Seizing the Olympics

It has been so fun watching the 2010 Winter Olympics as a family. We have entered a new era! As a family we actually all sit down and watch the same thing and enjoy it collectively. Previously when the kids were smaller we would try to watch the Olympics but someone was always toddling off somewhere and the little ones had no interest and wished we would watch some cartoon instead. The desire to actually watch the Olympics was a little bit frustrating. Now all of a sudden "poof", attention spans have been developed no one is toddling to the danger of the stairs, we sit in anticipation as a unit waiting for the next Apollo Anton Ohno race to begin. The golden years have arrived I think. I wish I could press the slow motion button.

Saturday night mid-bliss I tearfully glanced around the room and realized that next Winter Olympics: Adalynne will be 14, Joseph will be 13, Eleanor will be 10, Sam will be 8, and Maren will be 4. I don't know why I think so far ahead. But, it does make me appreciate today a little more so I think it is beneficial. And, the Alex Brodine family is seizing this year's winter olympics. Do do, Do do, Do do do do do do! (The Olympics Tune)

Christ, My Life

Today, I looked at my mountain of laundry and said, "You are not my life." Then, I walked into my kitchen and as I stared at the piles of dishes on the table, the counter, and the stove, I declared, "You are not my life." I said this because Christ is my life. I died and my life is now hidden with Christ. My life is not in this temporary house. My life is the Lord Jesus. I turned on this Tim Keller sermon. I did the dishes but I reminded them and myself that they are not my life.

When I re-read this opening paragraph I think some people will think I have lost it and I am a fruit loop. I am not saying doing dishes is bad. I am saying it is not ultimate. Of course, the laundry needs to be done but it is not ultimate. And, at least for me I find myself feeling good about myself when my day goes according to my plan. And, I find myself quite frustrated when I am not achieving my ideal.

A clean, large, perfect home in the suburbs is a cultural ideal. It should not be where I get my value. Even if I live my American dream for 70 or 80 or 90 years I don't get to take it with me. And, my house isn't who I am.

You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. You will not have any other gods before me.

An idol is not a little golden statue. And, yes we all bow to something. An idol is a good thing that we make an ultimate thing. An idol is something that when we have it we are satisfied and happy. An idol is something that makes us feel great when we give it what it wants. And, if we don't have it or meet it's cruel demands we are devastated. An idol is what drives us. An idol is what we live for. An idol is where we get our value. It is what we spend our time, our physical and mental energy, and our life on.

Lord, give me an undivided heart that I might praise your name.

Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. Mary has chosen the one thing that is needed and it will not be taken from her.

I want the Lord to unite my heart and help me live for Him alone!

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/christ-our-life

*This is a link to my all time favorite Tim Keller sermon. Christ is changing me and I keep listening over and over and over because I need this truth. I want to be set free.

Home Sweet Home

This week I have been thinking about my perspective on my house. And, I think I had a realization and I wish I would've had it a long time ago. Well, it is one of those things that I think in my head I knew but not in my heart. And, it is dropping to my heart I think. So, drum roll....here it is.....My house is not my life! My life is lived in this house. Some days I think I have too much wrapped up in my house. If things are tidy and organized I feel like a "good mom and a good wife" and in that moment I am ready to be hospitable. If things are a mess I feel anxious, inferior, I wonder what is "wrong" with me, the thought of an unannounced visit makes me cower. Oh, YUCK!

Paul wrote something about what food people would eat. He said the food for the body and not the body for food. I think we could insert many other things in place of the word food there. Like the house for the family not the family for the house.

Too many days I have been driven by a never ending to do list. Now, I am not saying that I should give myself permission to live in a pig sty here. But, I think I need a heart change in the way I go about housework. And, I really need a heart change in the way I view family, guests, my home, where I get my value as a person, and the fear of what others think of me. Hope this is making sense.

I want my laundry done so that we will be warm and clothed and free to live life. But, having all my laundry done does not give me the golden star award. I am not more or less valuable when my laundry is folded and in the drawers. The status of laundry in my house is not all there is to Beth Brodine. Lord Jesus, free me from the lies I believe and give me a heart to serve my family with joy.