No, not the Dan Brown book. Although, that is a very fascinating read.
The Bible class at church began a study on angels yesterday. Pastor put together a very nice handout so we didn't need to spend the whole class flipping back and forth throughout the Bible to find the verses. The plan is to cover angels in general, then fallen angels, and then the Angel of the Lord. Even though I rarely miss Bible class, I am definitely going to make an effort NOT to miss during this study.
I wonder if one of the reasons I have learned so little about angels so far is that, to a born and bred Lutheran like myself, angels seem like a New Age-y, spiritual thing. Also that portrayals of angels in movies and on TV don't really ever seem to have ANYTHING to do with the Bible. Even Touched by an Angel, a TV show I particularly enjoyed watching, NEVER mentioned Jesus. Maybe it's not so surprising that several people who were at Bible class yesterday are so excited for and fascinated by this topic.
At the end of the class, Pastor handed out nice laminated copies of Luther's Morning and Evening Prayers, with an encouragement to incorporate them into our daily lives. So I added the Evening Prayer last night to bedtime prayers with Claire and Natalie.
I thank You, my heavenly Father,
through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son,
that You have graciously kept me this day;
and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins
where I have done wrong,
and graciously keep me this night.
For into Your hands I commend myself,
my body and soul, and all things.
Let Your holy angel be with me,
that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
I pointed out to the girls that not only do we have God the Father and Jesus watching out for us while we sleep, but we have God's holy angels keeping the devil at bay, too. Natalie, who is always fearful of the devil, asked me if the devil would come in their room and scare her. (And oh, it would be SO EASY to offer false comfort.) I told her that that was why we prayed the way we did, so that we would be protected. Then I reminded her that God and Jesus and the angels are much, much stronger than the devil, and they were always near her to keep the devil away.
Just as they are always near us, and we have only to ask, and we'll receive all the help we need to keep the devil away.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
You are Mine
The Lutheran Study Bible has a reading plan to read straight through the Bible in 2 years. I began last January and did fairly well, but fell terribly behind in the last few weeks of 2012. So now, in my quieter moments at work, I'm trying to catch up. I'm in the middle of Isaiah, which, I'll admit it, gets a little hard going at times. But then I read today:
But now thus says the Lord..."Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you." (Isaiah 43:1-4)
I love this passage. It's a reminder that God does not promise that we will not go through hard times, but that He will be with us when we do.
But now thus says the Lord..."Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you." (Isaiah 43:1-4)
I love this passage. It's a reminder that God does not promise that we will not go through hard times, but that He will be with us when we do.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Another New Year
Hello, 2013. You're the first new year I've been excited to see in a long time. And no wonder. I have so much to be excited about!
Claire is learning so much at school and everywhere else. She has had the switch flicked on in her brain about reading, and her reading ability is growing daily. She is also learning how to learn, which was evidenced by how quickly she learned to tie her shoes this past week. She was able to communicate to me exactly what it was that she was not understanding, and once we sorted that part out (what part of the lace to push through to make the second bow), she had it down pat.
Natalie is a born storyteller. She can come up with (truly) compelling stories, complete with villains and heroes and a happily ever after. I am always impressed with the broad scope of her imagination, and how she is clearly absorbing everything in her world to add details to her stories. She is also my little foodie and wants to "feed" everyone with whatever she has at hand, be it beads, blocks, or actual toy food.
I have been with my Troy for nearly 7 months, and I can't imagine life without him now. He not only loves me for myself, but he loves my girls and they positively adore him right back. It is hard to put into words exactly all this relationship means to me. It is thrilling and comforting and joyful and fun. Troy doesn't let me wash the dishes when he comes for supper, but nudges me out of the way and hands me the towel to dry. We watch TV shows like Castle and Big Bang Theory, and laugh a lot. We attend church and Bible class together, and I can hardly say how much I enjoy worshiping with him. His daughter, Carsen, loves reading about as much as I do, and we can talk Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and being geeky like that together. His son, Adam, plays wonderfully with Claire and Natalie, and manages to remain patient even when they get to be a little too much.
*happy sigh*
This year I have a few goals, like I did last year. I want to keep trying new recipes, and the goal of at least one new recipe each week is definitely doable (I did it last year). I would like to keep shrinking my stack of books to be read (I made some headway last year). And of course, the usual goals of exercise more and lose a few pounds.
