When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
 
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
   'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet"'?
"If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. 
 
Did you hear it—how this story begins? This guy incites a legal debate with Jesus. In fact, Jesus is often baited into various forms of debates throughout the gospel stories. Debates are on all our minds these days, right? At least for me, when I watch the bits that I do, I want to shout, “just answer the question, already!!” Because we know well, a trick in debate is to answer the question you want to answer, not the one asked of you.
 
But Jesus doesn’t do that, he doesn’t need to. He answers as plainly as can be.  The greatest commandment? Simple: Love God. Love Neighbor. Only, it’s not simple, and Jesus knows this. There’s another version of this exchange with a lawyer trying to justify himself by asking Jesus to define his neighbor, exactly. That’s when Jesus offers the beautiful tale of the Good Samaritan- you know, showing mercy to a foreigner who is suffering.
 
But in today’s text, Jesus interrupts this impromptu debate by asking the type of question he knows NONE of them want to answer. "What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?" The question directs the skeptics to Jesus’ identity, his connection to God; and in so doing- Jesus transforms a debate into true dialogue—about the thing that matters most.
“God is love,” Jesus reminds them, “and God has sent me into the world so that LOVE will win. Never mind your need for debates, I will keep on loving everyone I meet.”
 
I think often of my role in public life these days. As a pastor, a parent, a cis-gender, straight white woman from SD. Here’s the question I ask myself: Where is my voice most reflective of Jesus’ priorities? We each answer this uniquely of course, but I find time and again, one election after another, the single most significant role I play in public life is this: to infuse more love into the world, to chase love more fervently today than yesterday, to inspire others to think more deeply about what Christ-like love can accomplish.
 
And before the skeptics roll their eyes at the term “love,” let me assure you this is not some sappy escape from the realities of seeking justice for the oppressed (which Jesus also claims as his purpose in his very first sermon from the temple). No, love is the FIRST WORK, because it informs how we live our values. Only love changes hearts. You know as well as I do, that loving folks who are different from me is THE single hardest part of being Christian. Sometimes I just cannot FATHOM why folks will do what they do, vote how they vote, and consider it good, maybe even Christian! In fact, I would challenge you to find something harder than loving your “proverbial” enemy.
 
Which is, of course, why Jesus gives this answer. “#1 rule you ask? Love. Love God. Love Neighbor. Do it, I dare you.” It often takes me a great deal of time to listen and consider effective public policies for the sake of the common good. It’s tricky, right? I mean, if it was simple to define how best to care for ourselves and our neighbors alike, we wouldn’t have such a deeply divided electorate.
 
Here’s where I start, because I believe it centers me in a course of Christ-like love. I listen to the stories of people whose perspectives are WAY different than mine. And I listen for that nugget of personal truth- the motivation behind the feeling or opinion someone holds. I believe this way of beginning dialogue (not debate) honors both the Love God and Love neighbor part of Jesus’ commandment.
 
Now I’m human, so the truth is, I don’t have enough love on my own to do this with any amount of grace for those with whom I disagree. So I need to back up for a minute. Before I can even do a decent job of listening to my neighbor, I need to first understand that God’s image exists in them. Do you know how that happens? How I can ‘get there’ in my mind? Prayer. To be in prayer is a fundamental orientation. It is a setting of the heart. It’s a connection to the author of love itself. It’s an opening to the truth that God exists in me, and God exists in you too. And that’s where we begin. Loving God comes first—it’s very important that we get the order right—because loving neighbor flows out of the practice of loving God (and really, loving ourselves). Only when we are familiar with God’s image within ourselves can we begin to see God’s image in our neighbor. The man holding a sign for spare change. The kid who steals your pick-up out of the driveway in Pierre, SD. The family member who belittles you, never a kind word shared. The person who gets the promotion when you know you earned it. The grumpy uncle. The woman who threatens to call the cops b/c your kids retrieve a ball that landed in her bushes. The politician who doesn’t pursue the goals of equity for all, preferring instead the voices of those who will bankroll a next campaign.
 
