Easter holiday plans

1. Remembering, reflecting and thanking. I have been speaking more to Sparky about Easter and Jesus this year, and he told me he finds Easter sad and happy. We have talked about when sad is good sad.
2. Sparky's first Easter Show. I am staying home with Scout and Bhaer is taking him. Is it just me or is the show ridiculously expensive? Pity I have lots of childhood memories of it I want my kids to share. I also have memories of my parents being stingy with showbags. Now I understand.
3. So, instead I'm taking Sparky to see Monsters vs Aliens. Some debate over this, as it is PG - where have all the school holidays G films gone? But after consulting Kids in Mind, decided to give it a go. We can always leave if too scary. We will stick with 2D I think, for a 4 year old.

piccie from freefoto

O come

I just introduced Sparky to this carol and he loves it.





Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Is the Easter bunny dropping by?

I had quite a few conversations about Santa (yay or nay? - in a nutshell - pretty much nay at our place - Santa is ackowledged as a nice story that isn't real) around Christmas, and today ran into my first Easter Bunny issue. Stuck in a long queue at the Post office (posting a birthday pressie to my twin - hello Addie!!!), a lady asked Sparky when the Easter Bunny was coming. Sparky looked very confused, and I suddenly realised we hadn't been talking about the Easter Bunny AT ALL .

This wasn't precisely intentional, it is just that the Easter Bunny isn't close to my heart. I don't remember ever believing in the Easter Bunny. My most vivid memory of the Easter Bunny is my father waking me up one Easter Sunday with the announcement "I have some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is the Easter Bunny is dead. The good news is your eggs were left before the Bunny died". Dad had gotten up to a dead bunny on the doorstep proudly deposited by our dog. Before you worry about my reaction, I was about 9-10 at the time and I thought this was the most hilarious thing ever - if a bit sad for the bunny. Usually Dad wakened us on Easter Sunday with the words Christ is Risen, but I guess he couldn't help himself that Easter after thinking up his quip.........

Anyway, I suddenly felt all confused and guilty myself. I hadn't prepared Sparky for this, and had no position or words ready! I quickly pointed to the chocolate stains around his face and said jokingly well the Bunny has already come today (he had been given eggs at preschool). She then seemed to be concerned at the lack of discipline of today's parents, that I couldn't keep the bunny until Sunday! I backtracked and explained that his eggs were waiting until Sunday, but this was at preschool. Afterwards, I made a comment to Sparky about the Easter Bunny coming on Sunday morning, and that this was the story we told. So I'm not sure what he makes of all this. We had only been talking to him about Jesus, even explaining eggs as being about new life, and suddenly out of nowhere bunnies hop into the picture! And now I'm wondering what he got told at preschool - it is a Christian one, so Jesus gets mentioned, but I'm not sure what gets said about bunnies.

So , people. What happens at your place at Easter re bunnies? (and chickens et al)

The great dilemma

Sparky said to me as I tried to get him to focus on prayer tonight something like
" I don't want to do what I want to do." After a moment's thought to untangle this, I realised this sounded very like Paul the apostle when he said "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." (Romans 7 verse 15)
I asked Sparky whether this meant that though he wanted to be good, he found it hard to be so, becuase he also wanted to be naughty. He agreed. I admitted I found this myself. We sighed in our common frailty. I suggested praying to Jesus to help, because just like him, I needed help with this. But he wanted to pray later. I prayed anyway, after explaining better to not put it off, and then he said he wanted to take my words back from my mouth. In thinking about this, and based on other such incidences, I think he believes that if he doesn't tell God about being naughty, then God won't know. It's like when he has got in trouble and he begs me "don't tell Daddy!!". I would find this charming and naive.............. except that we as adults often do this too. We try to hide things from others, from ourselves, and from God. But of course, often we are only doing a good job fooling ourselves, and others have seen what we have tried to hide, and God has definitely seen it.

More spiritual development

A couple of interesting conversations with Sparky yesterday.

First, he had been in time out twice (once from his dad once from me) for being aggressive with his brother. He had also at this time been pretending to be a super hero. He then wouldn't put his teatowel cape back on and was sobbing - I ased why, and he said "I will never ever be a super hero". Why not? becuase super heroes are good, not naughty and they help people. They also fly, according to Sparky, but apparently that is not as definitive of them as the moral virtues of a hero! We had a big talk about how all of us be naughty sometimes, and that he can already be a super hero, and that God will have lots of super hero things for him to do in life. Cape went back on . So, lovely internalisation of desire for goodness - but now need him to feel that him being good isn't a hopeless case.

