Once a very vibrant and loving man, a guy who worked hard, served well, and loved unconditionally with generous hugs and whispers of “I love you” in every conversation…slowly in his golden years that had robbed him of no longer able to make simple conversation….those sweet whispers of love that he was accustomed to sharing with loved ones, now gone….eyes that no longer focused to tell him who he was staring at through lens clouded by uncertainty and the fear that comes with reality of immortality…once in a great while, in spite of all that he held in his life’s treasure box, a moment of clarity came when somewhere, deep within his spirit…he was able to whisper “family is everything”.

This handsome humble man who walked under a blanket of soft unconditional love trimmed with ribbons of deep wisdom was my father. When words were no longer forthcoming, his hazel eyes took over conveying the emotions of his heart and mind. Hands often clutched in desperation to make sense of all that was lost….yet one thing remained…and on rare days when clarity was a gift…those soft words “Family is everything” allowed him to communicate all that he desired.

This week is Thanksgiving. For many of us, it will be a day when we are with family that we haven’t seen throughout the year. The table will be set waiting for dinner guests to fill plates with all the delicious foods that have been lovingly prepared. Around the table, each unique personality will take a seat, being a part of the whole that defines “family”. As you look around the table your eyes will land on the host and hostess. They are excited yet tired. Rising early in order to begin preparations, they take a deep breath of satisfaction that everything is ready. Several small children sit on their chairs kicking their feet waiting for mashed potatoes to be passed and “grace” to be said. Laughter fills the air as conversations turn to “who gets to carve the bird?–in past years it was always John, but he’s not with us now. He’s dining at another table…one that was prepared for him before time began…he’s not alone, many beloved family members are with him….laughter once again turns to fond memories of past Thanksgivings with him at the head of the table…cousins reminisce over stories of eating mashed potatoes, stuffing them in cheeks and not swallowing…folks choosing “light” or “dark” meat as a preference…and the debate about Cool Whip versus real whipping cream as the appropriate topping for homemade pumpkin and apple pie. With each bite the Thanksgiving meal will slowly be consumed, filling empty bellies that eventually will coax many to find a comfortable chair to relax and tune out all the banter and echoed sounds of clean up duty.

“Family is Everything”. On this Thanksgiving, my prayer is that all of us–no matter which table we find ourselves–will embrace those who are joining us. There may be the relative who talks too much…or the one who can’t make it through the day without a bottle of wine within reach to fill an empty glass…the one who gets easily offended or angry…the one who is quick to brag about possessions rather than the value of relationships…and the empty chair where the one who detached from any family gathering years ago because of hurt and unresolved relational matters is missing, again…

All of us will be at a table this year. No matter if your family is one that loves unconditionally, where laughter flows easily, where hugs abound, perfection still escapes. Flaws and character defects might be put “on hold”. No two families look alike. There is no perfect family. Not every table will look as though Martha Stewart came to decorate and set up for the hosts. Conversations will ebb and flow…disagreements may come…compliments will abound. Gentle teasing will usher in the whipped cream debate…In true humility, no amount of laughter or arguing will fill the empty chairs around our tables.

Is “Family Everything”? Yes, even with our flaws and disappointments, we are the totality of aspiring love inside hearts that are full…sometimes empty as we long for just one more whisper….”Family is Everything”….

May you enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving this year…look around your table…hug your loved ones…pray for those who chose to be absent…be thankful for loved ones who set a good example and now dine at a table that  also has empty chairs–chairs waiting for you to fill someday. Your Host is waiting. He’s made all the preparations. He’s ready for you. Are you?

Childhood innocence. What a beautiful time for a child…even for adults who are willing to be a part of a little person’s life. This past week I got some good daily doses of living in the world of young minds…no cluttered worries….lots of pretend play….embracing life through eyes that only see beauty in everything and once in a while a few tears, too. My week began as usual on Monday and quickly escalated with being called to substitute in our church’s preschool program–seems a nasty virus had made its way through the children collided with the teachers and took them out like a big avalanche carving its path down a mountainside….so, four days this week I spent several hours with three and four year olds which I admit is outside my comfort zone but let me tell you, it was pure joy. I’d like to share some of the things I enjoyed while being with these precious lil humans.

