It's Raining... Meatballs?

   So lately I’ve been thinking about stuff that falls from the sky, with all the snow that fell from the sky this week who can blame me? Yes, when we think of things that fall from the sky we typically think about rain, sleet, hail, snow and so on. Also we can think of the occasional cat and dog, as the metaphor goes. But the other day I was sitting at home, since I could not go out because of the weather, watching tv. A movie came on that I haven’t seen in a while: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

   For those of you who haven’t seen the movie first I would recommend it. Though some critics would disagree, I think it is a good movie for multiple reasons. The main reason is because of the lesson behind the story. In the movie Flint Lockwood is a man who has failed many times. He is an inventor whose inventions have ruined the town. His dad has never understood him either so that does not help his confidence. Flint wants to make up for all his failures and be popular. He comes up with an invention that makes food out of water. Through some accidents, Flint ends up getting the machine up in the sky. Now, since the machine is up in the atmosphere where it can get water from the clouds, Flint can make whatever food he wants and it will rain from the sky. The people of the town begin to see Flint as a hero who will save the town. They also ask him to make it rain many different types of food. Flint takes so many requests that the machine begins to overload. This makes the food grow bigger so it crushes homes. But that’s not the worst part, the food also comes to life eventually. Flint feels like a failure again and almost gives up. But, his father encourages him to keep going. I won’t ruin the ending for you but basically Flint needs to go up and destroy the machine.

   There are so many lessons in this movie. The first is that there will be people who do not understand you. We are all unique and think differently. God made us that way and it is great. We may not think that it is at times, but think about it. If we didn’t have people who thought differently we may not have the art, movies, governments, inventions, and many other things. Romans 12:6 discusses the different spiritual gifts that God gives us. He gave us those for a reason, we just need to try to use them to the best of our ability.

   Next is peer pressure and relationship with family. Flint wanted the approval of his dad. He did everything because he wanted his dad to say he was proud of him. He also wanted to get approval from others. People will want you to conform to this world. Romans 12:2 says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” It doesn’t matter what others think about us; it only matters what God thinks about us. I know that can seem hard at times to only care about what God thinks. But, He is all we need.

   Finally, and this may be the most important lesson, God answers prayer in his own way. Flint took all the requests from the people because he did not want anyone to be unhappy. This ended up in mass chaos. God knows everything that has happened and will happen. There is a reason behind everything he does. Sometimes he says no to what we pray for, for our own good. Other times he says wait. Or, he may say yes, but our prayer may not be answered in the way we expected. Luke 18:1 says: “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” We may not expect God to answer prayers the way he does, but one way or another God will answer prayers.

   

So the next time you question the way God made you remember that he gave you gifts and abilities for a reason. When you feel down because you don’t have the approval of others remember God’s opinion is the only one that matters. And, finally, remember that God has a plan for you and cares for you.

Failure is Not an Option

   It’s happened to all of us at one point or another. We have failed. Failure leads to many different emotions depending on how deep the failure was or what the situation was. But, there is one specific instance that many people think of when they hear the word fail: TESTS. (I mean, come on, you have to expect this considering I’m studying to be a teacher). Tests and grades have been a major subject in my education classes. The main subject, lately, has been re-tests.

   Giving re-tests is a difficult choice for some teachers. They believe that it isn’t fair to the students that tried hard the first time if the students who didn’t try get a second chance. To this my professors typically say that fair isn’t always equal. Which means we need to differentiate our classroom, or responding to the needs of different students. While there are many opinions on re-tests in the world, I’d like to point out one opinion: God’s.

   God gives us re-tests over and over again. We fail to follow Him and He gives us another chance. We sin and He gives us another chance. We lose faith in Him and he gives us another chance. He will give us a re-do, but we need to ask for it. This may bring into question whether or not we are reaching up to God or if He is reaching down to us. Unlike other religions, God first reached down to us. He sent his Son to die for our sins, so that we could have life. In the same way, teachers should let students know that re-tests are an option; but the students need to ask for the re-tests and for help. This again, leads back to the whole argument of how is it fair to the students who did well on the test. Well, let’s go to the ultimate authority on everything: the Bible.

