Who will take the son?

Granny sent me this today.  I thought it blogworthy.  What say ye?

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art..  
  
  
 When the   Vietnam  conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.  
  
  
  
 About a month later, just before Christmas,

 there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.



 He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'



 The father

 opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift..'



 The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.



 The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.



 On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'



 There was silence.

 Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'



 But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'



 Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!'


But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'


Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting..' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.


'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10.. Let's see the masters.'


The crowd was becoming angry.. They didn't want the picture of the son.



They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.


The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'


 A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'



 The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'



 'What about the paintings?'



 'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.



 The man who took the son gets everything!'


 God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'



 Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

L.L. Cool PJ

   So, I wasn't planning on a sleepover.  It just kind of happened.  There I was, ready to say good-bye to Lucy's friend, when two pairs of eyes met mine.  I don't know how they did it, but all four of those eyes became cartoonishly huge.  Sweetness spilled out of every fiber of their being.  All the while I'm going through my mental to-do list,  "Newsletter has to be designed and ordered tonight, clients need to be contacted regarding their orders, receipts need to be issued, bloggies will be expecting a new post, checkbook balanced, costume made (cue Gloria), etc."  Just as my tongue hit the roof of my mouth to pronounce the "n" sound in "No",  Lucy, (without whining - that's key) made her request known, as she proceeded to tell me all the reasons she felt it would be the right thing for me to do.  "Mom, you always said I couldn't have a sleepover until Noah slept all night, and now he does." She wasn't finished. "AND, you and Dad said I couldn't have anybody overnight because he was going on a trip, and would miss me so he wanted me all to himself for awhile.  YOU said that when he left you would consider letting me have a friend spend the night.  It is a week-end so there's no school tomorrow and Dad will be home soon and want to spend more time with just me."  She's good I tell you, sinisterly good.
      And you know what,  I didn't realize it, but I desperately needed a slumber party.  It's refreshing to get away from the hectic, busy, task oriented life and enjoy a precious life moment.  There is an unequaled joy that comes with listening to seven year olds talk about how cute that boy actor is.  "Yeah, he's soo cute I would probably kiss him. Giggle giggle".  "Um yeah, giggle-snort, but not until you were married."  Thank you, Lauren, for your high moral standards.  I hope that rubs off a bit on the ministers' child:)
    
     Thank God Lucy was so darn convincing, because I was so zonked and under pressure that whatever I did wouldn't be my best work anyway.  And when I knock it out tomorrow, only one day will have passed.  A year from now, I won't remember how I missed a night of work, but I don't think I'll ever forget Lauren's wise instruction on pre-marital relations.  In fact, I plan to smile about it often.
      
         Long story longer, Lucy won me over because she executed two biblical principles.

1. She made her request known. Aka, she ASKED politely.

 Philippians 4:6 (New King James Version)

 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

2. She believed I would do what I said I would do.

Matthew 8:13 (New King James Version)

 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

The key to "getting what we want" from God is doing exactly what Lucy did tonight.  She knew the words I had spoken, she believed what I said, and she acted on it (She ASKED.)

God doesn't have a problem with us bringing up his promises and hoping for a piece of the pie.  He eagerly waits to give us good things. I find throughout His word (the Bible) his desire to give us peace, joy, greater understanding, restoration, even "non- spiritual" things like houses and money.  Oh Yeah! So I am encouraging YOU, special reader, to search his promises and believe them for your life.  And then, if you can muster the courage, (It worked for Lucy) ASK Him to give you all the things he's claimed he'll do.  What have you got to lose?  Ok, next question.  What have you got to gain?  Try it!

I've even done some research for you.  You'll find a boatload of promises from the Bible by clicking Here.  

I love you all more than you could imagine.

Christina

P.S.  Which of these promises will you apply in your life?

God is a big fat Ham.

   God is never two-faced, but he does have many facets.  The Bible tells us of times when He is angry, happy, jealous, sad, compassionate, (oh thank goodness, I AM like Him after all, lol)  etc... Today I read about an instance where Jesus was in a show-offy kind of mood.  Oh, who am I kidding? He's always an upstager, isn't He?

