Do you ever think about the Bible stories you were taught as a child? I think that I recall so many of the stories perfectly until I read them again as an adult. Take the story of Samuel for example. As a child, I remember hearing about how God called Samuel in the middle of the night. Each time God called, Samuel went to Eli the priest because he assumed Eli was calling him. After a couple replays of Eli assuring Samuel he was not calling him, Eli instructed Samuel to say “Yes Lord, I’m listening.” I had in my mind that Eli the priest was instrumental in mentoring Samuel in a relationship with God.
Recently having heard someone comment on this story, I made a note for when I reread the story for myself. Her thoughts were that Eli, who should have been accustomed to hearing God’s voice, did not even recognize it enough at first to know it was the voice of God that Samuel was hearing.
Samuel was born to Elkanah and Hannah. Struggling with infertility, Hannah prayed to God for a child. When God answered her prayer, she named him Samuel (meaning “asked of God”) and dedicated him to the Lord by leaving him at the temple where he grew up serving the Lord. As I continued to read the story, I realized how there is not much said about Eli’s role in Samuel’s life. A clearer picture of this story to me now seems to be that Samuel served the Lord in spite of Eli.
Eli’s sons were “scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 NLT). We read in 1 Samuel 3:13 that the Lord has “warned judgment is coming upon [Eli’s] family forever because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.” How could Eli show Samuel how to live for God when he didn’t even show his own sons?
In 1 Samuel 2:29, God asks Eli “Why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me – for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel?” We are told in Chapter 2, verses12-17, how “Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting. The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” So the sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD’s sight, for they treated the LORD’s offerings with contempt.”
1 Samuel 2:30 informed Eli that an end will come to his family and they will no longer serve as priests because God “will honor those who honor me and despise those who think lightly of me.” In Chapter 3, the record of when God called to Samuel during the night, His message was that “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”
Eli’s sons died in the battlefield on the same day. When Eli heard the report, he “fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight.” (1 Samuel 4:18)
What I take from this story is that Eli, a priest, had a place of authority where he could have made a difference in this world for God. Eli was warned but he chose to live a life without purpose. He chose to be disobedient and not take a stand. He died in a way that leaves him remembered for his sins.
He had been Israel’s judge for 40 years. I can only imagine the kind of impact one could make for God in a position of leadership for 40 years. Rather than leaving behind a legacy of a life lived for God, he left a sad remembrance of his lack of leadership.
It leaves me asking myself what I will do with the time and positions God has given to me. I don’t want to be remembered as being a lover of food. I want to be remembered as being a lover of God!
Read 1 Samuel
Monday, June 7, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Showing Responsibility
I love to surround myself with family and friends as we celebrates the birthdays of our children. Our oldest, Nikelle, will be turning 8 at the end of this month. When we began planning her birthday party, she brought me her "small" list of those friends she wanted to invite. There were "only 37 kids" on her incomplete list. Her reasoning for considering it a small list was that "Well, it's not like it's 100".
Today is her first day out of school and we received about 6 RSVP's from the 28 kids invited from her second grade class. This presented me with quite the challenge because while I very much appreicate RSVP's, I do not take it upon myself to contact those who do not respond. I simply try to make an educated guess and go with the motto "it's always better to have too much than too little".
My little girl decided that since this was her first day without any school, she would call her friends and inquire as to whether or not they would be joining her at the party. I have to admit that this was a huge relief for me! 17 responses I now have from my daughter's phone calls make planning her celebration so much easier!
I think I'm going to like this next year of her life. She really proved a huge amount of responsibility. She's an organized little kid. She loves people and is so excited to have her friends share in her day. I am, too. I love that we can celebrate big. It's one way to show how thankful we are that God gave us another year with them.
Today is her first day out of school and we received about 6 RSVP's from the 28 kids invited from her second grade class. This presented me with quite the challenge because while I very much appreicate RSVP's, I do not take it upon myself to contact those who do not respond. I simply try to make an educated guess and go with the motto "it's always better to have too much than too little".
My little girl decided that since this was her first day without any school, she would call her friends and inquire as to whether or not they would be joining her at the party. I have to admit that this was a huge relief for me! 17 responses I now have from my daughter's phone calls make planning her celebration so much easier!
