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I remember singing about wanting to have faith like a child – way back when I was almost a child.  Remember the Jars of Clay song from way back when? (1995)  To my fun-loving, happy-go-lucky teenage-self, I figured it was all about being positive.  A kid has no worries, and always smiles, right?  So that’s what it means to have child-like faith.  It means to have a simple faith.

But actually having children, continually reveals to me new aspects of what exactly it means to strive for having the faith of a child.  Most recently it has hit us through our 3 year old, Ruby Anne.  She’s the epitome of an unbelievably cute child.  Always asking for cuddles, making jokes about toots, and crawling into our bed at 2am just about every night of the week.   When we wake up next to her in the morning, we ask – admittedly frustrated at times – “Hey Ruby, why did you come down to mommy & daddy’s bed last night?”

Her response?  To stretch out long, push down her head and arms into the nearest pillow or blanket and say with a giant sigh of relief, “Because your bed is sooooo comfy cozy.”

It’s true.   Compared to a toddler bed with a small toddler-sized blanket, and small toddler-sized springs – our bed IS so comfy-cozy.

If you think that’s endearing, you should hear the girl pray.  I’m not sure where it came from, and I’m not looking to fix her grammar in her prayer life anytime soon.  She says her prayers in a way we’ve never really taught, but she must have simply combined what she was thinking with bits of what she’s heard.   To the point where her prayers now can often sound like this:

Me:  Ruby, do you have anything you’d like to pray about?”

Ruby: Yeah, I want to pray for Phoebe (the daughter we hope to bring home from Africa this year) to be safe, to get money for Phoebe to come home, and mommy’s back feel better, and etc…..(she usually trails off at this point, sometimes into a fart joke)

Me:  Okay, go ahead.

Ruby: Dear God, thanks for making Phoebe safe, thanks for money to bring her home, thanks for mommy’s back feeling better, etc……

It’s such a simple thing, and she may have no idea how slightly different her prayers are than mine – but they’re so far from what I pray with my, “Could you….?”  or “Jesus, please….”  The statements of faith she makes every night about what God is and will accomplish continue to keep me in check.   It emboldens my own prayers.  It calls me out of my ambiguous, “God, whatever you wanna do please do it in this situation” type prayers, and reminds me God loves us so much, He wants us to share with Him the desires of our hearts.   That scripture tells us in several places – Jesus is with us, and will provide according to our needs.  We can pray specifically; much more specifically than many of us do.

So this week, I’m working on thanking God.  I thank God that we have Phoebe’s picture.  (before my wife’s birthday would be cool)  Thanking Him that somehow we were able to raise all of the money we need to bring our daughter home.  (note – if you wanna be a part of that happening, check out our Facebook Auction!) Thanking Him for bringing a new, and lasting peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – especially in the East.  Thanking Him that children are no longer dying or becoming orphans because of the transformation His Word is bringing about all over the world.

What specific things might God want you to depend on Him for this week, instead of our “low expectation” prayers we usually send up???

How could I pass up a topic like this?  I’ve seen a video blowin’ up Facebook, and there are bits and pieces of it that really tug on my brain/heart, both as a youth pastor and a father.  The gist of the video is this:  Beyonce Knowles is successful because she gives herself over to being possessed by demonic forces (one in particular, “Sasha Fierce” ) to perform on stage.  The video goes on to connect the dots to Jay-Z as well (saying at one point he’s possessed by Frank Sinatra, by his own admission).  It’s true, they even have video footage of Beyonce and Jay-Z claiming their performance abilities come from channeling these alter egos.

But if we start saying anyone who claims to take on another name during a performance is possessed by a spirit of Satan, we may as well condemn Garth Brooks for his “Chris Gaines” days.  (which I’m okay with…he should have stayed with country)  The video goes into proving all of it’s statements with convincing footage of Beyonce and Jay-Z wearing ancient Satanic symbols, jewelry, and flashing mystic symbols even during performances.

