Tag Archives: attic radio steve austin

Grandparent’s Day

Yesterday’s mistakes become present-day reality,

If we look upon yesterday and carry the temptations to tomorrow.

 

Wrongs done long ago, teach us how to improve our lives,

Transforming continual wickedness into a life of integrity.

 

If we would take the time to listen to the old,

Great lessons would be taught, and our hearts would be touched.

 

These wise elders are the portals to the past,

Granting us daily gifts of wisdom.

Thankful for Each

For each blade of grass,

For each leaf on each tree in each forest,

For each chirp in each melody of each bird in each chorus,

For each breeze from the beautiful sky.

 

For each breath in each lung in each day,

For each syllable of each word in each thought,

For each shade of each color in each scene through each eye,

For each smile on each face.

 

Lord, most of all,

Thank you for each particle of each splinter of each piece of wood,

For each step You took up that long road,

For each crack of each whip You took,

For each tear in each eye that rand down each cheek.

 

For each nail in each hand and each foot,

Which caused each drop of blood,

That covers each sin in each day,

For each child at each age.

 

For each day Your body laid in that tomb,

For each fight with the enemy,

For each promise You kept as You took back the keys to Death,

For each step you took as You arose from the grave.

 

I’m thankful for each.

Kiss the Son

I bow before You,

Oh, Lord of life.

To sense Your presence,

Is my delight.

 

I want to kiss the Son,

And seek His holy face,

To kiss away His tears of love,

Caused by all my wicked ways.

 

Amazing grace,

Flowing down from You,

Wash away these sinful stains,

And make me more like You.

 

I want to kiss the Son,

And seek His holy face,

To kiss away His tears of love,

Caused by all my wicked ways.

 

Through the valley, I will go,

And the storms of life may come,

Yet I will hide away and hope for You,

Until I find the Son.

 

I see You on that mountain,

And I begin to run to You,

But before I take my first step,

I’m amazed at what You do…

 

You come to me,

And You kiss away my tears,

You take away my sin and shame,

All my worries and my fears.

 

You pour the oil of gladness,

And give me life, brand new!

You lead me to that mountain,

So I can live with You!

 

*from Psalm 2

We Don’t Need No Education!

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I love reading blogs from other authors around the web.

In high school my parents started attending a local Presbyterian church and my sisters and I attended the youth group there. It was probably the closest I’ve come to indoctrination into a church. We were good friends with a lot of the kids that went there. I still felt different in my Faith and I’d say it was more of an education in Christianity than a true belief…

…Despite my tepid experience with Christianity, I have experienced Faith. It has been through people I have known, especially my grandmother. She was someone who lived with faith as an integral part of her life. Yes, she quoted Bible versus now and then and opened dinner with a prayer, but it wasn’t the strictness of it she conveyed. She was someone who lived with a sense of peace that is what I associate with Faith…

(from 52todo.com)

This one gave me pause.

What we experience so often is a Western Christian education, with no roots going down deep.

No faith sprouting.

No belief growing.

No personal conviction.

Head knowledge without life change.

Awareness of the rules without a transformation in our heart.

I don’t want to be that guy!

I want to be so changed by radical grace that the life I live speaks volumes to those who know me!

Faith verses:

  • Psalm 71:17-24 “You got me when I was an unformed youth, God, and taught me everything I know. Now I’m telling the world your wonders; I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray. God, don’t walk off and leave me until I get out the news Of your strong right arm to this world, news of your power to the world yet to come, Your famous and righteous ways, O God. God, you’ve done it all! Who is quite like you?”
  • Matthew 17:20 “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”
  • Romans 3:25-26 “God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.”
  • Romans 5:1-2 “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”
  • Romans 14:1 “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.”

The last Scripture may be the most important. Remember, let your faith be strengthened, your patience long, and your grace overflowing. We’re all at different points in this walk with Abba, and we all need a little extra love every single day.

ATTIC,

Steve

The First To Die

Lilli has a plastic nativity set.

This morning we were playing with it and I told her the story of the birth of Jesus. The main story, with the central characters: Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the donkey. Shepherds and some sheep. A couple of angels and a palm tree (The tree didn’t really have a part in the story. It’s just part of Lilli’s set). The wise men and a camel.
I put a sheep next to the hay filled manger to eat. “That’s not right! That’s where the baby goes.” “Well, the baby isn’t born yet. It really IS where the animals eat. Mary put baby Jesus there because she didn’t have another bed.”
(My brain starts spinning…Ew. That couldn’t have been  comfortable. I hope they used hand sanitizer, at least. All the petting zoos have a hand cleaning station. But you aren’t supposed to use hand sanitizer on little babies. Plus I have heard soap and water is best. They didn’t even have running water! Aren’t you supposed to boil water when a lady has a baby? And the smell….Oh-make it stop!)
Back to the story:
After the wise men brought their gifts, all the characters were in their places. The end.

“Tell me more stories.”

Lilli wanted more. That’s a request I could not refuse. I grabbed my iPad and opened my online Bible and started reading to her from Luke. We read about old Elizabeth and questioning Zachariah and jumping John. ” I hope an angel doesn’t turn my voice off.” (hmm… Sometimes I wish I had that power…) We read about jealous king Herod. Mean king Herod. A very powerful king Herod.

Have you ever read a familiar scripture and see something new?

It happens to me from time to time… And it happened when I read that Herod ordered all the baby boys to be killed. All of them two years old or younger. Little baby boys… Who had just started their lives. Little baby boys who were their daddy’s pride and their mommy’s heart. I had always thought about it from Herod’s perspective- this cruel command was a way to protect his throne. As if he could protect himself from the work of the Almighty. As if Jesus even wanted Herod’s political title of king. 
John 15:13 says “The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends.” The MSG

These baby boys were the first to die for Jesus.

I can’t really get that out of my mind. I don’t have a good close. I don’t have a way to wrap this up with a scripture and a bow and a ta-da! I am still chewing on the unspeakable cruelty. On the irony of God sending his Son and so many other sons dying because of it. On the loss these parents felt because of the jealousy of one king… and could they have even understood it was Jesus?

Oh, the way God gives and takes.

What are your thoughts?

-gigi