Tuesday’s colder weather gave us our first dusting of snow in our community. That day I was in class with three year olds and they were so excited to go outside on the playground. In order to do so, that meant snow pants, jackets, boots, hats and mittens. Their teacher gave them loving instructions as to what order to put them on….first your snow pants….then your boots….then your jacket….then your hat…then your mittens. Sounds simple, right? The chaos in the hallway getting their gear on was fun to watch as some had listened…others obviously had been distracted, evidenced by the order they were putting on each item…mittens were scattered along with hats as their teacher and I played investigators finding rightful owners. Nothing could have drowned out the “Teacher, I need help!” that filled the air. We made it to the playground and watched the kids catch snowflakes on their tongues….make tiny snowballs to throw “at the wall but not at your friends”….witness little white cheeks turn rosy pink from the crisp wintry air….returning inside just in time for moms, dads, grandmas to take their treasures home.

One of my favorite times during the preschool day is their morning circle time. It’s encouraging to watch and listen as jobs are assigned….learning which day of the month it is and counting down to it…standing to say the Pledge of Allegiance…and listening to a story….me giggling as 12 little people sit on their bottoms, some quite still…others that HAVE to fidget…have a hand raised continuously because they have something very important to share like Wednesday morning when I was in with a group of 4 year olds…their teacher was explaining a new playground rule and when she finished numerous hands shot up in the air! In response to hearing that one of their “friends” had bumped his head, well, several of them had their own war wound stories to share….I had to turn my face when a girl informed us “my gramma had to get a shot in her butt one time”….alrighty then, sweetheart. Thanks for sharing that.

Heading down to a large group activity with those same four year olds I was at the rear of their line when one of the boys turned around to tell me “Luke just farted”. Oh my. The fascination with bodily functions starts early. Truthfully–farting stories are still a popular topic in my family. Everyone loves a good fart story, right?

Perhaps the sweetest moment I had with the four year olds was during their free play. A few of the kids built a long tubular tower from hollow connecting pieces. Their goal was to “touch the ceiling” but they didn’t have enough pieces to accomplish the task. Not to be disappointed, they found a couple of marbles to launch from the top of the tower and listen as it rattled its way down to the floor. Giggles galore as they yelled “Look, Miss Amy. Look, Miss Sue! Look at what we made!” They laughed when they realized Miss Sue wasn’t tall enough to launch the marble…belly chuckles continued as they found out Miss Amy could reach because “she’s bigger than you Miss Sue!” Plastic towers that wobble and two marbles that make a clickety clack were very entertaining. No electronics needed here, right?

Who knew that Hershey Kiss candies were a prized goal to achieve? Not me for sure, until I was asked by one sweet girl during nap time “Will I get a Hershey Kiss?”

“I don’t know”, I replied. “How do you get one of those?”

“We have to rest or be very quiet, those are our two options”. Options? Do most four year olds know what that word means let alone use it properly? Naptime continued with my little I Want A Hershey Kiss girl wiggling about on her cot, doing her best to rest and be quiet….they all got a Hershey Kiss at the end of the day. It’s the small things, right?

Preschoolers are busy little people. They play hard…they are easily distracted….they are all so much alike while still being individuals. There are those that go straight to the dress up clothes…who doesn’t want to be a princess or a mermaid? Others assemble a race or train track to play with cars and all kinds of vehicles until clean up time. Creative cooks bring plastic food to “here, try this Miss Sue, I made it just for you”....maybe one or two sit quietly at the coloring table and get lost in their own small world creating masterpieces of art. Will their drawings go on the fridge at home for all to see? I hope so.

A week being with three and four year olds was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time….could I do school with them every day?…admittedly, that would be a true stretch of my usually comfortable routine I’ve built for myself…yet, I can honestly say I wouldn’t trade this week for all the quiet days at home for anything. Where else would I be asked ever so honestly “why do you have makeup?”  or told “I don’t have to do what you tell me”.…

“I like makeup” and “Yes, yes, you do need to do what I tell you young sir”. They learn to challenge us early, right? And that’s why all of them are in preschool. Life is simple. Sit still. Listen. Play. Rest. Do all this and get a Hershey Kiss. When I came home these past three days I took a nap after my lunch. I was quiet. I didn’t wiggle around. But, when I woke up  I didn’t have anyone to give me a Hershey Kiss….darn.

