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Engaging in a Prickly World
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV It seems the world is a bit prickly lately. Perhaps this is my observation and it only applies to southwest Michigan, but for some reason, I’m thinking it’s endemic. Plenty of confounding reasons for humans to be wound a little tighter than days past, so many in fact, I am not even going to list them. You can find them for yourself by typing the letters “Daily News” into your favorite search engine. It is possible to avoid…
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When Your World has Shifted; Is Restoration Possible?
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, and the great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. Joel 2:25-26 Like a student waiting out a tornado warning in the dark hallway of a school building, there are times when it is safer to pull in tight, cover your head with your own hands, and be still while the ties that bind your world snap one at a time. Life is not very tidy. And quite…
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Highlands and Heartache; Confidence in the LORD
I will praise You on the mountain And I will praise You when the mountain is in my way You're the summit where my feet are So I will praise You in the valleys all the same No less God within the shadows No less faithful when the night leads me astray 'Cause You're the heaven where my heart is In the highlands and the heartache all the same Highlands (Song of Ascent) - Hillsong I will praise You on the mountain, and I will praise You when the mountain is in my way. Whether it be in actuality or spiritually, in altitude or in life, at the summit there…
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Baby Steps; Discerning the Movement of God
At the beginning of your (Daniel) pleas for mercy, a word went out. Daniel 9:23 ESV Every single breath, a miracle, biochemical pathways dependent upon exact translation of amino acids from RNA, sequenced in order, folded perfectly, matched exactly to a receptor, up regulating, down regulating. Microscopic machines driven by chemistry, and ultimately tiny, tiny waves of energy. We are walking, breathing miracles, always at work, even while at rest. Don’t believe in miracles? Our eyes often scan the horizon of our lives watching and waiting on a miracle, fretting that the God who created us has absentmindedly left us to our own devices. Sixty-four beats per minute, my resting…
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Maintaining A Perspective of Hope; Multi-Generational Sowing
“For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered their labor.” John 4:37-38 Inhabitants of the free world stopped and gasped this week, breathing through their social media outlets with a call for prayer. A shattered republic standing in a pool of blood, blood from centuries of humans battling for the right to rule and the blood of foreign men and women dressed in battle fatigues, fighting for something. Something sometimes defined, sometimes not. My heart broke for strong, intelligent, steadfast women, children, a generation of young people who…
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Bloom Where You are Planted; Living Your Best Life Now
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 He keeps shaping and reshaping us from glory to glory, and when living becomes nearly the death of us, He leans over our clay bodies and breathes fresh life into our lungs. Sometimes I can reason like this – peacefully, sensibly, with wonder and awe and even tearful gratitude that God would be kind to entrust me with difficulties. Other times all I can say is “What the heck?” Beth Moore – Chasing Vines What the heck? We’ve all been there. Planted firmly in an extended season…
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Marvelous Light; Climbing Out of your Pit
He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light. Job 33:30 At one time or another you will find yourself deeply invested in pit living. Pit living? Yes, living (and often quite comfortably) in the muck and mire. Unwanted circumstances or relationships may lead you to pit living. Choices made by you or others may prepare the slippery path for your feet. Wallowing in self-pity, anger, guilt, shame, resentment, fear, anxiety, and bitterness (go ahead, add to the list of negative mindsets that long to bounce on the walls of this self-made prison) will fasten your feet deep in the murky…
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Praying for Your Almost Grown Children; Power in the Scriptures
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:14 Mostly, as a momma, I have no idea what I am doing. As far as I know, there is not a standard protocol, not even a standard child. Each one is as unique as the set of circumstances they are bound to find themselves in. Not only are they unique, but you also, are unique. Now let’s mix in cultural pressure, expectations, gifts, notions, advantages, disadvantages and close living quarters. What you have is…
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The Great Interruption; Encountering Jesus Christ
As he (Saul) neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord,” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6 Saul’s (soon to be Paul) blinding encounter with Jesus Christ may be the most prominent encounter story recorded in the Bible. Saul is en route to Damascus, comrades and letter bag in tow. He is intent on deterring the radical Jesus…
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Praying; When the Rain Comes Down
I do not know much about God and prayer, but I have come to believe, over the past twenty-five years, that there’s something to be said about keeping prayer simple. Help. Thanks. Wow. Anne Lamott – Help. Thanks. Wow. The Three Essential Prayers Help. Thanks. Wow. That’s all I’ve got. Turns out it’s enough. Anne Lamott happens to be one of my favorites. Eclectic, authentic, raw, and true, she gives it to us straight. Somedays all we’ve got is help, thanks, wow. It is raining in West Michigan. Raining, not just today, but what seems to be everyday, for a long run of days. The weather forecast hints this will…
