Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Please pray for my niece, my daughter, and me as we board a plane tomorrow headed to Salta, Argentina. We will be visiting our dear missionary friends who serve there through the International Mission Board. I'll be back in a little over a week with much to report, I'm sure. God bless you, and thanks for reading!

Duck Abbey

Downton Abbey

Duck Dynasty

I used to watch a lot of television. From high school until after my daughter was born, I'd often become addicted to the next big show and find myself planning my life around it. To my shame, I wanted Wednesday night church to be over quickly to make it home in time to catch some of American Idol or whatever had me hooked me that night. It was enslaving. When the twins were born, I didn't have time for television. Around their sixth month mark, I read John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life. It made me thankful my life had changed so much since the boys were born because Piper made a great case for not owning a television. I went from being a television addict to shunning it for a while. Now, I've let a little back into my life. I have found two seemingly different hit shows Duck Dynasty and Downton Abbey, the former a reality comedy and the latter a period drama, capture my attention probably because they are alike fundamentally despite first impressions.

First of all, Duck Dynasty and Downton Abbey focus on character development. The bearded men may be silly most of the time, but each show teaches a lesson. It is always reiterated at the end in Willie's voice so that we can get the point if we didn't get it because of the unending humor in the show. We see Willie learn to be a better father as his children become young adults along with countless episodes where the older generation teaches the younger generation lessons about things like obedience, love, sex, and finances. In the same manner, Downton Abbey's characters learn hard lessons from their own mistakes. Lord Grantham faces the difficult truth that his dynasty was built solely on his wife Cora's fortune and not on his own wise decisions. Show after show reveals the Grantham girls learning about life from their own stupid mistakes (Mary and the handsome Turkish guy in season one is just one example) and seeking help and wisdom from their grandmother, their parents, and even their wise and beloved butler. After watching both shows, I can't help but think how life's events change us for the better, and occasionally, for the worse.

Even though one is based on reality and the other is based on fiction, I find myself relating to both shows because of the emphasis in each on marriage and family. Every Duck Dynasty episode ends with the family around the table, enjoying each other's company and Mrs. Kay's cooking. Usually, Willie and his brother Jase are still arguing jokingly about something amidst the harmonious family setting. Not one episode airs without this emphasis on the importance of family time. Also, Phil and Mrs. Kay's marriage speaks volumes to viewers about the importance of marriage and loving each other despite the other's flaws. Phil genuinely loves his wife and finds her attractive after many years of marriage. They paint a beautiful picture of that sacred union on the world's stage. Similarly, the onscreen Grantham family finds family time a must as they enjoy Ms. Patmore and Daisy's cooking. The viewer sees this through the dinner table scenes in every episode. The plot moves forward at the family gathering in many cases. The sibling rivalries are highlighted here as in Duck Dynasty as well, just not always in a joking manner. Nevertheless, one thing remains even when the youngest daughter elopes with the chauffeur, the Grantham family welcomes family members to their table despite what the rest of England might think. Like Phil and Mrs. Kay, the love between Lord and Lady Grantham surpasses the trials the family faces and gets them through many tough times in between. Their marriage, so far, has endured self-inflicted disasters along with World Wars. Seeing these two families in action makes my heart smile as I think of my own family in the years to come.

Finally, the two most popular characters, Uncle Si and the Dowager Countess (Lady Violet), are a lot alike. (I had to save the best of the best for last!) Uncle Si, known for his Siisms, really makes the show a hit. He's tied to Southern culture with his jug of sweet tea, but he's also pretty hip for an old guy. In the one where Willie takes Sadie dress shopping, Si puts Willie's overbearing fatherly tendencies in their place making Willie see that he needed to face the fact (JACK!) that Sadie had become a young lady. Si often brings tons of humor to serious situations and makes for great comic relief. Similarly, Lady Violet makes Downton Abbey worth watching season after season. (She is the show if you ask me.) If it weren't for her strong beliefs in the role of English aristocracy along with her willingness to sit in the room and take tea from a former prostitute, the show would be a bust. She, like Si, delivers relief to sticky situations with her famous one liners. She always voices her opinions even if they are the least popular in the ever changing twentieth century world. These two ole cats are the entertainment--no doubt. 

I learned a thing or two by letting television in moderation back into my life. Number 1: Not all television shows are bad. Some teach great lessons as well as entertain. Number 2: There is nothing wrong with having a show for entertainment time and again. Some people are excited about these shows more than they are about going to church or spending time alone with God in prayer. If we find ourselves being consumed by things of this world, we need to step away from them for a time. If we use them to unwind from our busy lives and view them from the lens of our Christian worldview, we use them wisely. Number 3: A group of duck hunting rednecks from Louisiana and an English aristocratic family from the early 20th century have more in common than one would think as crazy as that sounds. If Uncle Si and Lady Violet met, one can only imagine who'd win the debate! No matter, the things they would say about each other would be priceless.

Slaves

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

From Romans 6 (ESV)

The "land of the free" is a misnomer in one sense. Americans are all slaves of something--power, race, wealth, materialism, poverty, alcohol, drugs, sex, entertainment, friends, and even family to name a few. Being enslaved to anything other than Christ is not the way to go. My prayer is that all Christians (including myself) would take Paul's words seriously and share boldly the paradoxical good news that being enslaved to Christ is the only true freedom. Those enslaved to something else need us to proclaim it.

