Jenga

Last night after tucking Ethan in the bed I walked around the corner to my two older boys playing Jenga on the bonus room floor with Chris.  We have some short shag carpet in our bonus room so in order to play the game of Jenga where you balance rows of three wooden blocks vertically until they form a tower while each player has to pull out a single block from the bottom of the tower and place it on the top without knocking over the tower - you first - must grab a hardback book from the shelf.  Without the sturdy foundation the game will be over before it can even begin.


I sat there and watched them playing and thought about how much I want to give them Christ as the foundation for their lives and how my greatest desire is to build them up into the knowledge of Christ.

Ephesians 2:19-20 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

The only way I can keep my world from crumbling in and falling down is if I remove ME and put Christ as the ultimate cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:22 goes on to say And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit.

The Holy Spirit is making us (my little family) His dwelling place.  Together we are being built.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the Labors labor in vein.  I have to keep Christ the cornerstone

God is building my life and has given me all these "little blocks" that make up my life and I want to be the one in control of every single one of them.

My BLOCKS:  

Awesome Husband Block

Three beautiful boys (that are a lot of work) Block

Talented music teacher Block

Super Volunteer Block

If I'm finding my identity in my kids and having an awesome husband and being a great music teacher and super volunteer that everyone loves instead of FIRST placing my identity in Christ then when the "blocks" don't stay where I want them to or begin to get off balance a bit or wont budge the way I was hoping then I will feel OUT OF CONTROL, like I'm falling and crashing to the ground as everyone else celebrates their Jenga moments.

When I am losing my temper because they aren't helping- I've lost Christ as the cornerstone and probably need to enforce more discipline or just ask for help

When I am embarrassed that they aren't remembering to use manners like the other children we are with- I've lost Christ as the cornerstone and need to extend myself some grace and remember that I really do have some great kids and as Andy Stanley says theres no win in comparison.

When my kids do well at something and I pat myself on the back and pride rears its ugly head- I've lost Christ as the cornerstone.

Ultimately, most importantly, I need to remember to solely make Christ my cornerstone.  THEN, with confidence I can expect Ephesians 2: 8-10 to be true: "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your won doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  We are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Christ is the cornerstone.

If everything else crumbles and falls He still stands.

He is building my little family to be his dwelling place.

2 Corinthians 4:7 -9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.

Day by day Im praying God will help me make him the foundation of every single area of life so that he can build us.