Thinking on these things . . .

"When peace like a river attendeth my way  When sorrow like sea billows roll  Whatever my lot,   Thou hast taught me to say  It is well, it is well with my soul." How long does that take?  How many lessons until one can say - "whatever their lot" - that it is well with their soul? Here is the value of a long obedience in the same direction.  Here is where a lifetime of faith stands to answer the question. How does one learn that the Lord is faithful? By going through many things one wishes to never have had happened. Who would chose hardship? pain? difficulty? disappointment? financial downturn, poor health, or stressful circumstances?   I'm not seeing many raised hands... But to get the point where we can stand in our churches and sing these words honestly...well, we have to go through those lessons. Through the experiences of our lives we find that our God is good and loving and gracious and faithful and s...

Because of how the space time continuum works, it is impossible for us to truly go back and remember how we used to be now that we are who we are.  That being said, there are ways that give us a pretty good idea; our own memories, the memories of others, writings, and , the thing that never lies, pictures. A snapshot from the past is always an interesting thing is it not?  Nothing like seeing a picture and remembering that  once you were probably thinner, less wrinkled, had non-gray or more hair, and, to current eyes, a really bad sense of fashion! This weekend I was treated to some snapshots via music as I pulled out some CD’s (hey, at least they weren’t eight tracks!) from ten and twenty plus years ago.  The first was the oldest, a pop artist whose every lyric I identified with.  His sentiments were my own.  This was my music, my story.   It was like seeing myself with an 80’s perm… The music was angst-driven – ask my kids...

I've been seeing #Sundayscoming a lot this season and I get it and I love it - yes, Easter Sunday is just around the corner - Alleluia, Amen, Christ will be risen from the grave! But today it's Saturday. Typically I miss Saturday.  I observe Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  I leave sanctuaries sad and solemn, aware that the payment for my sin was causing Christ great pain. I exit awed and grateful. And then it's this morning and I watch the sun come up and plan my Easter menu and activities and do some baking and cleaning and generally have a regular day because I already know what's happening tomorrow.   And I miss it. I miss where we actually live; we live here in the "Now what? Saturday". Any loss, after the shock has lessened, brings this question.  Loss of ability, of a job, of a position, of possessions; after the incredulousness of  "I can't believe that just happened" comes the "now what?". The older I get the m...

I'm fairly certain this is some kind of computer optical illusion; nevertheless, it is mind blowing and illustrates an excellent point. First, click on link under the picture and scroll to go deeper into the picture... then come back here... http://xkcd.com/1416/ Amazing isn't it?  The more you scroll, the deeper the pictures go; so deep in fact that you totally lose sight of the "big picture". To me this is a perfect illustration of God's working in our lives and circumstances - we have no idea on what level of detail what is happening in our lives is to the enormity of the picture of our own story and then how it plays into God's plan that spans all of history. But it does.  We have confidence that God is working all things together for the good of those who trust Him . (Romans 8:38) therefore we can "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all your do, and He will show you which ...

Perhaps my most favorite time in the world is when I sit down with a friend for coffee, or tea, or breakfast, lunch, dinner, mid morning snack, pie, ice cream... well, you get the idea. There is nothing like an hour of uninterrupted, distraction free time with someone you love, right? However life is much too busy to stop for coffee as often as I'd wish so there's always the ability to make a phone call - or send an email - or, when everyone and everything is spinning like a whirling dervish, a text.  There are ways to stay connected until there is again time for "coffee". I can't help but wonder if a little bit of this idea is germane to I Thessalonians  5:17 where we are told to "Pray without ceasing".  Could this also really just be saying "stay connected"? There are times and seasons where I have the opportunity to really settle into good conversation with the Lord, and then there are others where I'm meeting myself coming and ...

The sun has past its zenith and the ground is filled with people as far as the eye can see; thousands and thousands of people who'd come to hear Jesus, hungry for truth and by now, just plain hungry. Philip feels a nudge and Jesus asks "Where shall we buy bread for all these people to eat?" (John 6:5) Philip, surveying the crowd turns to Jesus and replies incredulously "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (vs. 7) or "it would take a small fortune!"  Today he'd probably say "Seriously?!" To their credit the disciples were examining their resources; Jesus had made them responsible by asking the question and they were assessing what little they had in the face of such a great need.  As you know they brought forward the small boy's lunch of five rolls and two fish and presented it to Jesus - in essence saying - "This is all we've got". Then Jesus gave them instructions - a...

Dear Carol, Forty-two years ago today you were a thirty something year old mom of four small children who'd probably dropped them off in their various Sunday School classes after the "fun" of getting a family ready for church on a Sunday morning... And then you went, not to be ministered to, but to minister; to teach five and six year olds about Jesus. I wouldn't be surprised if you left that morning after class and went about your day as if it were a regular Sunday, but it wasn't for me because it was that Sunday - Jan. 9, 1972 - that you told me that Jesus was knocking on my heart's door (Revelations 3:20) and you stayed after class and prayed with me because I wanted to let Him in. I've worked with five and six year olds, prayed with them and their sweet tender hearts - never knowing if they really understood  they were doing...but that day I did. You introduced me to the Lover of my soul. You told me He was calling my name and that if I would op...