Being a Mary in a Martha World

I hosted my first real dinner party at my house last night. You know, the kind where you get out the nice dishes and sit in the dining room? ( Sorry to anyone who’s been to my house recently…you didn’t get a real dinner party, I guess ).

I have to admit, though, I was nervous. Not about what we would talk about, whether my children would be obnoxious or break a dish, or whether my food would taste okay (…well, maybe a little about that). I was mostly nervous about whether anyone would fall off our crumbling chairs that are part of our crumbling dining room set. So the pie in the sky dream is that I could go out and buy that brand new set I’ve been mooning over online for many months now. But, the reality is that I just can’t do it. And there’s no hope of it happening anytime soon, either.

So I was forced to make a decision: should I, then, not invite guests over or should I just deal with my aging, innefficient set that left some sitting on metal folding chairs and my kids at a separate table? My decision, obviously, was the latter. Why?

Because it seemed to me that this scenario was a little like the Mary & Martha scenario found in Luke 10. These women had the privilege of hosting Jesus in their home. Martha busilly scurried around trying to make everything perfect, while Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus soaking in her time with him. I realized that I could scurry around trying to make everything perfect, or worse yet, not even have guests over. Or I could do my best to prepare for them, and then just enjoy the opportunity to bless people who were new and struggling to meet people.

I’m glad my pride didn’t get in the way of a wonderful night. I’m thankful that my food didn’t burn, that my kids were (mostly) well behaved, and that no one fell off a chair! I think I’ll do this again, metal chairs and all…

 

Oh, help!

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10:38

 

One of my favorite moments in “The Sound of Music” comes when Maria’s perky “I Have Confidence” song suddenly ends at the sight of the Von Trapp mansion. She gulps and just manages to squeak, “Oh, help.”

  

This last week presented me with some similar moments, as I got off the proverbial bus and discovered this road is not (at least at this point) what I expected or am familiar with. 

 

Check out my Slide Show! (Show 2)

 

Life in Christ – Thoughts on Ephesians (Part 5)

I’ve been posting some devotions my assistant, Abigail, wrote lately. This is the 5th and final post.

Perhaps we have heard sermons on the armor of God and feel like we cannot relate it to our daily lives. Most of us are not familiar with war. This armor deals instead with being equipped as a Christian in this world that is filled with spiritual warfare.

 

Life in Christ – Thoughts on Ephesians (Part 4)

Ephesians 4: 1 – 3 says:

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

From Ephesians 2 we begin to understand this paradox we face: we cannot earn God’s love, and yet a true experience of the grace of Jesus Christ will produce a life filled with goodness. In the beginning of Ephesians 4, Paul highlights five specific Christian virtues that we as Christians should have growing in our lives as we follow Christ.

 

Travel through these five virtues together and take the time to answer the question following each one . . .

 

Life in Christ – Thoughts on Ephesians (Part 3)

The grace of God (as discussed in the last post) is certainly related to the infinite love of Christ. Both of these attributes or actions have proved that Christ gave us – lavished upon us – that which we do not deserve.

 

Life in Christ – Thoughts on Ephesians (Part 2)

My assistant, Abigail, has written this small devotion, and I would like to share it with you. It’s simple, but packed full of wonderful truth. Blessings!

 

Life Without Christ – Some thoughts on Ephesians (Part 1)

My office is preparing to begin two and a half months of intense travel. I will have three teams of students (about 20 total) traveling all over the northeast sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. In preparation for this time of “full-on” ministry, we’ve been encouraging our students to ready themselves. In like manner, I’ve been reading Ephesians lately, as has my assistant. She is an excellent teacher, and minister in her own right and has prepared some devotions for my ministry teams. In the next few posts I will be sharing some of her thoughts. While I’ve got your attention, would you mind to pray for me and my students? This is my third year leading these groups in ministry. I’m always amazed at the depth of spirituality for their age, their understanding of ministry, and the strength within each of these students. Nevertheless, I covet your prayers. This is probably the most difficult time of year. To be traveling more than half of every week all the way until the middle of July is exhausting. My kids often travel with me, and my husband only gets to go some of the time. While there is great reward, there is a lot of sacrifice, and just plain determination that keeps us all going. Thanks in advance! Now on to Ephesians…

 

Encouragement for Today

I love it when I find a verse in the Bible that I know I’ve read a million (okay, maybe not a million…let’s say a hundred ) times and it takes on a fresh meaning. I’ve read another portion of the Bible today – this time in the Message version – and just wanted to share it with you. It’s so good it doesn’t need explanation. Read it. See how it applies to your life, and let it make a difference in you today. Be blessed by God’s word to you:

 

The 3 T’s

Well, I managed to break my finger this weekend. Don’t actually know how I did it, but between three kids, packing my house, and traveling with a children’s team with a full set, and a band…is it any wonder that I managed that?? So this will be a short post (It’s hard to type without the use of a finger!).

I heard an excellent sermon this weekend and just wanted to share the major points of it with you. It’s simple, really: