Thinking on these things . . .

It's that time of year again. The stroke of midnight now signifies a new year. So it's time for New Year's ____?_____. Yep, resolutions. I, like you, have gone through the cycle of New Year's resolutions from making them with great idealism, to realizing their futility and inevitable failure, to merely thinking about things I'd like to change but not calling them resolutions, to, well, to not even bothering... But this year I am making one resolution. I want to eat rich foods and I want to eat until I am satisfied. I want to do all that I can to get fat. No stringy celery, dry rice cakes, and small plates of entrees for me. Bring on the richest, sweetest, most tender foods and bring it in on platters! I want things that melt in my mouth because they are so full of fat themselves- smooth like chocolate, buttery like pastries, and tender like marbleized beef. I do not want to walk around constantly hungry. I even found a verse that describes what I want perfectly! Is...

I woke up with a knot in my neck. My first thought was to find the heating pad but instead I opened the freezer and grabbed an ice pack and in doing so chose healing over comfort. I knew a heating pad would feel good and that ice would not, but I also knew that ice would make it feel better in the long run. I find much of God's Word like ice when I am seeking heat. A gentle answer turns away wrath...Proverbs 15:1 Love your enemies, Do good to those who hate you, Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic... Luke 6:27-29 Let us not be weary in well doing...Galatians 6:9 Don't be selfish Don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble thinking of others better than yourself ...Philippians 2:3 Be still and know that I am God... Psalms 46:10 These are not commands I prefer. I'd rather give anger for anger, get instea...

Three inches of icy slush had fallen overnight. School had not been called off as it should have been and I was slogging out to see the kid's Christmas program. Twice my car got stuck on the dismal side streets and I got out and kicked away the snow from around my tires and then went back and forth and back and forth until my car was moving again. By the time I got to the school program my gym shoe shod feet were so wet that even my socks were squishy! I was miserable during the whole program and afterward went straight to the shoe store to get some boots... What had I been thinking? I knew the conditions when I went outside but I was unprepared. Today it was snowing, snowing, snowing. Several inches came down in the time I was out, making it another sloppy winter day. Today though my feet are dry. I was prepared. I was wearing my boots. Are we prepared when we got out into our days? Are our hearts ready for the assault which is inevitable? Are we prepared to deal with discon...

The day after an event is always a curious thing. And when it's today, the day after this whole season of Christmas... It’s all over. The shopping, the cooking, the decorating, the programs, the running, the planning, the wrapping, the card addressing, the non-stop Christmas music... It's all over. So…now what? I always find there’s a letdown after something I've been looking forward to or working towards is behind me instead of the one huge thing filling my vision. It would seem to be time to refocus : to that end I've already read several emails, most sent on Christmas day, about the After Christmas Sales. I heard that J.C. Penny was even opening at 5:30 am this morning for shoppers...I wonder if anyone showed up? Who isn't totally worn out with shopping by now? The evening news last night already had diet tips to shed those holiday pounds...and I've even had a couple conversations about Easter plans...! It's also a time to deal with disappointment; in w...

The NORAD radar screen is up right now in it's own window as I type. We're watching Santa as he's flying around the world (in Saudi Arabia currently) with those eight little reindeer, and Rudolph of course! We love Santa. And why not? He's a jolly ol' elf, full of cheer and goodwill (something in short supply in the shopping centers especially today) and he has gifts for all the good little boys and girls. He's a symbol of generosity and justice. He has those lists and he's checking them twice...and yes, I confess, as a parent having used the famous reasoning of "you better be good because Santa is watching." He does amazing things; all those toys, that round the world trip, the improbable gifts that miraculously appear under the tree. It's wonderful! And the holiday movies like Miracle on 34th St. and the Santa Claus movie push the probability quotient a bit further towards "well...?". The Nativity scene. A young Mary and older ...

