Praise Swings

Guiding Prayer For Our Season of Fasting: 

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Myself in Truth

Holy God, help me to truly recognize the thrill of your blessings today and may I not take them for granted.

Nurtured and Nurturing

Father and Creator, you have made us all different, yet you created us for community and family.  May we take delight in our differences and celebrated your goodness in our families.

The Gathered

Gathering God, may we delight in one another.  May another's joy be cause for joy ourselves.  May we be brave enough to trust you fully and jump into the ministry to which you are calling us all and take joy in the journey together.

Psalm 30:11-12 (NAS) "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; That [my] soul may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to Thee forever." 

Praise Swings

The State Fair with a three year old can be a little piece of heaven and a little piece of horror. There are attractions and dangers all around.  A parent has the challenge of wanting to be cautious but also wanting the experience to be magical for their child. When you couple that with the games and stuffed animals and toys all around, fighting the "I wants" can be quite difficult.  

When you arrive at gate 8 at the fair, you are pretty much on the far end of nowhere, but you also have the advantage that if you start there, you can basically see everything on your way to Kiddie Land which is on the opposite side of the fair. I had visions of taking Jozie to see the flowers, and the forestry exhibits, the kids FFA barnyard and the animal exhibits before hitting the rides.  That was a dream that quickly floated away as soon as she saw the ferris wheel. She started pointing to the giant wheel, brightly lit and ready just for Jozie to ride as soon as we walked through the gate. We tried the kids barnyard and she literally would not look at a single animal. She just kept asking, "will we be at the rides soon?". 

When we finally got to the Ferris wheel, I saw that she was too short to ride, even with an adult. This was a fact that I was thankful for as thoughts of Jozie on that ride, even with me beside her, brought images of a giant wheel of doom to mind as I filed through all the potential hazards that could await at that elevation.  I thought Jozie would be disappointed but as soon as she saw the pink and green dragon coaster, her attention was completely diverted. She rode with a bit of apprehension, clutching tightly to the safety bars.  Every now and then I would hear a "woo hoo" coming from her as she circled by me, but it wasn't the "electric" experience that she and I were both hoping she would have. 

The next ride was the swings. These were kids swings, so they were much shorter than the huge ones that the teenagers typically ride on, but exciting just the same.  She needed an adult to accompany her on this one, so I hopped in beside her. As the ride began, her eyes became wide with anticipation and then, as we swung upward and then dipped down the first time, the most delighted squeal came from her mouth and then the giggles just tumbled out.  We looked at each other and then squealed together! I showed her the thrill of lifting your hands as you rode, and as she took her hands off the bars and we lifted our hands together, my heart was just full.  Full of praise to God for allowing me this moment of sheer delight with my child. Praise for innocence and praise for her existence. In those few short moments, her hands were lifted in enjoyment and mine were lifted in a sort of private praise to a God who allows us to thrill in the wind on our faces and the blessings of our lives.