Thinking on these things . . .

Ah, the royal wedding...what pomp and pagentry and hoopla and media coverage.  It's been an ongoing joke really in our house as Katie can't understand why people care so much and Robbie is oppossed to all things that involve kissing; so it was interesting to turn on the TV this morning and watch the crowds assembling a Buckingham Palace and the coutdown clock in the corner of the screen until "the kiss". There were hundreds of thousands in attendance there in London and an estimated two billion watched worldwide.Even if it wasn't high on my priority list, seeing a crowd like that, all in breathless anticipation, is impressive. It all reminds me of  a bigger crowd that is soon to gather; one that I will most gladly be a part of it... "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Je...

If you wear any type of  lenses  you'll know exactly what I mean when I say that today I've been attempting to operate in a very unusual world; one that is corrective lens free and consequently quite blurry. Need proof? Check out the picture - this is how my computer screen looks at the moment and I am still squinting! I couldn't find the backpacks or tell that it is raining outside. I had to hold the newspaper just a few inches from my nose to read what was being pointed out: because my sight is so limited my world is very very small. I suspect you may know the feeling; when fine print blurs into an indistinguishable line as you "play trombone" adjusting your arm to find the right length to turn all that  blur into something understandable. When you take your glasses off  you will find it is a great reminder of how limited our sight truly is; and I'm not speaking of corneas and retina length here but instead of the capabilities of our understanding....

It's the morning after Easter and there is scattered evidence of it...plastic egg halves, jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, and dress shoes in the middle of the floor. I wonder what this morning looked like in Jerusalem two thousand years ago? I imagine there were lots of conversations and excitement and repeated confirmation. "Tell us again Mary, what happened when you reached the tomb?" "When did you two know it was Jesus who was walking with you on your trip to Emmaus?" "Are you sure it was Him? Could He really be alive?" And then after the morning after, after many mornings after, I wonder if someone reviewing the story realized the four powerful words the angel had spoken after the pronouncement of "He is not here. He is risen just as He said." Matthew 28:6 Just as He said Jesus had done what He had said He would do... So now, two thousand years worth of morning after that glorious resurrection Sunday, we know that God does wh...

I took a great class this weekend through Iris Reading  and learned all kinds of tips for increasing my reading speed, comprehension, and retention. One technique had to do with both retention and evaluation; before reading an article, chapter, or section of a book you turn to the beginning and read the  introduction and then flip to the end and read the conclusion - unless of course you're reading a mystery novel! So I came home and did just that... "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth...and God saw that it was good...The Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 1: 1,9, 3:9 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end...The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires to drink freely from the water of life...The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen."  Revelation 22: 12,17,20-21 So, to condense it - it's all about A...

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7 It's got to be a lot easier to trust in chariots and horses, don't you think?  You can number the horses.  You can line up all the chariots into an impressive display and feel both successful and unconquerable.  You could look at your barns filled with plenty and think that you are set for years to come. (Luke 12:16-20) or a bankbook filled with digits and feel like life is going to be okay; it's just so much easier to trust in things we can see than the provision of an invisible God. For while we are to be walking by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) I still find it easier to walk by sight... I was dealing with a greedy heart and uncharacteristically had no one to discuss the situation with; this was an issue I just had to hammer out with God and in the end the answer was surrender.  I couldn't fix my desires to have more digits in the bank...

Our favorite greeter met us with a big smile in the narthex. “Ah, it must be Spring as the Eppley’s are back!” Indeed it was Spring – Spring Break according to the calendar although no one had told the weather that as yesterday it was snowing but, nevertheless it was spring and we were returning to our “summer” church a hundred miles from home. The announcements had begun as we slipped down the side aisle to the only available space in the second row but no soon were we seated than we were shooed out of those seats as they were being reserved for the youth currently gathered in the vestibule with their palm fronds. So as we exited the sanctuary the same man joked “You don’t have to leave really, you can stay!” Little did he know how ready I was to do just that as this incident was just one more in a series of unwelcoming experiences. But we reentered the sanctuary,up the opposite side aisle, again to the front and seated just in time to stand as the kids came in waving the pa...

There was a man named Job. He was a godly man (...that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil - Job 1:1) A careful man ( When the days of the feast had run their course Job would rise early...and offer burnt offerings...For Job said, 'It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts' Job 1:5) A faithful man   (...this Job did continually. Job 1: 5) A man blessed by God. (...this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. Job 1: 3) but then, apparently , he wasn't. His children were crushed when the house collapsed, enemies and fire destroyed all the animals and servants. He was a man suddenly engulfed by calamity and inundated by infirmities; covered in boils from head to foot. His wife told him to curse God and die. His friends told him all he had done to deserve such judgement from God. And Job wondered about it all and  asked God "Why?". There is a man named Don Casey. ...