Headcold Musings

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

So, sometimes, when I'm home with a bad case of the yukks (actually, I suspect it is a sinus infection and have an appointment in the morning), I overthink some things.

But I saw a photo posted on social media...it's not my picture, so I can't show it, but it was an image taken after the storms that ravaged southeastern Alabama Sunday.

It's a picture of a church.  The front wall...with pillars and steps and all...is still intact.

But the rest of the building is obliterated.

The person who took the photo took some comfort in the fact that the front of the church was still intact.

But that image froze my spirit.  Prophetic, I tell you, it's prophetic.

Front on, it looks like a church.

But walk through the door, and you are nowhere different from where you started.  Not a holy place. Not a sanctuary.  Just...more of the outside.

I have seen the word 'hate' thrown around a lot in reference to people who believe the church should be different than the outside, that being part of a church should mean following Jesus,  as he is recorded in the Bible, which is not the same as  following what one thinks Jesus would say or do now, based on what's popular and thought-well-of.

'Hate' is a negative word.  An aggressive word.  An obliterating word.

Which is not the position of people who feel that God has given us instructions on how we should live.  Who believe that people who claim to be followers of Jesus should take those instructions seriously.

Now, that's not to say that there are not people who have abused and overused and put their own spin on those instructions so that they end up being something entirely different than what was stated.  And that abuse has disenfranchised folks who should not have been disenfranchised.  It has covered over things that are downright criminal.  Fallen humans using a shroud of religion to advance their own agenda, not that of the kingdom.  So I get that anything that speaks of limits and boundaries and what is and is not acceptable might sound  like more of the same.

But it isn't.  There's just too much in Scripture that describes what it means to live as a follower of Christ.  I'm reading through Ephesians again as part of a class I'm teaching and, whoa, the whole second half of the book is about Christian lifestyle.   Just  a sample:

For of this you can be sure:  No immoral, impure or greedy person -- such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.   (Eph. 5: 5-7, NIV84).

Strong words.  But not hateful words.  Warning words.  But not threatening words. There is a difference.

Hate actively wishes destruction upon the hated.  To accuse someone of hatred where there is none is wrong.

A church with no walls is no church.  And I am not talking about buildings.  Walls are defining boundaries.  The intention is not to exclude what is without, but to guard what is within. And that is not hate, no matter what folks say about it.

Back to my kleenex box and hot tea....

Feeling a little Romans Chapter 7-ish

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We are all in this together...and ain't none of  us perfect.

Least of all, me.

So...whaddya do when you mess it up...again...

You own it.  Yes, I screwed up.  It was my fault.  I should/ should not have [whatever].

You make it right, if it's make-right-able.  Do what you can.  And if you can't...well, remember that one of God's promises is to repay.  You have to trust him...not to repay you, but to repay what you can't.

Learn from it.  What are the warning signs that could tip me off that I'm headed for that error again?  How can I stop before I trip over it...again?

Move on. Remember Romans 8:1 is next...Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus. 

That's growth.  It's not pretty, and it's not fun.  It certainly encompasses confession and repentance. 

But, sooner or later...we all have to walk through it.

Some of us...more than once.

;-)

Feeling a Little...Rusty

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi


So, about a year and a half ago, I stepped back into the teaching role...a kind of prototype class for folks who wanted to start at square one and learn some simple approaches to personal Bible study.

I had a small handful of folks sign up, but the ones that managed to make it to most of the classes seemed to get something out of it.  In fact, there are a couple of them that have been asking me to teach it again.

So...now I'm geared up to teach a full semester (10 week session) class when we launch our next Life Group session.  We're going to do something akin to Sunday School...on Wednesday nights.  Our building is a repurposed High School, so we have an abundance of classrooms.  Last I heard, we'll offer 22 different classes for adults, in addition to our usual Wednesday night classes for kids and teens.

I'm looking at my syllabus, wondering if it really will pull its weight for the whole session.  Wondering if I can get back into the teaching groove again.

