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Seeing the Forest and the Trees
My husband and I spent the past week camping in northern Minnesota. We enjoyed the beauty of lakes and woods, wildlife and birdsong, warm sunny days and chilly rainy nights. When we were on one of our hikes, the details of the nature around really had my attention. So many kinds of trees. Some beautiful, majestic and tall. Others small, some struggling and some dead and decaying. Such a variety of plants, moss, wildflowers. As we moved along it was easy to almost forget about the grand forest in which we were engulfed. It was hard to see the forest for the trees.
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He’s Coming!
The attached photo is just a memory now. Once in a while during my full time teaching days, I would need to leave that classroom for a moment--perhaps to grab something from the printer in the next room or check in with a colleague. If the students were highly engaged in the task at hand, they often never knew I stepped out. But sometimes it only took a couple of observant kiddos to recognize my absence and the whole place would fall apart.
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Pretty Powerful!
A year or so ago we purchased a power washer. It's been life-changing. We've used power nozzles on our hoses and other "wanna be" options but now that we can connect to a more effective power source, we can really accomplish some things! I wonder how many of us as Christians are living our lives in our own feeble power and failing to connect to the source that is at our fingertips--or, rather, in our very souls.
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Five Smooth Stones
On this particular day I had no agenda in my head but wasn't really getting any earth-shattering thoughts when suddenly this old Sunday School song from my youth popped into my head. That's odd, or so I thought. The song is about the true story of David and Goliath from the Old Testament.
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Well, This is Embarrassing!
It was the first day of March, a bright and sunny but cold day, and I was headed out to a baby shower for my daughter that her church friends were hosting. I already had the address in my phone all set to go. As I pulled out of my driveway and steered onto my street, I looked down to select "go" on the phone's GPS and BOOM!
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Noooo! Not an Egg!
I dropped an egg on the kitchen tile floor this morning. It was as if it happened in slow motion and then I just stood there for a brief moment and stared at the mess and mourned this great loss. Eggs are valuable these days!
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Little Cabinet. Big contents.
One of my favorite things to do in my home decorating is to "shop" my own house. As I perused around the place, my eyes landed on an almost forgotten little end table that is in our sitting room. What in the world was in that little cabinet? I hadn't opened it in years! So I went to investigate. What I unearthed occupied the rest of my evening because this cabinet had apparently been moved here twenty-two years ago and basically forgotten.
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I’ve Got Spirit! How ’bout You?
Christmas spirit. You hear it talked about a lot this time of year, but what exactly do we mean?
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What Kind Of Leper Are You?
I learned something recently. Leprosy, although extremely rare, still exists and is now better known as Hansen's disease in the medical field. It is easily cured with a series of antibiotics and 95% of the population is naturally immune to it. So I don't think we need to be concerned.
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Faith to Move Mountains?
God is not to be thought of as a genie in a magic lamp that, if I have enough faith, will grant my every wish. And although some preach the power of positive thinking as the key to getting what we want, that seems to put more faith in our own will than in God's. This "positive thinking" kind of prayer seems to me as meaningless as saying you will send someone "positive vibes". (I've never understood what that was supposed to do.) It's almost an understatement to acknowledge that there have been times when, despite the fervent prayers of many very devoted and faithful followers, the answers did not…
