Thinking on these things . . .

I don't think I would have seen it had it not been for the Boy Scout scrapbook I'd started last year for Robbie. On the cover I put the picture of him at the house. The picture by the lake is from this year and he hardly looks like the same kid...!!! In just one year he's lost that little boy look and is beginning to l ook like the teen he almost is. How did that happen and what did they do w ith my little boy?!? He loves the fact that he's a mere 1/2 inch shorter than I am and I still can't believe the fact that I can talk to him eye to eye now without having to bend over. I knew this would happen, of course it's sooner than I'd thought, but he's maturing. Are we? What does it look like for us? Is it connected to wrinkles and stray facial hair? What do mature souls look like? Consider this quote: Continue to be soft and pliable in the Lord’s hands and out of that relationship will come the things that define you at the deepest level of your heart—revea...

I've just discovered something beautiful and amazing and it's commonly known as "Blooming Tea". These are made of tea leaves that are hand-sewn into bundles. They're small and tight and not very attractive and there's no indication of what is hidden inside... But...when these are placed in a teapot and boiling water is poured over them they blossom right before your eyes. (You can watch it here and I suggest you do!) Wow, what a surprise! It's incredible how hundreds of individual tea leaves carefully joined together can, under the right conditions produce something beautiful and good for you. It reminds one of Romans 8:28 doesn't it? If a tea crafter can select individual, unrelated tea leaves and bind them together into one tea ball that reveals a whole greater than the individual parts, then why do we doubt that God can not and is not doing the same thing with all that happens in our lives? No, really, I'm asking that. How is it that we have a...

It hit me as soon as I opened the box of fall decor, this scent of mulled cider, and it made me remember... The October I turned forty I was able to take the beginning of a weekend and head up to Lake Geneva Wisconsin by myself. Turning the "Big 4-0" was a BIG deal to me - I mean this was"40" halfway to 80 - I'd already lived half my life, I was not only an adult now but had been an adult for twenty years - it was time to start feeling "all grown up" - when my parents were this age they were OLD! And then of course what about all that stuff you hear how your body goes downhill after forty, and your endurance is less, and you need bifocals or (if you're in denial about that) longer arms...for many reasons the future was looking less promising than the past. (I must add a note here - if you are not yet forty you may be able to identify with what I'm saying. If you're past forty you're probably not remembering having such angst yourself no...

That is the question and the main reason seems to be, "Kids forget everything they've learned over the summer!" Now I've never agreed with that statement - until (sigh) this morning... I was helping my daughter with her socks in an attempt to hurry her up and said "Don't forget this part goes on your heel" to which she quipped, "Hey don't blame me. I haven't worn socks all summer!" I guess they really do forget...!

(Some of you already know what's coming given my addiction to love of coffee!) Let me set the scene. We'd gotten home at 10:30 pm Labor Day night after being gone for six weeks. The car was unloaded and everything put into piles on any and all available floor space. Six am wake up as it is the first day of school. Everyone actually manages to get out the door on time, having eaten breakfast, finding their bike helmets and carrying all their new school supplies in their backpacks. I, after taking the first day of school pictures, (standing on the sidewalk in my pajamas of course!) go back inside and survey the chaos. Six weeks of dust and cobwebs, plus the "throw a van load of stuff in the house" plus the mayhem of a typical school morning equals I need a plan and COFFEE!!! I fill the carafe with water, select my flavor for the day (hazelnut) and pick up the coffee filter box only to find that it is EMPTY! NOOOOOO!!!!! For several years I'd been ordering coff...

Fearless people scare me as I sit on the couch watching their exploits on television...who is crazy enough to climb a mountain, sail around the world, or be involved in the X Games? But the problem is that you don't have to do something extreme to experience fear as it is all around and within us. Max Lucado has written a new book entitled Fearless and in it he addresses, not the fear of bungee jumping in the Grand Canyon, but the fears that plague us deep in our hearts. The fears of Overwhelming challenges Global Calamity Not Mattering Violence Not being able to protect my kids That God is not real Of life's final moments Of what is next I find myself at this moment most strongly identifying with the fear of what is next as I seek to reenter the world of the employed. What if no one wants to hire me? What if I've forgotten how to handle a classroom full of children? What if I can't keep up with all the rest of my life and a job too? Yep, I'm one fear filled woma...

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing - Psalms 30:11 That's quite a statement isn't it? It sounds a bit manic to me - mourning into dancing - great depths to great happiness - from lacking strength to get through the day to having so much joy one can not stand still - I think if those words were coming from my friend, I would be concerned about their mental health... The Psalm begins "I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to you for help and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death." So either David was a bit of a "drama queen" or he was in some serious trouble - and if you read in 1 and 2 Samuel, you'll see it was that latter. The man was like a lightening rod to trouble! But here he's talking about how he's been rescued from this trouble, from enemies and death, and he's ...

The top of my mattress meets the bottom of my bedroom window so in other words all I have to do in the morning is open my eyes and I have a good idea of what the day is going to be like. Most mornings still snuggled in blankets I see the sun rising spreading it's orange and yellow banners across the window's width cheerfully bringing in the new day and reminding me of the verse, "Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will." Isaiah 50:4. The day is clear and bright. There are other mornings that opening my eyes is not even necessary as I can already hear the rain pounding on the pane and know what's in store... This morning I woke up to a vague greyness. Fog. I could feel it's cold dampness just from the sight of it. How this day would unfold is not readily apparent. I can't see into the distance as everything is shrouded and obscure. It seemed all too appropriate for it to be foggy this morning as it was the beginning of Labo...