Thinking on these things . . .

I'd come to the end of the day and the end of my resources. It'd been a long weekend and I had nothing left to give or the ability to cope with anything else. All I wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed and sleep. But I couldn't yet so grabbing my MP3 player, my Bible and journal I sat on my bed, plugged in the player and wrote about my weekend and how drained I felt. The album I'd chosen was A Millennium of Sacred Music , a compilation of hymns done masterfully on piano by an old friend. And with the music in the background, I started recording how worn out I felt but then found that these songs were pouring back into me peace and hope. These were my songs - the songs that had been a source of strength and comfort time and time again - Be Still my Soul, God will Take Care of You, Abide with Me, Nearer Still Nearer, He Hideth My Soul, No One Understands Like Jesus, How Great Thou Art. I unconsciously hummed the familiar lyrics along with the piano - "When othe...

Life is messy, but I have a magic tablecloth! So when spills occur (notice I said "when" and not "if"), they are much easier to take care of. For years I've had vinyl tablecloths covering my dining room table because invariably when I'd succumb to the temptation to put on a nicer fabric cloth, I'd be taking it off to throw in the wash after the very next meal (sigh). Maybe someday ... But hope springs eternal, and one day I put a new fabric cloth on the table and when the milk was spilt it immediately became a little ball that looked like a pearl! And if you lifted the tablecloth, the ball rolled around! A few more intentionally flicked drops of milk, to our delight, had the same effect. It was a magic tablecloth! The spills would sit on top of the fabric long enough to be cleaned up. No longer were they immediately absorbed into the weave. Life is messy. Things happen to us that have the potential to permanently stain. Acute disappointment, betra...

It all started with a customary check of my e-mail and a message from Starbucks. They informed me that their site was new and improved, and I could register my gift card and check my balance. I had a card, time, and curiosity, so why not? A search through my wallet revealed three gift cards … hmm, that was surprising. I entered the numbers and found that the first had a balance of $15, the second $0, and the third $25! Wow! I didn’t even know I had three cards, and now I have a $40 balance. Can you imagine, $40 all to be spent on coffee and its accessories? What a gift! Call me and we’ll do coffee! Suddenly I’m a rich woman in coffee currency. To know that I have the ability to pull into a Starbucks and get one of those Venti blended, sugary, whipped cream topped coffee drinks for free – iced or hot – makes me feel like I possess a great resource. The next time it’s mid-afternoon and crazy hot, I can pull right up and get a beverage to take care of that. Or if I’m out shopping and it’...

In case you’re not familiar with it, Facebook is a fascinating world that gives you the ability to reconnect with just about anyone with whom you have ever had contact in your entire lifetime. And you can also connect with others with whom you have never had contact or would not be able to outside this social cyber world. All you have to do is to ask them to be your “friend,” and once they accept, they are on your list, you are on theirs, and you are now connected. This afternoon as I was bored and randomly looking around Facebook, I discovered that I could identify myself as a fan of Max Lucado. I’ve respected and admired this man and his body of work since I first read one of his books. I’d shared his thoughts, taught classes with his materials, referenced him in numerous conversations, and even put magnets with his quotes on my fridge. Yes! I want to be his Facebook fan! Two clicks later, and my face is among the thousands cheering about him. But then I noticed that I also had anoth...

I’ve been so focused on the fine print of life that when I look up to see what is ahead, my vision of the future is blurred and my head begins to throb. I need to visit an eye specialist for help with my lack of perception. As I sit in this doctor’s chair and peer at his chart, he asks, “What do you see?” It’s all dark and fuzzy, and all I can see is a big solitary X , as the future is a completely unknown variable. “Here, put these on and tell me what you see,” he says, handing me a pair of glasses with rose-colored lenses to try. “Okay,” I reply. I can make out ... D O N ’T W O R R Y B E H A P P Y Making some notes, he says, “All right, go ahead and read the next line.” L I F E I S G O O D “And now the smaller ones below that.” I can’t make them out at all. “Let’s try these lenses instead,” the doctor says. The frames are a sunny yellow and these lenses are clear. I take them and vaguely notice some cartoon character on the side. Balancing them on my nose, I read ... YOU NEVER KNOW W...

...to the center of a tootsie roll pop? What a delicious problem to have! Instead I was wondering how many shovelfuls of dirt it would take to move this pile from here to there. The current count was 70 wheelbarrow loads with about 40 shovelfuls apiece. It looks to be more than halfway done so the final count could end up being somewhere around...5000?!(Excuse me while I go and get more aspirin...) Wow, it sure didn't look like it was going to take that much work... It seems there must be a "Murphy's Law" for that; something along the lines of "Any project takes three times longer to do than expected"? We want answers! We want to know how many times... will I have to remind my child to say "please" or "thank you" before they do it on their own? will I need to pray about this problem before I see a resolution? will I have to pass up that cake or get on the treadmill until I lose this weight? will I interview before I find a job? will pe...

"You've made your bed and now you have to lie in it." You've heard these words, maybe even used them yourself. Obviously this is not a happy kind of a phrase and the above mentioned bed is not something one would want to lie in...! This represents a reality that is unavoidable and unpleasant, much like a hard unyielding mattress that waits for you at the end of a long weary day. But what if we find ourselves in the Shop of God's Word and bring to our "bed" some additional truths? "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" Deut. 33:27 . Knowing God's arms are under us would be like putting a plush pillow top on that mattress. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head...I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!" Psalms 139:5,7 and that "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people" Psalms 125:2. His pr...

Today I was building a retaining wall and now I know why "blocks" were an integral part of kindergarten! (and who says you never use all that stuff you learned in school?!) Although the wall is not done yet, it's looking good and I'm learning all kinds of new things. The first step was to get the bottom layer of bricks level and that takes a really long time. After that foundational layer was level and secure, the bricks practically stacked and correctly aligned themselves. Now this unusual activity for me has gotten me thinking about foundations. What are these base level of truths that we believe? What is it we're building our actions and subsequent beliefs off of? Dr. Chris Thurman has a book called The Lies We Believe and in it he identifies some pretty common ones such as "Life should be fair", "People are basically good", "God's love must be earned", "It's easier to avoid problems than to face them", and ...