Perseverence
Set Apart
This is the scenery from my kitchen eating nook. A cluster of Black-eyed Susans sitting on the far side of our patio wall. As the green foliage began to emerge earlier this summer, I looked forward to the blooms. To my surprise, amidst all the yellow and black, a pretty Purple Coneflower unfurled.
There are no other Echinacea planted nearby; the closest is some 20 yards away. Last summer’s blooms didn’t include this unexpected visitor. Every morning, as I survey the yard over a cup of tea, my gaze lingers on this sight. I try to make sense of it, waxing philosophical. Read More
The Better Thing
If God offered you an angelic escort throughout your day, would you accept?
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? To have one of God’s powerful, created beings alongside for all things momentous and mundane? Seems to me that would provide a sense of peace and assurance, as well as accountability.
Moses and the Israelites got that offer from God in Exodus 33:
I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
— Exodus 33:2 NIV
In the next verse God explains why (a result of the egregious golden calf incident of Exodus 32):
“Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
— Exodus 33:3 NIV
God essentially says He’ll spare the Israelites from His wrath by sending an angel powerful enough to rid the land of their enemies instead of going with them Himself. On the surface it doesn’t seem like a bad deal, does it? My pastor recently pointed out, however, that Moses knew better: Read More
The Multi-Vine
Both feet planted firmly on the ground, I was only too happy to take pictures. But, please don’t ask me if I’d like to try it.
One student after another donned helmets and harnesses to face the Multi-Vine at camp last week. With safety checks complete, they’d climb the ladder and then lay hold of the grips that have been inserted into the tall pine tree to make their way up, up, up to the challenge. A thin cable stretched from one tree to another, some 40 feet away, at a height of 40 feet in the air. Overhead, just out of reach, was a similar cable… from this one dangled lengths of rope at intervals. These sections of rope were the only means campers had to convey themselves from one tree — across the cable — to the other.
The Race
She had one goal.
After the first meet of the season, my daughter had just one goal: to run the 1600M in less than six minutes. Despite her diligent efforts in practice and pushing herself at meets, the closest she got was 6:00.34. Those fractions of a second (!) were frustrating to her but the time still qualified for the middle school district meet.
The runners lined up for the race, tense and leaning in. I knew the girls on either side of my gal were also the top competitors from their respective schools. Gunsmoke signaled the last race of the season was underway. As the pack thinned and the girls found their own rhythms, I watched my daughter settle into her stride, praying silently that she’d reach her goal in the coming minutes. Read More
In the dark. But never alone.
The night must have seemed exceptionally dark.
In Genesis 32, we find Jacob fleeing his uncle Laban and returning to his homeland to face the brother he’d deceived many years prior. He was fearful of this fated reunion, dividing his family and property into groups to prevent losing them all if Esau attacked (Genesis 32:7, 8).
The night before the two shall meet, Jacob separates himself from his family. In the dark of the night he wrestles with a man — who turns out to be God in an angelic, physical body — until the break of day. Jacob’s dark and sleepless night probed my heart this week, exposing the faulty way I’m prone to view my struggles: Read More
On the Court: Part II
The faith illustration didn’t stop there for me, however.
The coach’s instruction, audible to those listening intently, was one simple word: “Doubles.” The girls immediately shifted their defensive strategy and double-teamed their tall, ball-carrying opponent.
We’re not meant to go through life alone.
Especially when facing challenges or a powerful adversary. God calls us to a strategy of ‘doubles.’ Read More
On the Court: Part I
My daughter plays basketball.
That, in and of itself, is a pure wonder to me since I still duck and/or scream when a ball is thrown in my general direction. (Go ahead, mock me.) I take delight in watching her play with her team the same way I reveled in her first steps as a toddler: it thrills me.
Being in the gym during a game is, however, an assault on my senses. It’s crowded. Cracked plastic bleachers force me to constantly shift in my seat. The visual stimulus of a rapidly-moving game keeps my eyes darting up and down the court. But it’s the sound that really overwhelms me. Read More
$12,000 Attitude Adjustment
A $12,000 royalty check from book sales.
Not my book, mind you. Not my check. This royalty check went to author Patrick Wensink, whose book was an Amazon best seller last year. While a sizable sum, it puts him right at the poverty line for annual earnings, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. He shared the fiscal details of an author’s plight in an article last week. Ironically, the article posted on the same day I met with my tax advisor — the day I confronted my own meager earnings from 2012.
When I later read the article, it served only to spiral me further down into the depths of discouragement. If his earnings were so insubstantial even after time spent at the ‘top’, what chance do I have of contributing to my household income as a writer and speaker? The only thing lower than my book’s Amazon ranking was my spirits: Read More
Sojourning through life
Our image of vacation is distorted.
We fantasize about a glorious adventure or sublime relaxation. But does it usually happen the way the travel websites portray it?
For me, vacation begins with hours of research, sleuthing out the most economical flight and lodging arrangements to fit in our budget. Those hours disappear into the cavernous void of internet searches.
There’s also a bit of stress leading up to our departure, often imposed by my insistence that the house be sparklingly clean before we walk out the door (it’s a thing I have). And the last minute errands to procure whatever ‘necessity’ I’m certain we can’t do without for the coming days.
Those issues were just the beginning of the complications we faced on an trip we took overseas last summer. Read More
Where else can I go?
Following God is anything but easy.
Every day seems to bring news of tragic events. In recent days, it’s struck closer to my circles in the forms of the kidnapping and murder of an elementary student, and the suicide of an eighth grader. I looked at my own eighth grader through tear-filled eyes, thankful for her every breath. I recalled the scare we had this time last year with my younger daughter and was moved again to gratitude. The happenings of the last week have touched me deeply because of their proximity, but injustices the world over paralyze me with their enormity and pervasiveness. Evil seems rampant and I’m tempted to question both the goodness and power of God. Read More