Under Your Pile of Hats, I See It
Sitting side by side at the kitchen table, we are surrounded by slivers of blue, green, and black construction paper.
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| Photo of Neptune and moon Triton, NASA Solar System Exploration, Creative Commons cc license |
“Here, this will be the volcano,” I say, taping a grey three-dimensional cone onto a round blue sphere. “This is the ice lava. Wow, a volcano that erupts liquid nitrogen that freezes anything it touches! Can you imagine?!” and I act it out to Daniel as we attach tiny blue strips of paper to the inside of the volcano. “What a cool God!”
My seven year old grins at me, eyes wide, his haircut growing out in spiky tufts. He swings his legs excitedly under the table and picks up more paper.
“Mom, can we do some more?” he asks, his small red and black scissors poised in mid-cut.
Pausing for a moment, I waver. Because in the throes of efficiency, I had already switched hats. My Homework-Helper Mom hat was already off, my hand raised to don the Lunch-Coralling hat. Next up was Bill-Paying Mom, and Dish-Washing Mom. Homework-Helping-Mom was due again soon when 11th-grade Morgan and I would study Algebra 2.
(Don’t ask about Dusting Hat. She hasn’t been seen in weeks. Laundry-Folding-Mom works Saturdays, after Mark and the kids bring up toppling baskets of clean laundry. Who am I kidding? Laundry-Folding Mom just needs to tackle the growing mound of clean clothes that have been on the side couch all week, occasionally carried away and hidden in the bedroom when guests show up.)
My hats and To-Do lists are already lined up in my mind when Daniel asks it: “Mom, can we do this some more?”
Splashy colored paper, two scissors, and several glue sticks line the cherrywood kitchen table. South-facing window sunlight warms the dining room. Five flower buds swell slowly on the new green orchid branch.
“Sure, bud. That sounds nice,” I say, sitting back down again. I pick up a scissors and start cutting.
“Did you know that Neptune has at least 27 moons? This icy-volcano is on the moon called Triton. Isn’t God amazing?”
We pass glue sticks in silence and cut into green, blue, and red paper, the sunshine spreading warmth across my shoulders.
Our Creator God who invents ice-forming volcanic lava wears the hats of Creator, Father, Sustainer, Provider, Encourager, Savior, and Rescuer-King. In striking strength and beauty, he dons them all effortlessly.
I know you have a stack of hats, my friend. I see moms and dads who swipe on and off hats that read Provider, Meal-Maker, Child-Chauffeur, Band-Aid-Applier, Bedtime-Enforcer, Drink-Getting, Bill-Paying, Present-Wrapper, and Homework-Helping mom or dad.
God leans in and pulls you into a deep hug. He sees you and delights in you. You are loved. You are enough in Him, and you are held and sustained by Him. Merry Christmas! We celebrate our Rescuing King wrapped in baby clothes.
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merry Christmas Jennifer. Pray you and your family have a Christ-filled and joy-filled celebration. See you in 2016 (unless He returns first).
Good reminder about the things that matter most. We get caught up in the chores of life and miss the greatest gifts our Father gives us too often. Merry Christmas to you and your clan, Jennifer. May our Father bless you abundantly. And yes! He is awesome!
THREE EXAMPLES OF WHY MEN SHOULD USE THE BIBLE ALONE BY STEVE FINNELL
Should mankind use the Bible and the Bible alone for teaching faith and practice? If God's truth is the template for you, then the Bible should be your source for truth.
THREE EXAMPLES OF WHY EXTRA-BIBLICAL SOURCES ARE NOT RELIABLE SOURCES FOR GOD'S TRUTH.
1. Quote from Pope Francis May 22, 2013: "The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not evil. All of us. "But Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.' Yes he can…"The Lord has redeemed all of us,all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us not just Catholics Everyone! Father, the atheist? Even the atheists. Everyone! ….We must meet one another doing good. ' But I don't believe, Father, I am an atheist! But do good:we will meet one another there."
2. Quote from Billy Graham October 20, 1997: "I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ……He's calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world,or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ,because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and that they're going to be with us in heaven."
3. Quote from Doctrine of Covenants -section 130:22 (Mormon supposed divine revelations): The "Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were is not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.
These three quotes are all contrary to the Bible.
GOD'S WORD IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE AND THE BIBLE ALONE.
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Jennifer, hope your 2016 is off to an excellent start and hope God blesses you and your family in untold ways this year.
By the way, I'm thankful God can don all of his hats so effortlessly. But I'm like you — my dusting hat doesn't get as much use as the others! 🙂