Thinking on these things . . .

By the time I get to worship this morning, half the world will have already lifted their hearts to God... I realized this as I woke at 5 a.m thinking of a friend who, in Eastern standard time, was already leading his church in worship. In another hour my home church, in Central standard time, would be coming before the throne with praise.  I, being in Hawaiian-Aleutian time, would not be joining the celebration for another five hours but when the time came I'd be there with lifted heart and hands. It's not unlike "the wave" popular at any large event.  Someone begins by standing up and raising their hands over their head and then they bring down their hands and sit back down and the one next to them repeats the motion until it's moved throughout the entire crowd. It's silly but it's a lot of fun and, to see that many people participating to make something bigger than themselves, it's pretty great.  "From the rising of the sun to its s...

As I was out running  jogging shuffling along the other day I was thinking about endurance training and faith and wondering if there was a correlation. As one trains they build muscle and endurance - I should know as I was into the second week of a running program (well, technically I was repeating week one for the second time as I still couldn't make the measly goals of the first week ...!)  I could tell I was stronger (i.e. I rivaled my dog in panting ability now after 8 minutes and not just 3) so the idea made sense to me.  If I have stepped out in faith and trusted God before it would seem that it would be easier the next time. After all God is faithful and unchanging; the more I rely on Him the more I realize that He is worthy of  my trust and that confidence in Him is well placed. So, if one had lived a life of faith, of consistently relying on God through all the small things and the daily battles: when the big tests would come, the ma...

Three months ago a furry four legged sweetheart came into our lives - her name is Abby and I find she is a constant example of how I should be responding to God. We walk every morning and she's right by my side. When I stop, she stops. When I run, she runs. Where I go, she's with me. This is a familiar, simple truth, recently put to music by Chris Tomlin , and recorded in John 10:4 When he has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow him because they know His voice.(NIV) She comes to me when she needs to eat, or go out, or is looking for affection, and she sits and waits expectantly - confident that I will take care of her. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalms 5:3 (NIV) She knows I will take care of all her needs. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19 (ESV)   Abby e...

I blame John Bunayn; after all it was he in his classic book Pilgrim’s Progress , that painted the compelling picture of Christian coming to the cross and his heavy burden of sin rolling away. Christian then sets out on his journey to the Celestial City – burden, cross, salvation – done, far behind as now he treks the narrow way through life to Heaven. We’re in the Easter season and focusing on the Cross of Christ – His great sacrifice and love for us – we remember and we are grateful but I’ve realized the word “salvation” is not just for that initial meeting with the Savior. Once saved, we are always saved from the everlasting punishment our sins have earned us. Christ’s blood has paid that price. We are His forever and will one day join Him in heaven.  But the Bible speaks of God being our repeated salvation: “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver...

http://www.cartoonaday.com Today provides us an excellent and unique opportunity to stop, and take a snapshot of our lives.  Leap Day - as you know we get this "extra" day once every four years.  Where were you four years ago?  Who were you on that date? Who are you now?  Who do you hope to be on February 29,2016?? While, personally, adding four years to my age is a sobering thing (!) the real question is what else will I have added to my life beyond an accumulation of days?  And, if I know what I would like to add, how do I go about doing that?  Maria Edgeworth offers an answer "If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves". Andy Stanley also tackles this question in his book,  The Principle of the Path: How to get from where you are to where you want to be  saying that our direction and not our intention determines our destination. Where do I want to be? How do I get there? By taking care of the moments...

It has been said that anticipation is half the fun and I believe it! When you know that something is coming up that is great, all the days leading up to it are bathed in that light. They become better because there is the anticipation of something wonderful ahead.  I’m getting ready to go away with a couple girlfriends for a few days and although my to-do lists are full of things to get ready for my family while I’m away; my thoughts are full of the fun we’re going to have on our trip. Body and labor here,  but a mind with an eye to the future.   Josh Bates said it well in his song King Of Glory : “Imagine a day when our faith is replaced with a glorious sight; of angels in chorus as You stand before us in perfect light. We will join in the anthem of praise, with every breath we will say, “King of Glory you are worthy. Take my hands, take my feet, take my voice as I sing  Lord of Heaven, Hallelujah!”  Imagine a day when our faith is replac...

The six inch snowfall we received over the past 24 hours has made it the topic of conversation; especially since we had been experiencing an unseasonably warm January with temps in the 50's! That's all been transformed in just a few short hours - every tree branch is outlined in pristine white, every bush supports clumps of snow at the junctures of their evergreen boughs.  It's beautiful. It's also cold and treacherous, but the environment has changed, and surprisingly this was really apparent last night when I turned off the lights. We love night lights here; a single light pushing back the deep darkness of winter nights- they're so comforting and hopeful! But last night when the lights went off the darkness wasn't so dark. A solitary beam of hope wasn't as necessary because the whole environment was now clothed in white and the darkness had been lightened. Yes, it was still night.  Still winter. Still cold but it wasn't so dark: it was no lon...

It is January 10th, in Chicago, and 54 degrees!!! Every kid who got a new bike for Christmas is cruisin' the sidewalks!! I can imagine that a bike under the tree Christmas morning (depending on your latitude) would be both welcome and frustrating; frustrating because of the possible very L O N G   wait until Spring to test out the new wheels. It's tough having a gift and  not being able to use it! Today Max Lucado was talking about the gifts God has given to us... You’re Pre-Packed By Max Lucado There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. I Corinthians 12:6 You were born pre-packed! God looked at your entire life, determined your assignment, and gave you the tools to do the job! You do something very similar before you travel. You consider the demands of the journey and pack accordingly. Cold weather? Bring a jacket. Business meeting? Carry the laptop. Time with grandchildren? Better take some sneakers and pain me...

It's that time of year again. The stroke of midnight now signifies a new year. So it's time for New Year's ____?_____. Yep, resolutions. I, like you, have gone through the cycle of New Year's resolutions from making them with great idealism, to realizing their futility and inevitable failure, to merely thinking about things I'd like to change but not calling them resolutions, to, well, to not even bothering... But this year I am making one resolution. I want to eat rich foods and I want to eat until I am satisfied. I want to do all that I can to get fat. No stringy celery, dry rice cakes, and small plates of entrees for me. Bring on the richest, sweetest, most tender foods and bring it in on platters! I want things that melt in my mouth because they are so full of fat themselves- smooth like chocolate, buttery like pastries, and tender like marbleized beef. I do not want to walk around constantly hungry. I even found a verse that describes wha...