No Seriously, What Would Jesus Do?

Here's one of my all-time favorite answers to a relatively common question/idea among Christians, from The Simple Way. 


Should I give money to homeless folks or beggars?
Jesus said give to everyone who asks. That’s a tough command. Sometimes we wonder what Jesus would do in the Calcutta slums or in these heroine-haunted streets where folks ask for change on every corner. What we can say with confidence is that we are to give something to everyone who asks – dignity, attention, time, a listening ear. Sometimes we may give money, sometimes not. But we can always give love. And there are times when giving money can even be a way to insulate ourselves from friendship or the messiness a real relationship might demand. So you can toss a few coins to a beggar or write a check to charity precisely as a way of insulating ourselves from relationships (and still appease our consciences)… but at the end of the day Christ’s call is to relationship and compassion. When Jesus speaks in Matthew 25 about caring for “the least of these”, the action he speaks of is not about distant acts of charity but personal actions of compassion – visiting the prisoners, caring for the sick, welcoming the strangers, sharing food with the hungry. Better than sharing money is sharing life, a meal, a home. Having said that, most Christians need to get taken advantage of more. And we can usually spare some change. Sometimes folks say this question about giving to beggars and panhandlers with suspicion, speculating that homeless folks will just use their money for drugs or alcohol… which happens sometimes. But we don’t always ask what CEOs are doing with our money when we give it to their companies (and the recent events on Wall Street raise some flags about how responsible they are!). In the end, if we cannot take someone to dinner or give them a ride when they ask for money, we might as well give some money. It’s better to err on the side of grace than on the side of suspicion. And we doubt that Jesus is going to reprimand us for giving too much money to addicts… more likely, we will discover we could have been a bit more generous than we were.


Thanks, Shane and friends, for that reminder!

Randoms

1. My piano students had their Christmas recital tonight, and they all performed splendidly.  Tonight was the first winter recital in four years that was not canceled/rescheduled due to snow or missed so I could deliver a baby.  Score!  Also, I was given several sweet gifts from students, including a Starbucks gift card.  Someone knows me well, and it can be assumed that I will be taking a little outing with the kiddos tomorrow. :)

2. I've eaten a lot of cookie dough this week.  And leftover cupcakes from Brooklyn's birthday.  And an abundance of junk food in general.  And while it's been a delight to my taste buds, I'm starting to feel pretty nasty.  If you've had extra sweet treats around your house, then I'm guessing you know what I mean.  So.....for the month of January, Jeremy and I are going vegan. Honestly, I just want to see if we can stick with it for a month, and if so, see how we feel at the end of it.  Want to join us?  My plan is to create weekly menus and post them for anyone that's interested in joining in.  (I mean, really, what else is there to do in January?)  Mostly, I just need a little accountability to stick with it.  We tried it for a week last summer....and made it 2.5 days.  I would love meal/recipe ideas!

3. In case you're just waking up from a cryogenic slumber*, Christmas is almost here.  Which means that there has been a lot of talk about Baby Jesus around this house:
      "I want Baby Jesus to sleep in my room!"  
      "I need to feed Baby Jesus!"   
      "Baby Jesus is in the sky outside. I need to listen to him in my ear!"
     
It is a pretty exciting thing, really.  Jesus coming to earth as a baby to save humanity.  The greatest act of sacrificial love.  Yep, definitely something to celebrate!

 4. Our house is a disaster.  I have approximately 2,734 projects that I would like to accomplish in the next two weeks.  Here's hoping that I can make it through the first two...

5.  Jack got a haircut (thanks Aunt Sonya)!  And it's sooo much more manageable.

From this:

To this!

6. Brooklyn loves music.  She dances uncontrollably the minute I start singing or playing the piano and tries to sing along.  It's pretty precious.  

In case you can't tell, she's singing "O Holy Night"

Alright, that's all for tonight.  Thanks to items #1, 2, and 4, I'm getting pretty sleepy and in danger of rambling even more than usual.  Here's one more picture of sweetness to hold you over.

*Is that even an appropriate usage of the term?  My sci-fi-knowledgeable husband is currently sleeping...

My Dearest Brooklyn...

When I found out I was pregnant with you, Daddy didn't believe me. Your Uncle Mark was the one who finally told him, "I think there really is another line there."  I couldn't imagine loving another child as much as I already loved your brother, Jack.  But your Grandma told me that my love would just multiply.  She was so very right.

When we found out that you were a girl, I was the one in disbelief.  I had no idea how amazingly sweet it would be to have a daughter.  But I know now.  You have a smile that lights up the room.  You've always liked me to hold you, and I love that about you.  I wish I could always hold you.

When you were born on that cold December morning, it was....incredible.  I was the one to pull you into my arms, perfect little you.  And I will never, ever forget the way that Daddy held you for the first time, as though you were the only two in the room.  You are captivating like that.

When you got sick at five weeks old and we had to take you to the ER, I cried.  I cried even more when they poked and prodded and gave you an IV in your  tiny hand.  But I look back on those next few days in the hospital with you fondly; we bonded during those quiet hours.

When you started to sit up and eventually crawl, Jack started to play with you more, and you two have become fast friends.  I love how he says, "I need Brooklyn in my room!" and how you giggle at his every move.  I hope you are always close friends and look out for each other.

When you were seven months old, Daddy and I took you to Florida.  You were the best traveler and a delight to everyone.  We got to see a lot of things and spend quality time together.  I know you won't remember it when you grow up, but I have some incredibly cherished memories from that trip with you.

When I sing silly songs about being in the kitchen or I sit down to play the piano, you dance and squeal, and it warms my heart.  I hope you'll let me teach you how to play the piano, but if you don't want to, that's ok too.

