A Celebrating Life suggestion: Give Save Live

Cam sometimes earns money for feeding Lola. We’re trying to be a bit more intentional about the whole pocket money thing, because he’s asking about saving up to buy things he wants. Scott hasn’t really tapped into his earning potential yet, although the other night he stacked four plastic plates and carried them to the kitchen. He is broadening his base of marketable skills.

Paul says, ‘For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.’ (1 Timothy 6:10) That’s hectic. We don’t want the boys doing any wandering or piercing because they worship cash. We are keen to teach them that when it comes to money – which all belongs to God anyway (Haggai 2:8) – the dispensing order is give – save – live. The idea is that whenever they get money, they won’t have to think about what to do with it. They’ll be in the habit of setting some aside for Kingdom work or those in need. And some for saving towards a big spend or special event or vague future need. And the rest they get to spend frivolously on plastic from China, or whatever else they deem to be fun or delicious.

We got this idea from Andy Stanley's Guardrails series. Three for Cam, three for Scott. 

And while we’re on the subject of riches, check out what my friend Sharon made from this photo. She rocks!

 Honour the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. – Proverbs 3:9

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. – Proverbs 13:11 (NIV)

Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren... – Proverbs 13:22

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. – Proverbs 21:5

The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get. – Proverbs 21:20

Of fear, future mountains, 10 things and gingerbread men

Dear Cam and Scott

I’m a little freaked out.

For various reasons, the soothing happy mists of parenting toddlers in the lowlands have suddenly lifted and I’ve glimpsed the formidable, seemingly impassable parental mountain ranges lying a decade ahead of us in the journey. And I’m not kitted out.

In 1998 God placed a clear desire on my heart for the raising up of a godly generation of young men. Teaching high school boys, and then having little boys of my own, has given me a chance to be a small part of that movement. I’m really passionate about the idea of inspiring you to live courageously. We want to bring you up to be men of conviction and integrity, kindness and compassion, strength and responsibility. It excites me unbelievably to think that your generation will write the history of this century.

But it’s also terrifying when I dwell on what you’ll be up against. Hostile glaciers of indifference to the ways of God. Jagged peaks of moral derailment. Languid bypasses of temptation where compromise and recklessness wallow in deceptively shallow pools. And everywhere, internet access.

So, to quell the rising paranoia, I will write down for you here (even though you are still so very little and untouched by all the nastiness) ten things I know to be true – because I was a teenager (in the olden days), because I’ve worked with these phenomenal creatures for the past fourteen years, and because I’m your mom. I’ll need to revisit this list from time to time. I’ll probably need to revise it, too, with greater experience and proximity to the mountains.

So, I know it is true that:

1.       The choices you make as you navigate the strange, turbulent waters between child and adult will affect the rest of your life. For better or worse.

2.       It will take years to climb up to a good reputation. Five minutes to chuck it off a cliff.

3.       The thrill of popularity is fleeting. It’s an empty ecstasy holding no promises, no security, no loyalty, no love. It’s hardly worth the subsequent heartache and self-doubt and, often, embarrassment.

4.       A relationship with Jesus is the thing that will keep your feet on the path and get you through the mountains. It’s also the only thing that will give the journey any direction, meaning or purpose.

5.       We can’t control the roads you’ll walk down, the text messages you’ll send, the friends you’ll make. (Well. We can control some of those things. To a point.) But we will never stop leading you in the paths of righteousness. Like it or not.

6.       We will insist on talking to you every day. A lot. And having fun with you. A lot. Like it or not.

7.       In our home you can say anything, ask anything. But tone and attitude are everything.

8.       We will desire only God’s best for you and we will do all conceivable to nurture in you soft strong hearts.

9.       We will pray for you and love you, unrelentingly.

10.   God is already in the future.

And a final word. For the purposes of this letter, it’s my version of Ephesians 6:10-19.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s climbing gear so that you will be able to scale the cliffs despite the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s gear so you will be able to resist the enemy in the dark, weird, hormonal days. Then after the battle – once you’ve hiked through the roughest terrain – you will still be in one piece. Stand your ground. Find the handholds. Hook the carabiner of truth to your belt and put on the Gore-Tex of God’s righteousness. For shoes that grip, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Also, cling to the rope of faith because the devil will try to pull you off the rock face. Put on salvation as your abseiling helmet, and take the ice pick of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me and Dad, too. Ask God to give us the right words so we can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan: that the Good News is for kids and grownups and rebellious teenagers, too.

Love always and everywhere,

Mom

xx

PS: Here are pics of you guys with Meags and Craig, on a rainy Friday afternoon, making gingerbread men (and amoebas).

These two babies have been chilling on your jungle gym all week. Lola keeps the cats away.

Such a literary connoisseur…

And always on a stealth mission.

Cam, in one of your amazing forts.

And here’s something of our first official family photo shoot, courtesy of Samantha and Reynard. Cam you were irrepressible, quite literally bouncing off the walls. We battled to keep you still enough – for long enough – for any of these photos to be taken. Scott, you were less keen on the whole idea, hence the Smartie-drool on your shirt (we bribed you). What you are keen on, however, is life in general. You are our blonde parcel of awe and discovery at the moment. Everything you encounter gets a ‘Wow!’ or a ‘What’s that?’ or a ‘Look there!’ – all delivered in tiny expressions of breathless wonder. J

‘Do this in remembrance of Me’… with or without jam.

