Easter = Easter Bunny and Chocolate Eggs

Earlier this week I was at the supermarket for a few bits and was using the self scanning checkout.  As I was waiting for my receipt a middle aged couple came up behind me to use it next.   She was buying a packet of marshmallow Easter eggs.  She commented to the person with her, "We eat them any time, not just on Easter weekend, so then it's not all about God.”  He nodded and commented in agreement.  This brought up a range of emotions in me and has continued to ring in my mind in the days follow.  Firstly, I felt sadness.  This couple knows that Easter is "about God" and openly said so, and yet still chose not to believe for themselves. 

Luke 8:10. He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'  

They have heard but do not understand.    I must admit, I felt like turning to them and saying, 'Why do you eat them at all and celebrate something you don't believe in? - leave the Easter eggs for me! At least I believe in what I am celebrating!”   Then I felt a glimmer of hope.  At least they acknowledged that there is a God and that Easter is to do with Him!   I wonder how many others think the same as these people.  I am sure there are many that don't even get that far. Easter is just a wonderful long weekend, the beginning of the school holidays, a chance to get together with friends and family – all these things a great too of course.  And what about the next generation, do the children know what Easter is really about?

A small survey done in 2014 in UK by the Bible Society targeting 804 children, found that young people aged 8 to 15 have little understanding of the true meaning of Easter.  More than one in three children didn’t know why we celebrate Good Friday, while for Easter Sunday it was one in four.  But perhaps more shockingly, the survey results reveal that more than a third of children believe the fable of the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’ features in the Bible. Close to a quarter of children who took part also think that the goose that lays golden eggs is also a story told in the Bible.    Other surveys done came up with similar information with many citing children believing Easter was Easter Bunny’s birthday so that’s why we search for the eggs that he leaves for us!!  Our kids are so confused!  Why do we tell these lies to our kids?  I am all in for fun and surprises, but why tell them lies and make it so complicated for them. 

Mark 10:14 – “Let the little children come to me because such is the kingdom of heaven.”  

The gospel is simple so that even the smallest child can understand and believe, why have we confused them?  Let's tell them the truth; it’s easier to believe than an Easter bunny leaving eggs!

Do we as the church, the people of God, celebrate and remember Easter well?  I wonder if some of us have moved with society too much and have forgotten the significance of The Holy Week and its crucial importance to our faith.  The next generation are confused or don’t even think about it because their parents don’t really know either.  I think we are two, and in many cases three generations removed from any knowledge or belief in the true meaning.  Have we, The Church, not told the story enough?  At Christmas we have nativity plays that retell the story of Jesus birth and Christmas carols are still played in shops and events that share the story but there isn't really an Easter equivalent.  Do we need to tell the story of Easter more?  Do you think we could reinstate the cross as the symbol of Easter instead of eggs and tell of a Saviour who brings life, in place of a fluffy bunny who brings chocolate!

This Easter, here are a couple of simple ideas (there are hundreds!) you could do at home to help your family and friends celebrate the true meaning of Easter, not just at church for one hour, but over the weekend as a family and a community. 

Egg Hunting: Use the eggs to tell the story of God's love and forgiveness.  Before you hide the eggs or put them in baskets, encircle each one with a coloured strip of paper that tells one small part of the Easter story. When the eggs have been found, the children unscramble the story and put it in the right order.  If you like to decorate eggs with dye, also write one attribute of Jesus on each egg. You can do this by writing on the egg with a crayon before you put it in the dye. Send kids on a hunt for the eggs that have Jesus' attributes written on them. Instead of just discovering eggs, they will be discovering the wonderful things that make Jesus so special.  You could tell the story of salvation by dyeing the eggs certain colours or using different foil covered chocolate eggs. Black = sin, red = Jesus blood, white = washed/pure, green=growing in God, gold= heaven.

I am all in for chocolate and look forward to eating some over Easter, but let’s claim it back off the Bunny and make it all about the sweetness of Jesus rather than the lollies!

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”

NEW YEAR

It’s hard to believe we’re in 2015! According to the movie "Back to The Future" we should all be driving flying cars, riding hover boards, answering our phone via our glasses, be wearing self drying clothes and self lacing shoes! Some of the technology was not far off; some was way off! But nevertheless here we are.

We have just returned from a wonderful family summer holiday at Mount Maunganui beach, NZ. It was stunning weather every day and rained over night once in two weeks!

One morning I was up early and went to the beach for a walk and chat with God. It was quite early so I was not expecting to see too many people there. I was surprised to see how many people were already up and about, walking their dogs, running and enjoying the cool of the morning. By far the largest group there were the surfers - apparently the weather forecast had told them that the waves were going to be good that morning. I sat overlooking the sea and watched them and my eye fell on one in particular. He was obviously with a friend who had arrived earlier and was now out passed the breaking waves and I could now see that they were paddle-boarders. His friend was standing up on his board and was waiting for him.

