TT 175

A Desiring God article

Messy, Late, and Happy

How to Survive Sundays with Small Kids

Almost everything about having a young family works against a standing multiple-hour commitment on Sunday mornings.

Just to physically get all parties out the door and into the same vehicle (at any time of day, on any day of the week) can feel like some kind of sophisticated military opera tion — waking the sleepy and corralling the antsy, feeding the hungry (of varying ages, appetites, and tastes), finding matching socks (or at least reasonably matching socks) for several sizes of feet, packing sufficient rations to hold the troops over until lunchtime (lots of rations, an irrational amount of rations), finding another outfit for the 2-yearold because she just rubbed her breakfast all over that dress, avoiding the last-minute tantrum or blowout (there’s some thing about those last five minutes that brings the worst out of kids, literally and figuratively).

And if you make it to church before it ends, you’ll need to hone a variety of specific and targeted tactics to keep each child quiet, still, and attentive. For the rest of you without children, if a kid suddenly bursts out in tears a couple of seats down and distracts you, don’t miss the miracle that he or she wasn’t crying or yelling or giggling for the last thirty minutes (and say a quick prayer for Mom and Dad).

Over the last six years (since our first was born), I’ve come to believe that spiritual warfare intensifies between 5 o’clock Saturday evening and noon on Sunday. I’m convinced Satan sends in demonic reinforcements to cause as much havoc as wickedly possible. To be sure, young families are certain ly not the only ones tempted to skip church, but they have as many reasons as any (and often more). The Bible is clear, however, that we have even more reasons to go anyway.

Incomplete Joy

God gives us parents plenty of reasons to keep showing up

to church, but as a father of three under 7 years old, I still love finding more. The apostle John writes to a church he knew well,

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 12)

“No family can afford to regularly sit out Sunday morning.” Our faithful presence on Sunday morning is worth all the effort and expense because some precious joys aren’t possi ble apart from gathering. “I have so much I want to say to you,” John says, “but paper and ink won’t do.” The people are the same, the meaning is the same, the very words may even be roughly the same, but something is different when those words are shared face-to-face. John had learned the spiritual power of steady proximity.

John, of course, had a lot to say in writing (fifty chapters across five books in the Bible), and he wrote about some of the most serious and thrilling realities in the universe. And yet he also knew that some words were far better said (and heard) in person. Some realities were far better tasted, seen, and experienced face-to-face. He knew that the fullness of his Christian faith and joy couldn’t be felt from a safe dis tance.

Presence completes joy in a way that technology (like pens and ink and high-definition cameras) can’t. That’s one rea son young families keep spending all it costs us to get to our pew each week. More than anything else, we want our family to be happy in God — and being fully happy in God requires consistently sitting with the people of God under the word of God.

By Marshall Segal (@marshallsegal) is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. He’s the author of Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness & Dating. He graduated from Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Faye, have three children and live in Minneapolis. | www.desiringgod.org

A Desiring God article

That Your Joy May Be Full

John’s second letter isn’t the only place he talks about this fullness of joy. One could actually argue that his Gospel and letters were one long attempt to bring this joy to fruition in us. He explicitly says in his first letter, “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:4). When you trace that thread back through his Gospel, you see that this joy is not a pretty garnish along the plate of Christianity, but the sweetness in every course and bite.

As Jesus prepares to go to the cross, for instance, he says to his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Jesus wasn’t merely making sure that their doctrine was organized and accurate, but that their hearts were full. He wanted the truth inside of them to catch fire. Christ came, and taught, and worked miracles, and died, and rose not simply for the sake of truth and justice, but for joy — that his joy would be sparked and inflamed in us.

A chapter later, Jesus says to the same men, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Joy is the final an swer to all our prayers. We pray, and keep praying, so that we might taste a depth and intensity of happiness we wouldn’t experience otherwise. And then a few verses later, he says, You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. . . . You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

(John 16:20, 22)

So, when John writes, “I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete,” that joy is thick with meaning for him. It’s a loud echo of his last hours with Jesus, and of the hundreds of hours they spent together before that — walking the same roads, eating the same food, experienc ing the same memories, serving the same needy people.

This joy, for John, isn’t simply about the refreshment of good company; this is near the heart of what it means to follow Jesus. We were made and called and redeemed and commis sioned to find joy together — to meet God side by side, not merely over Wi-Fi.

