To think on: Why did she run away?

The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 met with Jesus, and then she ran away to the nearby town, where she became quite the evangelist. I have been pondering what her reason was for running away. This is something we discussed at our small-group meeting this evening as we were pondering different steps in the growth of newly-planted churches (yeah - we jump topics a lot)

Here are two reasons we came up with as a group with one of my own added:
1. She was so excited that she met the Messiah that she had to go tell others.
2. She was hurt because the disciples treated her like the loose woman she had been instead of the free woman she had just become, and she ran away in embarrassment.
3. She felt the weight of her sin and couldn't stand in front of the Messiah a second longer - she ran away when she was struck by the comparison of her sin with His Majesty.

I really think any of these are possible.
Why she ran away doesn't matter as much as the fact that she did. In her running, she was able to tell others (other loose women? those "husbands?") who she had met and bring the whole town back with her.

Beth Moore says, "When you feel like your own mistakes added insult to injury in your circumstances, you're more prone to hang your head in prayer than to lift it in full expectation of God's forgiveness and full redemption" (Stepping Up, pg. 126). The Samaritan woman didn't come to the well expecting anything except some water to use for washing clothes or cleaning dishes or making lunch. All she was planning to do was her job - and all she expected to get from her trip the the well was the fruit of her labor. But she met Jesus. And like so many others, she got more than she bargained for.

She was washed clean. Praise God for His reviving, Living Water.

To think on: Am I doing enough? (Heaven and Hell)

Charles Peace was a British criminal who was about to receive the death penalty for his crimes. The chaplain came to speak to him - to see if he wanted to receive salvation before his death - and to tell him about heaven and hell. This is what Charles Peace had to say in reply:

"If I believed what you and the church of God say that you believe, even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it, if need be on hands and knees, and think it worthwhile living just to save ONE soul from an eternal hell like that."

My thoughts: I do believe in heaven and in hell. Heaven is a place of joy and bounty and blessing - and hell is a place of darkness and agony and torment.

It's easy to believe in heaven. We die, our soul separates from our bodies, and we walk through the pearly gates to be reunited with those who have gone before us and, more importantly, to finally see the face of Jesus.

It's hard to believe in hell. To believe that those who do not choose Christ are choosing to be tortured in the dark for all eternity. But the Bible is very clear on the matter: Hell was created to punish satan and his angels - and those who choose to reject Christ wind up there too. That is NOT God's plan for any of us - He plans for everyone on earth to choose to follow Him and to be with Him in heaven one day. The choice is ours.

But do I live like I believe in hell? Do I speak out when the opportunity arises to persuade another person to follow Christ? Do I pray for my unbelieving friends and family members? What am I doing to help populate heaven?

(By the way, the current sermon series at LifeChurch.tv is "So You're Dead...Now What?" and it explores what the Bible has to say about heaven and hell. Check it out at Lifechurch.tv.)

Narration: Noah's Ark

Noah built an ark. And then he invited every animal on there. Then God shut the door, and the flood came. The ark was floating. Noah's family looked at their food and watched every movement of their lamps, but they were safe. Later, they sent a dove out, but it came back because there was nowhere to put its feet. The next time, it brought back a leaf. The third time, it landed on a tree and did not return to the ark. It was time to leave the ark. The ark was on a hill when they got out. The earth was all dried up. They worshiped God. God showed them a rainbow and promised He would never send a flood again.

by Bookworm #2, 08/08/2008

Some days just don't turn out like you think they will

And today was one of those days.

It started out great - with all things going according to plan - and I love it when what we expect to happen is what happens. We went on a playdate. We went to my mom's to hang out, and the boys stayed with her for a few minutes while I went to meet up with a friend that I haven't seen in a while because she lives far away. We had a lovely time walking around an outdoor mall. I found a pair of capris (that fit! - I now have pants that fit!) on a sale rack at J.Jill. I picked up the kids and came home.

And when I walked in the door, it was really, really warm in here. And it should haven't been warm because the thermostat was set at 76 degrees. And the thermometer in the house read 82. I was less than pleased. I was downright cranky.

I called my dad - he's an AC guy. I answered his questions. And I have to admit that I snapped at him - and that wasn't necessary. I was operating in my flesh - quite obviously - but he came over with his equipment anyway and took a look.

Our air-conditioner is dead. May it rest in peace.

I shed some tears over that.

But my dad has some connections that will make a replacement affordable. And that is a blessing.

And it will be fixed tomorrow. Hallelujah!

But for tonight - it's rather warm around here. I put all three boys to bed in my room because it has a ceiling fan. #4's back in the crib in our room - and #2 and #3 have pallets on the floor. And I'm sitting at the kitchen table writing this and watching a movie on my computer so that I can keep the windows open a little while longer before I close them and go to sleep. Another blessing in all this - it was only in the 80s here today after a week of seeing temperatures over 100 degrees. So, it's not nearly as warm in here as it could have been. Plus, we have air-conditioning in the first place - most people in the world sleep in the heat nightly.

But Mommy....

Today at Gramma's snack table:

Let me preface this by telling you that this week, #3, who is two and a few months, decided that he is ready to learn the potty, and I've been trying to help him be successful in that.

Conversation going on around the table. About an hour and a half since #3's last trip to the potty.

Break in conversation.

"#3," I say, "it's time to go try to potty."

And he looks very seriously at me and tells me, "But Mommy, I'm having a conberfation about Popsy's car."

Because they are cute....

#4 was so noisy about falling asleep that he woke up #3, who came to lay down and listen to #2's stories.

And when the story was over, I shut the book and went to kiss them good night, and I had the privilege of seeing this:

Our day in pictures

We ran an errand. We painted. We read. We played. We did everything we could think of without going outside for more than a few minutes at a time because it was about 147 degrees and 9000% humidity in our corner of the prairie.

#4 showing off his new-found climbing skills. He's fallen off this chair and whacked his chin on the table every day for the past four days, in spite of our preventative measures. We're working on new measures.



The aforementioned painting project - washable acrylics and sea sponges. It was great fun for all. Gramma played too. Art is fun!


A predicament that #3 got himself into this morning. No children or vehicles were harmed in the process of snapping this picture.