Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Come and See: Pondering Nathanael, John 1:46

I had the sweetest quiet time this morning with the Lord. Katelyn ended up joining me. We looked at the wildflowers (my husband would call them weeds!) together and thanked the Lord for making them ... for making the birds sing.

I was reading John chapter one. After Philip was called by Jesus, he ran to tell his friend Nathanael about Jesus. Nathanael joked that nothing good could come from Nazareth! He wasn't quite convinced. I love when Philip says to Nathanael, "Come and see."

And Nathanael had a sweet encounter with Jesus. He came and saw. Jesus told him that he'd seen him while he was under the fig tree ... before Philip had even come to him to tell him about Jesus. My NIV commentary says, "The omni-present Lord was with him under the fig tree." I love that! Nathanael then declares that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus told him, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."

I saw that Philip became a disciple of Jesus ... but what about Nathanael? He wasn't mentioned in the Matthew 10 list of disciples. My mind: how could he have such a sweet encounter and not follow Jesus like his friend Philip. I looked up "Nathanael" in the back of my Bible (Ryrie NIV) and beside his name it says, "Probably 'Bartholomew'" ... and then I was led to John 21:2 where Nathanael is actually listed among the other disciples.

I am no theologian ... but it looks pretty promising to me that Nathanael may very well be Bartholomew, and that he did follow Jesus. I'm counting on my theologian friends to tell me what they know!! I asked my mom if she had heard that ... she's been in church all her life, and she doesn't recall ever hearing anything about him. I love the things that the Lord teaches us, or at least has us ponder, as we spend time with Him ... the one true God. He is with us. All we have to do is, as Philip so sweetly said, "Come and see."

"... For you yourself have taught me." Psalm 119:102

**And just for further studying ... In John 21:2 where Nathanael is listed among 7 disciples ... he was among the 7 out fishing and catching nothing, when Jesus called to them from the shore and told them to throw their net on the right side of the boat and they would find fish (after Jesus had been resurrected). I love when they finally reach the shore ... reach Jesus ... and Jesus says, "Come and have breakfast." "None of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord." Jesus beckoned them to "come to him" once again ... and Nathanael was a part of that! By the looks of it, Nathanael did see "greater things." He knew the Lord, and the Lord knew him.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sunscreen - A Mild Form of Punishment!

School's out. I've been taking the girls to the pool all week. Other kids must still be in school because we've had the pool all to ourselves. It's been nice.

Yesterday I realized our sunscreen was getting a bit low, so last night I ran into Albertson's for a few other items and decided I would check the price on their sunscreen. I've been enjoying the spray-on type. The bottle doesn't last as long, but it is so quick to use compared to the lotion type - girls are sprayed with sunscreen, in the pool, over and out.  I saw a brand I had not heard of, but it was $7.99 and buy one get one free. I thought that was a fair price for the sunscreen and would last me quite a while.

Arriving at the pool today, someone would have gotten a good chuckle watching me try to figure out how to get the sunscreen to come out of the container! It's normally a no-brainer ... mash the top and the sunscreen sprays out. I tried everything. Handing it off to my 13 year old, I knew she would eventually figure it out ... accidentally squirting some in her hair, she figures it out the hard way. She said, "Mom, you just have to mash 'really' hard." It was so hard to get out of the bottle. I almost had to use two hands to mash the cap in order for the sunscreen to come out. I know there is a thing called "freedom of speech," but I'm afraid to mention which brand it was. I do not recommend it ... I will say this: stick to what you know is good ... Banana Boat, Coppertone! It's worth every dime.

Moving on ... I manage to get the sunscreen to come out, and I'm trying to get the girls covered. When I get to their little backs ... their shoulder blades squeeze together like the sunscreen is so cold and they can just barely take it. I say, "Don't do that ... keep your back flat so we don't waste it." I have always said that to them!

So before the girls get into the pool, I asked them if they would "try" to spray my back. I had used Hawaiian Tropic tanning lotion yesterday, and I managed to get a little sunburned. So I figured I'd better go with the sunscreen today. The girls were giggling their heads off trying to spray the container ... really working as a team to get it on me. The first squirt came out ... it was so cold I couldn't help but wince a little. The next spray ... I'm almost in tears. I am exaggerating a tiny bit ... but I was jokingly crying out loud and that just made the girls laugh even harder. I  couldn't help but say, "This feels like a mild form of punishment!"

I've never understood why the girls acted so silly when I sprayed their backs with sunscreen ... now, I know! And I say all this as a reminder that ... it's so easy to judge others ... we do not always understand what someone else is going through until we get the chance to swim a mile in their goggles! The sunscreen was a definite reminder for me.