The Christmas story has forever elevated the lowly stable… “And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 We’re familiar with the story; big crowds in Bethlehem, no room in the inn, sympathetic innkeeper leads the exhausted couple to the place where the animals are kept. A stable, perhaps a cave, and here it is that the Savior of the World is born. It is to this place that a chorus of heavenly hosts sent the amazed shepherds. There was room here in the stable for Mary and Joseph and the newborn King, and because there was room, Christ came. We know numerous Christmas songs that convey this concept: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King, let every heart prepare Him room..." “O come to my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.” In this season, is there room for Christ? Amidst all the frivolity an...

These are the infamous words usually read for the first time at the most inopportunistic times, like, let say, Christmas morning... A mad scramble about the house ensues; "Batteries, batteries, there must be some around here somewhere" is being heard muttered above the opening and closing of drawers and cabinets. Chances are that even if some are on hand they will not be the correct size! The remote controls are checked and pilfered and then hours and hours later when the battery-powered toy has been abandoned and the parents sit down to relax finally and watch a little TV.... Today the MP3 player's battery went out and my cell phone started beeping to let me know that it too was just about out of energy. In this season, we so understand how that feels. Wouldn't it be interesting if we had those little battery icons on our foreheads, showing the decreasing bars…? We get our schedules for the festivities, others expectations, our own aspirations, and then down the road...

" The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." It's not my house they're talking about, perhaps my neighbor's with the amazing outdoor light display but it's not mine because at my house: * the tree has stood bare in the corner for a week now, lite only because it came out of the box that way! * the Christmas photos have been printed yet there are no cards and the address list is MIA * there are 12 days until Christmas yet the countdown calendar is still in the box of decorations * I only have an idea for a gift that should have already been in the mail should I hope for it to get there by Christmas * the Christmas socks that were multiplying like bunnies every time I went looking for normal socks have now apparently gone into hibernation * the components for various handmade gifts have been purchased yet only a week remains to get them assembled * I have an amazing Christmas village yet it's been packed away so long it's become a dim memory *...

I think the car ads this time of year are hysterical. I mean who buys someone a car for Christmas? Do you know of anyone who has ever been given a new car for Christmas? And yet every year we see the same commercials. Also right there in lunacy, in my opinion, are the ones for diamond bracelets - only $999.99 with a free gift box...I've never had an occasion to wear a thousand dollar bracelet, have you? These would be lavish gifts. I love the word lavish; how it sounds and how even the definition sounds, well, lavish; Characterized by or produced with extravagance and profusion Immoderate in giving or bestowing Unstinting To give or bestow in abundance: shower Extravagance - like a car Immoderate - like diamonds Profusion - like a Fruit of the Month Club Wouldn't you love to be able to give lavishly? Okay, wouldn't it be fun to be the recipient of lavish giving? (Go ahead; be honest, we would all answer "yes") God loves us lavishly . In the gift of the Savior.(Lu...

I love the Israelites. As a kid I couldn't understand what their problem was; here it is they see the Red Sea parted before them and their enemies drowned behind them and three days later, THREE DAYS, they're all whining in the wilderness that they're hungry and there's no food. I couldn't believe anyone's memory could be that short! As an adult I find I resemble them more than I care to admit... I don't think it's a matter of memory so much as it is of intensity. Life comes at you fast and we deal with stuff and then, bam, we're onto the next thing and by the time a week passes the thing that was so huge and important a week ago is practically forgotten. There's no time to sit on the couch and mediate on the good things, something else is pounding on the door for attention! That's why I love the Israelites because they never really seemed to get it. They'd praise, and then they'd complain and then He'd provide and they'd prai...

As a parent you do the best that you can; and occasionally you have the pleasure of discovering you're doing something right... My daughter had her first performance as a member of the Chicago Children's Choir. To this point it had only been rehearsals, and meetings, and an outlay of money; tuition, fundraisers, and a very specific uniform, and now it was time to see her sing. I went because this is what parents do. We go to band concerts with earplugs and Little League games with sunscreen, bug spray and snacks, and to endless soccer games huddled under blankets by season's end because this is how we support our children in variety of things they're attempting. I, however, found this concert to be vastly different and I sat with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat the entire time Katie was performing because there was no doubt that this was her niche. She shone there onstage and even the vast distance from the risers to mid auditorium could not conceal her pure j...

