Month: April 2012 (Page 2 of 4)

7 Things I’ve learned since Sunday

April 24, 2012 / Michele Minehart

1. Not all flu bugs are the “24 hour” variety.

2. Mom’s advice to clean your toilets every week can be quite self-serving at times. Do it.

3. Grandmas are heros. Thanks Marj for taking the bigs.

4. When you’re not necessarily taking in enough calories to sustain yourself, the dependent little one gets a bit perturbed.

5. Adults make worse patients than kids. Especially when the other adult is also sick.

6. You can judge the stages of healing by how good coffee sounds.

7. This is NOT the week for me to be down for the count. Trip to Baltimore, multiple other work trainings scheduled and need to write (another) talk for this weekend’s retreat.

if we turn a table

April 20, 2012 / Michele Minehart

The “kids” used to tease me when I introduced them to the idea of “Jesus-in-the-Temple Angry” thinking the idea existed only to justify whatever soapbox I happened to be building. I simply wanted to make the point that some things perhaps upset God and we should be frustrated as well. I stand by my opinion.

However, my view of Jesus-in-the-Temple Angry expanded a bit this morning. I read about how Jesus threw out everyone who had “set up shop” in the Temple, buying and selling. Loan sharks and dove merchants eliminated. But I’ve always missed a key part of this story:

Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them (v. 15).

I love a good rant about consumerism. But, it turns out, the evils behind commerce became evils not because of inherent evilness but because of the exclusion of goodness. Until the merchants were driven from the Temple, the blind and lame couldn’t get in.

Other than the token bake sale, we don’t find many mercantiles in the church. However, I think a deeper truth still applies: What fringe could we trim to make room for the blind and lame around us? How are we set up to serve ourselves rather than those who need the healing touch of Jesus?

Who are left sitting outside the gate because we’ve got what we want set up inside?

Maybe we don’t need to cleanse the building of moneylenders; but a fair question to ask is what is in the way of being true to our mission and message?

lighter side

April 17, 2012 / Michele Minehart

It’s been a rough couple of days. Lots of weight on my shoulders and stress in my brains (sort of an antithetical Dr Seuss, eh?). But a few things have put a bit of wind into the sails.

1. Tom’s soap, deodorant scent. It’s so refreshing.

2. H Boy’s facial expressions. He’s got this new one where he talks out of the side of his mouth, especially if he’s thinking or disagreeing. He’ll add in a little head bob, too. Says things very matter-of-fact-ly.

3. When the kids are laughing and talking together. Today Miss M entertained baby C after naps while I wrapped up a work call. She loves sneaking into H Boy’s room in the morning.

4. A clean sink. I hate doing dishes, but sparks of contentment shoot through my insides when I walk into a dimly lit kitchen with no dishes awaiting.

5. A supportive husband who says “Go get ’em.” And believes it.

Month: April 2012 (Page 2 of 4)

7 Things I’ve learned since Sunday

if we turn a table

lighter side

Subscribe By Email

Recent Posts

Read more, in your inbox

Tell your friends!