Thinking on these things . . .

On this cold rainy afternoon I'd made a very tall cup of coffee and was slowly making my way through Psalm 119:  it's filled with two line nuggets of gold and I was mining it for all it was worth.  Remember Your promise to me for it is my hope (v. 49) Your principles have been the music of my life throughout the years of my pilgrimage (v. 54)  Lord, you are mine!...with all my heart I want your blessings (v. 57)  All your commands are trustworthy (v.86) Lord, accept my grateful thanks (v. 108) You are near O Lord, and all your commands are true (v. 151) Let my lips burst forth in praise for You have taught me your principles. Let my tongue sing about Your Word. (v. 171) The whole psalm is like a love letter to the Lord about the value of His commands and how they have guided the psalmist all throughout his life and have been his joy and peace even though his enemies have been out to get him. At one point it even seemed to me that the writer was a bit of a ...

Ah, it's fall in the Midwest and, along with the apple picking and pumpkin choosing, it is the season of corn mazes. It must have been some very enterprising farmer who thought to cut mazes into the browned out fields  before they were harvested for winter feed. The concept is simple. You enter the field at the appointed point and find your way to the exit point.  Sometimes there is a map, often there are only clues, and you, and rows and rows of corn... There is a path, a way out, a solution; however, the trick is avoiding all the dead ends and paths that lead to nowhere... From the air it's much easier to determine the correct route out It's a whole different story though from ground level! We live at ground level. We live being able to see only the path directly in front of us, the rest of our perspective shielded by circumstances that surround us. When we feel we're wandering aimlessly it is good to remember that the course...

If ignorance is bliss and knowledge is power; than what is uncertainty? What is that pause between not knowing and knowing? What if you are aware you don’t know but will soon find out; and that when you do the impact on your life will be significant. Where do you go in such a time? You go to the One who knows. Because not only does He know the future, but more importantly He knows your heart. He knows your heart because He made it – He made their hearts, so He understands everything they do. Psalms 33:15 He knows your heart because He is close to you – You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. Psalms 38:9 He knows what the impact will be and how to give you all that you need. Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior! For each day He carries us in His arms...who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19 ...May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is plea...

I have no business walking down a coffee aisle; and yet, here I am trolling for the Autumn Apple (it’s so yummy!) I have already amassed enough coffee to start my own coffee shop. Seriously. Yet I’m still looking for more, just in case… I can’t imagine having only a single bag in the house. What if today I have a taste for Island Coconut and tomorrow I’m feeling more like Pumpkin Spice? What if tonight I’d like some coffee so I’d need to have some decaf on hand? Chocolate Raspberry is wonderful made into an iced coffee and a cup of Caramel Vanilla is like dessert! I’m never sure of what I’ll want so I aim to be prepared! It’s absolutely ridiculous and reveals, to me, a deeper truth about myself. “The Lord who made you and helps you says…Do not fear. For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst…” Isaiah 44:2 For I will give you abundant water . Why is it that I feel I have to meet my own needs; that I am responsible to stockpile supplies for every contingency l...

My son was freaking out this morning. “The early train is stuck at the station and my train is late! How am I going to get to school on time? Even if I run all the way from the train I’m going to be late!! I don’t even know where to go if I’m late!!! What if it doesn’t come at all? All these people are here and no one knows what to do…” His plans had been derailed. The way things should have been working, wasn’t. His timetable was shattered. Everything was up for grabs and no one had any answers. What he didn’t know was that everything was under control. There were contingency plans in place for such an occurrence at the train station and at the school. Another plan was in place and everything was going to be just fine. I told him that, repeatedly, but it wasn’t until he lived through it that he could realize I was right. My Father tells me that although my plans have been derailed and although things aren’t happening according to my timetable, that there is a plan i...

 About fifteen years ago I was all alone and on my knees sobbing in a hospital chapel. I was pregnant - with a child we'd been told had a good chance of some serious problems- and I was in pre-term labor. I was scared and had no idea of what was going to happen next.  Isaiah 41: 10 - Calligraphy by Timothy Botts And what happened next was God, the One who knows the big picture, setting up the dots to be connected. I looked up and saw this mural on the chapel's back wall and line by line the words of this verse calmed my terror and assured me that, whatever the outcome, I would be upheld by God's victorious right hand. I memorized both the verse and graphic presentation of it that day and held onto it throughout the rest of the pregnancy until I was holding my beautiful baby boy. Today I sent my son off to his first day of High School -to commute by train to downtown Chicago - and I, with all my anxiety, was not the most anxious of the two...

It all began with the $2.99 electric ice shaver.  Add a couple bottles of flavored syrups, above average summer temps and suddenly mine was the most popular house in the neighborhood; my kitchen was like it was like a concession stand at a carnival! I wondered how the syrup was going to last all summer-seeing that each bottle was more expensive than the shaver and at that price I really didn't want to be replacing them. My worries were in vain for as the temperatures cooled so did the demand  and now on this 55 degree last morning of summer you can see (from the photo) that I had more than just enough. We have these situations that demand every last resource we have; all of our strength, patience, discernment, energy and spiritual character. Seeing the road ahead is long the question is how can I keep this up? I don't have enough. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be te...

As the temperature has returned to the HOT range these last days of summer vacation, I spend this afternoon in the water with my kids. While I was there, floating and frolicking, I realized two things; this was the first time I’d done this all summer and my feet were really clean! I’m a “feet on the ground” kind of girl – as soon as it’s temperate enough my shoes are off which means for roughly six months of the year I’m either barefoot or in flip-flops! Consequently my feet are never really clean – as in pristine or without a ground in kind of dirt residue; showers and quick swipes of the washcloth can’t completely get the job done. But today I have clean feet because I went and played; enjoying the water for an extended time. We are all "feet constantly on the ground" people; barely one problem is solved before another takes its place and the days turn into weeks and suddenly whole seasons have passed us. We rarely have time to revel, to play, to just unwind eno...