Noah And The Grape

We need to cover a lot of Biblical territory in a very short time.  Occasionally we will have to hit the fast forward button.  This week we need to jump from Adam and Eve to Noah.  But there are some important characters we skip in the process.  Like Cain and Abel.  You might remember that Cain killed Abel because he was jealous that God preferred Abel’s offering.  Why?  Because Abel offered the best of what he had.  So that leaves us with a problem?  How does the story continue if Abel’s dead and Cain is removed from God’s blessing?

Biblical Scholar Alert- The line to Christ continues through Adam and Eve’s “less famous” son Seth.  And Seth leads us to Noah.

We will focus on Noah this week.  We will be hanging out in Genesis 6-9.  I’m sure you know the story of the Flood.  We all did the coloring sheets as kids.  You know all about the Ark and 2 by 2.

Anyway skipping through the familiar stuff, it is important to note that God made a covenant with Noah.  A covenant is a promise God makes with His people.  The party or parties enter into covenant with God and secure it with their very lives.  Think marriage here.  God promises Noah that He will never flood the earth again and offers the rainbow as a sign of this promise.

How does Noah react to this marvelous deal with God?  He gets drunk!  You think I’m making it up, don’t you?  Well before you get all judge-y on me, put yourself in his shoes.  Forty days on rough seas, fearing for you life, with dozens of stinky animals and their waste AND his family.  Come on, we all just spent the holidays with our families.  And most of us weren’t trapped on a floating farm.  Noah gets off the boat and gets loaded.  Honestly, it is hard to blame him.

You still think I am making it up?  Fine, read Genesis 9:20-24.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.  Not a pretty picture, is it?  Leaving aside the father’s nakedness stuff, (email me if you want that story) Noah’s issue was temperance.  He had too much of a good thing.

The dictionary tells us that temperance keeps us within limits.  It is not extreme or excessive.  This can be in appetite, desire, alcohol, drugs, anger etc.  We are called to avoid extravagance.  We need to be controlled, disciplined, levelheaded and reasonable.

Please don’t miss that God didn’t take his rainbow and leave Noah in his shame.  He didn’t abandon Noah.  He doesn’t quit on us either.  If you find yourself out of control in one of these areas or some other, don’t feel that you’ve outsinned God.  He longs to help you come back to temperance.  Allow Him to start this week.

Where are you out of bounds?

What do you do too much of?

What can you do to show restraint?

When is too much a problem?

In what ways are you level-headed?

What can you learn from Noah?

She Drives Me Crazy

Click on the Gracieland icon on the bottom right to see today's new webstrip.  Snow Day Part 2: Gracieland's first continuing story...uhh... continues! So be sure to check back each week to see our first ever four part continuous webstrip.  To view all the Gracieland strips to date, check out http://greetingsfromgracieland.com/

Tuesday Table Talk

Ask your child:

What does Gracie believe about snow days?

What is Anthony’s problem?

Do you think Gracie is serious or just trying to make fun of Anthony?

Why is Anthony in his underwear?

What would you do if you were Anthony?

Noah And The Grape

Click on the Gracenotes link above to hear this week's podcast. We will be focusing on Noah and his "issue" all week here at A Gift of Grace. Won't you join us?

Paul Anka! Because... why not?

Adam and Eve

Ask Ellen: Could you explain the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church in a way Middle School students can understand? Kim, PA

I received this very intriguing question from a principal of a Catholic school.   Yikes!

The more I thought about the request, the more I knew I needed to answer her.  I needed to answer her so I would begin to understand it.  Over the next eight Ask Ellen questions, I will attempt to explain these Social Teachings of the Catholic Church is very simplified terms.

I begin today by explaining what it means to be social.  Merriam- Webster tells us that it means “of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society.”

What does that mean?  It means that we are all part of something way larger than ourselves.  We are members of a family, a city, a state, a country, a race, a religion etc. 

How we behave as members of all of these larger groups is important.  The Catholic Church knows that.  The Church asks us to behave as responsible members and to respect all other people of all the other groups.   In short, these teachings tell us how we should act and relate to the world.

Over the next seven weeks we will look at these teachings.  They include: respect for life, participation, responsibilities, caring for the weak, the value of work, loving our neighbors and caring for the earth.

These themes will help us understand what role we are to play in society.  These may be the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church but certainly there is something all of us can learn about our place in society.  I encourage you to think about these issues and how you address them in your own life and how you teach your children about them.  Hopefully, by the time we finish learning about them we will all be better citizens.

On The Eve Of Doubt

Happy New Year!  This year will be exciting here at A Gift of Grace.  Each week we will meet a Biblical character.  By the end of this year, you will have met many of the key people leading up to Christ and a few who came after Him.  What makes this approach unique is that we will spend time each week examining each person’s “issues.”  Admittedly, some of these “issues” are not desirable yet I am willing to bet that you have struggled with most of them from time to time.  I want to encourage you to spend some time each week reading our friend’s story. Allow their life story to shape yours.  We can learn from their mistakes.  We can imitate what they did well.  In the process we will learn the story of our Biblical family tree.

Let’s begin “In The Beginning.”  Meet my friend, Eve.  I call her my friend because I get her.  Eve had a pretty sweet setup.  She was in Paradise after all.  But like many of us, she wanted more.  In my opinion, Eve’s key “issue” is doubt.  Read Genesis Chapter Three very closely.  Do you notice anything in the Serpent’s words?  How about, “Did God really say?”  He played on her doubt.  If she was anything like me, she probably immediately began to question herself.  Maybe I misheard Him?  He couldn’t have meant ever?  Eve began to lack confidence.

Doubt leads to anxiety and fear.  Eve shows us this perfectly.  After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve get worried.  They are afraid because they know they are naked.  And they know that God knows.

Think about doubt in your own life.  Don’t allow doubt to play on your own insecurities by asking things like, “Am I really good enough?”  Eve would want you to learn from her mistakes. 

The opposite of doubt is belief and confidence.  If Eve had banked on the fact that God said what He meant, she wouldn’t have been cast out of Eden.  Don’t allow doubt to evict you from life.  Learn to trust in yourself and in God.

When we succumb to the feeling of doubt, we allow anxiety and fear to creep in.  This week look for areas of doubt in your life. 

Reflect on the following:

Do I feel unworthy?  Do I fear that I am not smart enough, good enough, thin enough, etc?  Let’s not lose sight of the Serpent’s use of food to trap the woman.

Do I allow doubt to rule over me?  Does it prevent me from doing things?  Is there always something I wanted to try that I doubted I could do?

Does my doubt make me feel naked and fearful of God like Adam and Eve?

What one thing can I do this week to overcome my doubts?

Bible Scholar Alert.  Occasionally as we survey our friends’ issues I will alert you to some cool Biblical knowledge.  You know that kind of stuff you can really impress people with at cocktail parties.  One of these happens today in Genesis 3:15.  This verse is known as the “protoevangelium,” or the first announcement of the Good News.  A Savior is promised in this verse.  What happens between this Garden and Calvary is the story.  It is the story we will learn this year.

Homework.  Each week will have homework.  You should read the section that we are discussing.  I recommend reading Genesis 1-3 this week.  Also ponder the Reflection Questions.  Really examine the role doubt plays in your life.  Let’s be honest, we all struggle with it in some form or another.  Buy a new notebook and journal about each theme.  By the end of the year, you will be surprised at how many “issues” you have dealt with.  If you are feeling brave, comment here on the site or on Facebook with your thoughts.  I promise someone can and will benefit from your insight.

Should We Talk About The Weather?

Click on the Gracieland icon on the bottom right of the home screen to see today's new strip. Happy New Year in Gracieland! Over the next four weeks Greetings From Gracieland will tell a continuing story. So be sure to check back each week for the next four weeks to see our first ever four part continuous webstrip.  To view all the Gracieland strips to date, check out http://greetingsfromgracieland.com/

We would like to encourage you to share "Greetings From Gracieland" with your children.  Below are discussion starters you can use at dinner tonight to get your kids talking.


Greetings From Gracieland:  Tuesday Table Talk

What do you think of Gracie’s pajama plan?  Is it science?

Do weathermen understand science?

What do you know about the weather?  What do you like about science?

What do you think is going to happen in next week’s strip?