Trusting that if this is really what I'm supposed to be doing, it will work in spite of my wondering. And, if it's not what I'm supposed to be doing, I guess I'll find that out pretty quickly, lol.

The core of  one of the methods I'll be sharing...

Because I'm likely to have repeat attendees, I'm going to change it up just a wee bit.  We used the book of Ephesians for most of our practice studying last time; this time, I'm going to go with Galatians. 

We have some introductory stuff happening over the next 3 weeks, because this is a major paradigm shift for our Wednesday night meetings, but we'll be diving into the classwork Feb. 13th.

So I have a little more time to polish the syllabus. :-)

Tracking the Reading, Book 2

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Maybe I should throw out the disclaimer that I'm will not be writing scholarly reviews of literature; just recording my off-the-cuff reactions to books as I read them, mostly just to document that I AM reading through my book stack.

And book number two wasn't even ON the bookstack.

On a whim, I borrowed a book from my son in law, the Princess's hubby, on New Year's Eve.  With my kids all being huge Marvel geeks, and kinda pulling me along with them (I've even been into the Spiderverse already), I thought it might be a good idea to read some of the lore that plays into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (the MCU, to the savvy).  Neil Gaiman is a name that is familiar to me, although I honestly haven't read any of his other works.  And it is interesting that his introduction to the Norse mythology was...Marvel Comics.  He, quite simply, is recording Norse mythology in a modern voice, after searching and researching and reading and studying what  there was available.

The characters really aren't like the MCU representations,  but that's ok.  They felt, well, more Norse.  More mythic.  I felt very much like I felt after reading the adventures of El-ahrairah from Watership Down....stories told over and over, with a little spice added or different emphasis made by each teller of the tale.  Some were funny, some were gruesome, some were somber.  Ragnarok is shattering and heartbreaking but there is hope.

It was an easy read;  the language is not high blown or archaic.  If you're determined that the MCU version is not to be disturbed this won't work for you...but the roots of Thor's MCU story are clearly  here.

And, to folks who might not understand why I'm talking about Norse Mythology in a Bible Study Blog...well,  it does interest me to see the difference between the gods venerated by other cultures and the God of the Judeo-Christian world.  Just my personal quirk, I guess.  And it was the second book of the year.

My general reading had fallen way, way off.  Well, my Bible reading did, too, although not as badly.  I was at least somewhat intentional about Bible reading. So...here's to 2019 and reading again.

And  now I can return the book to its owner.  That's important, y'all.  Always return the book.

The Least Favorite Task

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Not gonna lie...my least favorite, most dreaded task that must be performed on an annual basis is boxing up Christmas.

Denuding the tree, wrapping lights, boxing up the ornaments, squishing the tree back into the storage bins, sweeping up shed needles (even with an almost 30 year old fake tree...there are still shed needles...), cocooning the porcelain nativity...all the necessary stuff to transform the house back to its ordinary self.

Some years, I don't even want to get it out, set it up, hang it, drape it...because I don't want to have to take it all down in just a few weeks. Which always go by at the speed of light, usually without anyone outside of the family even seeing the festoonery.

But something occurred to me about the un-decorating task that I haven't really thought of before.

It's the UNdecorating, the reboxing and re-storing of all the Christmas trimmings that makes them special.  If they were up all year, why, we would soon get to a place where we didn't even see them anymore.  Getting them out is always a treat, preparing for the holiday.  It's something of a celebration of Christmases past to pull out the ornaments and decorations that we've accumulated over the years, or those that we've had since our first Christmas together...even some that are older, like my half-dozen faded and cracking small Shiney Brites that once hung on my grandma's tree.

But that celebration isn't what MAKES them special.  It's the fact that we do put them away when the holiday is over..the careful wrapping, boxing, packing and storing that keeps it all nice for the next season.  That is the honor that makes all of it set apart for something special.

It's...like the rest in a line of music, or the white space on a painting.  The contrast space that keeps everything from just running together into a dingy hodge podge. 