I guess when Jesus initiated the meal we call ‘Communion’ or ‘Love Feast’ or ‘Eucharist’ or whatever, it was more about our hearts – a celebration of being free and fully alive because of His body broken – and less about bread versus wafers, wine versus grape juice, etc.

Yesterday Cam wanted to play church-church in the playroom.

‘Mom, Scott is going to preach, and you must play piano. I will lead worship on the drums.’

We pretended to play and bang and sing and Scotty quietly ate play-dough.

Then:

‘Ok and here is a jar of jam to make the sandwiches for when we take chameleon…’

A letter about exuberance and scribbling outside the lines

My Cam

You are energy embodied.

Meagie and Craig slept over last night and you were even louder than usual, because you are so happy, playing with your cousins. Dad and I kept saying, ‘Inside voice, Cammy! Use your inside voice!’

In church this morning you danced during worship, as you always do. Of course it’s not really dancing; it’s wild spinning and cavorting. Some people look at you funny. And then look at me funny, in a control-your-kid kind of way.

Then you went down to Sunday School. You were brimming afterwards. You told me how you had learned about Jesus and the donkey and people waving leaves ‘cause they didn’t have flags which you found puzzling. When we got home you convinced me to play Jesus-and-the-donkey in the playroom while Scotty slept. I had to be Mary, even though she doesn’t really feature in that particular donkey story.

Then in your own quiet trying-to-be-brave astoundingly mature way you said, ‘Mom, the other children at Sunday School said I was scribbling on my picture and that I mustn’t scribble.’

Whenever you say things like this to me – whenever the radar of your perceptive little heart picks up something resembling otherness or teasing or cruelty or innocent unbridled honesty – a bunch of things swamp me and I feel them in my heart, my face, my stomach, my legs. It’s the weirdest thing. I feel dread and fear and anger and an unbearable, over-protective, tear-threatening pity. The lines become blurry for me, too. And I go into super-cheerful mode and I laugh and hug you and say how ridiculous! Because you are simply the best scribbler in the known universe and who cares about the staying in the lines. I mean, like, how boring!

Here’s what I really want to say to you today.

Jesus scooped great dollops of creativity into your DNA, that’s for sure. Along with a unique disability, the cause thereof and reason therefore inexplicable. The world, whether spitefully or magnanimously, will sometimes try to mash your creativity and your disability – your ideas and your differences – into neat and normal moulds. Because ideas and differences can be unnerving for the world, or misunderstood.

So:

Keep shouting. There’s a time to use your inside voice, to spare the wider neighbourhood. But God has given you a unique story to tell. Don’t ever let anyone tell you to shut up when you’re moved to speak boldly for him.

Keep dancing. There’s a time to be calm. But God has given you plenty to celebrate before a watching world. David, the man after God’s own heart, danced before the Lord. People looked at him funny too.

Keep scribbling. There’s a time to stay inside the lines. But God has a plan for your creativity and zest and out-of-the-boxness. When other kids cope better than you, don’t let it get to you. Appreciate the clarity of their vision – it’s their gift from God, and he called it good. Then do your best. Enjoy just adding the loveliness and life of colour to black and white. (Anyway, I’m pretty sure some of the best artists ever didn’t care about staying inside the lines.)

I pray for you, little man, that God would draw the lines for your life – dark, bold, easy for you to see. I pray that as you stay inside the lines he draws for you, your creativity would be channelled and set free to accomplish more than you could hope or dream. I pray that God would shape the happy messy conglomeration of all your intensity and passion (even the kind that you display during your most impressive tantrums…) to his purposes, for his Kingdom and his glory.

All my love to you, brave shining star,

Mom

xx

Note to my Scott-Scott:

This is you entering the intoxicating world of Romany Creams.

This is you playing hide and seek at bedtime. You always hurtle to this curtain, wrap yourself in it, then stand still as a statue, giggling.

Scotty, you are pure love and affection. Forgive the cheesy John Denver allusion, but you really do fill up my senses. Your hugs are warm and sincere and fleshy and cuddly and heavy and deeply satisfying. Cam has been calling you his ‘happy little chappie’, and his ‘best friend forever’. He says he loves you much more than he loves me! :) You and Lola also have such an awesome bond. Your Lola-hugs are never incidental. You seek her out and love on her very purposefully with all that your little arms and face can nuzzle into her fur.

Three small celebrations of magic in everyday stuff

Responsible

‘Bye Mom!’ he calls, waves.

‘Drive carefully! Phone if there’s

a problem!’ My Cam.

Jesus!

‘Who made you, Scott-Scott?’

Chubby arms raised past his ears:

‘Jeeeee!’ Elated grin.

Hero

There’s giggling sparkling

Mad fun when Dad gets home to

Flood small bedtime hearts.

Visual therapy with Dad

 Scott's vuvuzela helmet... or whatever...

 Murray went riding the other day, and said he'd be home for lunch. So Cam and Scott made this table for us in the lounge, and set it, and we all had to eat there when Dad got home...