Entries Tagged as 'Family, Holidays, and Life'
Posted by Mark Kruger
I've been thinking a great deal about truth and deception of late. In my heart I know I still have many pre-conceived ideas about God and what he wants to do in me and in us. As we start our new season of choir I would like for us to begin to think about approaching Jesus and our worship of him with a heart that is completely unfettered by notions of what he is going to do in and through us. We want him to have His way, and we don't want to dictate to him what "His way" might look like. We want to be totally yielded to him. To that end, I offer up this short story that I hope you will enjoy.
Sam was two years old when his father went to war. His father had been captured behind enemy lines and held prisoner for 5 years. Now, at age 7, Sam was about to see his father again for the first time since his release from captivity. Images of his dad, never more than vague impressions, had faded over time. By now, what Sam knew about his Father he had gathered into his inner world from a faded picture album his mom kept on the piano, and fond stories she would tell him as he drifted off to sleep.
Posted by Mark Kruger
I had thought about posting this on the choir web site, but it is more of a patriotic post than it is a spiritual post. Still, I am often moved by the sacfrifices of the generation before me - upon whose shoulders I am standing and thriving. So for those of you who are interested you might find this a good read.
Memorial Day in DC
Posted by Mark Kruger
It's amazing how God prepares the way for us. It is even more amazing how the way isnever what we expect. I often think that if I could lay aside my expectations about life it would be so much easier. I'm sure that once Mary and Joseph were convinced that Mary's child was the Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit they must have had expectations about what the pregnancy and birth would be like. Perhaps they thought that God would honor the little one and that his way would be smooth and care free. Perhaps they thought there would be a slow recognition in the village that something extraordinary was happening. I'm sure they did not consider the idea that they would be forced to travel away from home to a strange city and struggle for survival... or that they would end up spending years in Egypt. Yet that is exactly the path that God chose.
I caught up with an old friend recently. When last I talked to William he was an aimless young man just out of High School. He did not know what God wanted him to do. He didn't have a grasp of his own abilities. He was drifting through life without a plan. But like all of us in grace, God had his own plan for William - and it started with the Christmas miracle.... of a blind date.
Posted by Mark Kruger
Did you ever want to just gloss over a verse in the Bible? Some verses can be so problematic for me I would rather just treat them like the condition of my kid's room - better left with the door closed. For example, after thanking everyone for being concerned about him, Paul says in Philippians 4:11-12:
...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Don't you just want to grab him and shake him a little bit? This old rascal was in prison half the time. He was stoned (with real stones), shipwrecked, and persecuted. This short little tent maker had the nerve to stand up to the Judaisers and preach to the Gentiles. Now he has the nerve to poo poo the sympathy of the church at Philippi. Maybe he's just super spiritual, seeing as how God choose him to write half of the New Testament and all. If anyone had a right to want something better it was Paul. How did he manage to be content in the midst of the hullabaloo in his life?
Posted by Mark Kruger
We decorated our house for Christmas a few days ago. We have a lovely, warm living room with a brick fireplace and an oak mantle. The room is decorated in earthy fall colors year round, but when the Christmas tree and other Kruger family decorations are finally in place the room comes to life - as if it is finally able to fulfill it's destiny. Decorating the house is more than task or chore however...