grace

The joy of kids

Children are an amazing gift. Karen and I have been blessed with 4 truly remarkable kids. Each one of them is so unique, so full of life, they bring a deep abiding joy to our lives.

Dating after you are married

Most nights we enjoy just hanging out with them and playing board games or cards and watching cartoons (No sarcasm there, I love cartoons! From the hero type teen titans & ben ten down to the ‘sillier’ cartoons that are full of more adult humor than most sitcoms, I truly am entertained by them.) . Once in awhile, however, Karen and I get this crazy notion to do something without our kids. Months of careful planning and management are often required to make sure these date nights happen.

Last weekend, Karen and I had a spontaneous date. One of those, “Hey lets go out without the kids” moments struck me and she agreed. Now it wasn’t a date in the truest sense of the word as we had Isaac, our youngest with us – however on short notice it is about as close as we were getting.

We decided to go to one of our favorite style restaurants, a Japanese Steakhouse in Warrenton.

There are several reasons we enjoy Japanese steakhouses so much, but the primary reason is the food. The simplicity of the soup, the ginger dressing on the salad, the grilled vegetables, fried rice, and the meat quality is always the very best. On top of all that, you can get sushi at these places, so Karen and I always split a roll.

Is God found in really good food?

As Karen and I were sitting there savoring our food and just relaxing, I had a minor epiphany. I began to think how incredibly blessed I am. I began to think of my family, our beautiful home, my job, even the food in front of me. How many people all over this world have little or nothing to eat and live in deplorable conditions? Yet here we were enjoying some amazing food in an air conditioned restaurant.

Why has God blessed us so much? Has God given us riches so we can feel bad that we have them? I believe that God has given us all the things we have for us to richly enjoy. That does not mean we have the freedom consume everything we have upon our own selfish desires, God also wants us to meet the needs of others. There are factors of balance and stewardship involved. We can enjoy His blessing and reach out to those in need simultaneously, but that is not the point I’m making with this story.

Guilty pleasure?

What I felt at that moment was not guilt, nor was it a need to run out and share my meal with someone who was homeless. In a very simple, yet extremely powerful way it was a overwhelming appreciation, a gratitude toward God for what He has given me.

It is quite difficult to put into words exactly what it felt like. This connects to some degree with my unworthy but highly valuable theme from my last entry. When you realize how unworthy you are and God still gives beyond what you deserve, there is no adequate response other than a deep gratefulness for His grace.

Worship or meaningless drivel?

Isn’t that what God wants? Or do you think he’d just rather hear the words? Many of us pray before our meals. More often than not, that prayer becomes rote and cliché, it becomes rehearsed and empty. Is that what God wants us to do before we eat? Is it simply a matter of going through the motions? It took my listening to my kids pray before meals to realize what I was teaching them.

My kids were being taught to just say words. Very rehearsed, and incredibly empty.

Lashing out at… Me?

Anger would be an appropriate response, but who could I get angry at? Myself? Perhaps I should begin to teach them what real gratefulness looks like. After all, a heart of gratefulness is far more pleasing to God than even a flowery empty prayer before a meal.

Lets look at it a different way. Would Karen feel more loved if I told her I loved her or if I consistently sacrificed to do things for her? Which of those would lead her to confidence that I loved her?

Is it possible that God doesn’t want our empty words nearly as much as He wants our heart? Is it even in the realm of possiblity that He would rather have our gratefulness inspire us to DO something rather than just to say a quick ‘thank you’ we don’t even mean before a meal?

The point is worship

When our lives respond with true gratefulness, God’s character is revealed and those around us see God as He really is. They get an accurate reflection of God through our lives.

And isn’t that the point?

Hebrews 12:28 (NLT)
since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe