Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

Do you know this Sunday School song?

Be careful little eyes what you see
Be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see!

I thought of this song while we were in church this Sunday. There was a new family this week. A woman, her teen-aged son and daughter, and the daughter's boyfriend. The daughter and her boyfriend were not what you would call... traditional in appearance. The girl had purposely matted orange hair, with an odd little bow in the front. She had several facial piercings, including a ring in her nose - I mean, like a bull, not a cute little one on the side. The boyfriend had a matching nose ring, and I do believe they both had gauges in their ears. They definitely did not look like most people at our church, and it seemed to me that not as many people were greeting them as were greeting others.

We settled into our seats and the service, and pretty soon it was time for praise and worship. I wondered how many people were surprised when the different-looking girl threw her hands in the air and sang the songs wholeheartedly? She obviously knew the songs, and was very enthusiastic in her worship. At some points, I thought she was so into it that she'd float right off the floor! I confess, I was surprised at first. But, I was quickly humbled, and reminded that God does not look at the physical of our beings:

What matters is not your outer appearance - the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes - but your inner disposition. 1 Peter 3:3-4, The Message

I did not expect such spiritual passion to come out of that girl. I'd actually suspected that her mother had made her come to church that morning. I was wrong. I was looking at her through human eyes, not the eyes of Christ.

What would YOU have thought, if that girl had sat down in YOUR church? What would YOU have seen?

The Year of Jubilee

We sang a song in church recently which really touched me. We have sung it before, but it never really spoke to me, other than being an upbeat song with interesting lyrics.



The Year of Jubilee is about forgiving debts. But it doesn't happen every year. You have to wait and be patient.

My husband and I used to be assistant pastors. We reached a point where we became frustrated and discouraged, and we resigned from ministry. This was 8 years ago. Mr. Man went through a long period of anger toward the church and God. He gradually made his way back to a right relationship with God, but not fully until after the loss of Morgan. I gradually came to see that perhaps God was not leading us away from ministry when we left, but that instead He was giving us over to our own selfish desires for a time. We tried to do things our own way, and it hasn't worked.

Flash forward to the beginning of January. We were able to attend a retreat and see some friends from our ministry past. Mr. Man talked for hours with one friend in particular. The friend told him about a ministry position he was looking to fill in the church he pastors. On our way home, we were in agreement that we felt we were being led back into ministry in some way. We prayed about whether we were to try to become pastors again, contact this friend with the opening in his church, or if we were being led somewhere else. Mr. Man went ahead and contacted our friend about the position, and let him know we were interested. The friend asked for time to pray about it. We continued to pray for guidance, but weren't really feeling led anywhere. That was the last we heard from our friend...

Meanwhile, we sang this song in church. It really spoke to me when we got to the line about the Year of Jubilee. I felt God saying THIS is our Year of Jubilee - we have turned our lives back over to Him, and are truly seeking His will and direction for our family. Our past selfishness is forgiven, and we are being restored!

At the end of February, our friend suddenly called, and wanted us to come out for an "interview". Something just "clicked" with both of us - THIS is what God wants for us right now. We both know it without a shadow of a doubt. We were patient and waited on God's timing, and He has revealed at least a peek at His plans. We went out for the interview (an entire state away), and have gone out again for some follow-up stuff. Every question has been answered by God along the way, every wrinkle smoothed out. All that is left is for official permission to come through from the church's headquarters (we already have unofficial permission), and for God to show us what house He has in store for us. As soon as that comes through, we will be moving, and Mr. Man will be working again! That in itself is an answer to prayer, as we were going to move in with his parents - and there still wouldn't have been a job lined up. While I will not be an employee, I will do plenty of lay ministry, and we are both excited to get back to doing what we know we should have been doing all along!