This & That

This and That are two articles discussing things all dads can do to be great dads. I'm a little late for Father's Day on these, but most of these are simple things any man can add to his routine with his kids. I'm thankful that my husband leads us in family worship, disciplines our children with godly wisdom and love, and has just plain ole fun with them. I couldn't respect a man more than I do him.

Life is Strife

Justin and I recently read a marriage devotion that whined about how marriage is difficult. I have loved all the devotions in the book until we read that one. I didn't comment while he read it to me even though I disagreed with many of the things the author said and quoted. As soon as Justin finished, he said, "That was my least favorite in this book." As we talked, I realized we were thinking the same thing throughout the reading: "Of course marriage is hard, life is hard."

People complain that being married is hard, being single is hard, being unemployed is hard, working is hard, going to school is hard, parenting is hard, trying to get pregnant is hard, being pregnant is hard, finding friends is hard, keeping friends is hard, and so forth. Believers know that being a Christian brings its own set of difficulties, too. In fact, I can't think of one single part of life worth having that isn't difficult at times, yet so many of those things bring its own set of rewards. For example, even though marriage is difficult, people still do it. Some people do it much more than once! Our jobs might be hard, but receiving that paycheck is not. As Christians, we will suffer for Christ and face difficulties in this life because of the choices we make to honor and glorify Him. Conversely, we will not suffer in the life to come and will be rewarded for our efforts on this earth. 

The Bible tells us to strive to enter the narrow door (Luke 13:24). If we accepted Christ just to make our lives strife-less, then we really didn't accept Christ. Repentance is hard. Leaving everything at the feet of Jesus and daily dying to self require much discipline, sacrifice, and STRIFE.

Why am I writing about such a seemingly pessimistic topic? To encourage you. Whatever difficulty you are facing, it's normal. It's part of this hard life. Most of all, the challenge you face will be worth the tough days because He's teaching, molding, and making you into the person He wants you to be through those difficulties. And don't forget that whatever temporary reward you receive here for striving pales compared to the reward waiting for you in the life to come. Therefore, we must keep heart through our struggles and avoid needless pity parties or isolating thoughts. Striving through life just makes us like every other human, yet as children of God, we have hope, joy, peace, and love along with rewards to great to imagine waiting in Heaven; therefore, life in Christ was, is, and will be worth the strife.

If Momma Ain't Happy...

"The wisest of women builds her house,
    but folly with her own hands tears it down." Proverbs 14:1

"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife." Proverbs 21:9

"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife." Proverbs 25:24

Yes, the second verse above is in Proverbs twice. Not once. Twice. As for the first verse, the point comes across pretty plainly the first time. How do we wisely build our house? How do we stop being quarrelsome? The Sunday School answer is "by the grace of God." What does that look like in every day life? How can we practically "build" our house rather than "tear" it to the ground? Here are five applications to help us live out these truths:

1. Believe the old saying, "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." It's so true! If we want our family to be happy, then we need to be happy, ladies. We have a huge influence on the climate in our homes. We must use it for good! Choose joy not strife! (And ladies, it's very likely that our "ain't happy" is based on our own pride. We must repent to God and our family when we are angry for no good reason. We must ask forgiveness when we take that anger out on our husband and children, too. They need to hear us say we are wrong sometimes.)

2. Choose your battles with your children wisely. For example, if we want our kids to help us with daily chores, then we mustn't complain or get angry when they don't do it our way. That's wasted anger if you ask me. Save anger for big things like disobedience and destruction of property or brother's face (Ha!), and even then we must be slow to get angry and be quick to forgive.

3. Choose your battles with your husband wisely as well. Let's be honest: we are critical of our men. We can find the smallest things they do annoying, and we can nag them until we are blue in the face. We can hold those things over their heads for years. That's not good. We must remember our husbands are not children, so we must not treat them that way. They aren't perfect either. We must respect them even if they are in the wrong. Why? Well, for one reason, I don't want my husband to long for a corner of a rooftop. I'm sure you don't either. 

4. Pray. When we don't know what to do, we need to pray. When we lose our tempers, we need to pray. When we are tired beyond belief, we need to pray. We must not neglect going to God for help consistently throughout the day. It's not just for "quiet time." What is "quiet time" anyway? I know there's no quiet time at my house! 

5. Build your house on the Word of God. We must make studying the Bible part of our routine. We must dust off the cobwebs and open that gem of a book up. How can we expect to make it through life without His strength? How can we expect to avoid folly without His wisdom? How can we expect our family climate to change for the better if our own climate is so far from God? We can't. It won't. We must read it even when things are crazy busy, especially when things are crazy busy. We must read it more than Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and the like. (I've put an awesome Bible app on my phone so that it's more convenient for me to read it anywhere and everywhere. It's the You Version Bible app, and it's free!)

Finally, I challenge you to test your influence. Choose joy today to see how it affects those who are most important to you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised to see that if Momma's happy, everybody's happy!