Families Made for a Body

This joy can’t be fulfilled through a live stream because our souls weren’t made ultimately for lyrics and sermons; we were made to be a part of a body. The apostle Paul writes,

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the

members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. . . . For the body does not consist of one mem ber but of many. (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14)

Families who consistently skip church are like severed hands or rogue eyeballs. We’d not only be ugly, but functionally use less. And not only useless, but we’d actually harm the body that needs us — spiritual amputations. Where’s the sense of hearing? At home, under blankets, watching the live stream again. Where’s the sense of smell? Getting some extra rest because it’s just too hard to go out. Where’s the sense of joy? It’s been quenched and diluted by our absence.

Christian joy depends on regular physical presence because that’s how a body works.

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15–16)

“We were made for eye-to-eye, shoulder-to-shoulder joy in the church. We were made for a body.”

Along with Paul, John knew this joy worked itself out in real, ongoing, life-on-life relationships. After all, he gave us Jesus’s all-important charge: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). How will the world recognize who’s been with Je sus? By how we love one another. And how will we love one another without committing to see one another?

What Families Cannot Afford

When I was still single, I was sometimes baffled why families had such a hard time getting to church. Sure, there might be more hairs to comb and shoelaces to tie, but how hard could it really be? That naive confusion crashed on the rocks of our own terrible twos. The hurdles to normal church life with small kids are undeniable. Hear me, though, fellow parents: the rewards are too.

No family can afford to regularly sit out Sunday morning. Sure, we won’t always be as put together as we want to be, and we probably won’t always be on time, but over time our whole family will be happier for having been there. Pen and ink won’t do; neither will podcasts and emails. We were made for eye-to-eye, shoulder-to-shoulder joy in the church. We were made for a body. We were made to belong. And only our presence brings that joyful belonging into full reality.

My Life

How to get saved and spend eternity with God

His Love

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB)

My response

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)

My prayer

Lord God Almighty, thank You for Your love for me. Thank You that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed against You. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died on the cross and You raised Him from the dead on the third day. Please write my name in the Lamb’s book of life. Help me to live a life that is holy and pleasing unto You. In Jesus’ Name I pray and believe. Amen

Waiting Period

By Madison Thacker | www.sportsspectrum.com|

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” — Psalm 27:14

In sports as well as in life, we often find ourselves waiting. Waiting for a better job, a spouse, a child or even an opportunity for the coach to put us in the game. The waiting period can feel like it lasts forever; it may never come to an end.

Arizona State backup quarterback Trenton Bourguet has been preparing behind the scenes his entire college career, waiting for one true opportunity to showcase his ability on the field. He finally got his opportunity this season against the University of Washington, completing 15 of 21 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. But even more importantly, he brought the team their first confer ence win of the season.

After the game, he posted photos on Twitter with a caption that ended with “God’s Plan.” Bourguet waited on the Lord for his opportunity to take the field. He kept working and kept preparing, despite the wait.

As Christians, we need to embrace the waiting period. We all go through times when we are waiting on the Lord to answer our prayers, or waiting on the oppor

tunity to fulfill His calling for our lives. We have to continue to prepare and keep our faith in His timing and His plans. God’s timing is perfect, and it reminds us that we aren’t in control. He is.

“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” — Lamentations 3:25

Arizona State quarterback Trenton Bourguet throws against Washington, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

My Inspiration

The Miracle is in the Process

By William King | Email: kingwilliam189@gmail.com

We all have things we’re believing for, dreams to come to pass, problems to turn around. We have the promise in our heart, prayed, believed, but we don’t see a sign of things improving. It’s easy to get discouraged and think it’s never going to work out but most of the time God doesn’t do things instantly.

There will be a waiting period. Just because you don’t see it coming doesn’t mean it’s not working. As you keep believing, praising, doing the right thing, you’re going to see things begin to change. Many times, the miracle is in the process. It happens when you keep being obedient.

What you’re believing for is on the way. In Luke 17, Jesus entered a village and was met by ten lepers who began to shout, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus could have spoken a word and healed them, but He did something inter esting. He said, “Go show yourself to the priests,” which didn’t make sense.

They could have thought, “Once we’re healed, we’ll go see the priests.” Faith says you have to believe it and act on it before you see it. The lepers started walking what could have been several miles to the priests. I can imagine that in the first couple of hours they didn’t see any changes. Thoughts said, “Go home.”

