Can I Get An Amen?

Recently one of my wife's friends from college asked if she could use some examples from the blog in a sermon she was preparing.  I agreed, as long as she was willing to put in a good word for me with her friends in high places.  And, since I've seldom been referred to as "wise" without somebody adding "ass" to the end of it, I thought I'd share her sermon here.  Thank You again Heather for the shout-out from the pulpit.

Here is her sermon as seen on her blog:  "Intersections"

 Intersections: Don't Paint Your Face With A Screwdriver

     My new favorite blog to read this summer is written by the husband of a friend of mine from college.  It’s called “The Parenting Dad.” After their third child was born last year, they decided it made the most sense for them for my friend to work full time and for her husband to be a stay-at-home dad.  Around the same time, they started a Facebook page of “Rules I Thought I’d Never Have to Make,” which eventually evolved into this blog.  In this blog, my friend’s husband, Louie, expounds upon some of those rules, tells stories, and offers tongue-in-cheek parenting advice, such as “If your kids act up at the vet, you get seen quicker,” and “You can save yourself a full load of laundry by keeping the kids topless during meals.”  Other advice is aimed at the kids, like “Don’t take off your underwear at the table” and, of course, [pause] “Don’t paint your face with a screwdriver.”

     Some of these stories are familiar to anyone who’s worked with kids and others are unique to being a stay-at-home dad.  These are comments Louie gets in public from folks who assume he’s either divorced or laid off and that’s why he has the kids on a weekday at Walmart.  A large part of my fascination with this blog is simply that I’m preparing for my own first child and I’m soaking up the wisdom found in these hilarious stories.  Whenever you’re starting on a new venture, it’s good to seek out wisdom and advice.  And that’s precisely what Solomon does in our Old Testament reading this morning.  Solomon has just been made king, succeeding his father King David, and he knows he is new at this and needs help.  Just as there is no instruction manual for being a parent, there’s no instruction manual for being a king, either.  Solomon tells God that he is “only a little child” and asks God for wisdom in order to govern God’s people.

            Solomon’s reason in asking for wisdom was in order to govern God’s people.  He knows that his early rule was flawed.  After all, he was offering sacrifices in the high places, which was against the laws laid out in Deuteronomy.  The sacrifices were supposed to be offered in Jerusalem, not somewhere like Gibeon.  So, you need wisdom to be a good leader, whether you’re leading in your workplace, in the community, at school, a small group at church, or in your home.  Solomon’s request for wisdom is wise.  You need wisdom to lead.

     I’ve mentioned before that when my husband and I got our dog, we started watching “The Dog Whisperer” on TV.  Cesar Millan is full of advice for dog owners to become good pack leaders.  The episode that has stayed with me the most is one in which he worked with a lady who had done some acting and he asked her about some of the different roles she’d had.  He stopped her when she mentioned playing Queen Cleopatra and said that’s who you need to channel when you walk your dog.  Walk your dog, lead as if you are the Queen, and your dog will behave accordingly.  This doesn’t mean walking as if too snobby to look at your dog, but walking with authority, assuming you will be obeyed, giving guidance, and offering corrections when disobeyed.

     Last fall, my husband and I went to see Cesar when he came to Raleigh and the question-and-answer session was quite interesting.  There was one lady who ...Continue Reading on Heather's blog: Intersections