Thinking on these things . . .

I've been working with super glue. Well, actually, I've been fighting with super glue trying not to glue things together that shouldn't be glued together; like the napkin used to wipe off the tip to the tablecloth and my fingers to each other. Yep, four out of ten fingers have a permanent film on the tips right now and the tablecloth has a smidgen of napkin permanently affixed to it... In the process I've remembered a few things... 1. Fixing something broken is always a messy business 2. In order for the glue to set the pieces must be held together for a long time. 3. When you think it's been long enough, it hasn't 4. The mended piece will always bear a distinctive jagged scar where it was broken. These are just the facts, and they are as true for people and relationships as they are for objects. Love is the superglue of life. Fixing what is broken is almost more intense and messy than expected. It takes a lot of holding until there is healing. Th...

So the world is ending on Saturday or, more exactly, the rapture is going to take place. Hmm... So what are your plans for the rest of your life? You know, Thursday and Friday... Are we going home to be with the Lord this weekend? It's possible - it's always possible - but it's not probable for the Bible itself says that "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" Mark 13:32 But the next verse goes on to say "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is." Mark 13:33 Watch - for you do not know when the time is. "Teach us to number our days so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:12 It's so simple to live our lives as though they will never end and to spend our days as if we have an inexhaustible supply. But our days are numbered and it is good to remember that. Not many of us know when our lives will end; however I have frie...

I love summer sandals because they are so easy! They're not confining or heavy and they don't require socks. You just slip them on and you are out the door! Sandals are simple. So also is a relationship with God. Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."  Matthew 22:37,38 How hard is it to love someone who loved you first, loves you completely, demonstrated great love towards you in personal sacrifice, and will love you unconditionally for the rest of your life? You're right - it's not! It is pretty simple to love One who loves like that. No additional rituals or no lists of do's and don'ts. If I love I will obey, and respect, and honor: it's just part of the package. However if I do not spent time to simply be with the One who loves me and that I therefore love in return,  doing what flows naturally f...

There is just something about graduation day that makes it special and distinctly different from any other day; and it's just not because of the square hats and random hoods of color cascading down one's back - or is it? For this strange apparel is really a garment of celebration; a bold "I DID IT" that all the world instantly recognizes. For it symbolizes not only something that has been finished but that it has been done so successfully.  There has been no withdrawal from class or dropping out of the program; oh no, these garments are proudly worn by those who have persevered. We the graduates are proud of our black robes and funny hats for it is in this moment between all that had to be done to get to this point and  all that is to come, that we celebrate completion and success. My mortarboard  is a crown of accomplishment! But, even before this graduation is over, I already have my eye on another robe... "Then I heard what sounded like a great...

It appeared to be a fairly straightforward project. 1. Cut flower shapes out of sugar cookie dough. 2   Put onto skewers. 3.  Bake 4.  Decorate 5.  Arrange into bouquets. Not a problem! So I cut all the dough into shapes and started inserting the skewers and, uh-o... The skewers were piercing the dough and, in the thin places, coming out through the dough making the cookies in danger of falling of the stick and the whole thing being ruined! What to do??? One cookie had to make the ultimate sacrifice. It would not be pretty in the bouquet. It gave up it's form for function and  was broken into small pieces and given to the other cookies to cover their thin places so they would stand up securely in their place! It was the sacrifice of one for the many!! And it happens every single day... As a child I recognized that my mom always got the last and smallest piece of pie, or none at all depending how much was left.  I remember th...