They kept walking even though there was no sign of healing. Finally, after a few more hours, one of them looked at his skin and said, “It’s getting better!” An other began to move his hand and said, “My fingers are working!” The Scripture says, “As they went, they were healed.” If they had waited for things to change, they wouldn’t have seen the miracle.

The healing was in the obedience, going. God has put promises in your heart, but perhaps the medical report hasn’t changed, your family member is still off course, or your business hasn’t improved. You could think it’s never going to happen. No, just keep walking, being obedient, praising, thanking. That’s when the miracle is going to take place.

You can’t go by what you see or by what you don’t see. Go by what God promised you. “King, I still have these symptoms.” Keep on walking. “My business is still slow.” Keep on walking. “People at work are still not treating me right.” Keep on walking. God sees your obedience. You’re about to walk into your healing.

courtesy: nytimes.com

S

Entrepreneur

What’s your modus operandi?

By Jordan Raynor

image credit: istock

We’ve walked through what our work is in light of the biblical narrative. We’ve seen why our work matters in light of that narrative.

Now, we’ll look at the ways those truths inform how we should work today. This will be far from an exhaustive list, but it will provide us with a solid foundation from which to build.

We see the most fundamental way in which we should work. In light of the gos pel, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves in every sphere of life, including our work. This is our North Star—our modus operandi.

What does this look like? It looks like refusing to do the bare minimum and always going above and beyond to serve bosses, co-workers, and clients the way you want to be served.

It looks like being more merciful and graceful with others because God showed you ultimate mercy and grace on the cross.

It looks like caring about those you work with beyond their productivity and investing time to get to know the “whole persons” that surround you Monday through Friday.

It can be tempting to over-spiritualize our work. Jesus reminds us that simply loving our neighbors is good in and of itself and is the most fundamental way in which the gospel shapes how we work.

So love your neighbors well today!

My Health

Increasing longevity: Vigorous exercise 2 minutes a day may be enough

Two-minute bursts of vigorous physical activity—totaling 15 minutes a week— are associated with a reduced risk of death, cancer, and heart disease, according to new research.

The study shows that relatively low amounts of weekly vigorous physical activity may result in health benefits.

Experts describe how building short bursts of exercise into your daily routine may result in long-term health outcomes.

Research shows that regular exercise results in a lower risk of developing several long-term (chronic) conditions, such as cancer and heart disease. However, new research, published in the European Heart Journal, focuses on the intensity and duration of exercise needed for people to see health benefits.

For their study, the researchers enrolled 71,893 adults without any evidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Participants were selected from the UK Bio bank study, a prospective cohort of participants ages 40–69.

Researchers analyzed associations between how much and how often people un dertook vigorous physical activity with death (all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

To understand the difference between moderate physical activity and vigorous physical activityTrusted Source, the researchers defined moderate physical ac tivity as exercise that noticeably increases heart rate but not necessarily leaves people out of breath.

Vigorous physical activity, however, will likely result in an increased heart rate, and people will often need to pause for breath when speaking. Examples of vig orous physical activity include sprints, high intensity interval training (HIIT), swimming, or cycling at fast speeds.

The researchers found that the risk for all adverse outcomes under investigation was reduced as people increased how much and how often they took part in vigorous physical activity.

For example, participants who did no vigorous physical activity had a 4% risk of dying within five years. This risk was halved to 2% with less than 10 minutes of weekly vigorous activity and was halved again to a 1% risk if people did 60 minutes or more.

Using wearable devices to assess physical activity

Participants were given wearable devices to monitor their physical activity. The device allowed physical activity intensity to be classified into: vigorous physical activity, moderate intensity physical activity, light intensity physical activity

Medical News Today interviewed lead author Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, a postdoc toral research fellow at The University of Sydney.

“This is one of the largest wearables device-based [studies] in the world and the first to assess the health-enhancing benefits of vigorous physical activity,” said Dr. Ahmadi.

“We found as little as 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week can low er all-cause mortality and cancer risk by 15%, and 20 minutes per week can low er heart disease risk by 40%. With additional health benefits up to approximately 50 to 60 minutes per week.”

— Dr. Matthew Ahmadi

My Health

Dr. Ahmadi explained some other key findings of this research to MNT:

“[Our] results show lower amounts of weekly vigorous physical activity were associated with health benefits against mortality, cancer, and heart disease than previously known from research evidence of which more than 90% is based on self-reported data.”