I think I'm going to like this next year of her life. She really proved a huge amount of responsibility. She's an organized little kid. She loves people and is so excited to have her friends share in her day. I am, too. I love that we can celebrate big. It's one way to show how thankful we are that God gave us another year with them.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Advice from someone who blinked
If I Could Be a Young Mom Again
- Mary May Larmoyeux
As I peeked in on our sleeping 2-year-old grandson recently, I thought, You look just like your daddy did!
It seems like yesterday when our grown son was the toddler; I was the young mom checking on him during a mid-day nap.
Sometimes I wonder, What would I do differently if I could somehow be that young mother again ... knowing what has taken me decades to learn?
Well, I think I would slow down the pace of life and not be so involved in outside activities. I would organize more family nights where we just hung out together without any agenda. I would play a few more games and sit on the deck more often as a family, watching shooting stars or fireflies light the night sky. And I'd ask more questions because I'd realize that sin is the natural bent for a child until he knows Jesus personally.
I asked some other grandmothers what they would do differently if they could somehow turn back the hands of time and be a young mother again. Here's what they said:
I’d have spent more guilt-free time with my kids lying in the grass picking out cloud animals, playing board games on rainy days, or making a mess creating some work of art in the kitchen. Those are the times I remember, not how clean the bathtub was.
I would connect my children more closely to their grandparents. Looking back, I wish I had made it a greater priority to make the trek “over the highway and through the freeway to grandmother's house.” Grandparents can expand a child's view of the world so much “grander” than a parent, just by their life experiences.
I wish I had taught my children more about their heritage ... to help them see that who they have become is partially a result of what has gone before them. There is so much more to know than where relatives came from. What was it like to live in a particular country or neighborhood or home? I think, had I studied my parents more, I would have been better able to teach my kids about them. For instance, it was just before my dad died that I learned he loved to sing as a young boy/man and was in an a cappella choir throughout his school years. It gave me a new insight to him as an elderly man who was always humming or listening to music. There is so much more depth to my parents that will be lost forever because I failed to prospect for the value of the experience.
I would stop and read to/with them a lot more often and would enjoy simple times, like tending a garden, rather than resenting the request as an intrusion in the list of things I needed to get done.
I would share the love of the Lord and not just the rules of good behavior. I think I often confused compliance with understanding.
I wish that I had relaxed and enjoyed my little children more instead of trying to make everything “perfect” for them . . . the years go so fast!
I would pray more purposefully for the development of their character and their comprehension of the Lord, not just for the Lord's hand in crisis situations.
I'd invest more time in learning how to be a better steward of my time and money so I could teach my children to be better stewards.
I'd spend more time reading the Bible and praying. As a young mom, I sometimes got too busy with my housework and family and met with God at the end of the day when I was too tired to concentrate.
I would have more one-on-one times with the kids—taking short trips around our city and state, just making special memories.
I would include them in volunteering around our city and let them know about all the things we can do to help others. I would also ask them to join me in making and delivering food and crafts to shut-ins, the sick, and those less fortunate than we were.
I would give myself permission to not use the same approach with each child. I thought that using the same approach was being fair and not showing favoritism. However, I’ve learned that each child is unique and that they mature at different ages. So, the rules for one may not necessarily be the rules for another (for example the age to start dating, driving, the setting of curfew times, etc.). The “rules” need to be adaptable according to each child’s maturity and willingness to accept responsibility.
I'd be patient and make pleasant memories with my children so they wouldn't remember all the times I was in a hurry, or mad, or unhappy and discontent. Instead they'd remember a mom who was patient, kind, and loving with them.
During the teen years I was dealing with disrespect or being ignored, and I allowed that to stifle me. I wish I had gone into their rooms then at bedtime and told them how much I loved them, asked how I could pray, and hugged them.
I would have more humor in my home. Humor is like flour in a recipe and it brings it all together.
God sure teaches mothers a lot as they raise their children!
While it's impossible for any grandmother to go back in time and raise her now grown children again, young moms, you are raising your children right now.
So, as one grandmother suggested, "Run and play with your kids. Be a child again. Your dirty house will be there tomorrow, but the children will soon be gone."