So, 2013, yes, I'm happy to see you, and I'm looking forward to what this year holds for me and my family.
Claire is learning so much at school and everywhere else. She has had the switch flicked on in her brain about reading, and her reading ability is growing daily. She is also learning how to learn, which was evidenced by how quickly she learned to tie her shoes this past week. She was able to communicate to me exactly what it was that she was not understanding, and once we sorted that part out (what part of the lace to push through to make the second bow), she had it down pat.
Natalie is a born storyteller. She can come up with (truly) compelling stories, complete with villains and heroes and a happily ever after. I am always impressed with the broad scope of her imagination, and how she is clearly absorbing everything in her world to add details to her stories. She is also my little foodie and wants to "feed" everyone with whatever she has at hand, be it beads, blocks, or actual toy food.
I have been with my Troy for nearly 7 months, and I can't imagine life without him now. He not only loves me for myself, but he loves my girls and they positively adore him right back. It is hard to put into words exactly all this relationship means to me. It is thrilling and comforting and joyful and fun. Troy doesn't let me wash the dishes when he comes for supper, but nudges me out of the way and hands me the towel to dry. We watch TV shows like Castle and Big Bang Theory, and laugh a lot. We attend church and Bible class together, and I can hardly say how much I enjoy worshiping with him. His daughter, Carsen, loves reading about as much as I do, and we can talk Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and being geeky like that together. His son, Adam, plays wonderfully with Claire and Natalie, and manages to remain patient even when they get to be a little too much.
*happy sigh*
This year I have a few goals, like I did last year. I want to keep trying new recipes, and the goal of at least one new recipe each week is definitely doable (I did it last year). I would like to keep shrinking my stack of books to be read (I made some headway last year). And of course, the usual goals of exercise more and lose a few pounds.
So, 2013, yes, I'm happy to see you, and I'm looking forward to what this year holds for me and my family.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Idols
Claire: Hey, Mom, I know what idols are.
Me: Oh, really?
Claire: Yes. They're something you want to be a god.
Me: That's right.
Claire: In Alair's book, the people made a golden calf. They wanted it to be their god, so it was an idol.
Me: That's right. But it was a pretty crappy god, wasn't it?
Claire: Yup. You could hug it or sit on it or do anything you wanted to it, but it couldn't do anything for you. Idols are kind of dumb, aren't they?
Dumb, indeed.
Me: Oh, really?
Claire: Yes. They're something you want to be a god.
Me: That's right.
Claire: In Alair's book, the people made a golden calf. They wanted it to be their god, so it was an idol.
Me: That's right. But it was a pretty crappy god, wasn't it?
Claire: Yup. You could hug it or sit on it or do anything you wanted to it, but it couldn't do anything for you. Idols are kind of dumb, aren't they?
Dumb, indeed.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Natalie's Question
Natalie is very afraid of the devil. This fear goes back to VBS this summer, when she heard the story of the temptation of Jesus. She asked Troy and me the other night if the devil was going to die. I asked Pastor Mumme his thoughts on how I should explain this to her.
His response:
"The devil is a fallen angel, and angels (fallen or holy) do not and
will not die. Rather, on the Last Day they will be locked up forever
in the prison house of hell, never to tempt or afflict the children of
God ever again. In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says to the unbelievers on
Judgment Day, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels." This tells us that hell was not
originally prepared for human beings, but for the fallen angels. And
since its fire is eternal, the devil and his angels (and all who die
without faith in Christ) will eternally suffer there. This is made
explicit for the devil in Revelation 20:10: "And the devil who had
deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the
beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and
night forever and ever."
This is a hard
conversation to have with a little girl! I would just assure her at
this point that when we die (and when we rise again in glory on the Last
Day) we will be forever free from the devil. He cannot harm us who
believe and are baptized now, and he will not be able to harm us then
either. I hope this helps."
After I told this to Natalie, she thought about it and then said, "So Jesus makes it so the devil can't come to our house?" I told her, yes, that was pretty much true, that Jesus makes it so the devil can't hurt us. She was thrilled and said, "I'm going to tell my sister, and Grandma and..." I told her she could tell everyone she wanted about that.
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