Thinking on these things . . .

The other day I was reading a great book and driving. Maybe I should restate that. I had been reading a great book but now I was driving but I would have really rather been finishing my book. I was to the last 15 pages and the mystery was finally going to be untangled but, I also had to be somewhere, so I was driving and the book was sitting on the passenger seat just waiting... Waiting for what? you may ask: I was waiting for a red light. I was hoping for red lights on my trip this day because I knew I'd have enough time to read another page and be closer to all the answers! Wouldn't you know it, not a single red light the entire trip! What was interesting though was how a subtle shift in my thinking changed my entire perspective on traffic lights. I remember the same thing happening when my son was small and loved trains; suddenly living where there are tracks everywhere wasn't as bad as it had been before. While we love shows like Extreme Makeover perhaps it wouldn't...

I'm so excited! I was just being teased that it didn't take much to get me excited: but I'm choosing to take that as a compliment. I'm amazed how God watches out for me in all things, even those that are very little. In the past 24 hours I've gotten an email that was encouraging where I was discouraged, a phone call giving me legal advice that will save me from many headaches, and a visit that resulted in the weeds being gone from what I'm calling my garden and a dozen new transplants all snuggled down into my dirt: and all these things came from the friends in my life. I don't know anything about legalities or flowers (except that they're so pretty and tempting in the store this time of year and I get them home and they're just not happy at my house) yet where I have these holes in my abilities, God's provided others who have these strengths. The expression is typically "like a square peg in a round hole" but my Father is the giver of ...

I am a simple minded person. I am visual. I am forgetful. I've just gotten a beautiful hanging plant. I carefully brought it home and placed it on the hook and it looked wonderful! The next morning it was all withered and curling up against itself. So I watered it really well and it perked right up and again looked great. This morning it's all curled up and withered looking. Hmmm . What a great plant! Here I thought I was getting something to brighten up my yard and what I've actually gotten is my own botanical reminder. I am just like my plant in that I need to be watered daily. It seems no matter how great the day before has been, how abundantly I've been satisfied and filled that the next morning I'm dry and thirsty, and when the sun is beating down on me, I need even more water. I easily relate to the psalmist when he said "My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water" (Psalms 63:1). And th...

Honesty It seems like it’s been a common thread in my life for the past few weeks beginning with an Adult Sunday School class on that topic. What does it mean to be honest? What about “don’t ask, don’t tell”? What if I lead you to believe something is true that isn’t even though I never actually say that it’s true? What if I know something that I don’t share that you should know? What is our responsibility as Christians to be honest, totally 100% honest? We didn’t have many answers, I think we raised even more questions and a lot of stories about how these different types of “honesty” have played out in our personal lives, and what effect being honest has on those around us and what they think of us. We looked at scripture and saw that there is no deceit at all in God: well that pretty much answered the question of how honest should we be… So I found myself on the phone with someone very upset about how they perceived I’d treated them and hearing them say “tell me honestly do you have ...

They’re calling him Rob. The coaches, the other players, calling my son Rob. That’s not his name. It’s Robbie. For 10 years he’s just been Robbie. Well I guess they just don’t know. It sounds so strange. They’re still calling him Rob but now it’s because now he’s earned it as his nickname. He “robbed” the other team twice tonight, with two double plays. He was chosen as the game’s MVP by his coach and given the game ball. I don’t think he’ll be falling asleep before midnight he’s so excited. I watch this Rob on the diamond and I hardly recognize him, long and lean in his baseball uniform: intense in his concentration, light and quick on his feet, cheering on his teammates, the first to pat a guy on the back and say “good job”. Is this the same kid that leaves socks and books all over the house? Is this the same kid that eats dinner and is starving ten minutes later? Who makes copious lists of sports statistics and sets up fantasy teams and plays whole games with them in his mind? Is th...