   Luke 15:11-32 tells the story of the Prodigal Son. The younger son failed to help the family farm. He also failed the family entirely because he left them and lost all his money. He was a reject in society. So he decided to go back to his father’s house. When the father saw him coming he ran to him; and threw a celebration because his son had come home. The father accepted his son back into his family, and helped his son get back on his feet. Meanwhile, the older son was upset that his father accepted the younger son back into the family. The older son did his work to the best of his ability but he wasn’t praised. He didn’t get a celebration. How was that fair? The father came out and said to his oldest son that the son will be rewarded eventually, with the inheritance from his father. But, for now the oldest son should rejoice because his brother was lost and is now found.

   The way I see it, this is a perfect example of re-testing. The younger son is the student that fails the test the first time. They come back and want a second chance. The father is the teacher. The teacher sees that the student who fails has a need and the teacher wants to fulfill that need. Who is the teacher to stop a student from succeeding, even if they did not succeed the first time? The older son is the student who passes the test the first time, and always works hard. Some of these students may say that it’s not fair that the students who didn’t pass get a redo; but the teacher can say that we can all be happy for our fellow students because they learned the material.

   Failure is a difficult subject. Most of us don’t like failing. But failure can be a good thing. We learn from failures. We grow into better people because we learn lessons when we fail. So the next time you fail, remember that it's not the end of the world. Because, you have an amazing God who is willing to give you a re-test.

Dealing with Loss: A Tribute to Miriam Watto

Loss: it’s something we all go through. Sometimes the pain of losing someone or something hurts so much that we feel like we cannot bear to go on. This past week my church lost a very important member of our congregation: Miriam Watto.

Miriam was so much more to our congregation than just a member. She was an example, not just for the older people, but also for the younger people as well. You could not get through a Sunday without Miriam asking how someone was or checking up on someone in your family. But there was so much more to Miriam than that.

Miriam was a prayer warrior. You knew that if she said that she would pray for you she would actually do it. She would not just do it in the mornings, she would do it whenever. Honestly I have met very few people who I know prayed like Miriam. She would take our prayer journal home and pray over all the requests. That was just one way that she showed that she cared.

Miriam was also a great example to everyone in the church. She was an amazing wife to Jim. She cared for him, and he cared for her. Miriam was faithful in raising money for missions and every Christmas and Birthday you could expect a card from her. She used to care for the children, including me, when they were younger in the nursery. That’s where we learned to call her Grandma Watto; though, I guess that made sense because we are all a part of God’s family. Anyhow, she did not stop caring when we grew up. She supported the youth in whatever they were doing whether it be girl scouts, soccer, school, or hunting (it’s a big deal at our church). Miriam also cared for the older people in the church. She did whatever she could for whoever she could.

Miriam totally embodied the verses describing a virtuous woman (Proverbs  31:10-31). She will be sorely missed in our church.

Maybe you are going through a loss right now as well, whether it is a person, job, or something else. While it may be difficult, I encourage you to turn to God. Ask Him to help you through this hard time. He will give you the strength. Also try to find someone to talk about how you are feeling with. God created us to be in community and to love one another. Finally, try to focus on the positive. It may be difficult, but pain is temporary. Eventually we will be in heaven with our Everlasting Father and we will never have to deal with loss again. Isn’t that amazing?

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Miriam Watto and anyone who is going through a time of loss.

Miriam Watto/Mim/Grandma Watto (1928-2015)

Back In My Day...

               We all have them. People who love us, always make sure we are warm, ask us how our days are, bring us presents, and they are there for us no matter what (usually). Who am I talking about? Grandparents! They are these awesome people who tell us stories about when they were young. Then, when we were younger at least, we used to listen intently to their wisdom and neat stories. Except for one specific story I’m pretty sure many of you have heard: "When I was younger I used to walk uphill both ways two miles or more through the snow."

                Honestly I cannot count how many times I heard that story and each time my siblings and I would look at one another and start repeating the story word for word. It used to be annoying and funny at the same time. But, if you think about it, there is a good lesson in this story.

                This winter has been one of the coldest I can remember. During this winter I have heard more complaints than I can even count about the cold. I’m not blaming anyone because I have complained a little too. Though, do we have a right to complain? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” What happens when we complain about events or about the weather (which we have no control over by the way)? Does anything change about the circumstances we are in? No, not usually. And what does complaining do for us anyhow? Does it get us what we want? Does it help us spread the good news of the gospel?