So how do we respond?  Tell our children and young people that these artists are evidence of demonic forces attempting to take over our world via culture?  To avoid buying any of her music, or supporting artists like her and Jay-Z as a rule, because of the dangers of losing our soul for hearing someone who claims to be possessed by an alter ego, or worse, a crooner from the mid-19o0’s?  To tell anyone who enjoys hearing the Chipmunks re-mix her music they’re probably supporting the coming reign of Satan on earth? 🙂

It’s true…Jay-Z has many years of knowing/claiming a sort of “Supernatural Influence” on his success.  Hi-Jacking ancient symbology, and emblazening it into his logos, and sacrificing children on weekends….is nothing new for the rap giant.  Having a huge head, wanting to show how much power he has by claiming/grabbing any connections he can to mystical conspiracies that have existed for a long time already, is not a stretch for someone like him.  That Beyonce follows his lead into her success is no accident.  (although she did actually give up “Sasha Fierce” back in 2010, officially….so what spirit do you think she’s channeling now?)

I’m not touching the spiritual forces dialogue much, beyond shaking my head a bit that it takes a long video pulling all sorts of conspiracy-laced images and video to grab people’s attention and make them second-guess music that apparently a lot of people previously thought was great/healthy/wholesome.   Maybe these artists really do have shrines to demons in their basements, and secretly laugh when people bow to them on stage.  But my point is this:  I don’t want my kids or teens asking, “Hey, what music is made by people possessed by Satan?”  I want them to ask, “Hey, what music/art is going to help me experience the creativity and beauty of God, and the complex variety of His creation and their seasons?”

It’s true, there is a choice our children and young people (and we, even) make each day of who and what we will worship.  The end of the Superbowl show, where Beyonce tells everyone to raise their hands toward her as she “wants to feel their energy” is definitely an act of someone other than God asking for worship.  The crowd responds as any good worshipping community would…extending their hands – giving her the shallow imitation of glory she asked for.

Looking back, I realize I’ve rambled a bit on both ends here.  I think my main issue is that we recognize, whatever spiritual forces are at work – I don’t think we need to fear the ones who wave their arms and yell loudly, “I’m a demon!”, or “I’m asking for your worship!”.  Scripture describes satan as “the great deceiver”.  There are quiet, unseen and unheard forces gently guiding us into a cool complacency away from God.  Exalting self and substance over the presence and power of God.  Music that slaps on a smile, and even seems to be supported by the “Christian” community – that is actually a pale commercial substitution for God-honoring art…allowing us to be more and more content with buying and living off what humanity can provide.

May we be homes and families that continue to think, dialogue, and pray about the lives we live; the cultural choices we make, and what they’re supporting.  May we have confidence in the powerful presence of God, and worship Him alone.  We’ve not been given a Spirit of Fear/Anxiety, but  a Spirit of power, of Love, and of self-discipline.  Breathe deep…and enjoy those Chipmunks…:)

Here we go again with another “Five Minute Friday” post!  To learn more about “Five Minute Friday” (FMF), check out the linked image here.  Basically, each week there’s a word given for you to write about.  You start writing, no back-tracking, editing, etc.  At the end of 5 minutes, you stop.  Then you post it, and share in the community of words that were birthed during these 24-ish hours.  It’s cool stuff.
So here’s this week’s response to the word: “ordinary”

We avoid these things like a disease.  Because if you’re truly enjoying life, if you’re doing it right, if you’re the spectacular employee, father, husband, friend, etc…there’s no such thing as “ordinary”.  It’s the same with “average”.  You may as well put a giant stamp on whatever is being described that says, “I didn’t really try.”

But perhaps, there’s more beauty in the ordinary than we give credit.  In a world that’s based on how fast our brains can process information, images, and sales pitches – our hearts are lagging behind.  Our hearts need time to process what a moment feels like.  The gentle breaths of a 3 year old sleeping next to you.  The frigid sunrise as you’re driving early to work.  The unique patterns of frost as the window takes time to melt.  These “ordinary” moments that don’t require any sort of extra “effort”, don’t ask us to “try harder” in order to make a better product.  They are moments we experience every day, quietly slipping by as our brains search for the next really important thing to notice.

I’m a youth pastor, and by the public image of this job – I realize the first thought many people have is how entertaining/fun youth ministries can be.  I won’t argue, I’ve got an obnoxiously fun personality at times.  But I like to think that our ministry, and my personal life as well, are characterized less by requiring the “super (-ficially valuable)”, and more by embracing the ordinary.  Because I think that by embracing the ordinary, we connect ourselves with an incredible God who has already spoken His “Good” over such things…

stop.

Sounds like I’ve got a few thoughts on this, eh?