When we celebrated your first birthday today, I found it hard to believe that it's already been a year since that amazing day.  You are a delight to Daddy and me (and a lot of other people, too!), and we thank God that we have the privilege of being your parents.  We love you so very much, sweet Brooklyn.  Happy birthday.

Love,
Mommy

My Vote

In honor of this heated midterm election week, here's what I'm voting for:

*Wearing the same jeans every single day.  Ironically, even though I find myself wearing the same jeans and  over-sized sweatshirt (hello, What Not to Wear??), there always seems to be an abundance of my clothes in the dirty laundry pile.

*A break from teething.  Good golly miss Molly!  Brooklyn's mouth has been an explosion of teeth this week, and Morgan's been working on a couple too.  That being said, they've actually handled it pretty well, so I can't really complain.  Although...Brooklyn's diapers have been a force to be reckoned with.  Yeesh!

*Coffee.  If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty addicted to coffee.  I have exactly 2.5 cups every morning to get me going.  I don't know how you moms that can't have any survive!  We try to buy fair-trade coffee as a small and simple way of recognizing the value of the laborers producing our goods.  "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor." Jeremiah 22:13.  We still have a long way to go in terms of the clothes we wear and things we use on a regular basis, but I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

*Wild Rice Burgers.  Jeremy's parents recently introduced us to this heavenly recipe, and I am smitten.  I'm pretty sure that world peace could be achieved if all the world leaders sat down to a meal of this goodness.  No joke.

*Music.  I don't know what I would do without it.  Singing the babies to sleep, helping my piano students develop, leading worship at church, or singing silly songs with Jack about everything from elephants to trains.  Music is definitely a sanity-saver.

*Laughter.  Being married to Jeremy Jennings and being the mother to two little ones, I laugh a lot.  A LOT.  You should too!  Laughter reduces stress/pain/anxiety, increases immunity, and just feels good.  Don't have much to laugh about?  Come have dinner at our house!  I'll even make wild rice burgers.  :)

Open Mouth, Insert....

Boob.

First, this blog is about breastfeeding.  Consider yourself warned.

Second, this blog is in no way intended to make anyone feel guilty about not being able to breastfeed.  I know firsthand how difficult it can be, and not everyone has an amazing lactation consultant for a mother-in-law like I do!  If anything, this is just to be an encouragement for those that are considering it or are trying desperately to stick with it. 

I guess I'm thinking about all of this right now because my little barracuda baby is less than two months away from her first birthday.  Remember this?

Those days are far behind us, and now I'm realizing (with some sadness) that I probably won't be nursing much longer.   And it's kind of strange to think about because I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for nearly three and a half years straight.  I'm pretty much a factory.

Here's why breastfeeding has been awesome:
1. It's free 
2. It builds up baby's immunity (Jack has only had one ear infection requiring antibiotics ever...Brooklyn has had none)
3. It's easier for baby to digest
4. It's always available, even in the middle of a blizzard or flood (assuming I'm alive)
5. It requires no prep in the middle of the night
6. It requires no bottles, brushes, formula, water; all I need is a nursing cover (of course, lots of nursing moms do pump and use bottles, etc)
7. It releases the hormone, prolactin, which helps to relax the mother and lower stress (uhhh, THANK YOU, Lord, for prolactin!)
8. It burns more calories (approx 500 per day) and helps with that pesky baby weight
9. It also has possible long-term benefits, such as helping to prevent cancer, diabetes, and other diseases.

Convinced yet?

I know that I have things pretty ideal.....my mother-in-law is an excellent lactation consultant, and I'm a stay-at-home mom (most of the time).  And despite that, it was still a challenge getting each of my babies to nurse well (ok, Brooklyn nursed well but was equivalent to a paper shredder).   All that to say-it has been worth it.

So there ya go.  For me, it was just nice to know that others had struggled through it and survived.  You can too!

Tequila!

Let me start off tonight with a story that is completely unrelated to the rest of this blog.

First, in case you haven't met my mom, she is the very last person on the face of this earth that would drink alcohol.  A couple of years ago we were playing the game Taboo as a family, and the person giving hints said something about a Mexican drink.  My mom shouted "tequila!" very excitedly.  We all stopped and looked at her, at which point she sheepishly said, "that's a drink, right?"  Ever since then, tequila jokes have been made with our family on a fairly regular basis.

Ok, now on to the rest of this totally unrelated blog.

Jeremy and I had another Friday night date tonight.  We've been making it a habit lately, and man, this is a habit that really needs to stick.  I love our dates.  For a couple hours, I'm not a jungle gym, housekeeper, or dairy farm.  I'm just an adult (I use that term loosely) hanging out with the love of my life.  Talking about theology, or our future, or our dreams, or coming up with some crazy idea.  There's usually a lot of laughter on our dates.

Interestingly, my mom left a message on my phone tonight, because someone had ding-dong-ditched a bottle of tequila (and bag of chocolates) on their front doorstep.  She had her suspicions as to who the culprits might be, but I'd rather not give out any names.  She was also concerned as to what exactly she should do with said bottle, which, I assume, is part of the humor in the whole thing.  I also assume that the culprits shared a good laugh as they scampered away in the night, like two an unknown number of mischievous kids.  

Ahh yes, a dinosaur

Jeremy got home early from work today, before Jack woke up from his afternoon nap.  When he did wake up, he came running out to find Jeremy at home.

Jack:  Daddy!  There was a dinosaur in my room!!

Jeremy:  A dinosaur?  What was it doing?

Jack:  Ummmm....it went bye-bye!

Jeremy:  Where did it go?

Jack:  In my BED!!!