He said that thanks to using wearable devices to track participants’ physical ac tivity levels, they were able to get more objective and accurate measurements.

“These factors contributed to the novelty of our findings that are in contrast to the self-report research evidence,” he added.

What does this mean for patients and the public?

Dr, Ahmadi said their findings “provide important information for clinicians in the treatment of patients who are at high risk of chronic disease and for public health messaging to the general public. The findings will also provide import ant evidence in the next iteration of the U.S., U.K., and WHO physical activity guidelines.”

“Overall, we found that much lower durations of vigorous physical activity were needed to lower morbidity and mortality risks. Therefore, any physical activity a person is doing provides an opportunity to do vigorous physical activity, if they can do the activity at a faster pace or higher intensity for just short periods of time.

— Dr. Matthew Ahmadi

Doing more intense activities for short durations may also be easier to fit into everyday routines.

“This may be particularly important for people who do not have the time or do not wish to go to a gym or engage in ‘traditional’ exercise,” added Dr. Ahmadi.

Adding short exercise into your daily routine

Mike James, a specialist physical therapist and sports scientist nicknamed the “endurance physio”, and advisory partner to INCUS Performance, who was not involved in the study, also spoke to MNT.

James told MNT that such studies were helpful in highlighting the benefits of various types of exercise, both in the long term and for overall well-being.

“The biggest take home is that people should feel liberated by the fact there’s no one size fits all or mandatory way you must follow to achieve the benefits of exercise on your health,” he said.

“For those people who are already doing exercise, that is great and they should keep doing it. But for people who can not make it to a gym, they can also attain the health benefits of vigorous physical activity by doing their daily activities at

a faster pace, even if it’s just for short periods of time. For example, gardening or doing household chores at a little higher intensity for short periods, or fast walk ing interspersed with comfortable walking pace when walking during the day.” — Mike James, specialist physical therapist

James had the following recommendations for people interested in starting higher-intensity exercises:

“It may be a case of gradually building intensity over time and certainly not start ing it initially as a means of fitness training. For many, a low-level, less intense plan that is progressed to this type of exercise may be a sensible way to begin before transitioning to it. For others, it could be an alternative type of fitness to use when life becomes difficult to fit exercise in, work trips, school holidays, etc,”

He also cautioned people to check with a health and/or fitness professional be fore embarking on and adding a new or different type of exercise plan into their routines.

A weekly exercise ‘sweet spot’

When considering how much exercise time is enough, Dr. Ahmadi noted that the study showed there may be an optimum, telling MNT that “over a given week, this will allow them to accumulate that “sweet spot” of 60 minutes of vig orous physical activity per week or a minimum of 15-20 minutes per week.”

James noted that vigorous physical activity may not be suitable for everyone.

“What we must be cautious and aware of, is that even short bursts of high inten sity, vigorous activity may not be suitable straight away for many based on their current activity, fitness, health status or injury history,” James said.

James also underscored that for such activities to become habits, all fitness and exercise plans needed commitment and adherence over a period of time, adding that “anything that can reduce the barriers to doing this can be a positive.”

My Kitchen

Apple Cinnamon Cake

alyonascooking.com | Image credit: foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

2 apples chopped

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp butter melted

Instructions

Preheat oven 350°F. Spray and line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar over high speed for 3 minutes or until pale and thick. Mix in the vanilla, sour cream and oil. Add the dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds or until just combined.

Spread half of the mixture into the prepared pan and top with half of the apples.

remaining batter over the top and garnish with the reserved apples.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping over the top and bake for 65-75 minutes or until done.

My Sports

Verstappen makes F1 history as he beats Hamilton to victory in Mexico for 14th win of the season

the start – took a distant fourth.

It secures another record for the Dutchman in his burgeoning career, as he now boasts the most wins in a single F1 campaign, moving one clear of the 13 achieved by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team opted for a soft-medium tyre strategy, took the chequered flag some 15 seconds clear of Hamilton, who was left to question why Mercedes swapped their starting set of mediums for hards.

Perez gave the home fans something to cheer about in third, having threatened to challenge Hamilton late on, while Russell – who lost out to his team mate at

Max Verstappen claimed his 14th victory of the 2022 season in the Mexico City Grand Prix, ahead of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez, after an intriguing strategic battle played out at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.