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?