"Taken For Granted"

What does it mean to be taken for granted?

 If you plug this into a Google Search this is what you will find. Web definitions- Axiomatic: evident without proof or argument; "an axiomatic truth"; "we hold these truths to be self-evident".wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn 

The Urban dictionary has this listed as a definition; To expect someone or something to be always available to serve in some way without thanks or recognition; to value someone or something too lightly.

It seems as if every day I hear someone say something or do something that communicates that they are or have taken something for granted. We love and enjoy driving or riding on a road that is smooth, but do we recognize how that smooth road came to be?  Do we consider how the road came to be located in that place in the first place? Was it originally a footpath, then a wagon path, then a gravel road, then a paved road? Who worked hard and used "what knowledge" to build this road that you are now enjoying. Who helped to make your trip easy and enjoyable? Most of the time we do not think of these things at all. But when we must traverse a bumpy road, we may scream, "Why don't they (the city, municipality, state or national government) do something about it?"  Often we do not think about these things until something goes wrong and the problem becomes very noticeable. 

When it comes to "growing, strengthening, building our faith and connection to Jesus, fellow believers and the members of our local congregation" what are the aspects of these relationships that can be "taken for granted"?  Maybe a blog of remembrance or what not to take for granted might help. Can you think of other ways to keep from "taking _____ for granted"?  Fill in the blank with whomever or whatever can be taken for granted.  I look forward to your comments.

Read the Book

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." —Theodore Roosevelt

Confirmation Morphs Into Head to Heart

Luther's Small Catechism

Head 2 Heart

The challenge we are seeking meet for the young people of our congregation with Head to Heart is to make a clear distinction from what has historically been called Confirmation Class, what has been used in the past, to a system and a process that will meet the needs and the challenges present for our youth in our culture today. The society and culture in which our children are living today has much different values than the culture of our parents and grand-parents. H2H is “not” class, it is “not” school, it is a ongoing, long-term ministry which helps prepare and teach children about their Savior, but so much more. What we really want and need is to create stronger, more vibrant, tenacious, and steadfast bonds between our youth and their Savior. The struggle we have is in articulating and communicating the process, and the system, and the purpose, and the unique method, and reasons for doing what we are doing to the parents and members of our congregation. Head to Heart is a ministry that is built to bring our youth together, bond them to one another in love for Christ, and cement them into the body of Christ so that they will develop a much closer relationship to their Lord and to His family. Our parents and members need to understand our goals and the path we are taking to insure these stronger relationships. Our knowledge of facts, how they are connected, the languages, and the culture of the Bible, and the truths of who we are and how we are connected to those truths, is vitally important and provides a necessary foundation for building our life in Christ. However, we must never think knowing and information is enough.  Sadly, some have the notion that information, knowing something is all they need. Too often we fail to make the connection between information and behavior, information and the connection we need to our Savior and He people. We fail to see the real need of our soul is to have a "RELATIONSHIP"  to our Savior and the community of believers. We fail to recognize what the family, the community of faith does for us and our children. We think we can live separated from God's Word and His Supper for great parts of our lives without any damaging effects on our "faith in Christ."  It would be like a smoker, thinking that knowing the facts of what this practice does to their body, is enough to protect them from the damage smoking does in their lives. In some ways we fail to meet the real human needs of people for a the deeper connection to God and His people and their absolute need to remain, REMAIN connected to Him.  We do not want Confirmation to equal Graduation.  We would like to see the confirmands honestly live what they believe and remain faithful not because mom and dad “make” them, but because they recognize their own needs, and they are invest in serving and caring for one another, and are motivated from a godly heart to boldly live lives that reflect that understanding, and that deep and abiding commitment.  When truths of God’s Word have migrated from their heads where the know them to be true and significant for their lives here, today and tomorrow, to their hearts where they believe them strongly enough so they motivate them to use to their hands, minds, vocations, marriages and very beings to live their faith in Christ, daily and serve Christ and their neighbor until God takes them home, then we will know God's Word has impacted their lives for eternity.  These are the goals we are working for in Head to Heart.