Secondly, at the shops, he suddenly says "come along Jesus, hold my hand" and I look down (Sparky is holding my hand) and the other hand is outstretched holding on to well what looks likes nothing. Then we get to the car and I am told to strap Jesus in as well. Sparky then says "it is a good thing we didn't leave Jesus at the shops". Very true. Then he says "jesus says he loves everybody" . Then Jesus got a running commentary from Sparky about what could be seen out the window. Jeus was kinda being treated like an imaginary friend, but still I thought it was gorgeous - so relational.

I feel like I am leaving Owl out recently, so his latest thing is he has stood by himself unsupported - yesterday for quite a while, because he was so cranky with me for putting him down, he just stood and cried for a while and then calmed down , realised he was standing up and so sat down with a plop. Quite a funny sight actually - poor fella.

had we but world enough and time

The title comes from a poem by Marvell which aims to seduce a woman fast using the whole carpe diem thing. An amusing poem, but basically the 17th C version of a pick up line. Is it right though?

I have been excited by reconnecting with people on facebook but have been struck by the fact that I don't manage to keep up with existing friends at the moment, let alone refound or new ones. I have been able to have more contact with people than I otherwise might have, but it is still not the same as good ol face-to-face time. Sure relationships can be difficult, but life has been teaching me that people of all sorts are worth knowing. So the lack of time saddens me.

This is one thing that really draws me about eternity , and the Christian view of it - is that we spend it in community with those who take hold of forgiveness in Christ. Those people that moved far away will be right next door. Those people who for some reason although they seemed great we never got past polite acquaintance with - we will be able to go bowling with. Those people we have relationship struggles with - even though in our heart we really want to be friends with - we will be laughing with them over a cuppa about it. I can't wait. And I want to take people with me.

So sorry Marvell, we do have, in hope, in Christ, world enough and time (and heaven and eternity too).

what is important

Last night I watched a DVD at church about the spread of christianity in a very large Asian country that is anti christian....it was very moving to see the hope people had in the midst of suffering.
A couple of things struck me:
I complain too much - my question for the week to myself when i get all whingy is 'are you in prison?'
the acceptance of women as teaching missionaries/ministers in this situation - i think when a situation is urgent, then it strips away all the non essentials, revealing what is important - surely it is most important that Christ is preached, whoever does it????? (imho)

Not just proof texting but personality

I was watching greys anatomy and had a theological thought (!!!!)
There was an amish couple on it who were shunning a member who had left, despite the fact she was helping their daughter. No doubt they based this on some understanding of a biblical verse. It struck me that often we go looking for a verse for a situation rather than basing our decision on an intimate knowledge of God who he is what he does - how he relates to us. And I reckon thats why so many christians are often lacking in grace. our holiness then looks nothing like God - and so therefore isnt holiness but rather self righteousness. why is a God rich in mercy represented by the merciless rigid or smugly self satisfied ? Jesus hung out with the most despised in society but we can't even get along with slightly different flavour christians. because we insist on holding others to our interpretations of particular verses. there endeth the rant

theology and kids

Story one: we read a book on Easter at playgroup and I asked Sparky about it later that day. That book was about Jesus mummy, not Easter. Easter is about Jesus I reply. Gales of laughter from Sparky. No mummy, Easter is about Eggs. Ok I may be a pastor, but how do you teach a 2 year old about the cross?

Story two: Last night, I was singing Jesus loves the little children to Sparky before bed. This always ends up with multiple verses Jesus loves all the Sparkys, Owls, Daddies and Mummies, at Sparky's urging. I wasn't feeling in charity with my family, the world or God really. As I sung each verse, I realised the simple truth of this song "they are precious in his sight" and my failure to live by it. I had been disciplining Sparky all day - necessary, but how could I try to bring in more grace with the truth I had been giving him? (see Cloud and Townsend Raising Great Kids :parenting with Grace and Truth, and Kimmel's Grace based parenting) . I was running out of patience with Owl, who is a bad sleeper, losing sight of how all this would fade in memory as he grew. I was taking out my frustration on my husband - thinking cynical thoughts about men generally. Forgetting that he was my ally in this difficult business of bringing up children. And I had certainly forgotten Jesus loved me, feeling like a grit your teeth hopeless unappreciated drudge. It occurred to me society doesn't appreciate mummies enough, but Jesus does - the Jesus that cared for his mother even as he died. I think I need to go back to Sunday School.