MITCHELL BLOG

Church: From a Kids Point of View

Following are some wise words from my precocious daughter, McKenzie.  She is just now asking me what that adjective means.  I told her "Look It Up."  Anyway, "church" for us looks more like a dinner party than a religious assembly, and she has become quite accustomed to it...apparently:

"Church is something very different from a kid's point of view than from an adult's. All those sermons, speeches, standing up and sitting down, and lots of prayers. As you may be thinking, for a kid anyway, all of this could get to be a bit tiresome and boring. Me, being a kid myself, think some kids could handle all this, but many can't. They get figety and, as they say, 'ants in their pants'. Those giant temples and church buildings aren't the place for that. That's why I prefer house churches, and I think a lot of other kids would too.  In house churches, you won't find huge displays of wooden crosses, or giant decorative plants. You also won't be finding a bunch of seats, anxiously fluffing themselves up, expecting hundreds of people to show up. You'll just find a normal home, hopefully with something your kid will enjoy. The kids usually stay in to sing and say a prayer, and then......FREEDOM!!!! They can go outside, play in a room, ride a bike, or, if they choose, stay in with the grown-ups and get the pants bored off them.  As a conclusion, some kids can't handle all that stuff that the pastors do in church (see first paragraph). Even though some can, the majority cannot, usually including me! :)  Since you've read this, you might want to consider trying out a house church so that you as well as your kid(s) will enjoy church at least once. :)"

I hope you enjoyed McKenzie's wise words.  You may be thinking that we're ignoring the spiritual needs of our kids by letting them play so freely during 'church time,' but we think that 15 minutes of focused learning sets the stage perfectly for a week full of living instruction by their intended teachers--parents.  Blessings.   --Shawn

Reminders That God Is Good

This morning, I came to my Bible time sort of battle-weary...not so much needing a new word of teaching or a kick in the butt - which is often precisely what I need - but just a reminder of how good and loving our Father truly is.  I was led back to this foundational Psalm of David, an ancient voice who needed and discovered similar refuge in the wonderful arms of our God: Believe, Enjoy.

Psalm 103:1-18
1 Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He ransoms me from death
and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
6 The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.
7 He revealed his character to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious;
he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He has not punished us for all our sins,
nor does he deal with us as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our rebellious acts
as far away from us as the east is from the west.
13 The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he understands how weak we are;
he knows we are only dust.
15 Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16 The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17 But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
18 of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!

Acquisition is an Intoxicating Poison

Acquisition is an Intoxicating Poison.

 

Intoxicating because, as men, we are inexorably drawn to gather and possess that which both satisfies desire and serves as fuel for more.  Poison because, like any other medicine or drug, abundance can prove counter productive – even deadly. 

 

As boys growing up in American society, we are taught by the success-driven machine that is our culture that we are defined by what we achieve & accumulate…That the worth of our lives will be measured by what we are able pull-off & own.  This societal programming is hard wired into our psyches, and wars with the values of the heart: love, family, genuine friendship, compassion, to name a few. 

 

Older men who have experienced the American Dream fall into three categories: Those who have slowed down in the twilight years to enjoy the relationships produced by balanced & fruitful living; those who are still mindlessly chasing after unattainable satiation of the inner aspiration to achieve; and those who have become lucid only after realizing the tragedy that the energies of their lives were spent climbing up the wrong mountain.  How many comfortably-retired lonesome men are there out there who sit in coffee shops, retirement homes, or alone in their homes, wishing to God that they had lived with different priorities; realizing only now that their imbalanced lifestyles gained them the fulfillment of their dreams, yet forfeited them the relationships & self-respect of those who are awake.

As an American man, and a follower of Christ, I struggle with this balance daily.  I have no answers to this to trump the Bible’s directives that serve as boundaries along the lanes of life’s highway:

• Ecclesiastes 9:8-10 – “Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.  Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.”
• Psalm 127:3-5 – “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands. How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!”
• Luke 12:15 – “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
• Ecclesiastes 12:1 – “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.”