Jennifer Lambert

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31 Days of Servant Leadership: Noble

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October 16, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

What is noble?

nobility.jpg

The Free Dictionary defines noble:

Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: a noble spirit.

Proceeding from or indicative of such a character; showing magnanimity.

Grand and stately in appearance; majestic.

As children of the King, shouldn’t we all be called noble? We should train ourselves to have and show qualities of high moral character.

But, many of us do have that, or believe it.

And they’re just really moral heathens.

When they stand before Jesus on Judgment Day, what will Jesus say?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23

Do you want to hear that?

I didn’t think so.

Too many people consider themselves Christians.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

You believe that there is one God.

Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:14-19

But too many people who believe in Christ are really just fans. They admire Jesus and know lots about Him and the Bible.

But they don’t really know Him.

“We’re drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It’s the Oprah god.” Phil Vischer

Let’s really teach kids to follow Christ instead of morality.

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Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: 31Days, Jesus, worldview

How We Celebrate Halloween

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October 31, 2012 By Jennifer Lambert 8 Comments

Halloween is all about the candy.

Right?

Halloween is actually the beginning of the natural year.

I love the poignancy of the crispy leaves and the smell of decay in the air as the world goes to sleep for the dormant winter.

We often got our first dusting of snow the week of Halloween when we lived in Utah.

How we celebrate Halloween:

  • We read history and fun stories. Our favorite is The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury.
  • We carve jack o’lanterns and paint pumpkins and do leaf rubbings to decorate our house.
  • We make or upcycle costumes for trick or treating. Occasionally, we buy a ready made costume.
  • We play games.
  • We watch silly and scary movies.
  • We make fun fall crafts you can see here.
  • We attend harvest and fall festivals.
  • We make sweet treats. Like Aunt Betty’s punch. And anything pumpkin.
  • We have fun themed activities like this sensory bin.
  • We celebrate Reformation Day.
  • We celebrate All Saints Day.

Costumes

We try not to do anything too scary. When the kids were little and sheltered and we often incorporated movies, history, and story characters.  It’s just fun. We trick or treated on the military base or in our small neighborhood.

Liz was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz for two years in a row. She was into it.

Liz wanted me to make her a fairy costume one year.

It was way more expensive than anything I could have bought, but it was sure fun.

Then Liz got obsessed with US history and wanted to be The Statue of Liberty. It was our first year homeschooling.

Tori was obsessed with caterpillars and butterflies. She still is!

There was a huge Halloween party at my husband’s work on base one year.

Our kids like family costume themes.

Princesses were a theme for a very long time.

A.very.long.time.

Then the High School Musical craze for Liz.

Anything frilly with wings: butterflies, ladybugs, fairies.

Babies are fun to dress up as cute little animals, like our son as a tiger.

They were Asian princesses and a ninja one year as we studied Asian history and culture and became a bit obsessed. We found the girls dresses all together at a thrift store.

Asian Princesses
Little Ninja

Halloween isn’t really celebrated in Europe. They have Hexennacht or Walpurgis Nacht. Our village started doing more with trick or treating our last year there because it’s fun and there were a lot of Americans in our city due to the military presence.

We had a homeschool Halloween party with games, crafts, and treats.

Katie was Joan of Arc.

It’s really hard to do sugar skull makeup with all natural ingredients!

We repurposed the same costumes the next year for Tori and Alex.

Katie was Wednesday Addams.

When we moved back to the States, the kids dressed up together and went trick or treating in our neighborhood, which consists of one single street. The town designates a two hour window for trick or treating and cops patrol to make sure the curfew is kept.

Liz went as Molly Ringwald. Alex is still obsessed with ninjas. Katie was a Corpse Bride. Tori was Killer Frost/Caitlin Snow.

Their best friend joined as the Cheshire Cat for the Alice in Wonderland theme.

Was last year our last trick or treating?

Churches often do a really fun trunk and treat. We did that a couple years.

We dress up and get candy on or around the day commonly known in the United States, Canada, and UK (and probably Australia?) as Halloween. My husband’s workplace has a candy Event in the afternoon and we go trick or treating around our neighborhood at dusk.

We often have a party with a homeschool group or at home or a friend’s house. One year, Liz attended an epic Alice in Wonderland party.

I’ve read numerous posts on why people think Halloween is absolutely evil. I’ve read articles about why we shouldn’t allow our children to participate in any way in Halloween activities. These articles mostly cite superstitious ancient Celtic and Druidic rituals, or even Roman festivals. I seriously doubt most modern people celebrate Halloween by worshiping oak trees or doing anything more evil than eating lots of candy and watching movies and dressing up. These people spout about how churches are being hypocritical by offering harvest festivals and trunk or treats and they are glorifying satan by doing so.

History

The origins of Hallowe’en were to celebrate the harvest and it goes back to ancient Roman times. I don’t see where satan is in that history in pre-Christian times. Now, the ancient Celts believed that All Hallow’s Eve was a time to remember loved ones who had passed on. There are all sorts of superstitions surrounding that. The Day of the Dead is still celebrated in Mexico and other places.

The Catholic Church jumped on board and created All Saints’ Day and incorporated the pagan day with a Christian one, like they tended to do (check on the pagan origins of Easter and Christmas!). Originally, on this Eve of that Holy Day, or All Hallows’ Eve or Hallow E’en, people dressed up as saints and went begging for alms (sound a little like trick or treating?). It also became known as Beggar’s Day.

All this combines to what is now supposed to be just this fun kids’ day about candy and dressing up.

Yes, some houses go a little overboard and their scary house decorations and costumes do make us a little nervous. And I can’t watch movies about possession either.

Why do we take away all the fun? The kids don’t even know or care about anything but dressing up and getting candy.

Halloween is just about the only holiday that doesn’t center around family gatherings, so there isn’t that stress that often surrounds Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter.

Even our minivan has a costume! It’s the T.A.R.D.I.S. when we all dressed up from Doctor Who one year:

I wonder why we don’t see so many articles forbidding us from celebrating Christmas and Easter since their origins are pagan too.

Should Christians also forbid Santa Claus, Christmas trees, or Easter eggs from their festivities? Do they decorate for other holidays traditionally? I know some do forbid these things. Holidays are commercial enough as it is. Some legalistic people just want to take the fun out of everything. They believe that everything is evil.

From the book Festivals With Children by Brigitte Barz about experiencing Halloween as a transition point between Michaelmas and Martinmas:  

The candle inside the pumpkin or turnip, both fruits of the earth, is like the very last memory and afterglow of the summer sun with its ripening strength.  Then for Martinmas a candle is lit within the home-made lantern; this is the first glow of a light with a completely different nature, the first spark of inner light.

We have freedom to celebrate holidays.

We choose not lie to our children about an Easter bunny hopping around with chocolate eggs or a magical Santa Claus who travels via chimney. We learn the history of those holidays too.

So churches have “trunk or treat” or fall harvest festivals to “bridge the cultural gap.” It’s no different than the neighborhood trick or treating I grew up doing, but it’s supposed to be safer since no one is ever home these days nor knows their neighbors anymore.

If you remove a cultural tradition, you better replace it with something more or better or your kids will eventually resent it and rebel. Is that what we want?

Why can’t the day be redeemed?

I’ve seen parables of the candy or treats representing God’s sweet blessings. Why can’t we just have some fun and play dress-up? There are books about jack o’lanterns considered the shining light of Jesus.

It’s all about how you present the day to your children: If you project fear and hatred; you will teach them that. If you teach tolerance and joy; they will learn that.

We like to learn the history behind “holidays” and traditions.

Let’s not judge one another over petty doctrinal differences. Don’t be legalistic.

Let us just have candy.