I continued to watch as the man began walking out through the waves to meet his friend, pushing his paddleboard in front of him with one hand, and holding the paddle in the other. He got past the first wave, then the second, but for several minutes he kept getting knocked back. It was hard to watch, and I was feeling very sorry for him. Each time he looked like he was going to make it, a big wave would come and knock him right back to the start. He looked like he was struggling to manage the paddle and the board. I was getting frustrated for him! Was he every going to make it? He tried putting his paddle on the board, but still he kept getting knocked back and having to start over. Eventually he lay on the board with his paddle tucked under one arm and hand paddled himself passed the waves and out to his waiting friend. I felt like cheering! He and his friend then both stood up on their boards and paddled off into the distance.

Isn't life a bit like that?! We head out and seem to be going along fine but then a big wave comes and knocks us back. We have times in our journey when it feels like we are taking 2 steps forward and then getting knocked back 1 step or more! Sometimes it seems like we have been stripped of everything and are right back at the beginning. It's at these times that we have a choice to make. Do we give up and get out of the water, or do we turn around, face the waves straight on and try again?

The man was carrying his paddle in his hand. It was going to be useful to him once he got out passed the waves, but at the moment it was a burden.

What is in your hand?

Moses was embarking on a great and exciting journey, but he doubted himself. He was facing obstacles, “What if they don't believe me?", "I'm not good enough", "I don't have the skills." God asked Moses this same question - Exodus 4:18 "What is in your hand?" In Moses hand was his staff, it was his tool for his trade as a shepherd. He was familiar with it, and skilled at using it. God told him to throw it down and then added His power and performed a great sign that would later be used to release his people from slavery! The paddle-boarder did much better when he laid his paddle on the board and let the board carry it. We do so much better when we lay down what is in our hands and let Jesus have it. He can then take it and inject His power into it. This produces miracles! What do you need to lay down at the start of this year? Your plans and dream, your finances, your talents and skills, your thoughts and ideas? God will use all these, they are in your hand for a reason. You will need them, but they will be so much better with God's power added. So let them go, lay them down and see what God will do with them.

But the paddle-boarder made the most progress not when he laid his paddle on the board, but when he laid his whole body on the board! When he was lying on the board, paddle tucked under his arm, he seemed to easily cruise over the waves to his friend. We will see God do so much this year, if we surrender ourselves totally. Not only our roles, tasks and ministries, but our whole selves!

So as I embark on the journey into 2015 and all that it will hold, I choose firstly to stay in the water. Then I will turn and face the waves, lay my "paddle" and my whole self on Jesus in surrender, and totally trust and depend on his miracle working power.

Real Rachel?

I was chatting to a good friend about the things she is getting sorted out as she plans for their family holiday over Dec/Jan. They are a family with 2 teenagers and are going away on a special overseas trip for 40 days, tied in with her husband’s sabbatical. This is not their usual camping trip, and will be a wonderful experience for them. She was telling me about her plans to walk through the Bible with her family, taking it in 40 segments for each of the days of the holiday and she explained some other amazing activities she had created for them to experience, all based around their personal faith formation. I was amazed at how intentional she was about this. For most of us, just getting everyone out the door on a holiday is more than enough to plan, let alone all these other things too!

I love being inspired by my friends, but today I found myself comparing myself to her and felt a bit down.

Added to this, over the past few weeks, as I have been scrolling down my Facebook news feed, I have seen many of my friends posting about what they had been doing for a good friend of ours who is going through cancer treatment. They have been so incredible and SO creative with the ways they have been loving her! Again I found myself comparing my lack of creativity and time spent with this dear friend and the seemingly incredible efforts that others were going to for her.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I assume I am not the only one!

The internet and social media can be wonderful tools, but also VERY dangerous ones. We see a false image of reality and too much information that is distorting our view of reality. We see our “friends” posting, “here I am on holiday!” or “look where my husband took me for dinner!” We don’t usually see posts like, “here is the argument we had last night” or “ here’s me crying myself to sleep because my teenage has walked away from me” or “ I don’t know where to turn next!”

We are seeing glimpses of the life of “friends” but this is NOT the REAL thing. We may feel like we are journeying through life with them because we get updated regularly, but are we really? This is not what it means to DO LIFE TOGETHER. I wonder how many of us are feeling undue stress, anxiety and low self-esteem as we compare our lives to others forgetting that what we see is NOT the real life. It is only a glimpse at the good bits. To really know we have to journey with each other. To journey means REALLY being there. Being there when it is good AND when it’s bad. Celebrating with each other, but also crying with each other.

