Kristina Lunde, Author at Kristina Lunde

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,041 Comments

College Bible Study Ideas

Dear Mikayla,

I wanted to get back to you after your question about a Bible study that you could do at college. Given the standard college budget of zero, there are many things you can do on your own.

Here are some ideas for you as you start a Bible study at college:

Find a quiet place to meet. Wait – you live in a college dorm. . .
Ask God to guide you as to who you invite. Encourage participants to bring their Bibles. Different versions of the Bible will give perspective and spark discussions. I like to use “smart Bibles,” as I call the study, devotion, and/or reference Bibles that have notes on culture, geography, cross references, and other information.
Pray before you start, both personally and as a group. You can pray God’s Word right back to Him, for example:

Dear Lord, please open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes (Psalm 119:18, 125 NIV.) In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Stick with the Bible. God says in Isaiah 55:11 that His Word will not return to Him empty, and it will accomplish His desires and purposes. God’s Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12.) Let God guide the study and He will fulfill your desire to grow and understand His Word.
Select a passage or chapter and discuss the who, when, where, what, why, and how questions. Who wrote it? When and where was it written? (Smart Bibles help answer those questions.) What does it say? What do I get out of it?

Why was it written?

How do I apply this to my life?

You may go off topic – and have the best discussion ever. Or, you may need to reign it in and encourage the group to agree to disagree. Your participants will appreciate a consistent starting and ending time.
Always close with prayer to focus the group on God.

Other ideas:

Check out campus organizations (e.g. your local campus chapel, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc.) for Bible study ideas and resources.

Here are other questions to use in a Bible study:

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/5-questions-ask-when-reading-bible/ by Steven Lawson

https://bible.org/seriespage/four-steps-inductive-bible-study by Melanie Newton

My Bible on the Bluff video study is something you can do without buying the associated study guide. Warning: the video settings may make you homesick.

Thank you for honoring me with your question. May God bless you incredibly as you dig into His Word.

Love to you at school from our family.

[Originally posted January 2015]

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,476 Comments

Brynn’s Big Girl Moment

Dear Brynn’s Mom,

Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to bring your daughters to AWANAs, our Wednesday night church program. What a blessing that you share your precious girls with us!

Your three year old Brynn is making a big adjustment to let go of you for the evening, although she likes having her sister there for support. I volunteer with Cubbies, the program for three to five year olds that both of your daughters participate in. I have three year olds in my small group, so I spend most of the evening with Brynn.

Brynn gets my attention with a gentle tap on my arm that she repeats. Tap. Tap. Tap. She then announces, “I miss my Mommy.” Wisps of white blond hair surround her cherubic face as she puckers her lip, trying not to cry.

“Of course you do.” I always try to validate her feelings before I offer my hand and present the next activity. “Your mommy will be back later, but first, let’s go to our big group time and sing.” Brynn likes to hold my hand as we walk through the hallways. She quickly distracts from her sadness and readily engages in the next activity.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Brynn gets my attention after the activity to declare, “I miss my Mommy!” Again, the quivering lower lip accompanies attempts to swallow instead of cry.

“Yes, Brynn, your mommy will be here later.” I point out Brynn’s big sister, who is on her way to the classroom, and urge, “Let’s go hear our Bible story!”

Last month, Brynn was the first to raise her hand for a question, eagerly proclaiming, “Christmas is when Jesus was born!” Her smile was huge, her confidence unshakable, her assurance contagious. May God keep her faith deeply rooted and ever-developing.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Again Brynn’s rallying almost-cry, “I miss my Mommy!”

Again, Brynn reaches for my outstretched hand and melts my heart with her angelic hazel eyes. I try to encourage her. “Your mommy is coming back soon, but let’s go learn our Bible verse, hear our Apple Acres story, and color.”

Our group of three year olds learns a weekly Bible verse, usually four to ten words long, which we practice as a group. Brynn loves to learn the verse, and is usually one of the first girls to offer to recite the verse alone from memory with her bold, “I want to say it by myself!”

As we transition between activities, I often get the familiar tap, tap, tap followed by Brynn’s “I miss my Mommy!”

My responses are similar. “Yes , you will see her soon, but let’s go to the gym . . .watch the Cubbie Bear puppet show . . . have our music time . . . first.”

Before Christmas, I had the honor of holding Brynn’s purple butterfly headband for gym time. I soon put the headband down, along with my reading glasses, so that I could join in the fun. The group of three to five year olds (and a few of us older ones acting that age) laughed, walked hesitantly, and even ran as we balanced a jingle bell on our head across the gym. As always, when I looked over at Brynn in the middle of the group, she was smiling and having fun.