Classic spooky tales:


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Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: fall, Halloween, worldview

Discussing the Bible

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December 23, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

My daughter may have a future as a lawyer.

real life christian

We were on the way to Elizabeth’s music lessons. She takes piano and voice lessons from a local college student. We live in Utah, so we are the minority that we’re not LDS. Elizabeth and I have often expressed confusion over the LDS practice of drinking hot chocolate while eschewing coffee, tea, and soda. We thought out loud about the fact three are hot drinks, all often have caffeine, three originate from tropical climates, all could be sweet or flavored. So, why is chocolate or cocoa ok?

What do the LDS have against coffee or tea? God gave the Hebrews their dietary laws in the Old Testament. Those laws are pretty straightforward. Muslims have their Qadaahul Haajah, Hindus have theirs. (Thank God I’m a Christian for the eating habits alone!)

I’ve researched LDS teachings and all their doctrine states: “hot drinks are not for the body or belly” D&C. I’ve found that their leaders teach that “hot drinks” only refer to coffee and tea. So, coffee and tea are not permissible whether hot, cold, or lukewarm, while hot cocoa and hot apple cider are ok…but they’re…HOT. Maybe the words should be updated to be more clear? And no one who is LDS can explain this satisfactorily.

So, after her lessons, 11-year-old Elizabeth asked her 20-year-old music teacher about the hot chocolate thing. The teacher told my daughter she didn’t really know; they should ask her mother. (Lessons are held in the teacher’s parents’ house because her mother also gives piano lessons and they share a studio.) Said parents both started conversing with Elizabeth about the hot chocolate issue…it was never really explained to satisfaction. This family has lived all over the States and are very kind and open to questions. Some LDS are not so friendly to interrogation.

Not to lose an opportunity, Elizabeth asked them how do they know that the Book of Mormon is true? They said the Holy Spirit reveals it as truth to LDS believers. They countered with how do we know the Bible is true? Elizabeth said that the Bible is inspired by God (this led to a later explanation by me of the First Council of Nicea). She asked them what exactly they believe about sin and Jesus? Then they start asking Elizabeth questions about her faith. Elizabeth realized discrepancies and showed them the Roman road to salvation. Then they discussed the verses in James 2 about works. They came to a stalemate about then.

I hope she gave them some things to think about this week!

An hour later, as I was starting to worry wonder why Elizabeth wasn’t coming out of their house…she bounded down their porch steps all aglow and told me this whole witnessing story. I am a proud mama!

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Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: parenting, worldview

Casual Jesus

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October 17, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

My 11-year-old daughter commented on a Christian singer with tiny plain gold earrings in both his ears: “He’s a boy. He can’t have earrings. And he can’t be Christian.”

My four- and five-year-old daughters chimed in, “Yeah, and boys can’t have long hair!” (The singer had a shaved head, praise God, so I guess he’s half saved?).

After resuscitation from my husband and a crying jag on both our parts, I barely recovered enough to query, “Wha-?! Why can’t he be a Christian?”  She could offer no explanation other than boys shouldn’t have earrings or long hair. I think she couldn’t really refute the irrational logic behind the earring/Christian analogy.

This conversation scares me.

And also sorta made me want to go out and get a punk makeover…What are my kids learning (and where are they learning it?)  – about image and etiquette and society and Christianity?

I’m sure I’m failing as a mom and as a Christian.

Lord, help me counter this bigotry that my children have been taught by ignorant people. Help me to not judge others by their appearances and not to raise my eyebrows when I see that dude at Target who has real horns growing out of his head and an actual metal zipper in his tongue (we smile at him, but he may try to eat us).

Oh, and what about club clothes in church? If you feel the need to purchase stripper shoes and miniskirts, that’s between you and God. Maybe you’ve been out all night and came direct to church. If you wear your red patent leather platform stilettos with your black pleather silver studded halter mini dress to church so my kids can stare, it makes me uncomfortable. It’s inappropriate in a teenager and I wonder what your mother would say, unless of course, she’s sitting beside you in a matching ensemble. And when my four year old tells me she thinks your shoes are pretty and she wants a pair just like them, I just threw up a little in my mouth.

But I can see why she thinks they’re pretty.