I know you’ve got neighbors to add to this list. And none of us will be able to respond in true love without beginning in prayer. Prayer, that setting of the heart, evolves within us over time, eventually changing our hearts, souls, and minds, as Jesus says. This is why Rich Melheim’s 4th Step in his Faith5 daily routine is pray! Pray for those you love, pray for God to show up in the world. Pray for direction on how you might embody divine love. Heck, if you’re brave like Jesus, pray for your enemy!
 
The power of prayer is the transformation that occurs in the process over days, months, years. If you’re a person of prayer, you know what I mean. It becomes harder to hate the person for whom we pray. And sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can even discover we can be the answer to our prayers. But this can’t happen if we subscribe to a limited love. There’s a big difference here between tribal love and true love. Tribal love says I will love my people, those in my orbit, the folks who think like me and believe like I do. My tribe, I’ll love them. Tribal love is limited at its best, and at its worst, it can lead to hate, simply because its limits define who deserves love and who doesn’t.
 
And it can’t be true love if it leads to hate. Never.
 
I recently had a family member create a deep rift in our relationship by clinging to a tribal understanding of love. One way to recognize tribalism is when derogatory names are used for folks who think differently than you. And let me say, it’s not fun to be on the receiving end of vicious names, simply for expressing alternative political solutions to the issues we all want to see resolved. But this happened to me a few months ago, and in an attempt to defend his name-calling (which we’ve all probably become de-sensitized to from an excess intake of sensationalized media), he says, “I don’t know how to form my thoughts well enough to debate you.”
 
And all along, all I’ve ever wanted from him, was respectful dialogue, never debate! For God’s sake, we’re family- and we both claim Christ at the center of our lives! Why the need for debate? We all know people’s minds aren’t changed as a result. Now sincere dialogue, beginning with that crucial element of deep listening? Yes, that CAN lead to transformation of the heart. But a lot of folks think debate is the only way to talk these days. It’s like we’ve forgotten that we can be wrong sometimes—and being wrong is not a failure, so long as we can apologize and move toward better understanding. We’re limited by what we don’t yet know, we’re limited by fear, we’re limited by this idea that we need to debate, to be exclusive, to render political opponents our enemies. And all the while, Jesus is pleading with us. Love God. Love neighbor.
 
Friends, it’s prayer that will prepare us for this hard work. Prayer is a setting of our hearts toward true love, away from divisive tribalism.
 
If you’re looking for a place to begin this practice of prayer, preferably in the company of others, I have a suggestion. It’s a simple prayer I began using with the kids when they were just tiny, as a way to form their little hearts of faith. Here it is: “Dear Jesus, thank you for your love that we share as a family, help us to share it with others too, amen.” 
 
This prayer is a setting of the heart in two ways:

1. It forms our interactions as a family around Christ’s love, not our own.
2. It expands our family’s practice of love beyond tribalism. I want my kids to know that receiving God’s love does not make us special. It makes us chosen to be ambassadors of Christ’s love in the world.

Finally, a second suggestion of where to begin is The Lord’s Prayer. When we lift this prayer, it begins to transform our hearts. Here’s my paraphrase, as we end together in prayer: Yeah, God, we rely on you. Of course, we want your kingdom love to reign. But it’s true, we’ve made bad choices along the way & we’ve been hurt by the bad choices of others. We always need direction back to love. This is our eternal connection and purpose: living to the glory of you, God. We love you, helps us love our neighbors too. Amen

We meet Moses again this week. Both he and God are still hot with anger about the whole golden calf incident from last week. Now maybe anger sounds harsh, coming from God; but I take it as a good sign, a sign that God really wants to be in relationship with us- you know, the deep kind where our actions affect each other.  A curious line leads us into the scripture today: the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. 
 
And it follows that Moses said to the Lord, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." God said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And Moses said to God, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth."
 
The Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," God said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live." And the Lord continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."
 
