Fear, Love, Trump, & a Free Printable

"America first. America first."

As I was listening yesterday, the words made my stomach turn.

I'm sorry if that offends you. I really am.

There's a part of me that gets it. Other countries are looking out for their interests; we should be looking out for ours. Right? I mean, if we don't, who will?

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Across the world a long time ago

We're not the only ones. We never have been.

I lived in South Korea during the Asian economic collapse. IMF Era, they called it.

There was a big push to buy Korean.

At the little Presbyterian church I attended, the pastor encouraged us to boycott Titanic, not because of the sex, like my pastor back home might have, but because of all the money that would leave the country — going straight to the U.S. A bit awkward for me, the lone non-Korean in the crowd.

It didn't work, of course. Titanic was packed at every showing.

But the message of protectionism flourished.

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The Country & the Gospel

Using the pulpit to promote nationalism isn't new, either.

What's frustrating to me is how many Christians don't question this. I read so many comments yesterday from Christians excited to hear the new president talk about God.

That scares me. A lot.

See, Jesus rejected every offer of power. The church has historically abused power every time it gets some.

It flourishes when it's persecuted, not when it's in charge. (Not that I'm asking God for persecution; I'm not that brave.)

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No Other Rock

So last night, after sometimes resisting and sometimes giving in to my natural inclination to hide my fear with snark and quoting other people's clever remarks, I went to the lectionary.

And I found Isaiah 44:8.

It's an amazing reminder of who's in charge. It's a call to rely on God, the only Rock.

If we're relying on Donald Trump to save us, we're going to be sorely disappointed.

That's not just true of him. We can't rely on Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein or Ron Paul or whoever your favorite politician is.

They can't save us. They can't save the country.

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Don't be scared

I know lots of people who are scared right now, even though it's for different reasons.

My friends and family who love Donald Trump are naturally afraid of the rioting that is tearing apart our cities, and they're afraid of terrorists and losing their jobs and the rejection of values they've held sacred their whole lives.

My friends and (less) family who were disillusioned by this election are afraid for where our country is going. They're afraid we're tossing aside the civil rights that minorities, women, and the LGBT community have worked so hard to gain.

The common thread? We're all afraid.

Isaiah (whether you think there were two writers or just one) knew something about fear. Ten of the 12 tribes of Israel had been carted off by the extremely brutal Assyrians. The other two were left in conflict, and they would eventually be conquered by Babylon.

It's in this context that God tells the people not to be afraid because he's the only strong rock.

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So What?

Wherever you fall on the political spectrum, please pray for our country and its leaders. They need it. We all need it.

Stand up for justice where it finds you.

If you feel like marching, march. If writing letters or calling Congress is your bag, do that.

But please do something. Do it with love and grace, with the courage that God is your Rock.

Peace,

Teresa

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A Prayer

God, our Rock, help us to trust you. Please guide our new president, Donald Trump. Send prophets who will speak truth to the powers that be in Washington, D.C., on both sides of the aisles of Congress, among the lobbyists and corporate interests who seek power without thought for the poor, the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. Give us the courage to work for justice and the eyes to find ways to do so. Help us to raise our children to trust you, and to put you first. We thank you for our country and the freedoms we have. Help us to use those freedoms to speak the truth in love, now and always. Amen.

Guilt, Christmas, & Trusting Jesus

Guilt. It always stops me in my tracks.

I'm in the midst of a decision I know in my soul is right, but I feel guilty because it will let some people down.

These are people I like, people I've had a relationship with for more than six years, people who I want to like me.

This morning, I almost talked myself out of this decision, not because it wasn't right for me or my family, but because I was afraid of disappointing or angering people.

And if I'm being really honest, I'm also afraid I'll be judged.

All this is counterproductive. I need to make this change. I need to do it in the most gracious way I can.

But it's a situation where right and wrong aren't so clear. Where what's loving isn't obvious, and it's tangled with history and obligation and a whole host of other things that have nothing to do with freedom.

Why am I telling you this?

I suppose because it's much on my mind. But it's also because I suspect if you're a person — and maybe especially if you try to follow Jesus — you're bound to feel guilty sometimes.

This scripture printable reminds me that Jesus didn't come to make me feel guilty. God gave us Jesus to save us.

He knew.

He knew we'd screw up.

He knew sometimes the right thing would hurt people we love.

He knew the right thing wouldn't always be clear.

He knew sometimes we would just do wrong because we wanted to.

And he took on skin and decided to face all of that with us.

That is the miracle of Christmas, not Santa, not gifts, not the two feet of snow we got this week like an early, sparkly present. Not even the fact that for a few weeks, people seem kinder and more focused on each other.

It's this salvation from ourselves.

God is with us. And God is for us.

Trust him, and do the best you can, knowing it won't be enough, but Jesus will.

Merry Christmas, a bit early.

Peace,

Teresa

P.S. This printable is from Jesus & the Men From Far Away. You can watch the video here, and if you sign up for the newsletter, you can get the ebook and coloring pages for free.

