Tag Archives: Children

Homeless

Childs houseLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 13, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:21-35 

‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. —Matthew 18:23-25

 This story from Matthew is from ancient history, but while we do not call landlords kings now and we do not call employees slaves, the scenario in this story is now being played out in cities and towns across the USA. The high cost of housing, is forcing families with children out of homes and onto the streets. The car breaks down, a child gets sick, dad gets hurt on the job and cannot work for six weeks, and the rent or mortgage payment doesn’t get paid. Add that to the number of people who are up-side-down with their mortgages due to the recent financial crisis and we get more and more families living on the streets or in their cars or sharing a too-crowded home with relatives.

A family is considered to be living in a household with a high housing cost burden when more than 30 percent of the monthly income is spent on rent, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and/or related expenses.  The 30 percent threshold for housing costs is based on research on affordable housing by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development (HUD). According to HUD, households that must allocate more than 30 percent of their income to housing expenses are less likely to have enough resources for food, clothing, medical care or other needs.*

I went with others from my church to serve food at a program for the homeless in downtown Oklahoma City yesterday evening. We took cold food —sandwiches, cookies, bananas—because it was hot. A wise women thought it a good idea to include for children some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They were needed.

 Oklahoma Fact: in 2012 29% of children were living in households with a high housing cost burden

Prayer: Lord, we pray that every child has a place to live,  where each has a safe place to grow, a secret place to hid treasures found, a warm bed at night, and a cool haven to rest after playing in the summer sun. Amen.

*http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/7244-children-living-in-households-with-a-high-housing-cost-burden?loc=38&loct=2#detailed/2/38/false/868,867,133,38,35/any/14287,14288

 

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Held Accountable by God

WalkingLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 12, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Romans 14:1-12

 For it is written,
‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
   and every tongue shall give praise to God.’
So then, each of us will be accountable to God. — Romans 14:1i-12

Before I retired from going to a job every day, I would drive to my gym at 6:00 am every weekday morning to exercise. Rain or shine, in the beauty of spring time or the ice of winter, I would see men and women walking to work. Usually they had on some type of uniform, most with fast food insignias. Some wore hospital scrubs. It is several blocks from my neighborhood to any medical facility and actually to any fast food place. I was a waitress and a nurse’s aide in high school and college. Trust me, you do not need to walk to work for exercise in either job.

My church started a ministry some years ago to provide fuel assistance for people in desperate need and we help a lot of people often with a few gallons of gas to get someone to medical appointments. The need is great and we never have the resources to meet all the requests we receive so we have rules we follow trying the help those with the greatest need. My city also has a bus transportation system, but it does not run at all the times people working shifts must travel and it costs money. I have no idea how these walkers get their children to child care.

These walkers do not earn enough to meet their work related expenses much less support themselves or a family. Apparently, we in society do not see them, not really. They are not a part of our lives unless they are handing us a soft drink or a burger and then we may not look them in the eye. For if we really saw them, we would be forced to see the Christ in each of them and we would be unable to live in a world that did not pay them even enough to meet their work related expenses. We will, I believe, have to account for that to God someday.

Oklahoma Fact: In 2012, 26% of working families with children were classified as low-income—earning less than twice the poverty level.*

Prayer: Lord forgive us for not seeing you in everyone we encounter through our daily walk. Amen.

 *http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data#OK/2/0
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Poverty Matters

Jesus Weeps over JerusalemLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 11, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Romans 14:1-12

 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. — Romans 14:4-6

The Body of Christ is being rendered week because we fight among ourselves. When I hear about church break ups and the fighting among Christians in our time over the wedge issues that divide us, I often picture Jesus sitting on the hillside weeping over Jerusalem and saying How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! –Matthew 23:37b. I believe he would say the same thing today looking at the USA.

In this scripture Paul is dealing with the even smaller issues that divide. I almost think we preferred to be divided. It is a ploy you know. By keeping us fighting about things that do not matter to the powers that be, we never deal with the things that do matter. Poverty matters.

First we must understand that the so called “poverty level” measure used in our country as an assessment of financial security has been out of date for at least 30 years, has never been static data for every part of the country because of the differences in cost of living, and at best is a measure of the most severe state of our citizens. There have been many attempts to define what a living wage would be. With the ready availability of computers now using a living wage measure makes much more sense. For just one example of how a living wage measure would work see http://livingwage.mit.edu/

Jesus recognized the need to feed the hungry and clothe the naked in Matthew 25. I think he would add house the homeless to a list for us today.

