Weekly Blog

Tips, Tricks, Skills, Spirituality and Wisdom

Teresa McBean 12/12/17 Teresa McBean 12/12/17

King Curtis and The Sorry People

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A few years ago a little boy named Curtis became well known on a show called “Wife Swap”. He came from a family of indulgence. Mom and Dad did whatever it took to make their two children happy. Curtis accurately read the tea leaves and named himself, “King Curtis.”

But the show “Wife Swap” is all about shaking things up; King Curtis’ mom was replaced with a fitness instructor who ran a tight ship in her own home. Naturally, fireworks ensued:

Watch this.

Tomorrow we are going to talk about it.

Teresa McBean 12/11/17 Teresa McBean 12/11/17

The First Passover

In Exodus 12, we learn of Moses. He was an Israelite baby who was spared the judgment of the Pharaoh who had issued a decree to kill male Israelite babies. He was basically trying to reduce the Israelite population. Cruel? You bet. Hard to fathom? Oh yeah. I wish I could say that this cruelty had been eliminated in the world today. But I’d be lying.

Moses was spared. He eventually commits murderer in a fit of rage and if you read carefully the accounts of Moses, I think you might agree with me that he was a bit of a whiner too. He was good and bad during the entirety of his life, ultimately not making it into the Promised Land himself. He was called to set his people free and successful in doing so to a point. Before, during and after he was weak and strong, trusting and distrusting. The freedom journey was long and arduous and eventually it worked but a lot of people got slaughtered along the way. God had a plan which the Israelites executed and were saved by that allowed their freedom journey to BEGIN. But it was all long and hard, glorious and gut-wrenching.

We could make a big old long list of the events within the past 12 months that reflect a tone deafness and lack of awareness of how we have continued to marginalize, dehumanize and allow or willingly pursue the winnowing out of one race, religion, gender or another.

But that’s not the point of this devotional. Here’s my point: God is always up to something. Prepare yourself not by perfecting a sparkly crown of good behavior but by figuring out a way to remember that there is a God and he is crazy about you. Just try. Someday we all may look back on our lives and see how we were part of the starry sky, a constellation of God’s people who in small but significant ways provided a pin prick of light in an otherwise dark landscape.

Teresa McBean 12/10/17 Teresa McBean 12/10/17

Pass Over Us

There’s this song from the Andrew Peterson collection in Behold the Lamb of God that KILLS me every time I hear it. Do yourself a favor and listen to it. Click here to listen on YouTube.

Tomorrow we’ll chat.

You are welcome.

Teresa McBean 12/9/17 Teresa McBean 12/9/17

Injured in Battle

My job title can be a burden. I observe two inclinations in strangers who find out that I serve as a pastor: they back up or lean in. I prefer the leaning in response. Paired with our laser focus on spirituality AND recovery at NSC, the “leaning inners” often tell me some really great stories. One storyline troubles me. It’s the storyline that recounts how a loved one does not believe in God. I’m not sure the response the “leaner” is looking for, but historically I suspect I’ve been a disappointment in my response to them. In response to this consistent message, I have acquired a personal perspective on the subject matter of lost sheep.

It is far more important to understand God’s perspective on his sheep than it is to know the opinions of the sheep. I could support this perspective with any number of biblical references regarding wandering sheep and their tireless faithful shepherds. We could talk about how God has been compared to a shepherd in the bible at least 33 times – give or take a few due to my poor counting abilities. Instead, I want to talk about someone who just might have fit into our community at NSC. His name was Jacob.

He was one of those stars in the lineage of Abraham and he was one tricky trickster. He used the favoritism of his mother toward him to help him trick his brother out of his portion of his inheritance. Many biblical accounts support the idea that Jacob was a man with defects of character. But his greatest weakness – a stubborn propensity to passionately want and take what he wants out of life – turned out to be a strength in the story I want us to focus on today.

In Genesis 32 Jacob is once again in the midst of a scheme. He’s preparing to meet Esau, his twin that he cheated and who he hasn’t seen in years because Jacob fled the scene post con. He’s gotten in trouble with the family he married into while in exile and is returning home. It really is a story worthy of your reading! Trust me on this – Jacob is pretty ruthless in his intent to preserve his own hide. Then there is this weird wrestling with God story. Ultimately, we find out he is actually wrestling with God, and he refuses to let go of God until God blesses him. He received both a blessing and a torn muscle that resulted in a permanent limp.

I don’t know what to make of this story but to say this: God is in the business of blessing people. He isn’t interested only in perfect people; he is willing to wrestle with ALL people. That willingness is a consideration when we are doing our own wrestling – over both dark inclinations and our holy humanity. When people tell me that their loved one doesn’t believe in God and imply that this somehow is connected with their addiction issues or poor choices, I generally respond like this, “Don’t you think it is at least as important to remember that God loves your kid/niece/spouse as it is to focus on what your loved one indicates about their opinion of God?” I think it matters. I’d encourage you to be gentle with yourself and others in the God department. Disappointed in yourself? OK. Go wrestle with what to do. But remember that the seat of power is God’s (not ours) and he’s crazy about you.

Teresa McBean 12/8/17 Teresa McBean 12/8/17

The wreckage of our past

The story started out so well. The lovely garden, Adam and Eve immediately given the job title of CEO of the earth – no working their way up through the ranks like a lot of my friends have had to do! Three chapters in and we move from a “very good” God and evening strolls through the garden with the crowning glory of his creation to Adam and Eve hiding behind fig leaves filled with shame.

God’s response? Consequences. Every character in the tragic play that we have come to call “The Fall” received a consequence. Banishment from the garden forced Adam and Eve out – a tragic demotion. But here’s the thing – God went with them. It reminds me of this verse:

We all have to die—we’re like water spilled out on the ground that can’t be gathered up again. But God doesn’t take life away; instead, he makes plans so those banished from him don’t stay that way.

~ 2 Samuel 14:14 CEB

God confirms the value of delivering consequences AND he never delivers them for the purpose of breaking relationship. Instead, it is so that relationships might be repaired, restored, people might be healed, conflicts resolved.

Here are a few things that I think are reasonable principles to consider:

· God is good at healthy detachment; he is not advocating for withdrawal from relationships, harsh punishment delivered capriciously, or shaming.

· Consequences have the potential to assist us in developing our character.

· God remains present even as he allows for consequences to play out.

It makes good sense for us to consider how God loves us and relates to us so that we might consider how this might impact our own relationships choices.