  Mark 8:1-10 - The C.M. L. version of the Bible relays it like this. "Jesus was so freaking awesome that people would do anything just to be around Him.  His jokes were fresh and everyone sensed his genuine interest in every individual he met.  A crowd had followed him into the wilderness, forsaking their Nintendo Wiis and Mafia Wars for three whole days.  Eventually, the thronging grew to over 4000 people.

    Jesus looked out at the crowd, and then turned to his disciples, saying, "I feel sorry for these people.  They have been with Me for three days, and they don't have anything left to eat.  If I send them home, they will pass out before they even get there.  Some of them have come from miles and miles away."
      He turned to the disciples with cocked eyebrows.  That questioning look always made them uneasy.
  "How are we supposed to find vittles for that many hungry bellies, out in the wilderness?  HELLO, we're in the desert here." (One of them had the guts to say something like that, anyway).  Jesus responded to his question with a question. (That was kinda his M.O. with those guys.)  Jesus smirked, and said, "How much bread do you have?" "Uh, let's see, Pete, whaddya got? Ok, plus Matt's sourdough pita...that makes... seven.  Seven Loaves, Lord."
      Jesus told everybody to get comfy on the ground.  Then He took the loaves, thanked His Dad for them, and broke them into pieces.  His disciples started handing out the bread to the multitude.  Somebody gave Him a few sardines, and he blessed those too.
       Everybody ate as much as they wanted.  Afterward, the disciples gathered the leftovers into seven large baskets. Then, J.C. thanked everybody for their sacrifice, and told everyone to return home and get some rest. "
  What a show-off! (I know, you're asking me, "Christina, Do you really believe that stuff happened?")  Well, I can't say I've miraculously (yet) fed that many people.  But I have seen the lame walk, blind eyes and deaf ears open, Tumors vanish, and a soul set free.  So, I don't have too many issues buying into this, as well.  (If you're still wondering, the answer is YES!)

   The cool thing about Jesus, is that he never changes.  This nifty book I've been sharing from, tells me that He is the same yesterday, TODAY, and forever.  So, Jesus, I'm resolving right now to give you, not only everything in my refrigerator (no sardines there), but every part of my life. I thank you for the miracles I saw yesterday, the ones I'll experience today, and for the ones I'll see tomorrow.  Thank you for loving me.  As always, You are free to "Ham it up" on center stage in my life anytime.

Thanks again for reading!

Christina

P.S.  Do not google "C.M.L version of the Bible". It stands for Christina M. Lusk, and isn't yet in print.

I heart Thomas because...

So, here it is - my blog. I didn't think I'd ever do it but now the time has come. My thoughts are now public domain. If you like them, tell me. If you don't, well, you can still tell me but please be as nice about it as you can muster. And now I'd like to present my very first entry...

I heart Thomas (the one from the bible, he was a follower of Jesus who got to spend time with Him) because... he was a lot like me.

He saw Jesus do amazing things. He knew first-hand the miracles, saw them with his own eyes. Just like me.

He had child-like faith and ideas which Jesus loved him for. Just like me.

Jesus told the disciples that His friend Lazarus had died. Jesus then told them to view this as a good thing because what He was going to do next would cause them to REALLY believe. Jesus said, "Come, let's go see Lazarus." To which Thomas enthusiastically replied, "Let's go too - and die with Jesus."

Sweet Thomas. It never crossed his mind that Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead. But he did think it would be quite the adventure for the whole group to die so they could visit with their buddy on the "other side."

I bet Jesus smiled the way I smiled when my daughter thought the word deadline meant getting your work done before the boss kills you.

And like Thomas, I am often amazed and surprised at the ways His plans unfold. I misunderstand Him often I'm sure. But just like He smiled at Thomas, He smiles at me. And eventually, I do get it. It's fun, believing the Bible. If you don't understand everything in it -it's ok. Thomas and I don't understand everything either, but we have a great relationship with Jesus. And that makes Jesus smile.

You can read what I read about Thomas today in the Bible. At the top of the page it says John. It is in chapter 11 and there are some smaller numbers too. The story is between the little numbers 1 and 41. Or another way it can be written is John 11: 1-41

Thanks for stopping by!