In our group time afterwards, when Miss Becky asked the name of the baby who was born at Christmas, Brynn was the first to enthusiastically call out “Jesus.” Oh Lord, may Brynn always be first to call on Jesus’ name and may that be her strength and hope in life. God, please build in her a great faith that touches others with Jesus’ love.

Toward the end of that night, I felt the usual tap, tap, tap. Before I said anything, Brynn looked up at me with her sweet face and triumphantly exclaimed “I don’t miss my Mommy!” Brynn’s big girl moment: she could relax and enjoy the evening, convinced that you would be there for her afterwards.

Reflecting on Brynn’s lesson later, I thought of my grief journey after my mother died two years ago. I would often say out loud, “I miss my Mom!” and then cry in mournful remembrance. Recently, my pain and sadness in remembering my mother have transitioned to nostalgia and love. Brynn’s big girl moment was a meaningful illustration for me. In Brynn’s adjustment to living life, having fun, and being reassured that her mother will be there at the end, I found an illuminating example of how to cope with my own sadness.

Using Brynn’s big girl words of confident hope, I prayed similar words to God: I don’t miss my Mom! I know that I will see her again later – in heaven.

Brynn’s Mom, thank you so much for the gift of letting your sweet daughter teach me a lesson about eternal life and God’s reassurance.

[Originally posted January 2015]

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,172 Comments

Ten Year Sadiversary

Dearest Lee,

Ten years ago today, our lives changed forever.

Ten years ago today, I did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on you after you slumped over. I watched paramedics work on you, move you out of the house on a gurney, and take you to the hospital. The medical staff was unable to revive you after trying everything, and you were pronounced dead on January 7, 2005. Both of our lives split off in different directions after your sudden heart attack – yours celestial, mine earthly – in a separation neither of us chose.

The ten year sadiversary.

Never thought I would make it one week without you, let alone one decade. Now it seems like multiple decades, at least a lifetime ago. You were my husband, my parenting partner, the love of my life.

Our mighty God pulled me up out of the mire of grief and pain, and set me on the rock – just like Psalm 40:1-3 describes. God helped me rely on THE rock – the stable rock of His Word, His character – the rock of who He is.

Like Psalm 40:3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth.” Yes, I am singing and joyful again, although widowhood was a painful adjustment. It’s a long story — two books actually. I have no idea if God let you see the process; I just hope that you missed the awful part of our grief and mourning. The three of us love you so much; it took a long time and lots of help to adjust to losing you so suddenly.

Single, or only parenting as widowed people call it, was tough. I did my best, but it was not a smooth journey. (Hopefully, God did not show you all of that, either.) God helped me every step of the way; His comfort and guidance brought me back to living life again.

Do you know that I remarried seven years after you died? Who would think of having two husbands in one lifetime?! Very different, but I am grateful to God for the blessing of new love. You were the love of the first half of my life; Craig is the love of the second half of my life. Sometimes I am surprised that my life is so similar: loving my husband (OK, it’s a different husband, but it’s what I do) and family, nurturing my kids, and volunteering in my church and community. I start my day in God’s Word and maintain similar priorities as before you died.

Except for the parenting stuff, that is. Our kids (seems strange to call them “our” kids after the painful adjustment to “my” kids) do their own homework, driving, and activities now. You would be so proud of them – but you wouldn’t recognize them as teenagers! They have changed so much and are well on their way to becoming incredible, unique adults. Craig is God’s gift to help me deal with teenagers; he inspires me to be a much better parent than I was alone. I have adjusted to, and really appreciate, my new parenting partner.

Please do me a favor and thank Jesus personally for His death on the cross. What a gift that is to all of us! (I suppose that you never take that for granted up there.) Also, please thank God for the comfort and healing He gave me. What a turnaround God led me through after that horrible night ten years ago. . .

Maybe I’ll tell you all about it some celestial day.

[Originally posted January 2015]

December 19, 2014 by Kristina Lunde 2,034 Comments

Runaway Rebecca

Dear Runaway Rebecca,

Thank you for playing that fun game with me at MOPS!

The MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group met upstairs at the church, while you and the other “Moppettes,” or little ones, were entertained downstairs. As a mentor mom, I stayed upstairs to lead a discussion group. Doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was getting up two hours before an event, racing around the house to get kids ready (with myself as an afterthought), and then schlepping two strong-willed children and lots of assorted stuff to an event. Now those teenagers are busy in school all day, and my volunteering and Bible study activities don’t require heavy lifting and kid-corralling.