Show me! Show me! Moses pleads with God, Show me your way. Show me your glory.
 
I encounter this phrase a lot. “Show me! Show me! I want to see!” It’s often when I’m using my vantage point to see something that a 4-year old just can’t. See that pretty ornament atop the tree? See that deer running through the field? And when she can’t, I hear: “Show me, I want to see too!” It’s easy to forget that others can’t always see what I see, that I need to point or lift or redirect attention. Thank goodness kids are good at asking for what they need; they remind us that sometimes, seeing is believing. The truth is, we all need each other to see new perspectives, maybe especially on God.
 
Moses knows the people need to see God, to engage God, to be with God the way he has on the mountaintop. So Moses keeps asking God, “show me your way, show me your glory,” show me how to lead your people back to you again.
 
The Lord says, “Yes- I’ll do it! But on my terms. You won’t see me fully, but you’ll feel my glory pass by and you’ll know I’m with you.”
 
It’s aggravating at times to not see God fully, isn’t it? It’s like catching only a glimpse of the deer leaping the fence, when what you want to see is the full display of elegance bounding across the field. It’s frustrating to read a passage of scripture and think, “um, what does that mean?” Like a child listening in on adult conversations.
 
It’s upsetting to hear contradictory statements about faith and biblical truth swirling around us, leading us to implore God once more, “Show me your way!” It’s confusing at times, trying to parse ancient text into a modern day.
 
I’ve wanted to see God’s face fully since I was young; really if I think back, most of my life has been this meandering quest in search of God. The first time I recognized this in myself was at the age of 9, at our church camp meeting (we called it) just outside of Brookings, SD… I didn’t know much at the time about this force in my heart calling forth tears on my face, but that same force lives within me today. That same force lives within each of us- expressing herself in an many ways as we have people in this sanctuary. Scripture gives that force a name: Spirit, and that Holy Spirit lives constantly among us, even when we can’t recognize her.
 
One way (not the only way) Spirit is called forth in our lives is through Scripture. If you were with us last week, you heard the “why” of integrating even 5 minutes of scripture into your daily routine. But reading alone often leaves us without the connections that make the text come alive!
 
We need to ask questions, preferably with other people. We take scripture (a wonderful, gritty, and sometimes confusing tale about God’s love for the world) and ask, “so what?”
 
Rich Melheim’s 3rd step in the faith5 nightly routine is exactly this: TALK. Talk about how scripture speaks into your life. Connect what you read with your highs and lows for that day. Help one another discover God illumining new truth and purpose for the journey. And because this doesn’t come naturally to many of us, Rich offers two prompts in order to engage the bible as a living word:

1. What is God trying to say to us with these words?
2. How does this verse connect to the highs and lows we shared?

Sometimes a simple question helps us make that leap from hearing God’s word and applying that word as if it mattered in our lives today.
 
My first year in undergrad, biblical studies 101, I asked my professor a question that had been burning inside my earnest little heart. This is it: If Jesus came after all the OT folks had already died, what happens to their salvation? Good question, right?!? Being the insightful, patient instructor she is, Dr. Jackie Smallbones affirmed my question- and promptly redirected me to the question that I’ve since discovered matters a great deal more:
 
Prayerfully wondering Who are you God? (repeat)
 
Maybe you have the same reaction I did when I first heard it: that sounds a little vague, doesn’t it? Listen again. Each time you read scripture, if you have one question to ask, this is it: Prayerfully wondering “who are you God?”
 
In truth, it helps answer that ache we all have: to see God’s face more fully. It also keeps us in a spirit of openness, curiosity, and awe. Not trying to pin God into a box of our making- but allowing God’s Spirit to flourish in all mystery and wonder. Who are you God? Show me! Show me! I want to see you! And by seeing God, we begin to see ourselves a little more clearly too.
 
