Thinking on these things . . .

"If Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh to you right this minute, I seriously doubt that you would care how your favorite football team can improve its offense. I don’t think it would matter anymore whether you need to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home. I don’t think you would be worried about how you would get that bill paid. I think you would be captivated by His presence. Awed by His magnificence. Lost in the wonder of His love, and trembling in fear of His power and holiness." ( Ovation blog - Andy Wood - Clearing out the mental clutter - September 20, 2010) After I read these words I stopped to imagine such a scene - What if Jesus were to suddenly knock at my door and come in and sit on my couch?  How would His presence with me, in my space, impact my day? What would it be like if Jesus were here with me? But the amazing thing is that, He is. He is already in your house, on your couch, next to you while on the computer. There's not a moment tod...

As I am without a church home, every Sunday is a little bit different as we're going to various churches and I find the type of church we're attending impacts what I'll be wearing.  This morning it was casual pants and ballet flats, last week it was a skirt and heels. One service had hymnbooks and the other words on a screen; one a guy with a guitar, the other an amazing choir. On the platform today was a young pastor in jeans while last week there was an older minister in a suit behind a pulpit. The beauty of it was that each church, as different as they are, were still a place of worship and that I, in heels or flats, was still coming from love for my God. There is no dress code when coming to God; no special outfitting necessary before He loves us. If I pray with "Our Father who art in heaven" or "Lord, help!", God hears my prayer. If my preferred translation is  KJV or NLT, the Spirit of God still speaks through His Word. There are no qualif...

We know the story of Gideon - God had told him exactly what to do (He'd even sent an angel to tell him!) but Gideon was still not exactly sure about God's direction so he put out a fleece ( a piece of animal skin) and asked God to confirm his decision by making the fleece wet  and the ground around it dry. And the next morning it was exactly as he'd prayed for but poor Gideon was still not sure so he prayed that the fleece would be dry and the ground around it wet, and God, ever a gracious Father, again gave him the confirmation he was seeking and then, finally, Gideon was ready to get with the program.(Judges 6) Often it seems God speaks this way - over a period of time,after much time spent in prayer and consultation with wise friends and a weighing of the pros and cons... but, as I discovered today, sometimes God speaks with another voice... This morning, while in a small group for Bible Study, it was mentioned that there was need for a teacher for the 3 and 4...

I am doing today what I do most days—picking things up and putting them down in different places . . . Sometimes I think my entire life feels like that of Sisyphus (the man from a Greek myth who was condemned for eternity to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have it fall back down just as he gets to the top, forcing him to start all over again) as my daily chores seem to be nothing more than doing the exact same things over and over and over and . . . But today in moving things from place to place, I discovered an e-mail I'd printed out two years ago—one of validation and encouragement. With new eyes I began looking around, and I also found on my desk a handmade card about friendship and a wooden sign a girlfriend allowed me to "steal" from her house while I was deep into studying (it says "Be Nice or Go Away"). My life is filled with small gifts of encouragement—from e-mails, to e-mailed blogs sent to lift my spirits, to comments on my blogs that do the same. I...

So here I am in the country tonight stumbling around the front lawn in the dark. The dew has already set as the hem of my pants is quickly soaking up all the moisture. It is dark out here! So dark that you can see the stars – and I mean all the stars not just the few bright ones you can usually see! I’m out here wandering because of an app on my phone called Goggle Sky Map – it claimed that you could point it at the sky and it would show you the stars and constellation you were seeing and guess what? It really did! Suddenly I knew that really bright star to the right was actually Jupiter and sure enough that familiar W shape was indeed Cassiopeia. As I turned, moved, and ended up down the street, the map adjusted with me; although I could not see where I going in the darkness the GPS satellites via the phone were still tracking me. So not only was it known where I was, it presented the stars location in relation to my position. Just because I was in the dark didn’t mean I was lost. I...

Like it or not, ready or not, summer vacation is over and a new school year has begun. (sigh)So last night we drove home and I am not a night person - at all! Just try talking to me after 9, or especially 10, and you'll understand perfectly! So I'm driving and I'm sleepy even though I did not take the cold medicine which says you should not operate heavy machinery after taking...! All the way I did just one thing - I followed my husband's tail lights. I didn't pay any attention to what road we were on or think about what exit was coming up next. I let him make the decisions and plan out the route; I just played followed the leader and he lead me all the way home. "When a person's steps follow the Lord, God is pleased with his ways. If he stumbles, he will not fall, because the Lord holds his hand." Psalms 37:23,24 Perhaps "follow the leader" is the key to life. We just follow the Lord without concern about the road we're on or what turn ...

Yesterday I looked through a bunch of pictures that I'd packed up from my mom's house and what an assortment they were! I relived the birth of all the grandchildren, birthdays, weddings and all kinds of people and events; but it also made me melancholy seeing the past in photos gathered by a woman whose own life is over. So many things whose time has already come and gone... But even more strongly than that, I had another impression as I saw my life’s history in those photos; God has been faithful. Through the thirty years laid out before me, through every experience and incident, joy or problem; God had been there and has been consistently caring for me. I have lived the promise of Isaiah 46:4 - "I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." Scott Krippayne has said the same thing in his song You Have Been Good . You Have Been Good If I never get to see anot...

Suddenly it has gone from a balmy 70’s in the morning to a chilly 50 degrees! So today I reached for my jeans, far beneath all the summer shorts and capris. As I pulled them on I thought for a millisecond that maybe they’ll be looser than they were when I wore them last in the spring... did I mention that hope lasted for a millisecond?! Sure enough, because I had not made an effort to lose weight – I mean seriously, summer was just made for ice cream!! – my jeans were a measurement of the result. There is no magic just because I wish there were. Jeans that fit more loosely will only happen when I put in the effort (or when I buy bigger jeans…!) sigh... I find a similar scenario in my Christian life when I face a situation and react just as poorly as I have in the past ever even thought I’m a year older in my relationship with Christ. Just because time has passed doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m further along in becoming more like Christ. It, as any good thing, takes conscious effort. ...

This is a fiber optic lamp and it is the coolest thing! There's a bulb in the base and these thin clear filaments all rest in the base and then carry a pinpoint of light to their very tip. If a filament falls out, it looks like a piece of fishing line but when connected it has this small but brilliantly bright light. If you take a group of the filaments in your hand together they're so bright in their concentration, you can use it like a flashlight. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" John 9:5 Jesus, while He was on earth, was the light of the world but He's back in heaven so, what now? "You are the light of the world ... let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5: 14,16 You, and I - His lights in this world. That's quite a r...