A static display of pine cones and sticks arranged by my daughter.
I’m rewriting this to get in some important (to me, at least) observations about nature, Noah’s Ark, Jesus, Christianity, Martha, Mary and Lazarus (a New Testament dysfunctional, strange family who hosted Jesus a lot) and anything else I might think of while viewing nature at its best and worst.
To start, a short Q&A with the daughter, 6.
Dad: Can I ask you some questions?
Daughter: I want to do something on your blog.
Dad: We are.
Dad: What did you arrange the cones for?
Daughter: I don’t know.
Dad: I thought you said you were trying to keep the bears from getting them?
Daughter: I want to do something else. I want to play with the pokemon or yu-gi-oh cards.
(Phone rings) Son says: Dad, we just got here. Just wanted to let you know. (Son, 10, went with friends and friend’s mom to restaurant).
Dad: Okay, thanks for checking in.
Interview obviously over, daughter looks through the movies on DVD as dad ponders another blog entry.
Then daughter hands dad the DVD repair kit to fix a scratched-up “Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper.”
While that DVD undergoes repair, she gets out “Godzilla.” This is the 1998 version with Matthew Broderick.
Chaos ensues as dad and daughter try to find a more appropriate DVD for a six-year-old.
Finally, she settled on “Baker’s Hawk.”
The story centers on a boy, an injured hawk and eccentric old man who helps heal the hawk.
Dad put the blog on halt to use computer as DVD player.
That was over quick because daughter couldn’t get past the introduction.
So dad and daughter made sure the Barbie DVD was indeed repaired as the boy returned and lamented on having to return to his mother’s home.
I remarked on the drive to his mother’s home how God had been providing for our needs, not letting us go hungry. The boy, 10, had just feasted on ribs (his favorite meal) and had evidence to show for it all over his face.
I related how people at work kept giving me chicken, pizza, potato salad and other food. I had ramen to eat for lunch, but I rarely could eat it because co-workers continued to bring me food as if someone had died in the family. It’s just been crazy weird that way since Christmas and Jehovah-Gireh Dad has got to be behind this.
Father God is providing for both my physical and spiritual hunger. The physical gets quenched. The spiritual seems to get worse and I want to know, feel, live all God can give.
But I wasn’t really knowing, feeling, living that way when I wrestled the children out of bed Sunday morning to make them go mingle with believers thinking this is what the children need and it’ll be good for them.
Right when we got to the middle school we believers meet in, I noted with satisfaction we were meeting in the auditorium.
The auditorium featured a nice big screen with black drapes and stage - no distracting Coolio poster here (see http://samwrites2.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/sometimes-my-aadd-kicks-in-during-praise/ ).
The elders put the podium down in front of the stage so everybody still related on the same level
Then we heard about Colossians 3:12-17 and after that Luke 10, I think.
Basically, it boiled down to this. Are we doing what we want to do and then asking God to help us or are we asking God what we should be doing and when?
This is where the dysfunctional family Martha, Mary and Lazarus come in.
See, in the first tale Martha got miffed at Mary who was hanging out at Jesus’ feet trying to be a disciple. Feminist overtones aside, Martha thought she was doing what Jesus needed (without asking Jesus) and told Jesus to tell Mary to get off her butt and help with the womens’ work. Jesus gently said Mary was doing what was right (and following God’s priorities). Then later we have the whole dead Lazarus scene where Martha tells Jesus he could have stopped her brother’s death. Then Jesus had to explain how Lazarus had to die so God could be glorified and everyone would know God sent Jesus.
Then Mary washed Jesus’ feet with the nard and once again Jesus had to expound how she was seeking God’s priorities instead of man’s or her own. That was the commentary anyway, which rang true to me.
Meanwhile, the kids are studying Noah’s Ark. My son tells me God shut the door to the ark. I had to ask, “Who opened it?” We figured somehow Noah probably did even though it just says in the Bible “So Noah came out” when God told him to. (NIV).
And that’s pretty much our Sunday aside from a short walk with Dixie the dog.
Son made this neat ark model, below.
