Call Me "Oprah 2.0"

 

Dear fellow children of the 80’s and 90's, do you remember when Oprah Winfrey theology hit the United States?  A lot of it Is forgettable, but I have to be honest, at least once she was totally on to something.   

 

“Keep a gratitude journal”, she said, “Every day, write down five things for which you are thankful.  This will keep you positive and lift your spirits.”  (And the journal businesses cried, "Hallelujah!") 

 

What maddens me about this is that we are presumably giving thanks to the unknown.  I mean, who is it that has gifted me my health today?  That is the One to thank.  A gift has a giver.  A thank you has a you’re welcome.  So, who in the world were we thanking as we filled our sweet little flowered gratitude journals?!   

 

People, the time has come for Oprah 2.0.  Let’s take gratitude to the next level and give thanks to the Giver of the gifts.

 

This thanksgiving week, as I have done for many years, I wrote a record of what the Lord has done for my family this year.  I find myself writing down page after page.  Why do I EVER complain?  God has been so good to us.  God reminded me of events from months earlier, things I had forgotten soon after they occurred, and I thought, yeah, he did THAT too!  He overwhelms us with things we do not deserve.   

 

So, this year, I want to give you a peek at my words to God.  That way you get a Burwell family update, but God gets the credit.  I hope you enjoy. 

 

"Lord, 2023!  Almost over!  Unreal.   

 

"First, I must thank You for my best gift ever:  Babe.  Lord, I can’t believe that I am spending my 20th year in a row at the Burwell family thanksgiving!  You gave me a GREAT man, and You have made him even greater. He is a ridiculously good husband and dad.  Lord, my kids are growing up thinking that it is “normal” for dads to mop floors and make dinner!  Thank you for Troy and thank you that we still have so much fun together.  We still laugh a pretty good amount!  And I never get tired of him.  I never want the date to end. #worththewait

 

"Thank you for Cate.  A 1270 on her SAT!  (Can you say $ for college?!). Thank you for her being a good and loyal friend.  She was a great lifeguard at Camp All American, and You gave her many friends there.  In fact, of all the kids, she is the one who is really experiencing the good gift of friends whose values and beliefs are the same, friends who make each other better.  Thank you for her musical talent, the songs she writes, the musicals she appears in.  Thank You that she works so hard in school and does so well.  And thank you that she is just delightful to be with.  I just LIKE her so much, Lord.   

 

"Thank You for all the wins that you have given Rihanna this year, especially the opportunity for her to become a basketball cheerleader.  I was so proud that she decided all on her own to try out, and she made it!  She practices for hours every week, faithfully.  She has made some good friends.  This summer, she did well with Will at their Publix job.  She has reconnected with (birth) family and done it with maturity and wisdom.  She is learning to do hair like, well, like a future hairdresser.  She walks out of the house with that hair and those lashes and people are like, wow.  And I am like, wow, I get to be her mom. 

 

"Lord, you have grown Will so much.  I have been amazed at his commitment to football this year.  Getting up four mornings per week at 4:45AM (!), dressing out, going to the school for two-hour workouts, followed by one hour weight training class.  I mean, I get tired just writing all of that down, and he did it for months.  That is a maturity that is new, and You did it, Lord.  Thank You also for his week at Rush.  (our church youth camp). He had conversations with other kids who love you and it pushed him forward in faith.  I think he really is beginning to understand how important it is for him to make good friends.  His transition to Hooch (our high school) has been seamless.  Oh, and his job at Publix this summer…watching him interview, get the job, dress in green and work hard.  And how the old ladies loved him!  Emotional growth, spiritual growth, and several inches of physical growth…six foot one!  Thank You. 

 

"Lastly, Alana.  You have made her beautiful, smart, and so funny.  Thank You that I have one child who (mostly) still wants to hang out with her mom.  Thank you for the great new friends that you have given her at Taylor Road Middle. Last year she made some friends, but this year she has really had some strong and good friendships.  And the fun they have!  Thank You for how well she has done in school.  Thank You for her health.  Oh, and I have loved watching her lead worship at Kids Quest at church.  Singing, dancing, praising you, with that big, gorgeous smile.  

 

"It is all YOU, Jesus.  You are so good to us, even though we are a mess.  We hurt each other, we don’t appreciate our lives, and yet You keep being so good to us.  Jesus, I know You love this family.  And this family loves You."

I hope you take time this week to do your own Oprah 2.0. It will put a smile on your face for days. 

And Then God said, "Heeheehee...!"

 I hope my seminary degree is not revoked because of this post, since what I am about to say is not necessarily based on God's word.  It is just a feeling that I have...that sometimes God looks in on our present circumstances and giggles.  

First, a shout out to all my Presbys...put down your Reformed systematic theology books and just hear me out.  

