February on the farm has been wet and muddy. I think it snowed every single Wednesday. My poor car tires were getting tired of sludging their way through the slimy slop roads, and I was feeling guilty for paying to wash my car each week. The kiddos and I filled our days with LOTS of Lego building adventures (I am the designated piece finder), a couple of indoor campouts (I'm getting camping fever already!), play-doh time and maybe a dress-up dance party or two. Elijah's been hitting the books hard this month...not studying, but reading. He has discovered the world of beginning chapter books and is reading everything he can get his hands on. His favorite series is The Imagination Station books from Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey program. He can hardly wait to get the next one from the library, and he devours it in no time. I love it when he takes the time to read part of the story aloud to Case, and it's fun to find the two of them hanging blankets on the bunkbed to turn it into their own "Imagination Station".
The sun finally came out these last few days, and it has been beautiful. The birds singing and the clover popping up in the yard are giving me spring fever. Case and Jeanie and I were so excited to go out yesterday and start digging a new flower bed for my sunflowers. Unfortunately, the ground was still too wet and muddy, so instead we contented ourselves with haphazardly squashing some old hollyhock seeds into the ground. We enjoyed some outside time today as well. What better way to end February than with a campfire supper of hotdogs and s'mores?
I continued my on-going quest for "cleanliness and godliness" this month. I made the decision (a tough one for my creative-project-person personality) to eliminate some of the decisions from my daily tasks. For example, I made a set menu for each week, so we basically eat the same meals each week. This means that every Tuesday for lunch we have meatballs, every Friday night is pizza, and every Saturday morning is pancakes. Now, there is still room for a little creativity in those parameters (I don't specify what kind of meatballs or pizzas or pancakes we will be eating), so I still feel like we get variety. This just eliminates me having to spend time making decisions on what to plan for the menu each week, and makes it quicker and easier to get the grocery list made and meat thawed and prepped. To some of you this may seem like a no-brainer. I've always made a menu plan for each week, but with farmer-hubby or other interruptions, I wouldn't get the meat thawed in time, or we'd be late getting in and I'd need something to feed us ASAP, and my meal-planning efforts were kind of going to waste. So that's the goal of the set menu: to reduce some of the stress of what to make, and just plan for things that can be prepped basically the same way at the same time each week.
Another area I'm trying to eliminated some decision-making is in developing a prayer routine with the kids. I've gotten over the goal to "teach my kids to say amazing, heart-felt prayers", and instead we're just starting with "helping my kids develop a habit of prayer." In a household and lifestyle where is seems ridiculously difficult to establish any kind of consistent routine (farmers don't keep very regular hours), I've found that developing habits works better than enforcing a schedule. So, for now, I've found a very nice little rote bedtime prayer that's short, easy for me to remember, and easy for the kids to repeat. No matter what time or where we end up going to bed, we can still fold our hands together and say it out loud, and my hope is once we get the habit established, it will be an easy step for the kids to personalize the words to their prayer. In fact, Case even embellished his prayer tonight by asking "that all the bad dreams go away." Again, probably a no-brainer for some of you, but this is something that has been difficult for me to follow through on after a long day of just me and the kids.
As far as my own prayer time goes, I am still trying to make prayer/devotion time a habit for me. I occasionally get 30 minutes to an hour of time in the middle of the afternoon or after 8:30 pm that I could utilize, but I've had to wrestle with my "this 30 minutes of time is mine to do something brainless with because I deserve it" or "productiveness frenzy...must get stuff done!" attitudes regarding that time. Also, probably 95% of the time I am still going to get interrupted anyway. So, that time works okay to pull out my First5 app and sneak in a quick chapter of scripture and a bit of reflection, but it's still hard to feel like I'm really able to be still and pray. The best solution I have come up with is to get up early (like 5 or 5:30 a.m., since Elijah need breakfast by 6:30), get my cup of tea and my little notebook, and take some time to pray. I like mornings, and I KNOW my days will flow better if I am up, refreshed, and ready to take on the day before anyone else gets up. The hard part about morning prayer, however, is actually in going to bed. Nathan and I don't keep very early hours. From about 9pm to 11pm (or sometimes later) is often the only time Nathan and I have to spend a little time together and get some project/farm work done. Unfortunately, unlike college, I can't seem to burn the candle at both ends quite as efficiently as I used to. Therefore, my goal is to get up earlier, but then fit another time to fit in some of the after hours work, so that I can get enough sleep. :) If anyone reading this has tips or ideas to share about how you work prayer into your busy day, I'd love to hear them and find out what works for you.
