Surprised by gum!

Today in church I counted the number of young adults bringing coffee into the sanctuary with a bit of pride in my heart. No, a lot of pride in my heart! It really bothers me that the code of conduct in a Sunday morning church setting has changed over the past 20 years or so. It makes me feel old and I'm only 42. I don't seem to relate to my peers when it comes to attending church. And maybe they aren't my peers. I am no longer a young mother of 4 young children. I am a mother of four school age children, with silver strands of hair on my head to show for it. So, maybe I am in between the older generation and the younger generation: a 'tweener'. (actually, because of my birthdate, I am a baby buster; just after the baby boom and right before the generation x'ers.)

So, today as I pridefully count the number of coffee cups in the sanctuary (while I ought to be worshipping), I began to think about how to go about voicing my concerns to church leadership about the coffee in the sanctuary policy. Now, today's worship was WONDERFUL, so distracting myself with my own thoughts was a struggle, but I pressed on. I kept returning to the thought of how I would approach the issue without drawing attention to my own problem with judging others (or someone else's speck and my own plank). I asked myself, "Does drinking coffee prevent one from fully worshipping?" I looked around at those coffee drinkers and I saw one taking notes, appearing to be listening intently. And then it hit me. I WAS CHEWING GUM! Could there have been a time when chewing gum was frowned upon? Is chewing gum any different than drinking coffee in church? As far as I can see, no, it is just the same. I am taking some kind of personal enjoyment chewing gum, but it doesn't distract me from worshipping, singing, listening, praying....all important elements in attending church.

Sometimes I'm pretty dense. Or to put it in biblical terms....a pharisee. In the end I was no longer distracted by the coffee drinkers and I'm pretty sure no one was distracted by my gum chewing(because I don't chew loudly, pop bubbles, or crack it). Another surprise of God's grace given to me to change into his likeness....even just a little bit.

Exorbitant Freedom

The second definition for the word license, listed in Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary is: "Excess of liberty; exorbitant freedom; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum." This Christmas we were given 2 new and exciting gifts: a Wii and a Magic Bullet blender. It has resulted in my children's license to play and eat whenever they so desire. And it has caught me off guard and quite unprepared for the impulsive behaviors. The guidelines we set for the Wii have been tested to the limit and I have been witnessing new aspects of each of my children's character traits. This toy is definitely a temptation for selfishness. Same goes for the blender. Who would have thought smoothies would turn into the candy of the day! I asked my children if they would be allowed to eat a bag of candy without permission. In unison, "no". But the desire for smoothies all day long has become like the bag of candy. Except messier. (That is my own pet peeve because I do like my kitchen to stay clean between meals, so I have been especially irritated by the smoothie requests). We have had enough 'teachable moments' for an entire year already, and we're only 3 days into the new year. Yikes! At times like this I feel like we have holes in our training that are peeking through as weakness shows itself. Kind of like when I roll pizza or pastry dough too thin and the thin dough rips. It is hard to patch up and makes the finished product weak at the bottom.

I don't know what the end result will be with these new toys. I am sure the newness will wear off sometime (if we don't get pulled into buying more games for the Wii) by the end of this year.

1 Corinthians 10: 23-24 is a completely perfect passage of scripture for our family to memorize:
"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." I think the kids will come to understand this passage in a very real sense. At least, that is my hope.