It’s the Christmas season, which means it’s the season of secrets! Lists are being made and checked off: gifts purchased and quickly squirreled away from curious eyes. It’s both the fun and frustration of the season. Fun if you know exactly what would be the perfect gift and you can get your hands on it, and frustrating if you haven’t yet figured out what gift will make their eyes light up or if you waited in line for it in the cold darkness at 4 am after Thanksgiving and found they were gone by the time you got to that department… I know things that my children don’t. And I see them alternately wishing and whining about something they want. I already have it for them. I’m just waiting for it to be the right time. It makes me wonder if it’s the same way with God. He knows what we need, what we think we need and what we want. He hears our prayers and our complaints as we anxiously keep asking. If I as a parent have this understanding and ability to have these awesome gifts in store for ...

God The Most High Creator Supreme Deity King of Kings and Lord of Lords Potentate of all time Is present tense being verb as in right here, right now With alongside next to partner has jumped in with both feet Us personally intimately Immanuel - God is with us What impact does that have on you today?

I’m a big baby. I caught my finger on the edge of a metal can and tore off a tiny piece of skin, so I had to stop what I was doing and find a band-aid. Did it really need the care and protection of a band-aid? I thought so. I’m sure almost anyone else would have just shaken it off and gone on without having to stop and take care of it but it hurt and it was bleeding and mattered to me that it was taken care of. One of the things I love about God is that what matters to me, matters to Him. The tiniest things that hurt me I can bring to His attention. I don’t have to be “strong” or “brave” or just “suck it up and deal with it”. I am welcome in His presence. Throughout each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me…give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. (Psalms 42:8, Psalms 55:22) The Lord nurses them when they are sick and eases their pain and discomfort.(Psalms 41:3) In my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his ...

My daughter came stumbling into our room at 4 a.m. “I had a bad dream”, she said as she crawled into bed. Did she want to talk about it? An immediate, adamant “No!” Ten minutes she was sound asleep safe in her dad’s arms. Safe When she experienced this bad thing she went to where she would feel safe. Later in the morning she told me about her bad dream and it wasn’t as scary to her in the 7 am brightness as it had been in the dark. Could we have explained that it wasn’t that bad and just a dream to her in the middle of the night? Not a chance, at that point she just needed to feel surrounded and protected. When trouble comes, overwhelming troubles like the constant crashing of waves on the seashore, where do you go to be safe? I wrap myself in scripture and claim the promises that God is… a refuge and help in time of need (Psalms 46) the Shepherd who supplies my needs and walks with me through the valleys (Psalms 23) the God who knows the way that I am taking (Job 23) who delights in e...

Mid November, 40 degrees Saturday, 4:30 pm The last errand after a day full of errands Milk, toilet paper, movie rental and we’re homeward bound. Walking out of the grocery store bags in hand, keys? Where are the car keys? Oh no, they’re still in the ignition… All day long I’d been sending my daughter back to the car to lock the door when we’d stopped. I wish I hadn't sent her back this time... She sang Christmas carols as we walked home, skipping and swinging the plastic bag. I was too busy being angry at being so stupid. Seriously I left the keys in the ignition!?! It doesn’t get much more stupid than something like that and now I had to walk home, get the spare key, ride the bike back to the car, shove the bike into the car and then I could drive home. The afternoon had been overcast and it would be dark in less than an hour so now I’ll be riding a bike in the cold and the dark. So stupid…! There was no doubt that this was all my doing, all my fault, my bed to lie in, my really ...

