holy satire batman...

thanksgiving benediction

In light of tomorrow's sermon and the season in general, I wanted to share with you the closing benediction for Adamsville Presbyterian Church in the morning. Maybe on Monday I'll write about the sermon. I must also confess I "borrowed" the meat of the benediction from Joe Shere pastor of Mount Joy Mennonite Church (it's amazing what google can do).

May the Lord bless you and keep you, May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May the eyes of your heart be open to all the blessings which surround you; may this awareness produce a harvest of generosity in your spirit.

May thankfulness rise up within you, not just during this short season, but day after day, from the early morning watch until you retire for the night.

May your prayers reflect gratitude, while also acknowledging the needs of others whose situations are so drastically different.

May thoughts of Jesus fill your mind, and thanksgiving be your response.

Strength

One of the benefits of being married to a preacher man is not only hearing the sermon once on Sunday morning. Instead, I get to be present for the process, development, and sometimes practice as well as he gets to be present for my questions, thoughts, and ponderings inspired by his message. Here are some things I will be carrying with me this week:

This morning's message was packed full of reminders that the Lord intends for us to handle one day at a time. "Give us this day our daily bread" is not only a surface prayer for food, but a weighty souvenir for God's chosen people of a time when their most desperate needs were met.

19 Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. (Exodus 16:19-20)

Isn't this so like us? To say we believe in God, that we trust he will provide for our needs, and then say with our actions, "Thank you Lord for providing this one time but since you might not tomorrow, I will take what you have given me and look out for myself." No wonder we as a society struggle with anxiety and selfishness! We have been so trained to plan ahead that we panic before the effort is ever required from us.
What about strength? We are drained and tired because we are trying to handle today and tomorrow at the same time and when tomorrow finally arrives, sometimes yesterday's plans have maggots and they smell. How did Jesus respond to this age old issue?

Matthew 6
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A friend of mine has adopted this mantra, "As is your day, so shall your strength be." Deut. 33:25

May we walk into this next week knowing we will be tested yet trusting that when we need necessary strength and provisions, God has already provided for that day. Our act of faith is to show up each day where we are expected, living as if we believe he has already done so. Go to sleep, wake up, and repeat.

School

People have been supportively asking how school is going so I thought I might give a little update.

School is wondering why many students are apathetic about their education and how to inspire them to take ownership of their habits. School is trying to come up with new and creative ways to interest students without giving in to their demand "to be entertained or else". School is frankly a little worn out but refusing to give up because by showing up, school is proving to every student that it is not a waste of time to teach or to learn.

Please ignore the choice word at the end for affect, but I think I am going to start watching this video once a week.