September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,243 Comments

Hannah: Ultimate regifting

Hey Hannah —

Please help me to understand this whole regifting thing.

You were mocked by the other Mrs., tormented and scorned, because she thought she was better than you. All your years of infertility, all those annual family trips to the temple, all the spousal rivalry. Your infertility was a disgrace in a culture that ranked you by number of offspring. More than sadness and loss of vision, childlessness demoted your worth and marked you for desolation in your society. My first world mind cannot imagine the suffering you endured. How could you stand that?!

So you asked and asked, begged actually, for God to give you the gift of a lifetime. What perseverance you showed, over and over again! To love your husband, when he loved and pitied you, but could not give you your heart’s desire. To endure the other Mrs. and her passel of kids. To stand up to Eli, who accused you of being drunk and making a scene. How dare he say that when you were desperately crying out to God for help?!

And then, our incredible God blessed you with an extraordinary answer to your prayers, the gift of a precious new life. God really did hear you! He intervened with a miracle baby: your boy Samuel, whose name means “heard of God.” The excitement, the wonder, the promised future of parenting — your life would never be the same. That joy makes sense to me.

But from there I have a hard time following you. You took this gift — your one and only, your chance of a lifetime — back to the temple with hubby Elk. This time – with Elk’s approval, no less – you gave the baby back to God?!

First rule of regifting: take a gift that you do not like and give it to someone else. The gift is something you do not want, not the best gift you have ever been given! Second rule of regifting: NEVER give the gift back to the original giver. You so messed up the regifting rules, Hannah.

Yes, when I read 1 Samuel 1 and 2, especially your prayer in chapter two, I start to recognize your God-honoring act of regifting. Mind you, my selfish heart is still stunned at the enormity of your gift to God. What a surprise to note that your beautiful prayer of adoration is not at all focused on what you relinquished, but on who God is and how He cares for His people.

Hannah, thank you for regifting, so that God can use your example to teach me.

Lord, help me to truly understand that every blessing that I have comes from you and belongs to you. In the name of Jesus, your precious, life-saving gift, Amen.

[Originally posted May 2015]

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 806 Comments

Kids and Bible Memory Verses: Viola’s Got it!

Dear Haley,

So you were wondering how to squeeze your three year old Viola’s memory verses into your week of work, caring for Viola and her little sister, and life in general – not to mention that you are pregnant?! (Pregnancy alone will exhaust a mom!)

First of all, you are to be congratulated for getting Viola to AWANAs on Wednesday nights. That in itself is an achievement! Please be good to yourself and stay realistic about your family goals. (That growing baby in you is commandeering much of your energy and resources.)

Viola has a great time at AWANAs. She is bright and eager – a quick learner and an engaged thinker. What I love is the way her face shines when she says her memory verses. Viola truly delights in God’s Word (Psalm 1:2.) For me, there is no greater reward to this volunteer gig.

AWANA is a great program, but it was never designed to put pressure on you. (You have a preschooler, a toddler, and you are pregnant. I’m tired just thinking about your workload!) Please don’t berate yourself for not reviewing the memory verse with your oldest. The Bible verses are shortened to 3-8 word lengths, but they can still be a challenge for the little ones to memorize.

I remember being a mom of young children and feeling the time squeeze of getting my kids to memorize Bible verses. Memorization is a good thing, something I value, but often memory work became one more chore, one more sheet on the fridge not to forget, one more item on the never-ending list of things to do with and for my kids. (That is, if the list stayed on the fridge . . . if I didn’t forget . . . if we got to it in time before the due date . . .)

(Note to my younger self:) God’s Word is very important, but as parents, we need to focus on building a lifelong love of God’s Word in our children, not just getting them to earn checkmarks on a page. Memorizing God’s Word is a process that starts when our children are little. They will build on the seeds sown now, as we role model the importance of learning from the Bible. Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it, as Proverbs 22:6 encourages us.

God’s Word is not meant to merely leave our lips, but to live in our hearts.

As volunteers, we try to help these preschool students understand who God is and how He loves them, using the AWANA Cubbies curriculum to present these concepts through story-telling, puppet shows, singing, and even while playing games in the gym. We repeatedly explain concepts like sin, shepherd, and creation, so they can understand what the verse talks about. Sometimes we barely get to practice the pronunciation of the words, let alone memorize the verse. Please know that we do our best for little Viola and her classmates.

Lord, may your word not be something that merely leaves Viola’s lips, but that deeply roots your love in her heart. Bless Haley with the rest, energy, and encouragement she needs to be the amazing mother you have called her to be. Amen.

[Originally posted April 2015]

September 28, 2015 by Kristina Lunde 1,365 Comments

Pillowcase Dresses

Dear little girl in Africa,

Please accept this pillowcase dress as a gift from me, a mother over in America. No, we don’t know each other, and we probably won’t ever meet. But God knows you and loves you very much.

Please don’t look at my stitches – look to the God who loves you.

I haven’t taken my sewing machine out in years, and I haven’t sewn a garment in decades. God was the one who gave me the opportunity to sew for you. It wasn’t my idea, but I knew that I wanted to be a part of the program my friend Barb started at our church. Barb knows a couple who travel on mission trips to Africa, and they like to give out pillowcase dresses. Barb had the idea to teach women from our church how to sew these dresses.

Please don’t look at my stitches – look to the God who loves you.

With the instructions from Barb, some pillowcases donated by people in our church, and some supplies I bought, I went to work. To sew. And sew. And sew. I made lots of dresses, praying over each one as I sewed. I prayed that through this gift, you would learn about God’s grace and how much He loves you. I prayed that God chose the colors and trim for these dresses to be exactly what you like. May God use this to show you how unique and precious you are to Him.

Please don’t look at my stitches – look to the God who loves you.

Have you heard the story about the Israelites who wandered for forty years in the desert? Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the second through fifth books of the Bible, tell their story. The Israelites had some tough lessons about discipline and obedience to learn, and they were often ungrateful and complaining towards God, but God still watched over them. Deuteronomy 8:4 describes God’s amazing provision: “The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years.” God miraculously protected and provided for them in the middle of a barren desert, making even their clothing last while they focused on their lessons. As I sewed your dress, I prayed that God would make it last far beyond the limits of my stitching, so that you could focus on learning about God and His gift of grace through His son Jesus.

Please don’t look at my stitches – look to the God who loves you.

I don’t even know the people delivering this dress to you, but I pray that they will also teach you about the grace, love, joy, forgiveness, and hope that you can have through God’s son Jesus. My prayer for you is that you will come to know the God of love through the gift of this pillowcase dress.

[Originally posted February 2015]

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]