Unaffiliated

"Religious landscape in flux---unaffiliated ranks growing" so says the tease on MSNBC news. Everyone seems to be talking about this "new phenomenon". I read the articles and listened to the news. What the world is talking about is what we, in the Church, have been talking about for several years: our kids, kids who have grown up in the Church, are not remaining faithful into adulthood. We knew this and have been discussing what we need to do to keep our kids in the faith. It doesn't seem that we have been able to come up with any foolproof formulas, so I was very interested to see what "advice" the world had to offer-----they had none. Nor were they able to single out a cause for this "new phenomenon". They really didn't seem to care about the issue but merely the newsworthy fact that it is happening. However in reading and listening, I think they may have unwittingly shed some light on the subject.

Notice the title? UNAFFILIATED--the word means "not associated with", or "having no relationship with" or "without intimacy, association or connection as in illegitimate". Hmm.....

Perhaps the reason "religion" is in flux or fluid or ebbing and flowing, has to do with the fact that many "religious" people are not associated with Christ or God. They have no relationship with Him, and no connection. They are as illegitimate children-children without knowledge of their Father.

The world does not know God. In fact, His very name is used as often as an expletive as it is in praise. The beauty of His world is frequently lost in the ingratitude of its inhabitants. His power is ignored, His promises denied and His commands refused. Oh how His heart must break! How He must long for His children to come home. The Bible tells us that He wants nothing more than for us to be associated with Him. In fact, He worked out all eternity soliciting our affiliation. He loves us and desires our love and our lives. HE wants to be affiliated with us. HE wants an intimate relationship with us. And yet, we remain----in flux.

As Christians, we cannot ignore this phenomenon. While it is not new, it is also not going away! We have to teach, preach, disciple and example. We have to not just convert but also mature. We have to guard the hearts and minds of our children, guiding them in their spiritual walk. We have to nurture their affiliation with God, encourage them to have a personal and intimate faith, one that is enduring and consistent. Likewise, we must continue to prioritize our lives, making our relationship with God important, pressing and urgent. We must continually live lives that show we belong to Him, lives of purpose and passion. We cannot allow our spiritual lives to be "in flux" for we are God's people, we are Christian and it is with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we choose to be affiliated!

Blessings

Neva

Songs in My Heart?

Lately, I have been thinking about the therapeutic benefit of music. With my recent illness, I noticed that singing and the ability to sing, suddenly became very precious, perhaps because my sore throat and lack of voice prohibited it or perhaps because the soothing effects were sorely needed. I just know that my head and my heart sang the enter time, even when my voice could not accompany them. Singing is such a big part of my life!

I remember growing up in the youth group, going to rallies and Bible bowls, camp etc. Singing played a role in every activity. We sang in the bus on the way, we sang in class, we sang in the auditorium before the service started, and we sang in the bus on the way home. Those songs, the words and the tunes, stayed in my heart, in my mind and on my lips for a long time. I grew to love them and the thoughts behind them. My mother went around the house singing and my dad did too, (even though with Dad, who was less musically inclined, every song was sung to the tune of Jesus Loves Me, sorry Dad :) ) Ned and I often sing together in the car when we go places, but I think we are outside the norm. Today it just doesn't seem like people sing as much as they used to. I think that is very sad!

Statistics tell us that music is healing, that it often calms and soothes the soul. It is the gentle persuasion of the lullaby that tugs down the resistant eyelids of infants. It is the peaceful melody of spiritual songs that often accompanies Hospice patients as they let go of this life and move on to the next. It is with song that we learn our ABC's and that Jesus Loves Us. It is music that takes part in the most important days of our lives. It plays a role in weddings and funerals, in birthdays and anniversaries, in love and in celebrations. It is in that marriage of melodies and words that we find the expression of every human emotion.

I think it is significant that as Messiah prepares Himself and His disciples for the horror of His arrest, scourging and ultimate crucifixion, that they sing a hymn together. (Matthew 26:30) I think it is significant that after the miraculous blessing of the Red Sea crossing, the children of Israel celebrate with song. (Exodus 15) And in the gospel of Luke, when Mary is told of her role in the birth of the Savior, what does she do? She sings a song of praise! The New Testament writers tell us that singing songs of praise is a big part of our worship to God! The Old Testament fathers knew that to be true, also. Obviously, singing is a good thing!

Ned and I have been talking lately about how little we sing. He and I have both been "fill-in" teachers for Sunday school classes. He taught Jr. high and I taught 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Neither class sang and both acted surprised and uncomfortable at the suggestion. I was told by the regular teacher that the "only class that really sings anymore is the cradle roll class". Is this true? I was surprised and a little bit disturbed, perhaps because I know the impact songs have had on my spiritually. My entire life has been and continues to be a life filled with singing.

So I guess, what I'd like to know is "do you find this true where you worship?" and does it disturb anyone else?

Blessings,

Neva

Still . . . . . .

Still battling the bug---thank you for the prayers!

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can get the flu even over the blogosphere?
Thanks, Trey! :) http://www.treymorgan.net


Hope to be back soon!
n

The Sprint

I haven't seen my grandchildren in quite some time. I miss them more than you can imagine. I miss their smiles and their hugs and their innocence. The blessings that come with grandchildren are too too numerous to even begin to count. I am very grateful for these six little ones and I love them all very much! There is no week that goes by that they are not in my thoughts and prayers. Each day as I sit at the computer, I look at the pictures of these six beauitful children and I feel blessed. They live far from me and so I don't get to see them as often as I'd like. But when I have the pleasure of visiting, I am always amazed at how God loves me enough to bless me with them and the experience of being their grandmother. It is one blessing after another. I love every minute of time with them, but one of the most wonderful things about going to visit them is the sprint.

When I drive up to their house, the first thing I see is little faces pressed to the window, watching for Grandma. I know they have been waiting anxiously for my arrival. Before I even have my seatbelt unfastened, they sprint out of the door and right into my arms. They begin talking before they even get to me, loudly and excitedly telling me that "they cleaned their room" and that they want to "show me what they made in school " and that they "have a present for me" and "do I want to hear the new song they learned" and can I "watch them do a somersault". Amidst hugs and kisses, the litany of information continues. When I sit down, they sit on me. When I move, they move. In order to get a drink of water, I must remove a small hand from mine. It is wonderful!
I have prayed that I would love like these children---that I would watch for my Savior. I pray that I will take every opportunity to press my face upon against the windows of my world, watching, looking, anxious for His return. Just as my grandchildren get more anxious as the time for my arrival gets closer, so I want to be anxious for His arrival. I want to have the room of my heart cleaned and ready. I want to learn things that will make Him proud so that when He comes, I will be excited to show Him how I've grown and what I've learned. I know that when He comes, I will sprint to Him, and from that moment on, where He goes, I will go. Should He need to use His hand, He will have to remove mine from it and should He need to move, He will most likely have to move me first, for I will be close to Him, not wanting Him to be away from me for even a minute.
Each day as I spend time in His Word and in prayer, I get more anxious. I am ready to go live with Him forever. I try to keep my heart and mind clean and I work to grow in wisdom and knowlege. I strive to keep a clean conscience and to be a good representative of Him. And each day, as I press my nose to the glass, I watch and look, waiting for His return, readying myself to sprint into His arms of love. I stretch and watch and stretch some more, and I imagine myself running to Him, laughing and shouting, exhilarated by the idea that He is really here and He is here to see ME! How cool is that?

Blessings
Neva