The Best Christmas Gifts For Preschoolers ... And Any Age

I love the sacred and the secular at Christmas.

I'm not one who doesn't buy gifts for my family and gives something overseas instead (although I think that's great).

Perhaps it's because my best memories of Christmas are around giving. My parents divvied up my dad's small bonus from the church each year, and all of us got exactly the same amount to spend on everyone in the family. We could pool our money or go it alone.

Often, we were shopping at the last minute, since those gifts usually came the Sunday before Christmas. It was a mad dash at the mall, hiding presents from each other and figuring out when and where we would meet. This was long before the days of cell phones, and us kids wouldn't have had them anyway unless we paid for them ourselves.

There weren't usually piles and piles of presents under the tree. That's been in more recent years. And it's made it harder to focus on the Jesus part of Christmas.

I love giving presents. The thrill of finding that thing you know that person is going to cherish, or the anticipation of a gift that might not work but will be a home run if you've called it right.

Our Christmases were small, and my kids' are not. They have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who all buy for them. That wasn't the case when I was growing up.

I worry that my kids are too into what's under the tree for them.

As I was looking through this week's scriptures, there were many good ones, mainly about who Jesus is and what he does.

But this one made me realize that what I most want for my kids is a gift only God can give them.

There, right in the lovely opening of the book of Jude, is a blessing. "Kindness for those who need it" is my paraphrase of "mercy," by the way. Feel free to insert your own if you'd rather.

Feel free to share this printable with your little ones and talk about what matters most.

Just a warning, though. Your kids might not know the things you think they know.

I was already done with this picture when my 4-year-old surprised me.

I sing him a song every night, and last night it was Michael Card's "Barocha." The lyrics are "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and give you peace. And give you peace. And give you peace forever."

Nice enough, right?

Well, my boy stops me and says, "I don't want you to sing that song."

Me: "Why not?"

Him: "Because I don't like it and you sing it over and over." (Not actually true, but ...)

Me: "Why don't you like it?"

Him: "Because it says 'give you peace.'" Hmmm.

Me: "Baby, do you know what peace means?"

Him: "It means you're all alone forever."

And right there my heart broke. I explained what peace meant the best I could — it's when you feel loved and safe and there's no fighting. And I apologized for him thinking I would ever wish that he felt all alone.

He's heard the phrase "peace and quiet," and somehow he equated that with being alone.

It was a good reminder to listen to my kiddos, especially when they say they don't like something. The reason may not be what I think.

It's a lovely song, by the way. You can play part of it here.

That's it for now.

Peace,

Teresa

Peace, Hope, & Joy

When I first read that this scripture was designated for the second week of Advent, I was a bit surprised. It doesn't seem as Adventy (it's a word, right?) as some. But neither did any of the others.

But the more I read it, the more it seems just right. Hope. Joy. Peace. And hope again.

It's all part of the promise.

I love this scripture as a blessing for my kiddos, but I wasn't sure they would understand it.

So I called my 5-year-old over and asked her to tell me if it made sense. As I read, she scrunched up her face a bit, then it melted into a big smile as she nodded. So there you have it.

Thanks, and peace,

Teresa

Prayer, Faith, My Little Girl, & a Free Printable

Last week I took on the rather dizzying task of putting every scripture I think might work for a picture like the one above and putting it on a spreadsheet.

Then — because I am probably insane or maybe just a little too bored — I went through the three-year lectionary and daily offices in my old Book of Common Prayer and put all the occurrences of said scriptures into the spreadsheet. And last night I finished hand writing all those instances onto a blank three-year calendar.

Exciting stuff, right?

I did that because I realize this project is getting bigger than I am, and I needed to make it more manageable.

For this moment, while I'm finishing up some other projects, I'm going to focus on one- or two-scripture printables.

(You can download this one right here for free. No email required or anything. I only ask that if you want to share it with lots of people, you have them pick it up here instead of distributing it. Thanks!)

I didn't actually want to use this scripture.

What if my kids take it literally? I thought. What if it shatters their little faith if they don't get what they ask for?

And then I realized those fears have nothing to do with my children.

See, I know that's not going to happen. Every night, I ask my kids what they're thankful for. They always say people. It's never about their stuff, not even on birthdays or Christmas.

It's the grown-ups I know who want God to be a credit card or a magician.

My oldest is adorable when she prays. (She's adorable other times, too, for the record.)

She uses a slightly louder, more matter of fact voice than normal. And she always just launches in with "God, ..." like she's talking to someone familiar who might be slightly hard of hearing.

Last night she asked God to help the police catch the people who do bad things. She's equal opportunity about this. Sometimes she asks God to help the people running away from the police. And she asked that people would throw away their guns and stop hurting each other.

As I listened to her, I realized she's just fine with faith and prayer. I'm the one with doubts.

The girl in this picture is asking for the same thing my kids often ask for, to be held by their daddy. That's the prayer I need to pray more, and I want to teach my kiddos to do the same. 

That's it for now. Peace,

Teresa