May is a month of transitions. For Alaskans, May serves as the month of transition when spring gives way to summer. Fishing rods, RVs, paint brushes, and lawn mowers again see the light of day. Neighbors who haven't seen each other since the first snow of the past winter now share conversations on their lawns.
For students from K through 11, Wednesday marks the transition to no school days until August.
In the Goodman house, this May is a big transition for our daughter as she graduates from High School. Kate graduates today! My wife and I are very proud of her.
Graduation marks a big event - the completion of a pursuit. The Apostle Paul wrote of a pursuit of a different sort in his words to the Christ-followers in first-century Philippi.
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:10-14 (NIV)
In verse 12 we read the words of Paul that inform us that he had not yet reached graduation. That is, he was continually pursuing knowledge of Christ. He stated his goal using a different image in his writings to the Corinthians.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
Graduation for the Christian is knowledge of the depths of God's love and the gift of being fully known and yet still fully loved. Tauren Wells sings this truth well in his song, "Known" . . .
I'm fully known and loved by You
You won't let go no matter what I do
And it's not one or the other
It's hard truth and ridiculous grace
To be known fully known and loved by You
I'm fully known and loved by You
#ordinarylives
The words of Romans 12:1 serve as the bedrock for this blog.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. (MSG)
Paul's words encourage us to see that all aspects of our lives qualify for serving as sacrifices to God - as long as we turn them over to Him and they are not in contradiction to His way and will. Any career dedicated to God, that is within God's established moral parameters, can glorify Him. Any college major can open the door for the student to live his/her life for Christ.
- Godly fathers "daddy" as an offering to God.
- Jesus-following teachers instruct - remembering that Jesus "sits" in one of the student desks.
- Christian attorneys litigate with integrity.
- Christ-like physicians treat patients as children of God.
- Kingdom-of-Heaven-minded politicians administrate with God's interests in mind.
In what ways do you "take your everyday, ordinary life and place it before God as an offering"? Let me know. Post how you live out Romans 12:1. I look forward to hearing from you.
#ordinarylives
In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Mark 15:41a (NIV)
One woman gave birth to Jesus. However, in a way, Jesus had many mothers.
There were Mary and Mary (not to be confused with Joseph's wife, Mary); Mary, the mother of Joseph (not to be confused with the carpenter); and other women not named Mary, such as Salome and Joanna. Mark (not to be confused with me) indicates that those women cared for Jesus' needs. That is what loving mothers do.
I do not know the nature of all of Jesus' needs. Nevertheless, I imagine the Marys Three (plus the others) tending to Him by . . .
- providing money for His journeys
- patching His robes when they needed mending
- washing His robes when they needed cleaning
- washing His feet (that one's in the Bible)
- offering Him a place to catch a nap
- sticking a "hang in there" note in His lunch
- praying for Him
And, finally, assuring that He received a respectful burial. Only the last one was not needed. As we celebrated just a couple of weeks ago, Jesus rose! While their tending to His body was not needed, it was truly motherly.
While some of the women who tended to Him earn more mention in the gospel writing; others, like Joanna, do not. That is really how it goes - isn't it? Some people's story continues to be told, while others' accounts remain footnotes in history.
Oh, but what powerful footnotes!
Women like Joanna loved, through action, the Lord Jesus.
On this week preceding Mother's Day, I started to write about a mother of renown whose story history knows. I thought better of it however. Instead, I chose to write a tribute to all moms whose actions will earn a footnote or less. They . . .
- provide love to their children
- stick notes in lunches
- wash jeans (rather than robes)
- place Band-aids on knees
- earn wages to provide for their living legacies
- make beds where little heads lie
- pray for their daughters and sons
To all of you - Thank you!
Whether history remembers you or not, you are caring for needs. That makes Jesus happy.
#ordinarylives
In the Goodman house, this May is a big transition for our daughter as she graduates from High School. Kate graduates today! My wife and I are very proud of her. 