A current “buzzword” in our present day is “inclusive”. It’s a word tossed about frequently from particular people groups who feel their identity and worth as a person is either devalued or ignored. It’s also a word being used in our political and education arenas as well as media anchors on radio and television. Its first definition according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the act of including”.  In order to be included, at first are people or things first excluded? If so, what determined the reason for that decision or what are or were the circumstances that caused or continue to leave someone feeling outside the circle of acceptance? Admittedly, I feel as though the word “inclusive” has come to the surface of our current culture to draw attention to those who feel “less than” when it comes to their gender, skin color, sexual orientation…anything that appears to be “outside” the norm of social acceptance. I also admit that I have and continue to struggle with my own thoughts and prejudices towards the uprising in promoting a person’s identity being rooted in those latter descriptions. When I struggle, I have nowhere else to go but to scripture. I cannot think of anyone who was more inclusive than Jesus, yet even He, whose ways and thoughts are not of this earth…or my own mind with all of its preconceived thoughts and opinions…has left me an example of “including” others who are very different than me without jeopardizing the truth of the gospel which, when applied to a dark hardened heart, brings forth repentance which is laying down former sin(s) and pursuing a life that seeks to be honoring and holy to Him alone. In order to teach ME His example, I looked at two people in the New Testament.

In John 8 Jesus is in a group of people, teaching in the temple courts. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. After presenting “their case” against her to Jesus the question was asked that according to their law she should be stoned, but these men wanted to know what “HE” would say. In what remains a mystery to this day, Jesus gives a non verbal response and merely begins writing “something” on the ground. Questions continue to be pelted at Him which are met by Jesus standing to His feet by now and responding with his own question: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”. And, second mystery–He writes more words on the ground. Their plot, their numerous questions, and two lists penned in the dirt caused all of them to scatter until only Jesus and the woman remain. Alone. Can you imagine standing or sitting alone with Jesus? This new man who has been traveling among your communities teaching and healing? Performing miraculous acts? Preaching messages totally foreign to your Jewish traditions? 

Does Jesus attack her because of her choices in life? She’s an adulteress. She’s involving herself in sexual relationships outside of being married. Is she herself married or is she a prostitute? Those details aren’t given to us other than her conduct, her choices fall under the category of sin…but now, alone with Jesus, those fallen sins are forgiven by Him as He declares that He will not condemn her. But, and please, don’t miss this–His final words to her are the life changer: “Go now and LEAVE your life of sin” (emphasis mine) He gives her two charges. Go. Leave. He doesn’t tell her to merely “go” and live your life. He doesn’t “leave” her as a now forgiven woman to return to the lifestyle that caused a frightful audience with her peers, religious leaders, and Him. It’s quite evident that being included in His deep love for her by the forgiveness of her sins is an admonition to “change”. This is a message for all who are living in deeply embedded lives of sin, a need to consider–Jesus does and will forgive–but He also requires “change”.

The second person I looked at was Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch. Their encounter is described in Acts 8. When looking at their meeting, first I was curious about the definition for “eunuch” as used here. A quick search of the Greek word shows it’s defined as: alone in bed *castrated *Abstain from marriage. Further descriptions of the Ethiopian eunuch revealed he would have been a man with great responsibilities in the household of his Queen. So, I’m guessing he had a place of prominence in her home, entrusted to the care and supervision of others on her staff as well as property she owned. This is no ordinary man other than he is impotent–either from birth or intentional castration in order to serve under her rule. 

This nameless royal servant is traveling and while doing so he is reading from Isaiah’s writings when Philip comes along. Philip isn’t merely walking up to the chariot either. He RUNS. He runs because “first” the Holy Spirit told him to go near “that” chariot and stay near it”. Why? Because, secondly, Philip HEARD the eunuch reading. And that’s when the encounter launches another miracle of conversion. A divine appointment between two very different men results in the eunuch understanding God’s plan of salvation, asking to be baptized and here’s the exciting part for me–”he went on his way rejoicing”. He didn’t get removed from his assigned duties to his queen. His physical mutilation wasn’t miraculously restored. He remained impotent physically but was filled supernaturally by understanding God’s Word, repenting of his own sin after understanding the good news of Jesus, and choosing baptism –in water along a desert road! (Incidentally, though I have NO proof…I am imagining that the eunuch is a black skinned man interacting with Philip who would probably have been very light brown or light skinned; he was working along the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called him to become a disciple = two very different people by definition of outward appearance who meet and engage with one another!)

A woman who was an adulteress, most likely feeling very empty without a stable healthy marriage relationship.  An impotent man who must have felt some degree of emptiness, now filled with great joy. What do they have in common? Jesus literally met them where they were “at” in life, acknowledged their present situation without name calling. No finger pointing. No accusations or digging up their past with specific details.  He did so by being physically present with the woman. He did it again through the obedience and ministry of Philip, serving a resurrected Christ who had ascended into heaven before the eunuch began a journey down a dry and arid desert road.