Show me your way. I thought about Moses’ words here, and how similar they sound to Dr. Smallbones’ prompt- the one that remains the first question I ask of every bible story I read. I can still hear her voice patiently instructing us all: Seek God first, and if that’s the only answer you find in scripture, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Especially when we take time to listen to the way others also wonder who God is alongside us. Because each of us only sees a glimpse of God’s glory on our own, but together in conversation and prayer...God shows up.
 
Sometimes unexpectedly, like a deer bounding through the field. At times we catch only a glimpse of the tail, but there are moments, friends, and I’ve heard it in your faith-filled stories these past three years- you see God’s face.
 
Unlike Moses, for whom God’s full glory was off limits, we get full access, because Jesus became human and lived among us. So these stories, they matter, at least if you too are calling out from your soul: Show me your way. Show me your glory! Amen.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord." They rose early the next day, and offered burnt-offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.
 
The Lord said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" The Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, "O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.'" And the Lord changed the Lord’s mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
 
What an incredible story! Moses and God are in the midst of creating a covenant- a way of being together that will give God’s people purpose on the journey & a reminder of their identity. It’s the 10 commandments being formed in real time. And yes, it’s happening weirdly on a mountaintop away from where God’s people are camped…so their patience wears thin. Likely hungry, losing faith that Moses would even return, restless to find this promised land…the people turn away from God. Even Moses’ brother Aaron forgets what it’s all about. What’s happened here? Well, they’re being very human…or as a friend of mine in ministry likes to say, “they’re being very people-y; people can be so people-y sometimes,” they say.
 
Have you felt people-y lately? Impatient? Hungry for certainty? Has our desire for God’s presence amidst all the questions turned our hearts toward other things that look and feel a little more like idols? Maybe they promise us quick fixes? Momentary gratification or distraction? Mindless entertainment? Feigned security?  These are interesting questions for these days, aren’t they? It doesn’t matter what age we’re living in, friends. Challenges meet us in every era and two things remain true from Moses’ days to our own:
 

1. It’s easy to forget who deserves our praise. ​An idol is something we choose to give more of our attention to, rather than God. And I want to talk about one idol in particular today that takes root in our hearts way easier than we might like to imagine. What is it? Television. Or to translate for various generations: whatever the media content is that entertains you (or fills your minds) on a daily basis. For some, it’s nearly as automatic as breathing: turning on the TV, scrolling twitter or instagram, perusing Facebook, playing video games, watching silly youtube videos, or my favorite- those cute little pandemic parodies people are making; whatever is our media of choice, it likely informs who we are and how we think more than any of us could imagine.

 
Rich Melheim, the man who wrote the book Holding Your Family Together, which is informing our series this month says this about his family research: “By the time a child growing up today reaches the age of 18, he or she will be exposed to 60,000 hours of media, 11,000 hours of school, and a mere 2,000 hours in quality conversation with his or her parents.” The most disturbing news for me is the sheer amount of violence we absorb from media. One statistic suggests a 12-year old child will have seen 8,000 murders watching (sometimes even age-appropriate) shows.
 
And as adults, if we added up our own media intake, I suspect we’d be shocked by the numbers, especially if we compared that time to how often we are taking in sacred texts like the bible. Now watching TV isn’t categorically bad or wrong. The invitation today is to be mindful about it. Because how we spend our time and what we allow into our minds affects every one of us, every day.
 
I said there’s two things that remains true from Moses’ days to our own; the 1st: it’s easy to forget who deserves our praise; the second is much more hopeful:
 

1. What we do with our attention actually matters to God.

And we know this, because Moses’ faithfulness got God to change God’s mind.
I want to begin with a confession: not as a pastor, but as a parent. When our Christian Ed. determined the best course of faith formation this fall would entail no Sunday School- I had this brief moment where I thought, “gosh, how are my kids gonna learn the stories of our faith?” Then this guttural feeling crept in as I realized…Emily, that’s your job, and you haven’t been doing it with any consistency at all.

