art 06 Sep 2006 01:43 pm
Oh What A Beautiful Day….
“And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God”
(Mark 10:13-14).
I”m late posting today because the few internet moments I’ve had today were spent over on YouCanKnowGod. If I had time today, I’d do a word study on the word “suffer” to see exactly how it’s used in this text. This conversation has made me very sad today.
When I haven’t been online today, I’ve been busy with clothing inventory. It’s time to change the kids clothing out, sort out what is too stained to keep, what doesn’t fit, and to get a few long sleeved things out for our upcoming fall days. We’ll still be in short sleeves and shorts (with a light jacket for nights and mornings) for a bit yet but it seems we’re having very defined seasons this year. I’ve got every shred of clothing stacked on the table and I’m making a list of what they need before I shop. Celia, as the only daughter, needs the most, but I’m happy to see that it’s primarily incidentals and few fill-in pieces that I need to search for.
I’m pretty basic with clothes and this is good given the size of our living accomodations the past few years! They have two church outfits a season to alternate. Mom commented once that it was funny how my laundry piles were full of the same colors: bright green, navy blue, and red. But with 3 boys, those colors make a lot of sense! Stuff has to coordinate with other stuff or there’s just no point in keeping it. Socks and undies are bought new every season. And everyone needs shoes this fall.
I tried something new in the kitchen today: Baked chicken with peaches. It’s the day before grocery shopping so it always calls for a little creativity! I made it up so don’t ask for specific measurements LOL. Basically it was chicken layered with fresh, sliced peaches, and sprinkled with: rapadura, cinnamon, garlic, onion powder, sage, salt and pepper. We had it with sugar snap peas and slices of montery jack cheese. We ate outside at the picnic table on this most beautiful and balmy of days…..high blue sky, puffy clouds, soft breeze, temps in the mid-70’s.
Thinking today about how nursing a baby over a year, after the time they can safely take cow’s milk, can’t be pinned down to a “right” age. Nursing relationships are so unique and each mother/child combination is different. Breastfeeding isn’t just about a method for nutrition and it’s benefits can’t be canned and sold in the store. So, in honor of those sentiments, here is another painting by Mary Cassatt, of a mother obviously nursing a big, sweet baby.
It’s called “Louise Feeding Her Child”, painted in 1899. Cheers.
on 06 Sep 2006 at 2:05 pm 1.mike said …
i don’t think that verse is used in the context of a church service. and todays culture is very different from the culture in which that verse was written. jesus didn’t live in the age of tv, the internet, programs. Even the Bible hadn’t been written yet. My post was about maintaining order in the context of a one hour church service, not about the value of children in a church. My other example was people bringing in their own musical instruments. The large principle was that corporate worship is different from private worship, and I would even say family worship. There are 168 hours in the week, I’m talking about one of them, and how that one hour will be structured in order to teach grace and love and Jesus to people.
we love kids. we spend a huge amount of money on kids. our children’s environment is better than our adult environment in many respects. in a brand new church plant, we have a staff person dedicated to children and family ministry. she has 4 kids of her own and has a heart to serve the whole family, not just babysit kids.
i don’t think its wrong to keep kids out of an adult service, any more than i think it’s wrong to have a family church with no children’s programming. it’s a matter of preference, not a Biblical mandate. we are called to love and care for kids no matter what.
on 06 Sep 2006 at 2:29 pm 2.Tia said …
Okay Mike. I think we disagree.
on 06 Sep 2006 at 2:53 pm 3.mike said …
that’s cool. i won’t show up at your house in a hockey mask.
on 06 Sep 2006 at 3:02 pm 4.Tia said …
LOL….
on 06 Sep 2006 at 4:56 pm 5.MistyK said …
Hey, girl. I just wanted you to know I’d chimed in on your side at Mike’s blog. I’m going through this issue quite unhappily at church right now; it’s part of what prompted my “out of step with the world” blog post of a few days ago. And I was supposed to be the co-leader of the children’s department, LOL! I’ve just decided that I’ll basically never fit in anywhere, LOL, and won’t ever have a church where I really feel like everything’s going right, and that’s just how it is! Oh well. What can you do????
on 06 Sep 2006 at 11:13 pm 6.Sarah K. said …
I know you have agreed to disagree, but I have to say something. I apologize in advance for stirring the pot. I won’t post my comment here because it is rather lengthy. I attempted to comment on Mike’s blog, but I am not sure it went through. I posted on mine just in case.