Thoughts From the Back Deck...

Psalm 8:4-6 What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet I have noticed a resurgence of Gnomes and Bigfoot, aka Sasquatch! Lots of Bigfoot tee-shirts, patches, and, yes, even hats like the one my daughter brought me from Michigan for Christmas. My son even got some Sasquatch soap in assorted manly scents.  Gnomes. Same! We have a couple hanging out around our house at Christmas time, and we have friends who have gone totally to the Gnomes! Indoors and outdoors, you have to comb through the gnomes!  It's fun to see and like most harmless fads be it beanie babies or man-buns, this too shall pass. But... What if all Gnomes of the world wanted to be Bigfoots OR all the Bigfoots wanted to be a Gnomes? Tha...

Luke 2:11-14 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Babies are born all over the world every day. Yesterday, I received a text from a young couple letting me know their newest little one arrived. Mom and baby are healthy and safe. Dad and older sister, as well as extended family, were all smiles.  For each birth, I want to shout out:  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” But go back and read those words from this snippet from Luke 2 again... And then again...and again. Let it sink into your mind. The single angel proclaims!  "For unto you is born..." Unto : somethi...

I have to say, my heart is full!  After returning from a funeral today, I came home to be greeted by my youngest daughter, back for Christmas break.  All back together under the same roof. All three (David is at work) back in the nest for a time. With each passing "break" I know the time is coming when this will be a rarer and rarer event, so I treasure it all the more. Reading books. Playing Minecraft. Having dinner. Laughing. Watching "The Santa Clause". Catching up. Doing our Christmas puzzles. Time together! Our children are only with us for a short time and then they begin their own lives.  As parents we try to instill into our children some basics don't we. The list varies but the heart behind the drive is the same. Faith. How to treat others. Value of Family. Value of life. Counting your blessings and facing challenges.  A work and life ethic. Seeing the Lord's hand in our lives. ...and many more things. God has always had His hand on our ...

Recovery from my shoulder surgery has taught me a few things. When therapy started, the therapist had to repeatedly remind me as I did my stretches, that my left arm needed to do all the work while my right arm did nothing but get stretched out. As I pushed up a cane with my left hand, my right hand weakly hung to the cane.  As we live out our faith as Christians, we get the privilege to sometimes stand beside a person and walk with them through difficult times. We get the chance to lift a burden while they take from our strength. Also, as Christians, we sometimes have someone walk with us through difficult times. They do the lifting while we hang onto them. Examples: praying. Speaking encouragement. Financial. Listening. Cards. Gift of time. Sharing wisdom learned. A phone call. A text. A joke and a smile... To name a few. This is not something new. This is not something we created, or we thought would be nice to do. It's something the Lord placed before us, spoke into...

I needed to take a break. With the passing of my mom, the doctor appointments and procedures, shoulder therapy, and just life... I felt the need to rest in the Lord quietly. I stepped out on my back porch, heading to the back deck, and happened to glance over at all the Christmas bins waiting to be unpacked to decorate the house. A flash of white caught my eye between the stacks of blue and green plastic bins.  As I drew near, I saw our Christmas cactus blooming with white flowers. I looked to the right, and our smaller Christmas cactus was popping pink flowers. Hidden and out of line of sight was a beautiful reminder of life. Over the last couple of days, following a procedure that did not yield answers, shoulder pain that seemed worse, not improved, and trying to get back into the swing of the rhythms of serving in my position, I felt the need for some color and life to surround me.  Leaving physical therapy, I stopped at a nearby store and purchased ...