Mary and Martha...appropriate at Thanksgiving?

Luke (10:38-42) tells us the story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus. This is a huge story for me, because neither one of them necessarily did anything wrong, but one of them pleased Jesus by choosing what was better. I challenged the Sunday School class to think outside the box this Thanksgiving and to truly show their gratitude for their family (not just say it). But I want to preface it with the story of Mary and Martha--make sure that we don't get so busy with cooking, cleaning, entertaining, visiting, playing, etc (all good things)--that we miss out on Jesus. Join me in sitting at Jesus' feet over this holiday, and make an effort eliminate too many "good" things, and concentrate on the best ones! Happy Thanksgiving.

Also - If you would like to share a cool way that you said "thank you" to your parents/family - please comment and share so that we can be inspired, challenged, and encouraged!

Jesus, Hoverboards, and Thanksgiving Prayers

Last night was the second ever Axis Bowl, and we had a blast! It is great to experience the fact that Christians can have fun and enjoy a good time without the need for drugs and alcohol. The help we did have, though, was a combination of competitions that culminated in leaf-blower powered hover-boards. Plywood, plastic, staples, duck tape, and pvc piping can do wonderful things when put together in the right way! Whether it was hovering slightly above the ground, getting nailed with a dodgeball, winning a wii tennis match, or whatever - it was more than just games. James 1:17 states that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights..." It is cool to know that Jesus was in the midst of playing and laughing and singing, because it was all good. Sometimes we don't think about Jesus as one to throw his head back and laugh or to play and have fun - but He was the one that placed our humor and sense of adventure and healthy competition inside of us!

Other than announcing the winners of the evening (who happened to be the seniors), we ended the evening with a thought about prayer. Jesus taught us to pray to "Abba" - to "Dad" (Matt. 6:9), and not to pray long meaningless, babbling prayers, but to pray to Dad about what's on our hearts--good and bad. We had a blast last night, and we spent the evening playing in the presence of God for the glory of God, and we talked to Him about it and thanked Him for it! Please don't get caught in boring, monotonous prayers that become automatic and you don't think about them. Kind of like this one..."Lord, please bless this food to the nourishment of my body..." Chances are you've prayed that before your meal...and I'm not saying that's wrong to pray...but why do you pray it? Are you afraid it might not nourish you? (Isn't food, by definition, nourishing?) It's kind of like praying..."Lord, please bless this soap to the cleanliness of my body" before you take a shower! :) So you now have my permission to show the world that Christians have fun, exciting lives; and you also have my permission to smirk next Thursday when someone prays for the food at Thanksgiving dinner!