Being with God

We had a discussion last night about what it means to know God intimately. So often we know about God, but it can be harder to enjoy being with God.

I struggle with this as it always seems to be more important to be doing something rather than 'nothing'. It's interesting that we refer to being still and resting as doing nothing. I actually think that God wants us to 'waste' time with him rather than rush off to our next urgent task. Even when I think about my time with God, I focus on the practicalities of what I'm going to read or what I want to say/pray about. I'm not suggesting that those things aren't good, but I don't want to forget to listen and be still, enjoying the time that the God of the Universe has for me.

There is space for different sorts of times in relationships. Sometimes there needs to be agendas, progress, working things out. Sometimes it is time to laugh, have fun, welcome others and enjoy community. Sometimes it is pleasant to sit and be and enjoy the presence of those we love. I love to look out the window and drink in the sight of my family playing or talking. I cherish those moments and am glad that I am here experiencing them. I want to feel like that about my times with God. There have been times when that has been true, but there have also been times when I treat God like another chore I need to get done, in order to get on with the next one.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10

Comfort Women WWII

War is a complicated, messy, tragic business. There doesn't appear to be any winners when we consider conflicts of the last 200 years (probably the last 2000, but I don't know enough to comment wisely). Even armies who have 'won' bear scars and lose people.

Amnesty International have a campaign running currently to try to raise awareness of the women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during world war 2.

It's simple to get on their website and create a butterfly like this one (I made this one tonight). The campaign is clear and specific and made me consider a group caused to suffer immensely by war, who are intended to remain silent and ashamed - forgotten. There must be millions of women and children around the world in just the same position in current and recent conflicts.

So go to www.amnesty.org.au/comfort and make a butterfly.

Snatching a moment

My mind is bubbling with ideas and plans at the moment. It is an effort to slow it down to write a post. The nagging sense that I have missed or forgotten something lurks at the corner of my consciousness. Maybe that's just because I forgot to tell my husband about plans for friends to come for dinner until ten minutes before their arrival, tonight. Maybe its because I've forgotten to go to bed, yet.

The dilemma* that I am faced with this evening is that I want to take time to reflect, but I fill my time so that I run out of time to think. Late at night I sit down at the computer and what would take me 5 minutes at midday, takes me fifty minutes at midnight.

This is as far as I can get tonight. I'll be back to continue later...

*I use 'dilemma' advisedly. My dilemma lies somewhere on the importance spectrum between identifying a song on the radio with my iPod and the inability of the world to abolish hunger despite an abundance of food.

The Slap

I've just finished reading 'The Slap' by Christos Tsiolkas. It was a bit sex-obsessed for my liking, but I thought it was a gripping story and I enjoyed the story coming from a number of different perspectives, through different characters' chapters.

Physical discipline of children is such a fraught issue, and that is not the only complicating factor for the people in this story. Some politically correct views are challenged and there is not a pat solution. Other politically correct perspectives on sexuality, relationships and fundamentalism were not questioned at all.

The portrayal of drug-taking was often as positive, particularly with regard to experimentation and I would want to be more cautious than this. It made me wonder if I am very sheltered and prudish because my experience of illicit drugs is limited and I don't have such an open acceptance of their ubiquity and desirability.

It stood out to me, how much personal history, family and experience shape the reactions of each character. Every person had pain, loss or misunderstanding which was at the source of their broken behaviour. There was also a clear message about the need for forgiveness in order to bring healing.

The mother of the child who is slapped, seeks retribution on his assailant. She is a deeply needy woman, both trapped by and idealising motherhood. She is obsessed with her son and the need to be a 'good' mother, but overwhelmed by his possession of her. The sad implication was that her nurturing of her son was going to be a source of future problems for him. That is a searing possibility which I don't like to consider in my own life. But if I don't, how can I work to stop it happening?

I would recommend this book, for the ideas it raises. It is well written, and accurately portrays the dilemmas and blindnesses of our society.

10 things I want my children to learn and remember...

I have decided to try out a list post as advised by the comment links to Justin Moffatt's blog and Abraham Piper's post. So here are my top 10 things I want my children to learn over the next 20 years.

1. They are loved
2. Family is a safe place
3. Learning something new is good
4. It's possible to make most things at home
5. It's OK to be scared, sad or angry
6. To listen
7. To handle being wrong
8. To laugh
9. To be generous
10. To love other people

I have compiled these with the understanding that the love of God and being one of his children permeates all these, without including an overt 'be in a relationship with God' lesson.

Being Thankful

How do I teach my children to enjoy good things and be thankful for them?

If something we like happens regularly, we can get to expect it and forget that it is a blessing. We might even get to the point of demanding it and being put out when it doesn't happen. A gracious gift can become a burden to the giver and the recipient takes it for granted.

I am finding this a hard one to teach at home. Maybe I need to look out for where I take gifts for granted?

Adopting embryos

I have been listening to a friend talk about frozen embryos which will not be used by couples having IVF. Apparently, in Victoria, these embryos can be offered to other couples for adoption. In NSW this doesn't usually happen, so unused embryos are often destroyed.

It seems strange that it is preferable to kill an embryo rather than allow it to be adopted by someone who longs for a baby. Adoption is so out of favour because of the complications it can bring for children and biological parents. It has now become preferable to be killed rather than adopted. What is going on?