Aj Schwanz

Worship Fully:  This evening the family was planning on attending a special seasonal worship service at our faith community.  But the kids and I napped, and I just couldn’t pull it together, so Jason went on without us (he was playing with those leading musical worship).  At first I felt profound guilt:  “You should have bucked up and gone!”  “You chose to stay home rather than worship God!”  “You are choosing comfort over worship!”  Condemnation upon condemnation.  Then I ate something, and as the blood sugar rose, a sense of normality started to return.  The kids and I had a really good evening.  Nothing out of the ordinary:  helping me make dinner, playing computer games, taking a long bath, reading Christmas stories on my bed, drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows.  But we spent time together – non-demanding, enjoying each others’ company, reading about “One Baby Jesus Sleeping Peacefully.”  And I felt that Spirit in the Every Day, and felt greatly blessed.

Spend Less:  I made laundry detergent.  Spent less money, know what’s going into my laundry, and hopefully it’s not mucking up the water system as much.

Give More:  My Sunday School is spending time exploring the concept of diversity.  I’ve heard it said that if a faith gathering is not racially and socio-economically diverse, then it’s not truly living and working in the will of God.  I’m not so sure about that statement:  I see a lot of truth in it, but there’s something else about that …. Something for me to give more attention to, as uncomfortable as it can make me.

Love All:  Today I spent most of worship making faces at my daughter.  And as she went all googoo eyed and wide-grinned and cooing, I wondered if Mary ever did the same thing at the Tabernacle.  If Christ looked half as cute as Josephine did today, it would be easy and hard to love others:  my heart was full, but if others hurt my child, I’d be that much more hurt.