What God Does
Our community group is meeting tomorrow night at our house. We're having breakfast for dinner and discussing the Bible study on Philippians that follows our current sermon series. The aim of our small group is to integrate everyone--specifically children--into the discussion. So we break it down, we draw it out. The plan is to talk amongst our families during the week and then come together at our meeting and share what we learned with each other.
And since we all lead busy lives and setting time aside for talking with our kids about Philippians wasn't penciled in on our calendar this week, we only remembered this commitment tonight. We rushed the boys out of the bathtub and talked about it while they got their pajamas on.
It was so good.
We talked about the situation--about Paul being in jail, writing letters. ("They let you write letters in jail?!") We talked about how we would feel in jail, what we would pray for. We would pray to get out. Me too.
We asked them what we would pray if a friend of ours was in jail. Would we pray that he would get out? Yes. That's what the Philippians did, too. (Update: Zimrie no longer seems frightened of the Philippians, and can tell me that they are people that lived in Philippi. Yet sometimes he still asks me, "Are Philippians real?!")
Then Seth asks them, do you know what Paul prayed? Paul said he was glad that he was in prison. He said "thank you." Why do you think he was glad about being in prison? And Asher. Brought the tears to me eyes.
He says, "Because God can take a really bad thing and make it into a really good thing."
Oh, son.
That, right there, is what I want you to learn. Not just know. But to really, deeply, completely learn. To know and to trust and to believe that it is real and true and good and happening. All the time, happening in your life and in the world.
It's what I want to keep learning. What I want to remember. Like those Israelites, setting up piles of stones, I have reminders around me--paintings on the wall, words written on paper, songs playing from the speakers.
I want to remember.
The boys had great answers to our questions and brought up good questions themselves. We talked about how we can be grateful that God can use things that are hard for us to the good of us and other people. We said that these are some of the ways to pray:
1.) Thank you prayers.
2.) Praying for suffering to stop.
3.) Praying that God would work in the middle of suffering and that people would be grateful for it.
Zimrie told us that when he grows up and is in prison with his friend, Mason, that he will be thankful and help Mason in there.
Even so.
Haha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
And since we all lead busy lives and setting time aside for talking with our kids about Philippians wasn't penciled in on our calendar this week, we only remembered this commitment tonight. We rushed the boys out of the bathtub and talked about it while they got their pajamas on.
It was so good.
We talked about the situation--about Paul being in jail, writing letters. ("They let you write letters in jail?!") We talked about how we would feel in jail, what we would pray for. We would pray to get out. Me too.
We asked them what we would pray if a friend of ours was in jail. Would we pray that he would get out? Yes. That's what the Philippians did, too. (Update: Zimrie no longer seems frightened of the Philippians, and can tell me that they are people that lived in Philippi. Yet sometimes he still asks me, "Are Philippians real?!")
Then Seth asks them, do you know what Paul prayed? Paul said he was glad that he was in prison. He said "thank you." Why do you think he was glad about being in prison? And Asher. Brought the tears to me eyes.
He says, "Because God can take a really bad thing and make it into a really good thing."
Oh, son.
That, right there, is what I want you to learn. Not just know. But to really, deeply, completely learn. To know and to trust and to believe that it is real and true and good and happening. All the time, happening in your life and in the world.
It's what I want to keep learning. What I want to remember. Like those Israelites, setting up piles of stones, I have reminders around me--paintings on the wall, words written on paper, songs playing from the speakers.
I want to remember.
The boys had great answers to our questions and brought up good questions themselves. We talked about how we can be grateful that God can use things that are hard for us to the good of us and other people. We said that these are some of the ways to pray:
1.) Thank you prayers.
2.) Praying for suffering to stop.
3.) Praying that God would work in the middle of suffering and that people would be grateful for it.
Zimrie told us that when he grows up and is in prison with his friend, Mason, that he will be thankful and help Mason in there.
Even so.
Haha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
brought tears to my eyes, as well :-) out of the mouths of babes!
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