So many of these posts seem incomplete. As I read back over my heart and mind and thoughts poured out in letters and words and pictures, many feel unfinished. Like reading one chapter of a book and not continuing to chapter two. What happens next?  There is no way to know unless you continue. But what importance does that continuing hold. At times it seems completely useless and a silly waste of time. And then other times it seems life depends on it. Like air for my lungs, it is necessary to keep living.  Which of these words may be…

He wanted to know how many t-shirts could be made from that field.  His growing mind always wondering.  Good question, I thought.  I have no clue.  But that white… Bursting white amidst the still green foliage.  The tender purity of the contents erupting from such a sturdy stalk.  The thick, hard walls of the boll no longer able to contain the pure white begging to be seen.  So much light has been poured into that boll and that purity will not be contained any longer. Weren’t his words bursting from a place of purity?  He doesn’t yet have the weight…

God has plans for each of us.  Paul knew that God wanted to use him to further His Kingdom.  He accepted the plan and made good on the purpose God placed in him.  We are no different.  Sometimes we may fail to fully recognize His purpose and plan for us.  We may decide His plan is not the path we want to take and completely ignore His calling.  We may dibble-dabble in it at times and find enormous peace about doing His will only to slip away and let fear consume us. But the calling never leaves.  It sits there…

Did I hear what I think I heard?  Did he say those words that disturbed my mind and heart and soul?  Those words shook me.   And then did I just sit there and say nothing?  Even though I wanted to get up and leave and never look back. I did nothing.  My youngest enjoys playing baseball. He is  one member of a team that had an all-day tournament yesterday. A day full of heat. Boys playing hard and adults mouthing off. What was the reason for the play?  For the boys or for the adults? And just what is…

She has this way of presenting questions that stir the soul to look below the surface.  And it doesn’t take many words.  “Are you picking up your pen?”  That’s all it took to shake me. Peeling back layers of the unnecessary and swimming through murky waters of confusion that lie between the surface and that place where the soul finds peace.  Situations do not remove that peace, only the one that allows situations to bombard and discombobulate allows the peace to be removed.  Salvation attention deficit disorder.  SADD. The sacred begs for attention but the world pulls and tugs and…

Today I have no tears for her.  I have complete confidence and assurance that she is experiencing a rest so great that all I can think is how selfish it would be of me to want her back.  It doesn’t make me miss her any less but she is where she should be.  And I am just thankful for the time I had her here.  She was my mama!  So Happy Mother’s Day in heaven! But there are three reasons that made me mama.  Such precious gifts from God. Such enormous responsibility.  Such wonderful memories. She came around 10:20 on…

Wrapping up nearly a decade.  Can you loan me a box or storage unit to hold everything from the past ten years?  A life-changing mission trip.  Watching cancer devour my mother.  Knowing what courage is to speak in front of people, boldly.  The first child’s high school graduation.  The first child’s college graduation.  The first child’s marriage.  The second child’s high school graduation.  The third child’s lifetime.  My man by my side the whole time enduring me!  A job.  Not just a job, a friend-maker. It comes to an end today.  The job, that is.  This chapter is closing.  Some…

What do you see in opportunities?  Do you see dread?  Facing an unknown situation with unknown people and unknown circumstances.  Something feels comfortable about the familiar. To be able to settle down in the well-worn chair and continue doing what has been done over and over provides security and safety from the unknown.  But none of us knows what tomorrow holds.  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34 NKJV http://bible.com/114/mat.6.34.nkjv So is the safety and security truly found in that comfy old chair? …

The pastor asked for each member to complete a spiritual gifts survey.  Simple questions that lead to an analysis of the characteristics one may possess.  Questions require honest answers.  Honest answers require a deep reflection of the heart and mind and not just a precursory glance at how you may feel at the moment.  This survey reveals where you may need to seek service in the kingdom of God. But what of it?  Once it is completed and those characteristics are revealed, did you already know what you possess?  Do you own what you possess?  Is it to be kept…

The fear of the Lord is not a dreaded emotion of terror rather a righteous respect of the awesome wrath of the jealous God. An all-consuming love for the Creator which brings constant awareness of proper perspective. Understanding that His love far surpasses any experiential knowledge held of the verb. Knowing that humans are humans and incapable of meeting, fulfilling or satisfying the only love provided by The One Who Created.