Looking forward to that day

Let me premise this post by saying this: I am firmly planted here on earth for the rest of this life, and I'm not going to waste the time I have here. Looking forward to heaven isn't an excuse to ignore or neglect my earthly realities or yours.

Now that I've given that disclaimer, I can move on to what I want to write about: how I love and long for heaven.

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.(2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

I love it and long for it for more reasons than I'm including here, but there's one that's been standing out to me lately. In heaven, we get new bodies.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49)

I can't wait until the day that I get to shed this body. To be honest, it hasn't served me all that well. I shouldn't expect it to, though; it wasn't made to last. I don't know what it will be like to bear the likeness of Christ, but I know one word that will describe it: better.

Better than this.

So much better.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (2 Peter 1:12-14)

I love the word used here in Greek: skenoma. It's the same word used in Acts 7:46 to describe the temple built by Solomon. It is translated in some places as "earthly dwelling," "tent," "tabernacle," and "body." It has a purpose. It's inhabited by God. It's an earthly temple for Him. As such, we should care for it, and be wise with the time we have in it.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

But it's not meant to be a forever place. It's not meant to be comfortable. I am thankful that my body is not perfect or whole or disease-free because it would be easy to be at home in it if it were.

I would be more comfortable if I didn't break my foot a few weeks ago. If I didn't have rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune thyroid disease or peripheral neuropathy. If most of my meds weren't failing to their intended jobs. If I didn't injure my knee today.  

(All of which, by the way, are why the blog was a bit quiet last week and might be a bit quiet in the next week or two. Well, that as well as this thing called a thesis that I am ridiculously behind schedule with.)

I would be more comfortable if all those things were true, but it would be just like the miners in Chile getting comfy in the mine. They weren't meant to stay there. It was their home for a while, but it wasn't meant to last forever.

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)

This brings me full circle to what I started my post with: I aim to please Him in this body until it is time to cast off this earthly tent. I may be in pain, but I will rest in Him. And - as God commended the church in Ephesus for persevering and not growing weary (Revelation 2:3) - I grow tired but it's an awesome God thing that I don't grow weary. I'm not strong, but God is, and I clothe myself in His perfect strength that allows me to cast off my burdens in exchange for the lighter, more restful load (Matthew 11:28-30).

And as I aim to please God in this broken body, this cracked jar of earthen clay, I am encouraged that a day will come when complete healing and wholeness will be the eternal reality.


What makes you long for heaven?

Flashback Friday: Lee and Shannon, the early days

The very, very early days.

Why, yes, those are He-Man knee socks.

And next week I might just scan in the pictures from my self-inflicted haircut at age 4. (Two words, y'all: Bald. Spots.)

Not funny. And not okay.

I've been meaning to blog about a pet peeve of mine for a while. Recent events (see picture and explanation at the end of this post!) have pushed this to the surface again. So here goes:

I am accident-prone. That is true, and we can joke about it. It's a bit absurd to fracture your foot and then two weeks later bust up your forehead (once again, explanation and picture at the end once I step off my soapbox - be patient!).

What is NOT true or funny are jokes about domestic violence. If I had only been on the receiving line of one or two, that would be one thing. Or even ten. But it's been dozens. Dozens of statements like "Lee had to lay down the law, huh?" in response to a brace on my foot or ankle or wrist from friends and church leaders and others.

Not okay. 

If it were true, then it wouldn't be funny because a loving response would be concern not poor attempts at humor.

If it's not true (and it most certainly is not!), then it's an insult to my husband and a slap in the face (figuratively, that is) to those who have been physically abused because that serious topic is being treated as a joke.

So don't. Just don't.

Thanks.

Oh, and the story: Imagine a family of four roughhousing and bouncing on the bed (well, the kids were the ones bouncing). Imagine a little boy charging at his daddy. Imagine a daddy flinging the boy across the bed for a soft landing on the mattress. Imagine a mom's head getting between said boy and said mattress. Imagine said mother bleeding all over the mimis, floor, and her dress from cuts that inexplicably occurred during the incident. (Actually, don't imagine the blood part. That I could have done without, so I don't want to inflict it on you.) Imagine the boy bouncing up without an injury.

Are you imagining all that?

(Now imagine, ahem, that the mommy can't find her camera and has to take a poor shot with her phone camera.)

Nope, not winking. Just swollen.

Ouch. It hurts.

But please don't make it worse by trying to be a comedian.

Unless, of course, you're making fun of my general clumsiness. That's fair game for jokes.

What books do you turn to for help raising your kids to love Jesus?

I think all of us who believe in Christ want to raise godly children. That’s why the title Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World: Leaving a Lasting Legacy by brothers Ken & Steve Ham appealed to me. The best takeaway is that while secular parenting advice is focused on behavior modification, adjusting the outward expression of the heart, Christian parenting is – or should be – centered on Christ, who cares about our hearts more than our behavior.

Because if our kids act properly in every circumstance but don’t love Jesus, is that what we want? No. Then why is that how I parent much of the time based more on my kids’ behavior than their hearts?

Because I need a heart check too.

This book didn’t provide me with much of a heart check, though, so while it was beneficial (and most interesting to me during the biographical parts), it’s not the first parenting book I would recommend. Some that have blessed us are Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas and Great Parents, Lousy Lovers by Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham (which I reviewed here), but the number one book and the only one that truly offers lasting heart change is the Bible. I think it’s easy to run to other sources for parenting wisdom and forget to let the Perfect Parent give us guidance.

So how about you? Other than the Bible, what parenting books have blessed you and your family? Or are there any that you’ve heard about and would like for me to review sometime? Comments are my love language – leave me one!

Thanks to New Leaf Publishing for providing a review copy of this book. They didn’t ask for a positive review, just an honest one.

the end of summer

Since we live in NC, we may use this again this year, but a few weeks ago the kids had their last summer splashing day of 2010!