mini van homily part one: the problem with having a mother in ministry

I drove my kids to school this morning because my own getting out of bed today was so not happening as it should have.

From the backseat my daughter asked, "Mom? Why is the Bible the most important book?"

I talked for fifteen minutes straight.

I preached about knowing Jesus and our identity in relationship to Him.

I preached about the truths in the Bible and how we need to saturate our minds in them as we are bombarded by lies everyday.

I talked about Satan and his tactic of getting us to doubt God's truth and promises.

I re-told the story of Eve in the garden and how the serpent tempted her to doubt God's goodness by asking, "Did He really tell you not to eat that....?"

I quoted Scripture and preached about hope and our desire to belong.

I told them how the Bible reminds us of all of this, and how it is God's word and love letter to us, and that even when the devil tries to throw our pasts in our face aiming to shame us and fill us with regret, so long as we put on the breastplate of righteousness and hold onto our faith as a shield, God will always see us as nothing other than His precious daughters no matter what the devil says.

"Wait...mom...can you give me a shorter answer?"

I looked in my rearview mirror to see her typing away on her phone.

It was a homework assignment.

Not just a really great question and burning desire that my daughter came up with on her own on the way to school.

As she got out of the car I shouted, "Gird your loins in truth!!!" because I am that mom.

My other daughter stayed in the car a little bit longer, because she could not find her headphones.

It got ugly, folks.

For a few minutes there, things got ugly.

Have you ever been around a teenager who can't find headphones?

Because God is so good...she found them...and as she got out of the car I told her, "You know who invented headphones, don't you? The devil. The devil invented headphones.....have a good day, honey!"

That was my send off.

A fifteen minute homily and the devil invented headphones.

I stayed quiet for the last kid in the car and took him to Dunkin Donuts on the way to his school.

He totally scored.

If the girls knew this they would scream, "Not fair!"

Which would lead me to my next mini van homily on God being fair....

I think I will drive them to school every morning..