1. How will you celebrate Easter this year?
We have been having "church" from "The Pastor's Study" here at home and uploaded to the internet in various ways, BUT have been able to plan a unique church service for Easter! A conversation with the health dept and a suggestion from them has lead to our hearts rejoicing in that we will be able to have a "Drive In Service" this Sunday! Strict adherence to social distancing will be followed. Not even access to rest rooms will be granted. Everyone must stay in their vehicle. We miss our time together, and lament that we will not be able to have Sunday School and a time of coffee/food after worship, but just being able to see faces and hear their voices in real time will be AWESOME! Pastor Bill (my husband) is very encouraged about this. Later Bill, our family (3 of us until this self isolation is lifted) will enjoy a venison roast with potatoes and peas for dinner. Perhaps some home-made bread if I can find where I put that last packet of yeast. There may even be "Easter Pie" for breakfast! We don't do the Easter bunny thing, but we DO do candy, but the Easter M&Ms I purchased weeks ago are gone. They were put into cookies. Very GOOD cookies...
2. Is it easier for you to receive grace offered or extend grace to another? Explain.
I've never actually thought about that... I have had to think over situations in the past. I believe it is harder for me to accept that I may have hurt someone's feelings or that I have done something wrong, except burn dinner... We seem to think more about what BIG things "deserve" grace but sitting here, I realize that it is the little things in life that everyday grace gets put to good use. Forgetting to call someone, getting the dishes or lawn-work done ... extending grace to the ones who can't seem to pick up their dirty socks and put them in the laundry basket is sometimes harder than dealing with the teenager who refuses to do his work and is satisfied with a D on their report card!! Holding someone accountable and showing grace at the same time is not that difficult and very necessary. The Lord has been gracious AND merciful to me, so who am I to not extend grace to others in return?! But to receive grace, graciously is hard. We often think we don't deserve it, and of course we DON'T but it is still offered. It is probably the one thing that holds many people back from really trusting Christ as their Savior, because they simply can't believe that God can do this... be gracious. I am reminded of part of the liturgy from a service in a former church; liturgy that I took very seriously as a kid when I trusted the Lord as my savior: "Be gracious and merciful, to me; a sinner." And God was, and is and always will be!
3. Do you say grace before meals? If so do you have a standard dinnertime grace or is it more 'off the cuff' ? Do you say grace when dining out? Do you have a favorite grace? Any special memory associated with 'saying grace'?
Oooh! Lots of questions here. I have a tendency to not answer them all. Let's see how I do this time!
Yes, we say grace before meals but it is not a standard one. Usually my husband asks the blessing on our meal and includes an event or personal request that has come up; often asking for extended blessings or grace for others in our extended family and friendship circle. I have no "favorite grace" but have to share a special/favorite memory: Since we do ask the blessing when we dine out, it does not seem odd for us or our children and it is expected. Well, once while on vacation, we were dining at the hotel restaurant and it was taking an exceptionally long time for dinner to arrive. Our children were 11, 8 and not almost 20 months and were patiently waiting (so proud of them!) My husband and I looked over at our baby in the high chair, who had his little fists over his eyes and his head bowed. He was mumbling. He looked up, looked around at the table; then returned to his position of head down, mumbling, eyes closed and fists covering his eyes. He did this several more times when we realized what he was doing... You see, at home, when we pray, the food is already on the table and we begin to eat. He was "praying" his way, and then looking for the food.. not here, yet? We'll just "pray again... and again... and again... About the 4th time he prayed, the waiter brought our food. We were struggling to keep from laughing out loud! The other children saw him by this point, and we had to try to hush their giggles!" Lesson learned: Prayer not answered, yet? Keep praying.
4. What are some challenges you think the next generation will face? (Generation Alpha-born between 2011 and 2025)
I'm afraid there will be a major disconnect with God among people whose parents walked with Him. Now, that's not saying God can't search the hearts of this generation and call them to Him just as he did with "our" generation, whichever one you're in, but I have seen this trend over the years. Fewer and fewer "kids" taking the things of the Lord, seriously, especially a saving relationship with Him. That said, I do see where the hand of God has lead some young couples back to worship, so maybe I'm just sensitive to what I see in the children and teens around me. I DO know there is a major disconnect in parenting. We have way too many children in school with disciplinary problems. They are disrupting classrooms and parents are just throwing up their hands saying things like, "He is like this at home, too." Really? Who is the parent here? Get your children under control. Set boundaries and stick to them. Make them accountable! Principals need to make parents accountable for their children's actions. All the elementary school counselors and psychologists in the world are not going "fix" these kids! Parent against Parent ...divorce is hard; you may risk "losing" your child's perceived love if you are strict, but divorce is a choice many people have made and it is truly hurting many Generation Alpha kids. :-(
5. Share a favorite quote or lyric featuring the word faith.
OK, the first one that popped into my head because there are so many! "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen." Hebrews 11:1
6. Insert your own random thought here.
A young girl from a family I met online died this week. She had been critically injured in a car accident that left her father with serious injuries and her older sister bruised and badly shaken. Her parents and siblings are suffering the grief of no longer having her home with them. Her mother stayed with her last week as she lay in an induced coma, hoping and praying for her brain to stop swelling. It didn't. Her Daddy was in another hospital with only his pastor for comfort as no family was allowed in, due to the COVID 19 virus. This sweet girl, with congenital brain damage, adopted from the Ukraine and 6 1/2 years old when she could finally come home; non verbal except for a very occasional word; able to understand but not speak required special love from all members of the family who gave unselfishly (most of the time ... kids are kids, after all) and she was able to flourish under their love. Using her communication board and listening to everyone she learned the English language and even responded in her way to hearing some Ukranian women at the grocery store after she was here in the states for a good while! Though still not able to speak, she made sounds and demands that were heard loud and clear, but being able to practically and politely communicate was so often the exception. However, she had her thoughts, talents and wishes and learned to read and write! She learned to draw and color, showing amazing detail and a wonderful array of color! She loved purple. She was asked at school what was one thing she knew and she communicated to them, "God loves me and so do the angels." .. her parents had told her that God loved her and shared with her his plan of salvation BUT have no clue where she learned about angels loving her... She learned to play piano and went from simply playing the required notes to actually listening to her music teacher sing with her. You could see it in her expression as she sat at the piano. She had her personal battles and those she fought with gusto. Her parents were always looking for ways to distract her, entertain her, teach her, make good use of her free time. They showered her with the tender love and protection she was denied at the over-crowded orphanage. Her lingering bad memories of that place were probably the biggest obstacle she had to overcome... daily... until the Lord took her home. She is free, now! Free from the jangled way in which her brain worked; free to sing praises to the Lord, probably in two languages! We are praying for the family and praising God for them, and her and the fact that he loves us so much, he was willing to take our punishment for sin and leave it at the cross. We serve a risen Savior! My sweet friend knew this and it is my belief that her short life may very well serve as a springboard for others to come to know Him as well. That is my prayer and my random thought for today.
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