I know that’s kind of embarrassing for a pastor to admit, but I want to be transparent with you, because if this is a new practice in your home, or if reading bible stories with your kids or your partner or a friend is a learning curve for you, you’re not alone. Covid times have taught me so much, and the thing that hits closest to home for me, is my own responsibly as a parent to bring up my children in the faith. Because, what we do with our attention actually matters to God. How we devote our time is a reflection of where we devote our hearts.
 
I say this not to be judgmental with myself or anyone else, but simply to be realistic. And all of this matters deeply to God because God loves us and wants the most life-giving things for us.
 
At the end of this story, when Moses pleads for God’s mercy on behalf of God’s beloved people, God changes course. It’s one of the few moments in scripture where we see the full relationality of God on display. God wants to be connected to us SO MUCH that God is willing to change on our behalf. And because of the conviction of one person, an entire people are also changed for the better.
 
This kind of purpose-giving story is what the bible is all about. When we digest these stories, God is made real to us, ordinary people who face the same people-y issues as they did in Moses’ time.  And so the question for us becomes- where are we choosing to direct our attention? If we choose the bible, the living word of truth, we come that much closer to understanding who we are in this grand love story. It’s the story of God and God’s unending desire to be in relationship with us, and it’s available 24/7 for free.
 
Reading a short bible story or passage of scripture is Rich’s 2nd step in the faith5 nightly routine. You’ve heard the why, so the question for each of us now becomes: how are we going to make it happen? What’s your plan for adding more bible reading into your own lives? Who are you going to commit to this work alongside? Where will you go for resources if you’re unfamiliar with the bible? Friends, these sacred texts are at the core of our faith, and they are accessible to us every single day. If you want help getting started, just say the word.
 
As I think about what Rich says regarding what we take in becomes a part of who we are…and I think back to my grandmother- the one who passed away last month. She had a stroke about 10 years ago; she couldn’t recall what day it was, what my name was, or the proper use of pronouns (I was “him” for a long time). But you know what she could call to mind? Scripture. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil- for thou art with me. These words were deep within my grandmother’s heart and closest to her tongue just days after her stroke and until her very end, because she made a life-long commitment to including scripture into her daily routine.
 
There’s no prescription for how much or how little popular media we take in- it’s not a right or wrong type of thing. It is, though, a question about what we want closest to our tongues and our hearts at the end of the day. Do we want our attention on the latest trending show or endless news cycle, or do we want our focus to be on the lasting promises of scripture? It’s a real question- and one we get to answer for ourselves, even tonight.
 
Because 1. It’s easy to forget who deserves our praise. & 2. What we do with our attention actually matters to God.
 
So what do you say? Let’s read some scripture! Thanks for being on this journey alongside me. Amen!

So Paul finds himself in prison, doing the thing we all do in our most vulnerable moments. He asks: “Who am I?” “What about my life matters?” He, being the Apostle Paul who’s seen it all and done a few shady things himself, knows that what’s in the heart matters most. Credentials, not so much. Nationality or heritage, eh, not really. Occupation- nope. Wealth? Social Standing? Good deeds? None of it amounts to much of an identity for Paul, without Jesus in the picture.
 
It’s his conviction that Christ’s way is the only path of right living, that gives Paul purpose. “I press on to make it my own,” that way of living in service to others; And because he does this, because Paul lives for that heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus, his answer to the question “Who am I” is clear. I am Jesus’ friend. I share in his sufferings, so I might share in his resurrection too. Paul walks the highs and lows of life knowing to whom he belongs, and it makes all the difference- even in the midst of an unjust prison sentence.
 
This sure sense of connection with God is what I’d like to offer us all over the next 5 weeks. Because, I’m convinced (and so is Paul) that connecting with God gives us all the purpose and identity we long for. This fall, we’ve distributed Holding your Family Together by Rich Melheim to our families with kids in the home orbit in lieu of SS; I’m excited for our online discussions drawing us deeper into faith practices at home. (If you haven’t chimed in yet, please do! Our first question was posted Sunday- and I’ll post another this afternoon). But what I especially love about Rich’s approach is how accessible it is for every household, even those who live alone. If you want the full version- read the book, of course.
 
