Yesterday a friend of ours popped by to borrow a tool.  I had forgotten that she was coming by and answered the door with a dumb-founded look on my face as I was in the midst of doing chores and waiting for our baby to wake up.  She hung around a bit and we talked as I finished loading the dishwasher.  She made one comment that has stayed with me – “I like coming over to your house so I can see you are real.”

Real life is made up of many things from the silly to the sad.

I was in the midst of emptying a double-sink full of dirty dishes, toys were randomly scattered throughout the house and I’m thankful she didn’t go look at our bedroom which has become a repository for children’s clothes that need to be sorted and stored….and that was just the house.  Our lives have their messes as well.  We’re far from perfect but sometimes that is hard to tell if we only see each other at the church building a few times a week.

I appreciate our friend’s comment!  I take it as a compliment.  Just like most everyone else, our family has challenges and struggles that we deal with.  I try to be pretty transparent about what’s going on while maintaining some privacy.  In our fast-paced, social media driven world a perfect picture that captures a few seconds in a day can create a deceptive appearance.  I question my abilities as a parent, my wife and I argue from time to time, and I constantly struggle to be in the Word and living an active walk with God.

The church needs people who are real and authentic.  The church is made up of people and people are imperfect, struggling and searching.  In our worship service we try to set aside the cares and concerns of this world and focus on God, but sometimes our worries and concerns are so heavy that we need to feel comfortable reaching out for help and laying ourselves bare.  I appreciate so many at our church who embrace the imperfections of others and love them, nurture them and help them.

There is of course some risk in laying our faults out for all to see.  There are those who will judge and others who will condemn.  People may talk about you.  But there is great reward because there are those who know their role as a Christian and embrace you and love you like you have never experienced before.  Those people who are real will surround you with love and comfort.

Today’s post is written for everyone with a tender heart.  For those who sometimes break down and cry because they recognize just how blessed they are.  For those who get down on their knees and pray to God during the good times and the challenging times in life.  For those who are honest enough to say, “I don’t know, let’s find the answer together.”  Today’s post is for those people in my life who are real.  You are a blessing to me and I love you.

One of the best things we can do for our children is to teach them that the events we read about in the Bible are real.  Too often it seems like the curriculum I see for Bible class puts the Bible on par with a fairy tale.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this promotional piece we received from a prominent vacation Bible school publisher…

Over the next few weeks our family worship guide will focus on the accounts of some real events that we read about in the Bible.  Obviously it is up to parents to decide how much detail to include in their retelling of these accounts, but the emphasis should be that these were real people who did good and bad things.  I have even included some ‘free to reproduce’ coloring sheets to help parents with young children. God bless you all!  >>>  Week 19 – The Rainbow