Finally, while attending a focus group session for our farm management association, I heard something said that initially sounded very simplistic, but after reflection became much more profound. When asked about membership numbers and the need for recruitment to grow the association, one of the staff members replied that "If we do our job well, people will sign up to become members". He went on to describe how in the areas where the association is able to function well and really deliver a quality service to the clients, they have a waiting list of people eager to join. That really struck me. I tend to have a "fix-it" mind. If people aren't showing up or the numbers aren't reflecting progress, I start looking for ways to tweak the program to make it more attractive, or to beef up advertising to get the word out faster. This man's comments reminded me that that isn't always the best solution. True, more advertising or flashier gimmicks may draw in a crowd, but it's a less organic form of growth, and therefore may be less sustainable and more susceptible to the trouble that stems from growing without a solid foundation.
I really thought about this comment in regards to our churches. I have been on a journey this past year to learn about churches, more specifically I've been interested in the public's perception of them in our local community, and why people don't seem to be interested in coming, or in some cases, flat our refuse to cross the threshold of a church building. In a rather anti-organized-religion society I find this statement being both a challenge, and a source of encouragement: If we do our job well, people will want to be a part of it. I've never been a believer in the "build it and they will come" mentality. I don't think that more contemporary music, a newer brightly-painted building, super kid-oriented programming or a flashier marquee sign out front will save our churches. Yes, I freely admit that I enjoy some of those things, and true, they may attract a crowd and fill pews. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of them, as long as we don't let an advertising campaign and the quest for numbers distract us from doing our real job. Sometimes the offer surface level growth but are missing the roots of the foundation. They get people in the door, but then what? Unless we are doing our job, those new recruits may very well fall away. What is our real job as Christians or a church, you ask? I think Jesus gave a pretty good job description in Matthew 22:37-39: love God, love others. That's our job. If we do our job well by the power of the Holy Spirit, people will notice the love of God living through us and they will want to know what it's all about.
"Come on," you may be thinking, "I do my job. We go to church every Sunday. I volunteer with the kid's ministry or music or serve on the board. I am the first one to sign-up to bring food for the potluck." Wonderful! It's great to be involved. Our churches are full of Jesus-loving, servant-hearted people who are doing great work. I'm not debating that. What bothers me is that even with good people in our churches, the American church seems to be declining very quickly. We're missing something here. I can't find the quote at the moment (when I do I'll post it correctly), but I once read a remark from a famous theologian and bible teacher that said something like "If there are hundreds of thousands of people in America who claim to be Christians, why aren't we making more of a difference?" Ouch. Or maybe Yikes. That bears thinking on. Consider the early believers. The apostles and followers of Jesus were a very small band following the crucifixion, yet in just a few short years they were changing the world. Clearly we are missing something here. Somewhere along the line we stopped doing our job. It's not that there aren't good, godly people in our churches. It's not that people aren't being impact for Christ. They all. I don't mean to down play the positives, but we're losing ground. I know it's not a competition, but maybe it is a standard to measure our Christian walk by. Maybe Sunday school and worship and bible study aren't enough. Maybe Jesus is calling us to do something more. Maybe somewhere down the line we started making church more about what's in it for us or what's convenient for us and less about what we can do for Jesus. Maybe we've gotten too comfortable.
I am reminded about the parable of the three servants given the bags of gold in Matthew 25. If Jesus was to give you (or your church) your yearly work performance report, what do you think he'd say? I know I am hoping to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" Matthew 25: 21 NIV. But have I really been faithful with the few things he has entrusted to me? Have I invested my "bags of gold" wisely in loving God and loving others? Do I have a return on investment that would please the master? Or have I only hoarded what I have been given, or been afraid to give outside of what is comfortable or easy for me? Is there something more that I could do? Someone else I could reach out to in God's love? Can we measure our effectiveness as a believer and as a church? Maybe so. If we do our job, people will want to be part of it. If we serve God, even to the point of sacrifice and inconvenience and even pain (like Jesus), then I believe that we will see people "lined up" (figuratively speaking) to experience the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Of course it won't be easy. I don't think dying on a cross was easy. I don't think being tortured for your beliefs is easy. I don't think the emotional turmoil of investing in others' messy lives is easy. However, we have the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have the backing of the almighty God. I can't speak to what this might look like in your life. Maybe you're already there. Maybe your still searching for a relationship with Jesus. Maybe you think you're too busy to give any more. Wherever you are, I challenge you to pray about it, like I am going to try to. Pray, listen, and then try to obey...regardless of how uncomfortable or crazy it seems. If we love God and love others well, then we will make an impact on our world for Christ.
Well...once again I am pushing midnight. I have spent over 2 hours writing this. By the time I get pictures in it will be too late. And I still want to get up early tomorrow. Oh well! :) Happy March!
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