For today, I’d like to introduce the 1st step of Rich’s nightly routine he calls Faith5. It’s not intimidating, I promise. It’s only 5-15 minutes a night, every night, with family or even friends. (if you live alone, you can establish this routine with a loved one over the phone- and if your family won’t engage with you- same thing applies, find someone who will);
 
Okay, Step #1: Share one high and one low from your day. That’s it. It’s simple, but effective in helping us become better listeners to what’s really going on inside ourselves and one another. And that, in turn, helps us discover more of our identity. I’d like to offer a way sharing our highs and lows affects our minds and our spirits, according to research by Rich.
 
First, sharing highs (what is good in life) is great for our brains! It “triggers a cascade of positive and powerful neurochemical transmitters that bolster immune systems, regulate hormonal systems, improve one’s digestive tract, slows down the aging process, and triggers positive electro-chemical exchanges throughout the brain and body!” Interesting stuff, right!?
 
Sharing highs is also great for our spirits- who we are inside. “Sharing a high reclaims, renames, re-games, and reframes the day as God’s good gift. It teaches that life isn’t all bad and that, in fact, it contains a lot of good! Sharing a high lifts us to an attitude of gratitude and lowers us to a deeper appreciation for the Giver of all good gifts.”
 
But life doesn’t always happen in the positive zone, right? Our days consist of lows just as often, and it’s important to share them too! Here’s why, according to Rich,
 
“Sharing a low with the people you love minimizes the pain. It does so not by minimizing the problem, but by taking it off your shoulders and placing it into the arms of those who love and trust you the most. Everyone you “let in” is on your team. Everyone “in the know” who loves you now has antenna up searching for solutions. Everyone who cares is now praying to see answers and working to be the answers to the prayers. Everyone has your back.”
 
It also teaches us to create sacred space in our everyday lives. “Sharing lows gives you a better understanding of yourself and others. And especially if you’ve got kids in your home orbit, “growing up with a forum, format, and life-long experience in verbalizing one’s lows aloud (within the context of a safe, loving, non-judgmental home every night) gives one a huge advantage when it comes to building capacity for mental health, emotional resilience, and spiritual maturity.”
 
Friends, this stuff really matters for the way we establish our identity in Christ. The Apostle Paul walks with certainty that no matter what happens, who he is and his purpose on earth is secure. We know this, because Paul makes a point to share his highs and his lows with us in the art of writing letters. Want even more from Paul- read the NT, he writings make up nearly half the books in the NT.
 
Even in his lowest of lows, expressing the mess of his journey with others connects Paul with God, and it will help us begin the routine that sinks us further into an identity as God’s beloved. Sharing our highs and lows is the stuff of life itself- and if we commit to sharing consistently, think how much more we can discover about what really matters: Answering “Who am I?” & “What about my life matters?”
 
A few nights ago, the kids were running on steam- and we had some tears leading into circle time. Rather than skip, I used our sharing highs and lows as an opportunity for Briggs (the one with the tears) to express his frustration with the fact that Blaire had cleaned up his toys (ie- messed up his tower) without letting him know first. That was his low. After he collected himself a bit, he also shared another low- mommy left our family outing to the park early today, and that made me sad.  Without allowing time to reflect on the day, I would have never known that me leaving the park made him sad, because he never mentioned it. Our evening ended in the kids praying for each other- both of them expressing how much they appreciate each other’s snuggles, playing, and giggles.
 
Circle time was for us that day became a very real in-the-moment chance for healing. From tears of frustration to prayers of gratitude for one another. That’s the power of Faith5- and I hope you stay tuned for step 2 next week!
 
And I really hope I get to hear to some of your stories as you begin implementing this routine in your families.
 
God you are so accessible to us if only we take the time to notice. Guide us in ways of sharing and prayer this week. Amen.