Skip to main content

The Joys of Celebration

mother's day graphics 001
I'm not sure if my dad ever felt this pressure, but wanting Mother's Day to go well is not a day that should be left to the children. After all, who better than the husband to discern the emotional needs of his wife? Can such important and daunting tasks be left to the same little ones who barely know how to keep their rooms clean?

Besides, celebrating someone else is always something I want a part of. Why? Simply put, it gets you closer to the party. I've recently mentioned why a good party is worth attending, but let's chat about how celebrating others can be a real treat.

For starters, there are the treats! Back to the aforementioned Mother's Day, I got the kids together and we planned the day out. Wouldn't Mommy like a yummy breakfast. Of course she would! Cinnamon rolls it is! Assuring my youngest that we would not simply make a couple of cinnamon rolls for Mom, we made enough to put us all in a sugary tizzy for the day.

Then there is the showering of gifts. This is where the heart counts as much as the gift itself. Especially when the shopping for said gifts takes 2 hours on a Saturday, when stores are filled with other desperate men and children, eager to not mess up Mom's Day. Ideas were scattered and some gifts were not possible (does Mom really want a brand new deck, complete with lawn furniture and ornaments?)

But the giving and celebrating and remembering of why we love Mom is something of which I want to be a part. Just like our worship of God. Worshiping God on a weekly basis in community, or remembering God on a daily basis, are good ideas.

So why do some find this tedious?

Worshiping God, in all forms and functions, bring us into His joy, making it ours as well. We share in the celebration, we share in the joy and ultimately, we share in the blessings. Those blessing are even better than a cinnamon roll.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mom

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...
2 comments
Read more