From Mayhem to Manna!

To tell you the truth I have not finished reading this book.  But from what I have read this book is a must read!  It is a true story of one woman's life and how God's grace and love brought her to a place of love and healing. In this book Pastor Mary Manna, tells of her childhood through adulthood and the unbelievable journey she has traveled! Mental hospitals, shock treatments, padded cell, etc.  I would love to tell you more, but that is Mary's job!  If you have ever thought you could never be clean, that you where to tarnished, you are not alone. 

 I would like to ask the author, why her?  What is it about her that is more finely tuned. You can see God's grace all over her life.  How can someone be so close to God, yet so very far away. 

Ok so you can get the book at amazon.  www.amazon.com search Pastor Mary Manna. Or from Tate Publishing. Pastor Mary is also on Facebook!
ISBN 978-1-61739-602-1)

Doing things different.

I have chosen to do things a little different with my children,  call me new fashioned!  Since I had ChloeJace back when I was 17 I know that things would be different.  I have never taught my children to buy into all the fake cartoonish aspects of holidays.  She never got gifts from Santa and had been taught that it is fun to pretend and some like to pretend and they use the "Christmas man".

I can still recall how horrible it was to find out that all these BIG people had been lying to me for years. when I found out that Santa, Easter bunny, tooth fairy I cried and cried, if they would lie about this what eles would they lie about.  I know some of you are thinking it is just for fun and not to take is so seriously. If you are the one being lied to it isn't fun!

The story of Chris Kringle is one that I share with the kids, but he did not live at the North Pole .  In school ChloeJace colored pictures of the North Pole and Elves.  But I have always made it a point to tell her what Christmas is really about.  It leads to some good conversations about why people chose to focus on other things beside the real reason we celebrate these holidays.

During Easter my kids get candy and junk toys the will only play with for a few day. Which reminds me I need to throw out the candy from Christmas!  My children don't get new clothes to wear for Easter!  There have even been a few Easter Sunday's that we don't go to church!  I just have no interest in  not finding a parking spot, not having a place to sit, and being distracted by all the people that want to leave right after communion!  I am glad that the people go, but can't they pick another day? Showing up in your new clothes once a year is fine and all but to the others that go more often you stick out like a sore thumb.  All those that have somewhere they have to go, and feel the need to leave after communion, you do know that you can watch Easter service on T.V!

I have never had ChloeJace say, wow I wish you would have taught me to believe in fake bunnies, and fat men, and people coming to steal my teeth at night when I am asleep.  She has also never told others that it is fake!  Even at her age, she was shocked at how many kids in her class didn't know the real reason for these holidays.

A lot of people will not agree with me, and that is fine.  This is just the way I have chosen to do things. I may have it all wrong! When my children have children of their own they can do it differently. Till then, they will learn the stories from the bible not from fairy tales.

My Plug of the Week!

Recently I was raking the neighbors yard, when  I got a blister between my thumb and index finger.  In the web part! OUCH!  And the little bubble part that protects it came off too.  So I just had an open sore with all the nerver endings exposed. It kept cracking open and split, at this time I decded to put something on it.  I had Burt's Bees res-q ointment!!! LOOOVVVEE it. I put some on and it soothed it right away, it didn't burn or sting (haha bee sting..get it).  The next morning it even looked better. And if all that wasn't good enough, it doesn't smell like an old persons's medicen cabnet.  It was lavender in it so it smell nice. Also it is 95.7% natural!  Oh! Burt it just gets better!

Forgive

Pretty simple Right?.  We are all familiar with needing forgiveness and giving it too.  But do we really?  I mean.. ok so we ask God for forgiveness daily..right?...or we should...  Then I hear people say well God knows my heart, I don't have to ask he already knows, he knew before I did it that I would need forgiveness.  Besides, God is very busy so why bother him with stuff he already knows.
I know I sometimes will ask someone to forgive me, years after I should have.  Or we let it go unsaid and just pretend nothing ever happened.  As long as nobody is talking about it, I will just move past it.  I don't like those hard conversations either.
We tend to let this part of God's word just to hang out till we want to deal with asking for forgiveness.  Just this week I was at the gym, watching T.V., and on was the story of the man that shot the Amish children in their school.  I know that is old news, but I didn't watch it then because it made me sad to think about.  As I watch this story unfold, I feel the tears coming up and I am trying my best not to break out in uncontrollable sobs.  If you know the story, several of the girls that where shot died, 5 of them!! 5 families lost a child that day!!  The gunman then killed himself. This community then, just a few days, less then a week after this happened they went to the wife of the man that murdered their children and injured more and they FORGAVE that woman for what her husband had done.
Ok, so look at your child, now think about someone killing your child, and you taking the red eye to forgive the family! SAY WHAAAT!!!
It is hard to think of, I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that kind of forgiveness. But, that is how we should do it!  If how we forgive others is how we are forgiven then, I want to look like those Amish families!  Not, like the ohhh well, I am just not ready to forgive yet, let me bring it up a half dozen more times so you can feel like crap about it again, and again,and again.
How do you forgive?

High school/without the musical!

Recently there have been so high school type antics going on!  I found myself in a position that I didn't want to be in.  I want the best for everyone, and I want the whole world to be rainbows and unicorns.  I do know that is just not the way it is.  I also found out that some of my blood relatives think... well, I will just say not too highly of me.  In fact, down right, badly.  That hurt!  And these things seemed to join when,  like I said high school junk!  Guess what your family member said!  I won't go into detail but I have not spoken with either party in about a year.

While all this junk was going on ChloeJace turned to me and said something like "Mom their are starving kids, I am going to collect cans for them."  I was floored, it took me back to reality.  Everyone won't like me, even some that are supposed to love me.  I will not always do the right thing.  But I have to keep a bigger than me prospective.  When I get into my own little problems, and my own little life, I forget about how greatly I am blessed.

God, thank you for using the wisdom of a child to bring me back down.  Thank you for showing me, my hurt feelings are nothing compared to the suffering in this world.  There is a big world outside of high school.  Thank you for giving me a child that has such wisdom and a caring heart that she would at her young age be concerned about things bigger than her.  Lord, make me more like my child, and less childish to get pulled into things that are not of you.