Called by Name

I have been reading the non-fiction book A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle and it is so full of amazing, thought-provoking stuff that I had to share it with all of you! (Some of you know Madeleine as the writer of excellent youth fiction, such as A Wrinkle in Time.) By the way, if you stop in a Barnes and Noble and read the first 2 pages, you will discover where the title “a circle of quiet” came from and, I expect, be looking for one of your own.

So, here is a brief excerpt from A Circle of Quiet (By the way, this was written in the early 1970's.):

Those who teach, who suggest books to either children or adults, are responsible for their choices. Like it or not, we either add to the darkness of indifference and out-and-out evil which surround us or we light a candle to see by.

We can surely no longer pretend that our children are growing up into a peaceful, secure, and civilized world…Our responsibility to them is not to pretend that if we don’t look, evil will go away, but to give them weapons against it.

One of the greatest weapons of all is laughter, a gift for fun, a sense of play which is sadly missing from the grownup world…If every hair of my head is counted, then in the very scheme of the cosmos I matter; I am created by a power who cares about the sparrow, and the rabbit in the snare, and the people on the crowded streets; who calls the stars by name. And you. And me.

Looking Back

I saw a commercial the other day. I don’t even remember what it was advertising, but I was hit with an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. A young mother was sitting in the kitchen with her young child by her side in a high chair. The little one’s toes were bare and mommy was tickling and blowing on the child’s feet. They were both giggling and happy and enjoying one another immensely.

I’ve always been a sentimental soul and have cried during my share of commercials, but this one hit me with such intensity that even now as I think about it I’m overwhelmed with feelings. Much of this has to do with the fact that my firstborn “baby boy” is eighteen years old and only months away from graduating.

The amazing thing is that even though I’m a little sad in remembering those toe-tickling times, I’m full to the brim with a feeling of thankfulness, wholeness and intense joy in having those tender memories to look back on. I’ve been blessed to be able to be home with my children their entire lives. I worked outside the home part-time for a couple of years, I’ve also worked from home, and been extremely busy with the ministry of the church, but through it all I’ve been blessed with great quantities of quality time with my kids. I thank and praise God for it. I’m thankful that I can look back and be happy about my choices to make my kids a high priority even though I had times of feeling inferior to those who were working in a career. Yes, I even wished for more adult interaction on occasion, but I’m so very thankful that I don’t have to look back and say that I regret not spending more time at home. I’m thankful I had time to really know my kids and enjoy them.

Even though I’ve been able to be home with my kids over the years, our busy ministry schedule has presented challenges to family time. I can remember Zach falling asleep under the piano during a “loud” band practice on more than one occasion. I remember my mother being concerned that we weren’t keeping a good routine for our little one. Zach was a pretty portable kid – he could sleep anywhere, so he was pretty adaptable. Some don’t have that luxury. There are times that ministry kids can roll with the punches, and other times that Mom may have to adjust her schedule so that she can take the little ones home, or find a sitter while she and Daddy are with the youth group.

Whatever the case, and whether or not Mom works outside the home, the little ones grow up oh-so-quickly. I encourage any of you who may be young moms with a morsel of wisdom I was given by someone early on in my marriage. It comes back to my mind time and time again, especially when I’m facing a struggle of some sort with my children. And I suppose on this side of my life, with my baby almost ready to leave the nest I’m even more thankful for it. Here it is:

“Each moment of your life goes by quickly and is never to return. Enjoy each and ever minute. Don’t wish it away—experience it to the full.”

Believe me, it happens sooner than you think! (Ecc. 3:11-13)

Taxes

If you are like many ministry families, you have just paid your last quarterly income tax payment of 2006 to old Uncle Sam. I used to always get really nervous around this time of year since it would soon become apparent whether or not we had paid in enough to the government or if we would have to kick in some more. We’ve had both kinds of years. Mostly the good ones, though. We’ve always done our own taxes, and have been blessed to have a really good friend who talks me through it each year and helps with the big questions. Thanks Diane!

There are a couple of great resources out there that have helped us in our tax preparation and planning. One is the Income Tax Guide for Ministers and Religious Workers by B.J. Worth and the other is The Zondervan Minister’s Tax and Financial Guide by Dan Busby. Both of these books have been invaluable to us and have answered many of our questions. Our previous church made several changes in their accounting practices because of these books, too. The maddening thing about taxes is that the rules change frequently, so each of these guides is updated yearly.

It is disturbing to me the number of churches that are unaware of specific tax laws for ministers. And it is equally disturbing that many professional tax preparers are also ignorant of those laws and special considerations. I think each ministry family should educate themselves and take charge of this part of their lives. Ask the financial person at your church to help you. Buy one of the above resources and read it. If you don’t understand it, then ask someone you know who is knowledgeable about the subject to help you.

Over the years we have had friends who have been completely shocked about the money they owe to the government when tax time rolls around, because they had not been educated about what to expect or what to plan for.

In her last post, Lori mentioned a few ideas for saving money. Here are a couple related to taxes: Learn to do your own taxes (we spent $150 one year to pay someone to do ours and most of the hard work was already done—the compilation of all those receipts!). Find out about the things you can deduct from your taxes, save the receipts and deduct them. It takes a little effort to keep track of business miles and all those receipts for things you buy for your ministry and your home, but it is worth it! Every penny adds up!