But I still remember my kid-corralling skills, and that’s why your game was so much fun. In stealth-like style, you squeezed your three year old self out the front door amid the mom brigade of strollers, toddlers, diaper bags, and other kid paraphernalia. As I stood outside talking with the other, also quite relaxed, mentor mom, I saw the concerned face of your mom Rose, as she held the door open and called your name. Rose had already worked a full morning: she planned, organized, set up, presented, and then cleaned up for her many responsibilities with the food, hospitality, and decorations.

That look in her eyes told me everything; likely she had turned to quickly finish something and then looked back only to find that you, her precious Rebecca, were gone. Not really gone, just out of reach and off to the races.

Clomp, clomp, clomp – your princess shoes clattered as you raced down the sidewalk.

Swish, swish, swish – that sparkly pink dress swayed as fast as your little legs could clomp.

Bounce, bounce, bounce – your adorable blond ringlets danced to the swish of your gait.

Although relieved to find you, your mother’s attempts to call you back were completely ignored. By this time I was running off to chase you, calling over my shoulder to ask your mom if I could get you.

“I’m sending my friend Miss Tina to get you,” I heard Rose call out as I chased Runaway Rebecca, a little vision in pink speeding along the concrete.

Leaning down toward you as I finally caught up with you, Rebecca, I heard the most precious little laughter. What a sweet, albeit impish, giggle you have! I started laughing with you, determined to make the trip back to your mom just as much fun. With a couple of silly comments and a hand-in-hand u-turn, we were soon racing back to your mom together. What a fun race that was! I still smile when I think of your adorable giggle and the wild Rebecca chase I got sent on.

Oh, how I know the responsibility, fear, and frustration in your mother’s eyes when she lost you in the crowd. Over a decade ago, I was overwhelmed with the responsibility and frustration of mothering my strong-willed children. I felt overworked, overtired, and wondered how I would ever survive. And yet God has guided me through every step of this parenting journey, as He is doing for your mother also.

May God refresh your dedicated mother, little Runaway Rebecca, with lots of those precious giggles and time to play with you. May our loving God always corral you with a gentle turnaround when your strong will tempts you to run from His love and protection.

November 22, 2014 by Kristina Lunde 2,500 Comments

Dear Mama Deer

Dear Mama Deer,

As a safety conscious mama, I want to have a few words with you about how you teach your little ones to get across traffic lanes. Although we live in a low-traveled area, I think you need to pay more attention to how your family gets across the street and how you train your fawn-babies to do that.

When I moved here from California, I remember hearing the clomp-clomp-clomp down my street for the first time. Expecting to see horses on my small town street, I ran to the window and gaped in surprise. There you were with your herd, crossing the road after coming up the ravine trails. Little did I realize how much you own this neighborhood! Since then, I am always amazed when you cross the street in single file. Slowing my car for a deer to cross the road means an inevitable halt as your brood wanders across the street one by one. My Minnesota friends warned me that the fall deer hunting season was the worst for car collisions with deer, understandably because your kind are skittish and on the run.

To your credit, you deer seem to look both ways with that twitchy neck movement that scouts out danger. I really haven’t seen the proverbial “deer in the headlights” look; usually I see jerky, swivel heads as your group crosses in front of my car. Kudos to you for teaching your fawn-babies to look both ways, but why start this procession when cars are coming?! Please give a thought to the size of your parade before scampering across the road, leaving your less-experienced little ones to follow right into oncoming traffic.

One day, heading down the big hill, I saw an animal lying in the middle of the road. The size of a medium dog, the animal appeared to have a long, crooked tail. After realizing that the animal was not going anywhere, I stopped my car and got out to take a look. Here was a sweet, spotted fawn-baby of yours, looking very frail and very young. I thought it was dead, until I approached and noticed the heaving of its chest. Backing off quickly, I got back in my car and thought of whom I could call. Cops? Humane society? Game warden? Then, as I picked up my phone, I saw the little one stretch up onto wobbly scrawny legs and lope off clumsily into the woods, presumably to where you were watching from.

Interesting how the Creator God had the whole situation under control. Perhaps that is how you handle things in the woods, letting your little ones get up on their own under the Creator’s watchful eye. (There is probably a great parenting lesson in there somewhere for me.) It just seemed to me that you were abdicating your motherly duty by leaving him stuck in the middle of the road. Would you please keep your birthing in the woods and far away from the road next time?!

And about my neighbor’s flower boxes . . . Yes, it was hilarious to drive down the street and see you and your kin eating the beautiful flowers right out of her living room bay window boxes, as if they were your personal feeding troughs. But would you please lay off her house decorations? At least start on the stuff in the yard first.

So please, keep your littlest ones out of the street, look both ways before you cross, and go easy on the flower boxes. I will do my best to drive safely and watch out for you.