Laced With Grace

In a parking lot near my office, I spotted the cutest family parade: four little goslings marching single file, Mother and Father Goose in front and rear, on their way to a nearby stream. 

Unfortunately, one little fella wound up on the wrong side of the fence. Hearing his family on the river side, he franticly scuttled along the barrier. A mere one foot high, for the little bird the fence might as well have been Alcatraz. 

you can spot his little head all the way to the left

Nearby, Mother Goose hovered and honked loudly to Junior who desperately waddled back and forth along the divider. At one point, he tried with all his pathetic little might to fly over the divider. Jumping and flailing his weak downy wings, he failed to launch more than an inch off the ground. And then I saw it. Several feet away, the rugged wooden beam arched upward, just a few inches, but surely high enough for Junior to scurry under. Now how to steer him there without causing him a coronary? 

Seems like a perfect belated Mother’s Day story.

Happy Belated Mother’s Day!

Susan

On Wednesday nights during the school year our family has been studying character traits of Jesus. Each week we cover a different trait. Recently the topic was obedience.

We started with a game of “Dad Says” (like the game Simon Says), which brought a lot of laughs. Then we sat down and started talking about obedience.
What does the word obedience mean? One thing that I noticed when I was getting ready for the lesson was that obedience isn’t just doing what someone tells you to do. For one thing, what kind of attitude are you having while you are doing the task? Is it really having an obedient heart if you are groaning and rolling your eyes while doing the task?

Also, obedience is doing a job completely. Our example was taking out the trash. If we tell our son to take out the trash and then later we go out and find he left it sitting by the dumpster instead of putting it inside the dumpster, he really hasn’t been obedient to complete the whole task. He knows what is required of this chore…remove the filled trash bag, take it to the dumpster outside, and put in a new trash bag.

There are many verses on obedience we can find in the Bible. One we read was Philippians 2:8 where it tells us Christ was humbly obedient in His dying on the cross. We also talked about examples of obedient people in the Bible. One was Jesus as a boy (Luke 2:40–52). He was obedient to His parents even though He wanted to stay at the temple. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” Luke 2:51  We talked about Naaman (2 Kings 5) and how when he did obey he was cleansed of the leprosy. Our son also brought up Daniel as an example of someone who obeyed God instead of the king.

I’ve been thinking of other examples. Some were examples to us in their disobedience, like Moses when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God told him (Numbers 20:1-17). Another is Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish when he disobeyed God (Jonah 1-4).  Can you think of others who either obeyed or disobeyed?

We have been given many examples of obedience and disobedience. We can learn from each of them and apply these lessons to our personal lives. We have a choice in what we do.  Will you obey or disobey?

Have a day of blessings!

Yesterday my family and I spent an hour and a half sitting in a historical building, enjoying and laughing at a live comedy show.Yes, it was Mother’s Day and yes, that’s what I wanted to do.

Why?

Because I value laughter. Plus I know the comedian, she’s a sweet friend.

Do you value laughter? Why or why not? Did you know there are huge health benefits to laughing?

Here are just a few:

* lowers blood pressure
* boosts immune system
* relieves stress
* prevents heart disease

I learned to laugh as a child. Instead of crying, I laughed. It was a coping mechanism, one that I still use today. Sometimes I laugh and cry at the same time. Laughter has carried me through some rough places in my life. I thank God for the gift of laughter.

I have no guilt about taking time to lighten up and laugh. Actually for fun and to inspire, I give a talk on laughter. Laughing is worth my time. It’s worth penciling in on my calendar. It’s worth putting on my to do list and being intentional about. I want my kids to see that even though life is hard they too can choose to laugh.

Did you know God values laughter enough to make sure it is in His Word?

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25

a time to weep and a time to laugh ~ Ecclesiastes 3:4

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:21

So today think of a simple way you can reduce your stress and have a little fun. You will never regret taking time to laugh.

Father God, remind us to laugh today. We need it.

How about you? When was the last time you laughed? Do you make time to laugh on a regular basis? If so, share your stories with me. Pretty please with chocolate covered strawberries on top.

Smile!

Tiffany at Tea with Tiffany