price,” are two words not in my vocabulary!  I clip coupons, dig around in cyberspace for the latest deal, and work hard to buy what we need for the least amount of money.

I have learned that there are some things, not many, that I just can’t skimp on.  Running shoes are at the top of that list.  When  I woke up with aching feet the other day I knew it was time to go shopping!  My husband reminded me as I paced up and down the aisles at Academy that I needed to buy the shoes that would support my feet and not too worry too much about the price tag.  (Easy for him to say…..)  I tried on a few pair when out of the corner of my eye I saw it.  A clearance sticker!  VICTORY! 

I opened the box to check out the treasure.  What was inside?  The ugliest pair of shoes that I have ever seen!  They were lime green with this funky web looking overlay.  No wonder they were marked down 60%!   Regardless, I tried them on.  They were super comfortable!  I pulled out my phone and surfed around on the web for some reviews.  It was my lucky day because the reviews on them were great!  With my husband laughing I took them off and proudly placed them in the basket.  They may not be pretty but they will serve their purpose!

As I laced them up and tested them out on the treadmill, I began to ponder my hunger for wheeling and dealing.  I know that there is a lot of good in this quirky characteristic, but it hit me that it isn’t all good!  If I am really honest with myself this is something that seeps into many different areas of my life.  I have a tendency to want to squeeze as much as possible out of everything.  I really do not like to run, I do it because it burns the most calories for the least amount of time invested.  I get on to my kids because they are wasting time looking at the clouds while I am in a hurry to get going.  When I am reading a book I catch myself skimming to get to the point.  What is the result of all of this?  I miss out!  I don’t always experience things to the fullest because I am more concerned about getting more for less!

As I ran my final mile to nowhere, I began to wonder if I do this in my relationship with Christ.  When I sit down to read my bible, do I really soak it all in or am I trying to check something off of my list?  When I worship do I allow myself to let go, or do I focus more on organizing the rest of my day?  I may be able to maximize and stretch my dollars, but this doesn’t work when it comes to a deep intimate relationship with my creator.  Less is NOT more.  I get out of the relationship what I am willing to put into it.  If I am trying to skimp I am going to miss out on the greatest blessing life has to offer.  I have to take the time to slow down and make an investment every single day!  It may cost me a lot of time and energy, but I think it will be worth it!

It is getting to church that is the problem…… May 22, 2011

Last night I was tired so I decided not to bathe my crew before bedtime….this was my FIRST mistake.  You see, when you are married to a guy that works at church it means I fly solo on Sunday mornings.  I am not complaining, it just takes some extra planning on my part.  Skipping out on bath time was the first hitch in the plan.

As soon as my eyes popped open my feet hit the floor running.  I got my older girls bathed and dressed before the boys ever got up.  I was feeling ahead of the game!  This did not last long because when I glanced at the clock I realized it was only 30 minutes until go time!  I scoop the baby out of her crib, throw off the diaper and get ready to put her in the tub.  AGH….I forgot to check for any surprises before taking the diaper off……oops!    Drain the tub, clean the backside of the baby and start over!  (Rookie mistake….what is wrong with me today???)  Finally I am able to take a few minutes to dry my hair.   I looked frantically for my straightener when I realized that my three-year old has given it to her sister as a tub toy!  (IT WAS NOT PLUGGED IN!!!)  I freaked out and tried not to yell loud enough for the neighbors to hear!   My 7-year-old then comes down dressed like we are in the middle of a blizzard.  Really?  You need three shirts, pants and a jacket?  Back up the stairs he goes with better instructions from mom! 

FINALLY… everyone is dressed and shoes are on!  We are out the door when my kids discover a dead bird being attacked by ants in the driveway.  You would have thought the circus was performing with all the excitement.  What is it about dead animals that is so interesting? 

As I drive to church I caught myself thinking, “If only Harold Camping had been right….I would be in heaven worshipping Jesus right now!” Alas, the first laugh of the day!

When we finally arrive I got all the kids settled and upstairs just as the countdown reached zero!  VICTORY!