Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 27th 2009 Keri's Soul, pace of life, spiritual formation
My husband called me at about 6:40 pm. “Is it okay if my small group meets at our house tonight?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said. “What time?”
“Seven,” he said. I realized that “is it okay?” means “I’ve already invited them to…”
There was a day this would have unhinged me. But today, it did not. For one thing, this same husband had cleaned up the kitchen this morning before leaving for work. And my kids are on vacation this week, which means the house stays cleaner longer. I’m also really grateful that my husband is in a men’s group.
But even when they’re here, my kids, now teens, do not wreak havoc in the house the way they did when they were younger. Back then, they seemed to spew a trail of Lego’s, dress-up clothes, story books and general mess everywhere they went. Now, most of their clutter is contained to their rooms, and they actually help clean the rest of the house, when they are here.
So in the 15 minutes I had before the guys arrived, I picked up the newspapers that have accumulated, threw the pile of shoes and assorted junk in the front hall into the closet, and lit a candle. If you can’t clean, at least make it smell good is my philosophy.
Besides my kids getting older (and taking vacations without me) the other thing that’s changed is my attitude. Scot and I see our home as a place where we can welcome people, where we can engage in the spiritual practice of hospitality–which does not require a perfect house but does require a willing heart. We see this house as God’s, and ourselves as stewards of it. What once would have infuritated me now brings me joy, because it feels like a team effort to demonstrate the love of God. It’s moved from a “have to” to a “get to,” from obligation to privilege.
Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 24th 2009 Keri's Soul
We’ve had some great discussions this week here on Deep Breathing for the Soul blog, and also on Facebook, where these posts automatically get posted as well.
But I thought I’d offer some cool summer photos, again from my amazing daughter, as a bit of a reprieve.
bumble bee on flowers
seeing my daughter’s skill with a camera develop brings me great joy as a mom. It’s not something she learned from me, she picked it up on her own. It’s cool to see your kids becoming who they are!
Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 22nd 2009 Keri's Soul, social justice
If a man beats his wife, does she still have to stay and submit? Rick Warren’s Southern Baptist church has been accused of saying yes.
For the record, I contacted Saddleback, and they said they would never tell a woman to stay in an abusive relationship, but they would not comment on any specific situation, because of privacy for those involved.
And yet, a woman who attended Saddleback says that she was told to stop gossiping about her marriage when she tried to tell a staff member that her husband had hit her. Read the story here. I heard about this through the MomLogic website, where you can read some very interesting comments from women who’ve been through similar situations. &You have to join momlogic to comment, but it’s a great site with lots of stuff for moms. My friend Suzie Eller runs the Christian mom page there.
We had quite the conversation on Facebook about my last blog post (thanks to the wonders of technology, this blog shows up as a note on my FB page) about Jimmy Carter’s critique of the Southern Baptist convention and it’s views on women.
I understand complementarian viewpoint. But so often, churches ignore the second half of the verse that tells women to submit. which says, husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church. Did Christ ever hit the church? Shame the church? Abuse it? No.
If you are being abused, I believe you should leave the marriage. If your church counsels you to stay, I think you should leave the marriage and your church. I’m a Christian but I don’t agree with churhes that counsel women to stay in abusives situations. There are plenty of Christian churches out there that are sane, that counsel victims of abuse to leave, and offer them help in finding protection.
Your thoughts?
Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 20th 2009 social justice
Interesting news item today about former President Jimmy Carter announcing that he is leaving the Southern Baptist church because of its stance on women. I don’t agree with everything Jimmy Carter believes, but I think he’s right on this.
You can read an article about it here.
The church’s views on women (which vary widely even within denominations) are a social justice issue. And Carter links the denomination’s position to further mistreatment of women around the world.
A lot of people don’t like Jimmy Carter because of his politics, his position on the Middle East, etc. But what do you think of this particular move?
In 2000 the Southern Baptists said no women could be pastors. Unfortunately, many Southern Baptist churches already had women pastors, and their seminaries are still taking the money of female students. Southern Baptist churches are allowed to be independent and don’t have to follow their denomination’s rules, so many women continue to pastor churches affliated with the Southern Baptists.
At that time, Carter said he would continue to attend his Southern Baptist church, which donates about half of its mission budget to a more moderate Baptist group, but that he did not want to be associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. But this week, he issued a position paper explaining his views, and seems to be severing all ties with the Southern Baptists.
The New Testament has all kinds of examples of women who were leaders, deacons, teachers. (Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, etc.). There is one verse that says a woman cannot teach a man. But do we really understand the historical context of that one verse? And what about other verses that show examples of women who do teach, or women who had churches that met in their homes?
What are your thoughts on this?
Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 10th 2009 Keri's Soul
Carla and Caryn at the Mommy Revolution blog are having an interesting discussion on friendships of women. Check it out by clicking here.
Keri Wyatt Kent on Jul 1st 2009 Authors, Keri's Soul, speaking
Every person is creative. Why? Because we are made in the image of our Creator.
So every person is, in some way, an artist. some work with paint, or words, or clay. Others mold little lives, or shape the story of a company, or make something beautiful by providing care as a doctor, EMT, therapist. Still others bring order out of chaos.
But some folks don’t realize they are artists, so they don’t nurture their creativity. They say, “I’m not creative” and this becomes truth as a result.
For those of you believe in your own creativity, who want to nurture your inner artist, who want to dedicate your art (whether that be painting, dance, writing, music or whatever) to God, I have a recommendation. Plan to attend the Karitos Christian Arts Conference next month.
I happen to be speaking at this gathering. I’ll lead three seminars, and give a keynote on Saturday afternoon. Learn more at www.karitos.com
