Every spring a battle rages between grass and weeds. As a child I watched my dad care for our yard. The grass was still brown and dormant from the winter, but speckled with bright green patches of weeds.
Fixing Our Eyes
Amazing. The baseball field is mowed to perfection, I thought, as I waited for the game to begin. Straight lines mowed into a flawless checkerboard pattern captured my full attention. I secretly envy professional mowers. I’ve practiced “striping” my lawns and have learned a few tips on how to achieve the straightest lines possible.
But . . . But God
“But, you don’t understand my problems.” “But, I can’t help it. That’s just how I am.” “But I…” “But…”
The Least and the Greatest
It’s as big as a school bus, weighs up to ninety thousand pounds, and eats about one thousand pounds every day. And, yet, the humpback whale is able to thrust itself out of the water in incredible displays of power. They frolic and breach in the warm waters by Hawaii where they travel to every winter to breed.
How Will The World Know?
We rounded the corner of the road that led to our church. As it came into view, I let our 5-year old granddaughter know we were almost there. “Does your church talk about God?” What an odd question for her to ask. “Yes,” I replied. Of course it does! Then she added, “We can’t talk about God at my school. We can only talk about God at church and at home.”
Ruminating Cows
My daughter recently discovered a synonym for the word ‘meditate’—ruminate. When I casually mentioned that cows ruminate when they ‘chew their cud’ she burst out laughing. She said she’ll always have the association of meditating on God’s Word with cows chewing their cud!
Light in a Jar
They’re back! There’s one. There’s another. Look over there. I see it too! The lightning bugs had returned to brighten the evening hours. The girls squealed with amazement at the sight, and my own mind went back to childhood days when we ran to catch them in Mason jars then marveled at the twinkling container.
A God Who Searches
Jesus told a short story to a group of grumbling religious leaders to illustrate a poignant point—God will intensely search for those who need His love and salvation. He used a desperate woman, of all things, for his story. She’d lost a coin worth a day’s wage. She had only ten and one was lost. She lit a small oil lamp, the only source of light in her small windowless home, and searched carefully until she found it. She then invited her women friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus adds in verse 10, “I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God over one sinner who repents.”
When Anger gets the Best of You
I met a man from Mosul, Kurdistan, an elegant godly man. That’s when Nineveh and the story of Jonah and the whale became real to me. Mosul is the modern-day city of Nineveh. The gentleman grew up there and told me Jonah’s Tomb was located there, though recently desecrated.
The Golden Thread
I’ve enjoyed reading through the Old Testament minor prophets. I wanted to focus on the circumstances in Israel’s history as well as the God’s message entrusted to them to proclaim. The twelve minor prophets were sometimes referred to as The Book of the Twelve since scrolls often combined them within one scroll: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Johan, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. Importantly, though, they were called ‘minor’ prophets only because of the length of the books, not because of a lesser important message.
Be Intertwined
While fishing on a river near flood stage, my husband noticed what appeared to be red leaves floating at a distance. But upon close inspection, he discovered instead that each red patch was composed of thousands of ants intertwined. Heavy rains had washed the ants out of their homes. They were holding onto each other and floating in order to survive. When Don splashed water on the ants, the water bounced off. These ants were averting disaster by remaining close to one another.
Be Contagious
What goes through your mind when someone with a bad cough sits beside you? Do you pray, Lord, don’t let me catch what he has! Being in public while physically contagious isn’t good. But believers are all called to be spiritually contagious. We are to go forth and spread the gospel of Jesus.
Be Diligent
My sister and I took a trip to the San Diego zoo. On the zoo’s tour bus, the guide gave numerous fascinating and sometimes comical facts about the animals. A tour bus travels by the ostrich pen approximately every 15 minutes. Because the ostrich’s brain is extremely small for the size of its body, each time an ostrich sees a tour bus, it’s a brand new experience!
Be Wise
Would you describe yourself as relationally wise? Here is a description of relational wisdom: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). Take a moment to think about each of those descriptors. How closely do these parallel your attitudes and actions toward others?
Be Available and Purposeful
The woman near me in the waiting room began to talk. She told me her age, how she met her husband, about their first date, how long they had been married, that her brown hair was not dyed, and much more. Frankly, I was amazed at the amount of personal information she shared.
Take My Hand, Dear One
“Take my hand, Claudia, I will keep you safe crossing this road.” I cannot count the number of times my parents said this when I was a child.
Between A Rock And The Best Place
Many “several years ago” when I had a hard body and long hair, I did some mountain climbing and rock climbing. During those times, I heard many climbers making pleas and promises to God such as: “Help me, Jesus! Lord, if you just get me off this mountain, I promise I will never do this again.” Sometimes during climbing the fear level on a Richter scale of 1 to 10 can be a 25.
Beauty in Barren Places
Last month, while jeeping on an alpine trail at 12,500 feet altitude, I was astounded at the bounty of glorious flowers. There were natural-formed bouquets of golden sunflowers, delicate lavender blooms scattered among them, and an array of pink and white blossoms peeking around the rocks.
The Real Super Glue
My professional background is in healthcare, and ever since my very first anatomy and physiology class I have been fascinated with the beauty, complex simplicities, and precision of God’s creation-----us!
Lost Fawn
In the little one stop-light town where we vacation during the summer there is a herd of deer that roam the yards, streets, even Main Street, and the parks much to the delight of everyone except some avid gardeners. As my little nephews excitedly exclaim, “Look there are mommy deer, daddy deer, and baby deer!” What a pleasure to watch them quietly move gracefully by you.