I am not saying that God is laughing at us.  He does not laugh at our pain, our pranks, or our problems.  He laughs because he knows something that we don't know, and that we would never, ever guess!  It is a loving laugh, a glorious giggle.  It says, "Someday you will be back here and remember what happened here years ago and you will just be amazed at all that I have done!"

This morning, for instance.

The Burwells try to visit Good News Church at least once a year because it is pastored by our dear friends (who introduced us!), Drue and Laura Warner.  Today, the church met at the Payne-Corley House in downtown Duluth.  For longtime friends and family, that should sound familiar.  On April Fool's Day of 2005, we made our marriage vows there.  It is a delightful Southern home-turned-wedding-venue.  This morning was the first time that I had entered its doors since our wedding day.  We forced the kids to have a special moment with us after the service, and we took them to the front of the room, the place where we stood more than 18 years ago.  We took a picture.  All I could think of is that all those years ago, God saw us and said, "Hee hee!  Oh goodness, you will be back in this room in two decades, still in love, with four amazing children with you!  You will have more poundage, more wrinkles, and a thousand more stories of My faithfulness to you."  I mean.  He is amazing.

It happened earlier this week as well.

I spent most of the last 7 days lounging on the beautiful, sugary sand of Panama City Beach.  Beside me was my (almost) 12-year-old Alana.  It is the third summer that we have taken a one week beach trip together.  It was the first time that I have set foot on PCB since 1999, if memory serves.  We stayed at a condo almost across the street from where I have stayed in the past.  Fun fact:  I spent 1-2 months at Panama City beach in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.  I worked with Campus Outreach ministry and we held "summer beach projects" there.  I can remember many moments on those beaches where I talked with God about my life.  "Lord, where is the love of my life?  Hey, I'll take a decent date! (I was feeling a bit desperate in 1998 and 1999.). Are you going to let me be a wife and mom?  Why is it taking so long?  (because at that time, 25 and single was like way-over-the-hill!). "  I  could not hear God's giggle then, but no doubt he was laughing.  "Hee hee!  Oh goodness, you will be back on this very spot on the beach in a couple of decades, married to your Dream-Come-True, and vacationing with your daughter, who brings such joy to your life."

I suspect God giggled as I passed Troy Burwell in the church hallways 100 times before I actually met him!  And how about when I was in my teens and singing love songs to someone I did not even know yet...and now I play those same songs (my "80's power ballads playlist") and sing them to the one in the seat beside me.  I can remember when I was at 7:22 (a Northpoint Church singles event from years ago) praising God with a loud voice, and just a few rows away, there was my future husband, doing the same.  And I did not even know he was there.  But God did, and I bet he was laughing!  

You get my point.  

Our amazing God, who sees all and knows all...just wow.  We never know what He is up to.  We can't necessarily hear his happy laughter at his good plans for us, but I still believe He is cracking up, because he knows the good stuff that is coming.

What I Wish I Could Tell Me

 I want to time-travel to 2007. 

2023-me-with-teenaged children needs to save 2007-me-with-babies. Oh, to cross the time barrier, find myself, and warn myself!

What I wish I could tell me, the me of sixteen years ago:  

“Sinister technology is about to show up, and the kids are going to need you to protect them from it. The culprit is the iPhone, a mini-computer that slips in one’s pocket. It seems cool, interesting, innocuous. But don’t let Steve Jobs deceive you. He stands there in his black turtleneck and jeans and claims to have the best and brightest Apple design, the must-have of the year. Well, Apples are not ALWAYS healthy.

This technology has superhuman power. It entertains crying children in a moment. It orders Lulu Lemon yoga pants. It creates a playlist of 80’s music. It competes in Scrabble, defeating most humans most of the time. It delivers a brain break. But not the good kind. 

This technology is—and here I use strong language—destroying minds. Attention spans are severely decreased. Imagine how this is hurting school kids. They cannot learn like they used to. They literally are not as smart as they were. And sadly, everywhere one looks, faces are stuck to their screens. A family of five dines at a burger joint, yet rather than chatting, laughing, or even arguing, they are each watching the world on their own tiny phones. Even the parents can hardly engage in eye-to-eye conversation. It is pitiful. It is pathetic. It is an addiction. A legal, socially-acceptable addiction. 

You yourself cannot stop this. But you can slow it down. You can shield your kids from it, at least for a while. Give their brains a chance to form, unimpeded by screen time. They will be furious at you. “All our friends have iPhones! We are the only ones who do not! You are so mean. This is not fair.” Let them be angry. Better angry than distracted, unfocused, and intellectually compromised. Make them wait as long as you possibly can. And then make them wait longer. You are Mama Bear. Protect them.”