Just a short example of how Different even a trip for work can be…
Category: Different Moments
helper.
Ever since the gluten-free beignets incident, I’ve wanted to try and make some home-made donuts worthy of some hot apple cider. Our daughters aren’t currently eating gluten-free, because we hope to get them officially tested soon – so I wanted to use this to my advantage. Yes, I will confess – I believe gluten tastes amazing.
So this past week, I found a recipe that sounded awesome. I waited until the girls were all awake, and I got the oil heating on the stove. As I stirred in the cinnamon, and the nutmeg, I’m pretty sure I was more excited than they were. Finally the dough was ready, and I went to check on the oil. It seemed like it might be a bit too hot, so I turned it down and waited a minute or two. I cut the first couple donuts, and gently dropped them into the oil to fry.
They turned black almost instantly, as a sizzling cloud of smoke rose from the pot.
So I turned down the heat, and waited a bit longer. Finally, I cooked the rest of the donuts to a crisp golden-brown, dusting them each with cinnamon/sugar when they were finished. They looked amazing. We sat down together at the table, each with a cold glass of milk. One by one, as we bit into our donuts, we realized that even though they looked amazing, and ready to eat – the middle was a bit soft. Okay, it was pretty much still dough. One out of 3 daughters still loved them.
One of our daughters looked at me, and with a cuteness I could not resist, she offered, “Daddy, why don’t you let mommy help you next time?” 🙂
“The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18
I’m thankful for my helper. I realize there are moms and dads out there who, for different reasons, find themselves parenting on their own with His help. But I’m blessed to have an incredible woman, to do so much more than help me not burn the donuts. This moment comes as a reminder to us as parents:
We are only the best parents we can possibly be – when we understand we have a helper. We are doing this together, and ultimately – together with The Helper. You’re not alone, even if you’re reading this as a single parent. We each have a God who sees what we need, and is working to provide for those needs. May we turn to toward Him, thankful for what He has given us, and looking forward to the day that, with our children, we will experience healing and newness as never before…
And even now. 🙂
the benefits of begging.
A couple weeks ago, our church had a “Family Scavenger Hunt” that was to benefit our church’s food pantry. Each family was given a sheet of instructions that included a list of food items. Each item was assigned a different point value, and the goal was to 
get as many points as possible. We grabbed our list, and off we went to a neighborhood that had safe sidewalks for our girls to go door to door. Pulling their little red wagon behind, the people didn’t stand a chance. The cuteness level of our daughters was breaking any sort of measuring device that day, and we got 2nd place in the “Hunt”. But we won, also.
We won because it was an experience of wrapping the story of our family in the even larger story of God’s moving in our world. I’ve posted before on the fact that wherever “Kingdom work” is being done, the veil between heaven and earth becomes just a bit more thin. We joined God’s work in marrying heaven and earth that day, and our daughters experienced the joy of being connected to feeding the hungry.
Rewind almost 20 years, and see my own family.
We didn’t live on the streets. We had clothes, and gas, and all that. But we were hit by life pretty hard, and lived on foodstamps and the donations of some church food/clothing pantries for a season. My kids have no idea the story they’re connected to, but someday I’m sure they’ll learn. My hope is that they’ll be thankful for where we’ve come from, but receive their IDENTITY from where we’re going. Our prayer is that the story we’re telling through our family today becomes the plot they find their character being developed within – with a resurrection-powered resolution on the far horizon, but moving ever closer.
The more moments we share as a family that are centered on joining in the work and heart of Jesus – the more likely my children will naturally see this as the story they are growing up into. As parents, it’s so much more than simply taking our children to church, or even praying with them at meal times. It’s about learning the heart of Jesus ourselves, and then just as we do when crossing a busy parking lot, we say to our children with outstretched arms, “Hold daddy’s hand.”
As we invite our children to walk with us, as we follow Jesus, some pretty amazing things can happen. The hungry can be fed. The unloved can be loved. Heaven and earth can come crashing together. As our kids experience this reality, they continue to be challenged by a world who’s commercials present a completely different reality of self-absorption. With their hands in ours, we move through this journey of sharing the resurrection power of Jesus Christ with a world in need of healing and New Life.
Kinda feels worth skipping soccer practice, eh?
How is your family finding itself in the midst of the Story God is telling this week??
words from wick 