What does any of this have to do with being “inclusive”. My first thoughts are to remember that every person has been created in God’s image. That doesn’t mean that every person is perfect. Our fallen world creates many flaws, numerous failures, a myriad of lies–all of which bombard God’s desire for every one of us to embrace an identity that is rooted in Him and not defined by our gender…behaviors….outward appearance….skin tones…If that were the case, I would need to declare my identity as a short, plump, light skinned woman who has a tendency to gossip, overeat, become angry, resentful, judgemental…. While I could “be caught in those things” and brought before a group of my peers to be investigated…I am not. I’m a daughter of the Most High God. I met Jesus on my own dry desert road. I drank His living water. I tasted and saw that He was and IS good. I am forgiven. Redeemed. Set free. I am rooted in Him and the truth of all scripture, that He is for me and not against me. I can and pray He uses me to minister to those who feel as though they are “outside the circle of being included”…to bring them in…but not “leave” them the same when they step back into everyday life. That’s what Jesus did. It’s a hard truth, but then, it’s His Word, His teachings, His commands, not mine. Not yours. He’s God and we are not.

To My Readers:

Today’s blog entry is rooted from moments spent in self reflection…digging into scripture to help expose and describe how my heart feels not only today….how momentarily I grieved for this recent midterm election and some of the results. I read comments on my social media pages and I am deeply saddened by how our culture began describing people–good or bad–how far we have wandered from sound Biblical teachings founded on the Truth of a Most Holy God and His Son Jesus Christ. Christianity and those of us who follow Him, are quickly becoming a group that is being challenged by secular teachings and attempts to destroy/distort the very truth taught in Who God is and what He demands/requires of His people. So, today, I looked (very briefly) at the buzzword “inclusive” and penned my own thoughts. I know that Jesus wants me to love all people, but I also know that I am not required to condone what He calls sin. 

Stuck in my Head

Spending time with grandchildren is probably one of the best ways to fill my cup that holds joy. I’m always ready to hear any question that comes into their little mind or to overhear conversations during their pretend play.

Recently, I had to run a short errand and my two Hunt grandkids went along for the ride. As we rode along I could hear Macklynn, age 7, in the back seat singing one of her songs she’s learned in KidMin (today’s swanky name for Sunday School)...”Jesus, You’re My Superhero”. She had sung it through about four times before stopping to tell me…”Gramma, sometimes a song gets stuck in my head.” Ahhhhh…a teachable moment arrived on the scene….

“Macky”, I responded. “That’s great. Wanna know something?”

“What, gramma”.

“There is a Bible verse that says to hide God’s Word in your heart. It’s Psalm 119:11 (Before you get all excited that I knew the chapter and verse, don’t. I merely remember the general instructions.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Driving along, I briefly explained to her that remembering a song is like hiding God’s Word in her heart. Hmmmm…wait for it…..

Soon, her next question…”What does  ‘your word’ mean?”

At age 7 she may be a bit too young to comprehend that in the Greek language which refers to Jesus as “The Word…”—”Logos” that He is thought of as the entire Bible when it’s read. So, my simple explanation to her was “when we think about ALL the Bible we are thinking about Jesus…and every verse…and even your songs are able to be memorized and hidden in our heart…that we can pull them out when we are sad, lonely, need to feel safe or loved….and, again, her “ohhhhhhhh”, indicating she understood with her brain wheels turning. 

Years ago, I was helping a friend with Vacation Bible School. Jean was teaching the kids songs during the music segment of the day. I have never forgotten her loving instruction to them as they learned their cute songs. “Boys and girls, the wonderful thing about learning these songs is that you can sing them anywhere/anytime you need to be close to Jesus…..at home alone in your room….playing at school during recess…..sitting in class taking a test…..feeling sad….or especially when you don’t have your Bible with you to read…”

Sadly, with the chaos happening around the world…wars…people being persecuted for their Christian faith….even parts of American society where being a Christian is challenging…I can’t help but wonder if we are living in the days that Jean was preparing our little children for some forty years later. I hope not, but I’m not persuaded that “all is well” and that “peace on earth” is anything other than the peace that only God gives to His children…young and old.

Today, as I write about a superhero song…with lyrics that challenge the strength and popularity of Superman…Barbie…Actionman…my young granddaughter is learning to have fun with those characters but moreso, focusing on the BEST superhero of all ages….Jesus. 

Jesus you’re my superhero.You’re my star,my best friend.Jesus you’re my superhero.You’re my star,my best friend.