Some churches stare at newcomers who aren’t dressed “right.” And other churches claim, “come as you are.” It shouldn’t be about numbers or a secret handshake to get in. We’re teaching church and not Christ.

Do we want people to follow rules or show love?

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. ~Maya Angelou

Our society has gotten so casual. While appearances shouldn’t matter, they do matter. Perhaps too much. Or perhaps, people are just concerned about the wrong things.

Casual Fridays, casual relationships, casual dining, casual décor, casual church…

I think we’ve missed the mark. This whole casual attitude has distorted what’s really important.

It’s all about respect. There just ain’t no respect no more.

Is Jesus casual?

I don’t think so.

casual Jesus

I know the Bible says that appearances shouldn’t matter as much as the heart, and I agree, but surely there must be a line drawn somewhere. (And I desperately search for that line when my 4-year-old wants stripper shoes and my 11-year-old thinks all earring-wearing boys aren’t Christian.)

Do we imagine Jesus, wearing surfer shorts and a ball cap, sitting in a teal and orange restaurant playing raucous rock and roll music through its speakers, eating his cheesy garlic biscuit while discussing how we should pray to Daddy God or explaining the parable of the sowers to the Hot Topic-clad apostles?

Maybe.

Can we imagine Jesus wearing distressed jeans and biker boots and a silk shirt unbuttoned to there with a blinged-out cross necklace (bigger than the medallion the French maî·tre d’ wears at that trendy bistro downtown), preaching to the thousands in a church café stadium with laser lights with a chai vanilla skinny double shot no foam latte in one hand and a PowerPoint clicker in the other, and a pricey mike headset on his perfectly styled hair?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

And what about Paul? I wonder if he wasn’t so casual. I’ll bet he was so uptight. He probably wore conservative clothes and all that. He was respected (except when that one dude fell asleep and out the window from boredom…and all that persecution he dealt and received…) And he and Peter didn’t get along at all.

But we live in a society where image is everything.

Did you want Madagascar cinnamon or organic molasses syrup on that latte?

John the Baptist wouldn’t fit in so well, I don’t think, as far as images go.

I think the whole image thing may even be worse in Utah (perhaps it’s a certain subculture here). And often, I just don’t have the energy to braid up three girls’ hair with flowers and ribbons while dressing my 18 month old boy like a Gap ad. Is it really worth it just to go to the grocery store or library? I’m always the last one to get ready and it’s haphazard, at best. I’ve gone out with my hair unwashed in a ponytail and different socks on and no jewelry (gasp! seriously, without the wedding ring, what will people think?!) while my 4 kiddos look like little Land’s End angels…for about 5 minutes. And my husband has on his 5 year old jorts and torn up tennis shoes with a holey T shirt he’s had since before we were married. And he still manages to look ok. I always feel judged whenever we go anywhere. No one cares what guys look like. At least my husband can’t wear earrings or long hair. He’s in the Air Force. whew! Should we just wear family uniforms like that weird family over there (khakis and matching polos)? It’d be SO much easier, and cheaper!

Jesus called the Pharisees vipers and hypocrites. What would he call the girl at church in the stripper shoes? What would he call the Pottery Barn indebted people or the moms who stress over their daughter’s braids being ruler perfect? What would he call the preacher in his trendy clothes with his latte? Of course, their hearts may be in the right place, but if they’re so concerned about their image, then I wonder.

And what are they portraying to my kids or anyone else? I’m working to learn myself and how best to teach my kids about love and respect.

And why does the Christian singer have to look like every other emo rock star? Why do the lyrics have to be so suggestive? Is Jesus supposed to be my boyfriend or my Savior?

What would we think if we saw Jesus or Paul or John, right now? How would we judge them by their appearances?

I think we should dress for success and be respectful. Church is a place of respect because it is the house of God. As Christians, we should honor Jesus however we can. As Christians, we are called to be separate from the world. If all you own are T shirts and jeans, or stripper shoes,  then wear your best T shirt and shoes to church to show respect to God.

And who cares what others think?

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Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: faith, Jesus, worldview

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