And, you know, that is the definition of Holy.  Set apart. Special.  Not ordinary.

Kind of an interesting line of thought that the thing I like doing the least is the very thing that imparts holiness to the decor of the season.

What if those tasks I dislike in general are also about imparting holiness?  Elevating something above the ordinary?

What if I set about them as if they were acts that impart honor instead of just drudgery that needs to be done?

What if I changed  my whole paradigm?

Could I really do it?  I mean, am I capable of that much shifting?

I don't know.  But maybe I should give it a try.

Tracking the Reading - 2019

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I've been reflecting on the pile of books I wrote about back in October.  (Pause for mental processing of how long ago that post was...I honestly thought I'd written it in early December).

I need to be intentional about getting through that stack.  So, by way of being somewhat accountable, I thought I'd do a little post as I finish a book this year.

The first one up I'd saved to read over Christmas break and I actually read it Tuesday evening, so it's the first book of the year.

And, full disclosure, I actually know the author but I'm sad to say that, although we're facebook friends and just live a few miles apart, we move in completely different circles and haven't seen each other in years, which is more an indication of how crazy busy life can be than anything else.  But I ordered my copy from Amazon, same as anyone.

And I really enjoyed the book.  Of course, I am pretty partial to anything that involves A Christmas Carol, so that was already in its favor.  Dixie imagines Bob Cratchit's back story...and does a particularly good job of answering the question, 'Why on earth didn't the poor guy just get another job?'  You may or may not agree with how she handled his relationship with Jacob Marley, but it does add an interesting layer to her story.  It was a quick read; I started reading after the kids left around 8 PM and finished it without staying up excessively late, with a smile on my face.

If you, like me, enjoy all things Christmas Carol and, like me, don't have a problem with 'how it might have been', it's worth a read.

And that's one book off the stack, to which I've added at least three more since that post...

Yes, I'm definitely going to have to be intentional about my reading this year.

An Epic Christmas Present

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

My Sweet Babboo and I got married in 1980.  One of the wedding gifts we received was an antique-styled cookie tin.  Oh, it came from Penny's or Sears or some such place, but it was a great storage bin for home made cookies.

We didn't travel to Indiana for Christmas in 2000...that was one of those 'Christmas on a Sunday' (oy.  see note below) years that just made holiday travel tough... normally, there's a weekend on either side of the holiday for travel, but when Christmas falls on a Sunday it's just rough logistically.  So, with the extra time that year, we made an assortment of Christmas cookies...spritz cookies, rolled and cut and iced cookies...it was a big family project.

And, of course, those cookies went into the cookie tin.

Now, that was the year that we decided that, since we weren't going home, we could travel down to Jacksonville, Florida and attend Morning Star Ministries' New Years Conference...that ran from, oh, Friday night through Sunday night.  When we left town, we still had half a tin of cookies, so we took them with us to nosh on whilst we were down there.

The conference was awesome; a catalyst for us as a family, but when we got home, we realized we'd left the cookie tin and remaining cookies on the counter in the kitchenette of our hotel suite.

Bummer, man.

Sometime around Thanksgiving, the kids were all sitting around the table reminiscing about various things and that weekend came up.  And whenever that weekend comes up, whatever else we mention we always mourn a bit over the forgotten cookies.  I commented that I really missed that cookie tin...but, well, what's past is past, right?

Yesterday, we unwrapped our Christmas gifts.  One gift was 'saved for last'.  It was to me from The Artist...the 30 year old older son, and everyone else knew what it was.

Y'all.  He managed to find an identical cookie tin to the one we'd left behind 18  years ago.

Jaw on floor.

That may be the single most epic Christmas gift I've ever gotten.

That's a great start to the year...resurrection, restoration, however you want to look at it.

The boy did good.

ETA Note:  I totally misremembered that.  Christmas was on Monday that year; I think, in retrospect,  we just wanted to try 'Christmas at Home' instead of traveling.