The Other Brother

When the parable of the prodigal son is discussed, usually all of the emphasis is put on the youngest son. After all, the younger son was the one who demanded his inheritance before his father was dead. He left home,recklessly spent all his money, realized the error of his ways, and returned home to his father. Yes, this younger prodigal son is indeed a large part of this parable, but there is another son who tends to be ignored.

After the younger son rudely asked his father for his inheritance, the father "divided his property" between his two sons. Unlike his younger brother, the older brother didn't run off and squander his money. Instead, he dutifully stayed home and worked for his father. Luke 15:20 says "But while he (meaning the younger brother) was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him." In order to have spotted his returning son from such a distance, the father must have been looking for him. The older son must have watched in disgust every day as his father watched and waited for the return of his younger son. Here he was, a loyal son working for his father, and his father was still giving attention to the son who had abandoned them!

Once the older son found out that his father had forgiven his younger brother, he must have been furious. It wasn't right for his brother to march back home and be forgiven so easily! The older brother was working out in the fields when he heard music and dancing. He asked a servant what was going on, and found out that his father was throwing his brother a party. This was the icing on the cake. He threw a fit. He wasn't ready to forgive his brother yet, let alone attend his welcome home party. Like a four year old, he sat outside and pouted. His father came out and asked him to join the party. The older brother refused. In Luke 15:29-30 he answered his father "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" His father replied in Luke 15:31-32 " 'My son,you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

Even though the older brother seemed to be a perfect son, it turns out that he didn't really have a good relationship with his father. He didn't know his father well enough to understand his love for his youngest son. He didn't even know his father well enough to know how much he loved him, and that he could come to his father with any request.

Impressed, Distressed, and Amazed

Franklin Graham's life story is amazing. To think that God changed a rebel like young Franklin into the Christian giant he is today is astounding. Franklin's adult life has one clear purpose: to share God's love and His message.

I was amazed by Franklin's bravery and faith. When he became the president of Samaritan's Purse he followed in Bob Pierce's footsteps. He would never send his team into a possibly dangerous area until he visited it himself. He not only ministered in areas after war, but he wasn't afraid to visit areas while the war was still going on. He faced bullets and bombshells in order to spread the gospel with the hurting people of the world.

I was distressed by several of the stories in this book. While on his travels Franklin saw many awful representations of the suffering that takes place all over the world. What bothered me the most was the same story that bothered most of you: the story that led Franklin to create the home for abused women. While reading these horrible things I consoled myself by remembering that Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse worked to heal the suffering of the people involved.

Franklin has truly based his life on the God room concept. His life is a testament to the power of God and what one can accomplish when they allow God to use them. Because Franklin has allowed God to use him, he has impacted the world much more than I ever thought one person could.

Making Room For God Room

What is God room? When I first heard of God room I thought that it was referring to a chapel or a special prayer room. I later learned, however, that God room is something much more interesting. God room isn't a place. It's a way of life. In the words of Bob Pierce: "'God room' is when you see a need and it's bigger than your human abilities to meet it. But you accept the challenge. You trust God to bring in the finances and the materials to meet that need." The concept of God room is awesome. Many times, when we see a need, we feel like it's our responsibility to meet it, we become stressed and sometimes even discouraged. This is when we need to step back and allow God room to work. The best part of God room is, that when you allow God room to work, He does! God will work in ways that no one could ever dream of.

One time my family personally experienced God room. We had run into a problem that none of us knew how to solve. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't fix it, so we prayed. We prayed a lot. And, once we got out of the way, in classic God room fashion, God worked in an amazing way. Even now, my family still looks back to that time in our lives, and praises God for working in a way that leaves no doubt that He alone is in control of our lives.

It's great to finally be able to put a name to what my family experienced. God room is a lifestyle, and I hope that as I get older I will make it my own. Nothing is impossible as long as I have the faith to let the God work in my life.

Real Reasons For Rebels' Rebellions

How much does Franklin Graham have in common with our friend Betty Thornton from The Prodigal Girl? Besides a few obvious differences (such as Franklin being a real person and Betty being a fictional character), I think they are very much alike. In his autobiography, Franklin states " “Instead of getting my esteem from achieving within the system, I got my thrills and identity from challenging the system. I was following the classic pattern of every rebel.” I think Betty would agree that this quote applied perfectly to her as well. Since we are all very familiar with Betty, I need not explore how all of her bad choices closely paralleled Franklin's, I'm more concerned with the reasons behind their rebellious behavior.

Both Betty and Franklin had fathers that were not closely involved in their lives. While Franklin was growing up, his father was seldom home. Mr.Graham was nearly always either preparing to leave for a crusade or gone on a crusade. Franklin was naturally a very strong-willed and independent child, and it must have been difficult for his mother to handle him all by herself. Franklin's rebellion started very early in his life. Perhaps, if his father had been with him, he would have been able to stop some of Franklin's bad habits before they began.

Betty's father wasn't often physically absent from her life, but he was so involved with his work that he didn't pay any attention to his children. By the time Mr.Thornton came to his senses, Betty had already become a rebel, the damage had already been done. Maybe, if Mr.Thornton had paid more attention to his children, he could have prevented many of the mistakes Betty made.

Convincingly Convinced

I usually think that I am convinced of many things. For example, when I can't find something, and have looked everywhere for it, I am convinced that my brother has taken it for his own nefarious purposes. However, as I march to my brother's room to demand an account for his actions, I usually find it. Sometimes I jump to conclusions too quickly.

There are a few things, though, that I am absolutely convinced of:

1) God has a plan for my life, and He is involved in every detail of it.

2)It is not wise to automatically assume. (For example, if you notice a lady has recently put on a lot of weight, do not ask her when her baby is due.)

3)It does not matter how many times you explain to a sports fan the pointlessness of screaming helpful advice such as "RUN!" and "CATCH IT!" at the athletes on TV. A true sports fan will go right on yelling at the TV.

4)Movies watched for entertainment should have a happy ending.

5)Cake is good, but pie is better.

6)Houseguests are like fish. Both begin to go bad after three days.

7)It should be illegal for women over 50 to buy all their clothing from the junior's department.

8)Sandwiches always taste better if someone other than yourself makes them.

Of course, I have other beliefs of which I'm convinced, but Mrs.Powell specifically said that this post could not be boring. I hope you all enjoyed this litany. I'll see you Tuesday. :)

THIS IS ME

Well, this is me, your best friend in the whole world, Lauren. One thing that you may have guessed from the title of this post is that I enjoy using all caps. Other things that I enjoy include music, books, my 200 pound dog, my cat, the TV show Drake and Josh, Chinese food, my friends, selected members of my family, and (maybe I'll get extra credit for this) writing. Oh, look, that was a litany(a prolongued or tedious account)! My blog is already living up to its name...Anyways, since I'm your best friend in the whole world you should probably also know that I'm sixteen, I'm a Christian, I write odes in my spare time, and that if my first name was Holly my name really would be HollyWood. Here's an example of one of my odes:

Ode To My Snow Day

Look outside there’s a whole world to behold,
A whole new world, a world of cold.
My nose is numb,
And so is my thumb.
My face is starting to burn,
And what frostbite is like, I’m starting to learn.
If my brother hits me with a snowball one more time
He’ll become an unrecognizable pile of slime.
Maybe I should just go inside,
And defrost myself by the fireside.


So, now that you know me pretty well, you should probably become a follower of my blog. (That is, unless you are not in my writing class and are, in fact, an odd creepy person.) So far Mrs.Powell is my blog's only follower. And that, my friends, is why she's the one that got a cookie with her name on it.