I wonder too what this exposure to the internet and social media is doing to our young people. And even to our children who have access to the internet and get to see so much of what is going on in the world. While I agree of course that children and young people need to have knowledge of current events, but are they exposed to too much? And is it even realistic or is it tainted with some media exaggeration? Are they carrying a burden that is not theirs to carry at such an early age? Are they comparing their life with the glimpses they see of others on a newsfeed or wall and feeling like their life is so boring and worthless?

What is real? Who is the real Rachel? This is a question I have been finding I have been asking myself a lot lately. Is what people see from the outside true to the real Rachel living on the inside? Or am I wearing a mask and living in a mascarade? Am I living the life God has planned for Rachel or one that I think people want me to live? Or have I created a life of comparison, based on my perception of the life of others?

Be who you are!

1 Samuel 16:7 “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

O God, I pray that when you look inside me, that you find a clean and pure heart. (Ps 51: 10-12) “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

We are all created differently, with a unique purpose to fulfil. It is absurd to compare ourselves with others.

(Ephesians 2:10) “ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Be who God made YOU to be! For He made you “fearfully and wonderfully!”

(Psalm 139:14)

GoOD Friends

Here we go, my first ever blog post. It was not hard to decide what to write about first! I have just spent a week away with a great friend, ministering and serving God together, and then relaxing together doing things we both love: walking, eating , talking and watching movies!! We have only known each other for a few years, but instantly ‘clicked’ when we first met. We see each other a couple of times a year because we are in different countries, but with technology now days this doesn’t matter and when we actually get together, we just take off!

We are both blessed to have wonderful families and fantastic, godly husbands but God has doubly blessed us both with other people in our lives too. It is because of her that I am writing this blog and we will see where it goes. She is the one who inspired and encouraged me in this. I am always so blessed by what she writes in her books and blogs, I only hope I can be half as inspiring to others as she is to me.

I guess most people would say they have a few great friends in their life at any one time, people they laugh with, ‘play’ with and socialize with; but what about GOoD friends? As a Christian, I think it’s great and right to have a wide variety of friends, but I think we all need a few people in our life who are GOoD friends.

GOoD friends walk the faith journey together. We challenge, encourage and inspire one another and serve God together. My friend and I are on our own unique but at the same time very similar journeys through life with God. We are so comfortable around each other because we just “get” each other and are serious about this faith journey. She had been reading a book that was really encouraging her, and as we talked this week she could see that we were in a similar place – she just got it! So far I have only read the one passage that she highlighted for me, and it has totally undone me! Every line in the paragraph was so pertinent to me on so many levels, I almost couldn’t breathe! Sitting there at her kitchen bench as she prepared dinner, in that intimate space that GOoD friends can share – I was barely able to hold it together. O, the love of God, which reached into my heart and touched areas I didn’t even realize were hurting and the love of a GOoD friend who listens to the Holy Spirit and gives words of encouragement at the right time.

Ecc 4: 9-12

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour:

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

These verses are often quoted in the context of marriage and rightly so. But I think they are equally important for ALL relationships. A friendship that has God in the centre is so precious, and also so powerful! What amazing things we can do together for God. My friend and I have our own areas God has called us to serve him in, in our own countries etc, but what a joy it has been this week to “labour” together, definitely a “good return” and SO much fun!!

My prayer is that I can be as much of an inspiration and encouragement to her as she is to me. I don’t feel that I am at the moment, but I guess that is how friendships and relationships are. We are there for each other unconditionally. “Aroha” is a Maori word translated love. But it is not the, “I love chocolate” kind of love. It is more like the Greek word “Agape”. The kind of love God has for us, the kind of love GOoD friends have. Friends that will cheer you on, celebrate with you, cry with you, understand you and bless you; a friend who fills you up, doesn’t drain you. After being with GOoD friends you come home feeling closer to God and encouraged to take the next steps on your faith journey.

As a parent, I pray that my children will find their own GOoD friends too. Friends who will walk with each other on this spiritual journey through life; who will encourage each other and unconditionally love each other. At the kids camp I have just been at, God really stirred me to pray this for the children there too. Many children are so alone, they want to walk with God but the pressures of this world are getting stronger and stronger. It is not only as we get older that we need GOoD friends, we all need them! Our children need GOoD friends to walk along side them, to encourage and to pick each other up if they fall and to spur them on. And as a mentor and a leader this is also my prayer. We were not meant to walk alone. Jesus walked closely with his friends, he did life with them. We need to do life with others too, not alone!

I thank God that I have some amazing, GOoD friends in my life. They bless me in so many ways that I am not eloquent enough to express in words. Who are your GOoD friends? If you don’t have one, ask God for one. Ask God on behave of your children too. God wants to give us GOOD things and a friend who is passionate about serving God and walking this journey of faith with you, who is beside you cheering you on with encouragement and unconditional love is very, very GOoD!!