                When we complain, we are doubting God. He has a plan for us and everything that goes on in the world. We may not like our circumstances or the cold now but these things are happening for a reason. We may know what we want, but God knows what we need. He will take care of us. We just need to trust him.

                So the next time you think about how cold you are remember what your grandparents used to do every day. They walked uphill both ways without complaining. You know, until they complain to us about having to walk uphill when we complain about how hard our life is. Also remember that God has a plan for you. You may not like the circumstances now, but just remember to have hope… and that spring is just around the corner. Don’t let the cold get you down.

What is Love?

Around Valentine’s Day a word we hear a lot is love. However, it’s a typical word we hear almost every day. “I love my mom,” “I love this cheeseburger,” “I would love to go to Paris” and so on. We use the word love pretty much every day, but what is love? When asked what the definition of love is people usually do not know the answer. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes love as “a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person (noun);” and “to feel great affection for someone (verb).” These definitions seem alright; but, no offense to the dictionary, I see love differently. 
The Bible is just filled with verses about love. One specific verse is Matthew 22:37 and 39 which says “Jesus replied: ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Of course I could quote more verses, but I want to focus on this one. The greatest commandment is to love God and love others. Most Christians know this but have you ever thought about why? Let’s look back at the beginning of the Bible. 
Why did God create humans? He created us out of his love for us. He loved us even before he create us. That’s pretty awesome to think about. God loves us; therefore, it’s pretty easy to show Him affection. So what about others who don’t love us back? How can we show affection to them? If we use the definition of “strong affection” this is very difficult to do. But looking in the Bible we can see that love is a choice. We sin against God all the time, but He still chooses to love us. God is very compassionate toward us, he respects us, and he is kind to us no matter how we treat him. This is love. Love is a choice. We may not like someone or agree with their actions; but God still tells us to love them. Have you been showing others that you love them lately? I encourage you to let your light shine through the love that God has given to you. After all love is why we are here in the first place. Happy Valentine's Day!
Romans 12:9, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Ephesians 4:2, 1 John 3:16-18, 1 John 4:8

Looking back at 2014 and onto 2015

Looking back at 2014

    So 2014 is over now. What have you learned this year? What are you going to learn next year? In 2015 I encourage you to realize that each day is a chance to learn something new. I mean just think about all the things you don’t know. Think about God. Do you understand everything he does? No, because if you did then you wouldn’t appreciate him as much; and he wouldn’t be God. God wants us to have a relationship with him. He is our father and friend. We should want to learn all we can about him. He shows us new things every day, which is how we learn. That is, if we choose to listen to what he is saying or what he is trying to teach us.

    This year I encourage you to ask yourself how your relationship with God is. I also encourage you to thank God for all he has taught you; and remember this year to keep learning.

    Hope you all have a blessed 2015

A Season of Getting

   

    Breaking News: The season of giving has become the season of getting. Many people say that Christmas has become too secular. It isn’t that hard to look around at Christmastime and see what Christmas has become. Black Friday has now become black Thursday (THANKSGIVING), people believe they just need more stuff, and the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten by most. So what can Christians do to show others the real reason for the season?

    Let’s look at it this way: everything is shouting God’s glory. Wait, what? Didn’t I just say that Christmas has become too secular? Yes, I did but stay with me on this. God created everything in the world for HIS good. He gives us all unique abilities and talents. We don’t just discover new abilities by chance. He gives the abilities to us in order to glorify Him. Nothing on earth happens by chance. God works through coincidences. I mean, who would have thought God’s son, our savior, would come to earth and be laid in a manger? Who would have thought Shepherds would be the first to know? This story is something no one could write until it happened, because it’s incomprehensible to us that God would send his son that way. The whole story is His story; and it’s his gift to us. That’s why he wants us to give of ourselves, our material items, and our talents. It’s because he gave so much and he wants us to be a part of His story! Isn’t that amazing?

    ​So back to the getting things for Christmas: the bottom line when it comes to the Christmas season is that it’s not about what we get, but about what we do with what we get. Remember that God gives us gifts to glorify him. He also gave us the greatest gift: salvation through his son. So what are you going to do with the gifts you have, and the gifts you get this season? Will you give to God and others?

    I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.