Dear Family,
Claiming to hate someone isn’t very nice but this is what my family says about
our adorable, tiny kitty Skyra. She truly is annoying because she meows
so much. So, when I saw Seth loving her, my heart melted, and I took this
picture. I bet this happens every day.
Adriel continues to let us know she is alive and we had a great evening of
reminiscing with pictures being sent back and forth. My crazy eyes are
present even in grade school pictures. Adriel warms my heart.
Bobby cooking food is such a blessing I must mention it every time. Even
if it’s food I don’t want to eat – this simply means I didn’t have to
cook. I am so blessed that my family doesn’t expect me to have dinner on
the table every night.
During youth group, Bobby
mentioned trust and how sitting on a chair shows how much we trust it. He
then said a stool has become wobbly enough that he doesn’t want to risk
breaking his guitar by sitting on it. Someone piped in with, “What about
your neck?” Either way, I found one for $5 at the UGM Mission store on
885 mission street and that is easier than fixing the old one. Also,
Bobby went another day to find a Dutch oven. The UGM mission store is the
best place to get Pampered Chef products at a good price!
Middle school group was fabulous. The youth enjoy gutter ball and
foosball, but my feet hurt so I just sat down and invited someone to sit with
me. I enjoyed a wonderful chat about how even though those in my family
say they don’t love our kitty I have picture proof of pure love. She also
loves her cat, so we have much in common. Later she thanked me for the
conversation and that was so downright beautifully polite my heart wanted to
burst.
Prayer time I enjoyed Bobby’s way
of having someone lead in prayer. He said, “Knock it off,” and that was
funny to me. In the lesson, we read John 3:1-18 and when Bobby asked the
group what kind of plague the Israelites had to endure, one youth had the best
answer. “Weren’t there flaming snakes?” That would have been
dramatic. Poisonous snakes were bad enough.
Near the end Bobby helped with the blanks. Jesus C--- to S--- the
W----. Jesus came to save the world. Someone said, “Dang it!”
This made me laugh. I knew the youth was frustrated that he didn’t get
the blanks right, but it sounded like he was frustrated about the meaning of
the sentence.
High school group brought deep voices and delightful smiles. I enjoyed
watching Bobby lose chess. He played again and the next time with more
people it was even more fun to watch him lose. Snarky commentary is the
best. I think sarcasm is a fabulous spiritual gift.
Those playing foosball were
also enjoying their time. One felt invincible. He said with joy, “I
had caffeine!” and later, “I had a coke at 3 pm, no one can stop me.”
Someone
was excited about hearing there was ice cream in the freezer from a while
ago. He and a friend had one. We told them the unicorn flavor was nasty,
but they ate it anyway. One mentioned they maybe should have looked at
the expiration date, but Bobby asked, “Would you still eat the unicorn ice
cream bar even if it was expired?” Both said, “Yes.”
I am excited to go to a Nerf Wars event on the 28th to
take pictures. Bobby then mentioned I could be a zombie, and this doesn’t
sound as fun. A teen sitting next to me said he would be a zombie too
with delight, so that made it sound OK. I think I might just be a
target. Sounds iffy, what do you think?
During the lesson time, Bobby had someone read John 3:16-18. Another
person had to comment, “That was the longest version of John 3:16 I have ever
heard!
Youth group is fun but it’s also nice to have evenings off and I am glad Bobby,
and I could relax together on Thursday. Life can get hectic. Our
bodies and minds need to rest!
I have been considering a thought. Just like an influencer can be liked
one day, say one wrong thing, and be hated the next, Jesus was sung, “Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord” one day and the next the crowds were
yelling, “Crucify him!” I keep wondering what changed their minds so
fast. Reading the gospels shows his timeline. Instead of creating
an army out of the welcoming crowds and saying, “Let's attack Rome and take
over!” He went to the temple and overturned the tables. Instead of
preaching a resounding Independence Day speech, he said, “Therefore I tell you
that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people
who will produce its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43) Instead of appealing to the
religious leaders to “Save the people” politically he took over the temple and
taught saying, “Woe” about all the leaders. Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of
the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will
you let those enter who are trying to,” and, Matthew 23:33 “You snakes!
You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”
Basically, he threw a rock at the hornet’s nest. All eyes were on him,
and he acted askew to what they wanted. Jesus was the talk of the town
and the news of the nation. Many were healed but calling himself God and saying their religion was
wrong got their hackles up. As a religious leader's wife would I have
been one shouting, “Crucify him?” Would I have hurled insults while he
hung on the cross?
I really, really hope not.
His kingdom isn’t about
Rome, democrats, republicans, or Israel. It’s about heaven, which is
much, much more important than anything that is going on around us.
Looking up when we are surrounded by our own life choices must be a conscious
decision. May we look up and not follow the crowd. May we be filled
from above and not be swayed by the current that shifts by the minute.
Love to all,
Cristy
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