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
—Proverbs 19:20 (NIV)
*Many thanks to Arlene, Betty, Carole, Judi, Judy, Karen, Kathy F., Kathy H, Linda, Margo, Mary D., Mary S., Mary T., Rita, Toni
Mary May Larmoyeux is a writer and editor for FamilyLife. She is the author of My Heart’s at Home: Encouragement for Working Moms, co-author of There’s No Place Like Home: Steps to Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom, and co-author of the Resurrection Eggs® Activity Book.
- Mary May Larmoyeux
As I peeked in on our sleeping 2-year-old grandson recently, I thought, You look just like your daddy did!
It seems like yesterday when our grown son was the toddler; I was the young mom checking on him during a mid-day nap.
Sometimes I wonder, What would I do differently if I could somehow be that young mother again ... knowing what has taken me decades to learn?
Well, I think I would slow down the pace of life and not be so involved in outside activities. I would organize more family nights where we just hung out together without any agenda. I would play a few more games and sit on the deck more often as a family, watching shooting stars or fireflies light the night sky. And I'd ask more questions because I'd realize that sin is the natural bent for a child until he knows Jesus personally.
I asked some other grandmothers what they would do differently if they could somehow turn back the hands of time and be a young mother again. Here's what they said:
I’d have spent more guilt-free time with my kids lying in the grass picking out cloud animals, playing board games on rainy days, or making a mess creating some work of art in the kitchen. Those are the times I remember, not how clean the bathtub was.
I would connect my children more closely to their grandparents. Looking back, I wish I had made it a greater priority to make the trek “over the highway and through the freeway to grandmother's house.” Grandparents can expand a child's view of the world so much “grander” than a parent, just by their life experiences.
I wish I had taught my children more about their heritage ... to help them see that who they have become is partially a result of what has gone before them. There is so much more to know than where relatives came from. What was it like to live in a particular country or neighborhood or home? I think, had I studied my parents more, I would have been better able to teach my kids about them. For instance, it was just before my dad died that I learned he loved to sing as a young boy/man and was in an a cappella choir throughout his school years. It gave me a new insight to him as an elderly man who was always humming or listening to music. There is so much more depth to my parents that will be lost forever because I failed to prospect for the value of the experience.
I would stop and read to/with them a lot more often and would enjoy simple times, like tending a garden, rather than resenting the request as an intrusion in the list of things I needed to get done.
I would share the love of the Lord and not just the rules of good behavior. I think I often confused compliance with understanding.
I wish that I had relaxed and enjoyed my little children more instead of trying to make everything “perfect” for them . . . the years go so fast!
I would pray more purposefully for the development of their character and their comprehension of the Lord, not just for the Lord's hand in crisis situations.
I'd invest more time in learning how to be a better steward of my time and money so I could teach my children to be better stewards.
I'd spend more time reading the Bible and praying. As a young mom, I sometimes got too busy with my housework and family and met with God at the end of the day when I was too tired to concentrate.
I would have more one-on-one times with the kids—taking short trips around our city and state, just making special memories.
I would include them in volunteering around our city and let them know about all the things we can do to help others. I would also ask them to join me in making and delivering food and crafts to shut-ins, the sick, and those less fortunate than we were.
I would give myself permission to not use the same approach with each child. I thought that using the same approach was being fair and not showing favoritism. However, I’ve learned that each child is unique and that they mature at different ages. So, the rules for one may not necessarily be the rules for another (for example the age to start dating, driving, the setting of curfew times, etc.). The “rules” need to be adaptable according to each child’s maturity and willingness to accept responsibility.
I'd be patient and make pleasant memories with my children so they wouldn't remember all the times I was in a hurry, or mad, or unhappy and discontent. Instead they'd remember a mom who was patient, kind, and loving with them.
During the teen years I was dealing with disrespect or being ignored, and I allowed that to stifle me. I wish I had gone into their rooms then at bedtime and told them how much I loved them, asked how I could pray, and hugged them.
I would have more humor in my home. Humor is like flour in a recipe and it brings it all together.
God sure teaches mothers a lot as they raise their children!
While it's impossible for any grandmother to go back in time and raise her now grown children again, young moms, you are raising your children right now.
So, as one grandmother suggested, "Run and play with your kids. Be a child again. Your dirty house will be there tomorrow, but the children will soon be gone."
