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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...

But I Wanted It

As I've said before , I'm looking for a new place to do youth ministry. Job searching in itself can be a full time task. Unfortunately, no one is paying me to look for a job. And when you haven't had to find a job in 15 years, the whole experience can feel brand new. And nerve-wracking. And quiet. So very, very quiet. I may spend a few hours here and there sending out my resumes and writing cover letters. But the churches I'm sending my information to have their own timeline. And sometimes that timeline does not involve acknowledging my presence. Which is fine, especially if one of the churches I've applied to is reading this right now. I understand those looking for youth pastors will have their own agenda and their own timeline. But it leaves me sitting here with a deafening quiet around me. I am choosing to walk by faith through these days, picturing God working behind the scenes (always behind the scenes) and holding His voice very still, until He is re...