9:05 a.m. “I’d like to make an appointment.” “Let me take your number and we’ll call you back.” By the end of the day still no phone call to schedule the appointment, not to mention then how long it may be to have the actual meeting. A lesson that is learned well and early is this: If you want to have an appointment by September, you’d better call and schedule it in July. My education came with my first call to the OBGYN. “I’d like to schedule a prenatal exam. I just found out I’m pregnant!” “Is there any particular day that you’d like to see the doctor?” “As soon as possible. I’m available at any time.” (Of course I was available any time of any day; nothing would stand between me and the health of my baby!) “Okay, let’s see… the earliest available appointment would be at 2 p.m., three weeks from Thursday.” Three weeks from Thursday! How could they put me off for that long? I was pregnant. This was my first baby; terrible things could happen in three weeks – didn’t they understand how...

I watched my girlfriend dancing at her daughter's wedding and can not even communicate the pure joy that was causing the Cheshire like grin on my face. She was having the time of her life and I was so thrilled for her. Everything at the reception looked familiar as place cards, favors, programs, and centerpieces have been the topics of our conversations over the past several months. I've watched her running here and there and compiling information for weeks as she's helped her daughter with all the planning and preparation and now it had all come together and it was absolutely fantastic. Being happy makes us, well, happy! And it's not often that we feel deliriously happy as we go through our days. We're not sad either, we're just normal, balanced, dealing with whatever we are at the moment. But then there are those precious moments like this where you are filled with joy, or laughter; when you are just delighted. Often Scripture mentions how God takes delight in...

I have decorated the inside of my home with garlands of fall leaves. It looks nice. I have beautified a small space. God has changed millions of leaves into an array of brilliant colors. I drive down long boulevards under colorful leafy canopies. If I were to drive hundreds of miles in any direction I will see the same thing. God has beautified thousands of miles in this season. We can do something but what God can do, in comparison to what we are able to do... well, there is no comparison. In my own effort I can do things for God but if instead God is doing the work through me...I don't think we can even imagine what is possible. D.L Moody said, "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him." Do what you can, where you are and when you have done all you can trust that if your heart's motivation is the glory of God that God is more than capable to take your small effort and increase it's impact far beyond what you can imagine. We ...

This year the procrastinator in me did not win because I’ve been given the gift of a second chance in the form of a 70-degree day in November to get my bulbs in the ground so that this spring there will be flowers. I'm planting hope. Working now for future results. Burying ugly lumps of dried up flaky-skinned brown bulbs in expectation of colorful daffodils and tulips five months from now. You, who are in ministry, you too are weekly consistently planting hope as you present God's Word in expectation that it will take root and blossom in lives. You, who are parents, are planting hope that the things you've said a million times to your children will become the principles that guide them in their adult lives. You, who are married, are planting hope as you sacrificially give your time, love, and attention to your spouse that when you reach your fiftieth anniversary it is because you still love each other and not that you just never got divorced. You, who are a friend, are pla...

It's that time of year again. Most trees are no longer green instead sporting richly colored coats of yellow, orange and red which brings up the perennial question, "Why do leaves change color?" There are massive scientific answers but very simply it's because Autumn is a very revealing time... All spring and summer photosynthesis is going on in the leaves. Chlorophyll is produced causing the leaves to be green and the leaves are giving off oxygen. This is their season and they are contributing to the good of the world around them. Then the nights get cool and the weather drier and suddenly what has worked for months works no longer. The flow of nutrients from the tree is cut off and the chlorophyll disappears and the there is no more green color. What is revealed are the colors they were underneath all along, behind the mask of green and/or their colors also reveal what has been stored up or trapped in the leaves when the supply of nutrients ceased. Trapped sugars pr...

It was Halloween, 1966 and the phone rang in the red brick house. The baby they had been waiting to adopt was now ready to be brought to them; would they like their daughter tonight? The woman was worried, she had a cold and was afraid this would keep them from bringing over the infant...So while cowboys, princesses and ghosts traversed the neighborhood in search of candy, Lee and Virginia Fisher became parents. And every Halloween for years my mom would tell me how I was their Halloween treat. But this is the "happily ever after" part of the story. What about the years previous to this joyous ending? What about the disappointment, frustration and angst of the almost twenty years that preceded it as they tried everything to have children? What about the cruel trick that kept them from becoming parents as their siblings had families of 3, 4, and 5 children already: when others carried new babies and they did not? Our lives are suddenly thrown these seemingly cruel tricks, and ...