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
—Proverbs 19:20 (NIV)
*Many thanks to Arlene, Betty, Carole, Judi, Judy, Karen, Kathy F., Kathy H, Linda, Margo, Mary D., Mary S., Mary T., Rita, Toni
Mary May Larmoyeux is a writer and editor for FamilyLife. She is the author of My Heart’s at Home: Encouragement for Working Moms, co-author of There’s No Place Like Home: Steps to Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom, and co-author of the Resurrection Eggs® Activity Book.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
FamilyLife Moments with You
I receive an e-mail from FamilyLife entitled Moments with You. They are very encouraging e-mails. As I was clearing out my inbox, I came across this one that I felt was to good not to share!
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23 NIV)
I’m telling you—men just have it easier. Here are some examples someone sent me. When you’re a man . . .
• Your last name stays put.
• The garage is all yours.
• Wedding plans take care of themselves.
• You can never be pregnant.
• Wrinkles add character.
• The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
• You’ve got one mood all the time. Usually.
• Phone conversations are over in thirty seconds flat.
• A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
• You can open all your own jars.
• You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. Usually.
• If someone forgets to invite you somewhere, he can still be your friend.
• Your underwear is $8.95—for a three-pack!
• The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
• You only have to shave your face and neck.
• You can play with toys all your life.
• One wallet and one pair of shoes—one color for all seasons.
• You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
• You can “do” your nails with a pocket knife
See what I mean? So the next time your wife seems too complicated for you, be patient with her. You didn’t marry a man. You married her because she is different.
Realize that her life comes with a lot of stuff you don’t have to put up with. Take the time to genuinely listen and understand because God created her as a gift for you.
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23 NIV)
I’m telling you—men just have it easier. Here are some examples someone sent me. When you’re a man . . .
• Your last name stays put.
• The garage is all yours.
• Wedding plans take care of themselves.
• You can never be pregnant.
• Wrinkles add character.
• The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
• You’ve got one mood all the time. Usually.
• Phone conversations are over in thirty seconds flat.
• A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
• You can open all your own jars.
• You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. Usually.
• If someone forgets to invite you somewhere, he can still be your friend.
• Your underwear is $8.95—for a three-pack!
• The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
• You only have to shave your face and neck.
• You can play with toys all your life.
• One wallet and one pair of shoes—one color for all seasons.
• You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
• You can “do” your nails with a pocket knife
See what I mean? So the next time your wife seems too complicated for you, be patient with her. You didn’t marry a man. You married her because she is different.
Realize that her life comes with a lot of stuff you don’t have to put up with. Take the time to genuinely listen and understand because God created her as a gift for you.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Mealtime prayers
I’ve never really been great at implementing mealtime prayers. I’ve asked friends for their ideas on praying at the dinner table, but after utilizing their suggestions for a couple of days, I find myself simply longing for a moment of peace I know will come once food is set before my whining children. When my husband is home and we sit down as a family for dinner, he often prays (as my dad did when I was growing up). Every now and then, my husband will ask our children if they want to pray.
One day, our 4-year-old said she wanted to pray and quoted a Bible verse she had learned. “Give thanks to the Lord… who made the great lights… sun… moon and stars...” (Psalm 136:3, 7-9) “Evening, morning, and noon I cry out…” (Psalm 55:17) is another verse my preschooler prays from her heart to God before we eat. This expression of gratitude to God fills my heart as the prayers fill our home.
It can be a lot of fun to recall Bible verses on thanksgiving to offer God at the table. Although we do not use this routine continually, I am grateful my children can recall verses they have hid in their hearts when we do. Today my daughter recalled another Bible verse about the wise men. “When they saw star, they were overjoyed!” (Matthew 2:10) It may not be a prayer of thanksgiving but I believe these moments given the expression God is looking for.
One day, our 4-year-old said she wanted to pray and quoted a Bible verse she had learned. “Give thanks to the Lord… who made the great lights… sun… moon and stars...” (Psalm 136:3, 7-9) “Evening, morning, and noon I cry out…” (Psalm 55:17) is another verse my preschooler prays from her heart to God before we eat. This expression of gratitude to God fills my heart as the prayers fill our home.
It can be a lot of fun to recall Bible verses on thanksgiving to offer God at the table. Although we do not use this routine continually, I am grateful my children can recall verses they have hid in their hearts when we do. Today my daughter recalled another Bible verse about the wise men. “When they saw star, they were overjoyed!” (Matthew 2:10) It may not be a prayer of thanksgiving but I believe these moments given the expression God is looking for.
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