 Oklahoma Fact: in 2014 Oklahoma ranked 30th among the states in Economic Well-Being

Prayer: Gather us together Lord, write on our hearts those things about which we can agree in addressing poverty and instill in us the will to do them. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayers for Children

Created in the image of GodLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 10, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 114

 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,    at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water,    the flint into a spring of water.—Psalm 114:7-8

Today we begin a season of prayer for children as a part our preparation for the celebration of the Children’s Sabbath on October 19, 2014. Started by the Children’s Defense Fund more than 20 years ago, the Children’s Sabbath is a weekend set aside for peoples of all faiths to come together in solidarity for the future of our children. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) initiated the Light a Candle for Children to encourage all peoples of faith and particularly Christians to pray for children each day for 40 days leading up to the Children’s Sabbath. Beginning today and continuing through the Sunday of the Children’s Sabbath these devotions will be provided to assist in your meditation and prayer. If you wish to know more about the Children’s Sabbath visit http://www.childrensdefense.org/ . For more information about Light a Candle for Children and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) daily meditations on children go to https://www.discipleshomemissions.org/dhm/dhm-ministries/family-and-childrens-ministries/light-a-candle/

Since I live in Oklahoma, I will be providing each day some facts from the lives of Oklahoma children. These will be taken from KIDS COUNT a project of the Anne E. Casey Foundation. KIDS COUNT tracks the status of children nationwide and you can trace it down to your county. That information can be accessed at http://datacenter.kidscount.org/.

Why do we prayer for children? I think our scripture today answers that question. We serve and awesome God whose very image is planted in the souls of each of us. God wants all of God’s children to thrive and be a blessing to one another. God is calling us to make that happen as God’s envoys in the world today. Let it be so.

 Oklahoma Fact: in 2014 Oklahoma ranked 39th among the states in Overall Child Well-Being

Prayer: Lord make us conduits of your love as we strive to open doors of hope for the children of our world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Loving the Stranger

Border CrosserLiving in the Spirit
August 17, 2014 

Scripture Reading: Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly. —Matthew 15:22-28 

Ever wonder at what point in his life Jesus really knew who he was? We have the story of his first visit to the temple at the age of 12 when he said he needed to be about his Father’s work but there is little else to define his awareness of who and what he was  and what his calling was. The story in our scripture today suggests that it was later in his ministry that he realized his calling involved more than the Jewish community with which he was so very familiar. He could not turn away someone, a woman even, in great need even though she was one of the unclean. My hunch is that he had always known who he was and what his calling was but that the reality of what it meant unfolded as he grew in wisdom and in strength.

I have a friend who is a very talented natural, although now well-trained, musician who comes from a family where no one else is a musician. He knew he wanted to be a musician from his preschool years even though he probably didn’t really know what a musician was at the time. He just loved music.

Jesus just loved God. Loved God so much that he could not turn his back on any of God’s children even an unacceptable, woman from a different culture than his own or her precious child.

When the question arises, “What are we going to do with all these children flooding our southern border?” Remember this story. If we love God we will also love them and through the complications of violence and culture and distance and language barriers, we will do what it takes to let them know we love them and that we have their best interest at heart.

but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’–Matthew 19:14

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Planting Seeds of Love

Living in the Spirit
July 9, 2014 

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:105-112 

Your word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path. — 119:105 

Psalm 119:105 is one of those Bible verses I cannot read without singing it. It is probably one of the first, of what we called memory verses when I was a child, that I learned. Teaching styles have changed over the years but I don’t think using music as a means of teaching has.

My first memory of church was at the one room school house that set on the corner of my grandmother’s farm about three quarters of a mile from the farm where I lived. These buildings dotted the prairie every three miles throughout Oklahoma and much of the land that was opened for homestead settlement. The school had stopped being used as a school when my father was a boy but it was still used as a church each Sunday until it closed when I was in the first grade. A circuit riding minister preached one Sunday a month at our church as he did at three other churches nearby. On the months that had a fifth Sunday all four of these churches came together for a fifth Sunday sing.

The wife of the minister at that church was one of the nicest people I ever knew. She radiated love to all the children, probably the adults too. She is the one who taught me those songs and taught me using flannel board characters about Jesus. She nourished the seeds of God’s love that my parents had planted in my heart and probably, more importantly, planted and nourished the seeds of God’s love in some of my little friends whose parents had not yet introduced them to God. We are all called to do that.

Prayer:  Abba, Teacher, instill in each of us the call to plant and nourish seeds of your love in all the children of the world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Nurturing Children

Living in the Spirit
June 29, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:40-42

and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ — Matthew 10: 42  

When you read this scripture notice the tit for tat that Jesus weaves through his instruction:

Welcoming Me—Welcomes God
Welcome a prophet in the name of a prophet—receive a prophet’s reward
Welcome a righteous person in the name of a righteous person—receive a righteous person’s reward

But note, the last one is different:

Give even a cup of water to a child in the name of a disciple—the children will not lose their reward

We are all as Disciples of Christ called to take responsibility for nurturing children and the reward for doing that is the children themselves. Water in some form or another is the one thing that is absolutely necessary for life. Children are the one thing that is absolutely necessary for the continuation of humanity. Yet:

  • 22% of children in the U.S. live in families that are considered officially poor.—National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, nccp.org
  • Of all the 4th graders in the US, 1/3 could not read this sentence proficiently.—studentsfirst.org
  • A child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds. –childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/2014-soac.pdf
  • 8.2% of youth 12-17 experience depressive episodes each year.—childstate.gov

This is just a brief list of statistics. For more information see the various websites that are noted above.

We need to take Jesus plea for children to heart and give our children lives worth living.

Prayer: You sent your son into the world as a tiny baby and entrusted him to Mary and Joseph to nurture and love. Following in their footsteps, make us nurturers of all the children of the world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.