My daughter is designing a roman goddess costume and that has caused me to be thinking about laurel wreaths, papal hats, and crowns. I have a group of girlfriends with whom we celebrate each other’s birthdays. We have our very own birthday tiara, which the birthday girl has to wear while we are at the restaurant signifying to everyone around us that she is someone special. (and yes, we do get many second looks) Although we do not have a queen, that serenely waves as her carriage is escorted down Main Street USA, we are familiar with the concept of sovereignty. Our music is filled with references to God as king and that we are to “crown him with many crowns.” We know that God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What I find amazing however is that although God is King he does not overtake the throne of my heart by force. He waits until I finally come to the realization that He is God and that I am not and that He is the one capable of ruling my life and that I must take the crown fro...

(I thought about taking an actual picture of this event to add to the words, but it was too scary... ) I am having "tea". All by myself at ten in the morning I have made a pot of coconut chi tea, taken out my china teapot and cup and the special silver teaspoon. I have put on a beautiful CD mix and have made cranberry scones and a batch of devonshire cream. In front of me sits beauty and serenity. Well, correction, before me sits beauty and serenity in a space on my dinning room table. Also occupying the surface area was a basket of apples, assorted Lego's, a hairbrush, paper towels, photographs, scattered mail and some Operation Christmas Child boxes making the rest of the table not at all serene! So why, with all that obviously needed attending to, had I pushed back an area for "a spot of tea" ? A friend had sent for my birthday some of the things I was using for my personal tea party. In my way of thinking gifts are all about providing a complement or an oppo...

(I speak as an adopted child, not an adoptive parent so if my suppositions are not accurate I apologize.) There are no unplanned adoptions. There are children from unplanned pregnancies, or pregnancies that were more or less intentional and then, those children who've resulted from a very intentional desire to have a child. Adoption can be like the choice to get pregnant; there is this desire for a child and action towards that end and then the uncertainty of how things are developing. A pregnancy however is usually a set amount of time, a certain procedure whereas an adoption hasn’t this set time frame and involves from start to finish many deliberate actions The one thing though that all pregnancies have in common and that is that pretty much when your child is born – you have a child. Period. There are no “call backs”, no return policy, no Plan B. You are now a parent and have both the privilege and responsibility of taking care of this person. My mom had told me about when I ca...

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July 6th – Get this sudden idea about having a huge neighborhood wide Back To School Bash on a Sunday afternoon all around the outside of the church campus. -Pitch it to the deacons, am given a thousand dollar budget and offers of help July – August 31 - Plan games - Choose and order appropriate and budget friendly prizes - Make ten separate visits to various stores for school supplies at the lowest possible prices Sunday - Sep. 7 - Have a massive sign-up list in church and 28 people agree to give up their afternoon and help - Answer the question “what will we do if it rains?” with a confident “If God could cause the sun to shine for Joshua an additional 24 hours so that he could win the battle, surely He can make it not rain on Sunday afternoon” Mon – Friday – Make massive lists of details still be to attended to - Rent popcorn machine, hot dog steamer, inflatable, arrange for tents - Buy massive quantities of popcorn and hot dogs - Watch the forecast predicting rain all week - Answer...

I have to say that one of my favorite attributes of God is His constant presence. God doesn't occasionally "pop" into my life to check out how things are going but He abides with me; there in every moment. Because we are constantly in the presence of God He uses the ordinary things in our lives to draw our attention to Him. In essence this is the theme of everything I write - God in our everyday stuff. Today God used a TV dinner to bring me into grateful worship. I had warmed one up for lunch and it was...well, it was a frozen dinner - could have better, probably could have been worse...and I thought about how I never buy these dinners anymore but how for a year I bought a stack every couple of weeks. My mom had fallen and broken her hip and the best I could do in a culinary way was to make sure her fridge was full of food that was easy to get to and prepare. So there was lots of yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce and simple things, and a stack of frozen dinners - all varieties,...