Posted on February 21, 2012 at 6:37am.
Last week I went to buy Terri a Valentine’s card, and I picked one up that said it all. It wasn’t too sappy but was written in a voice that I would use. There was no pressure to write any more, as the card said it all. I landed in a psalm this morning that expresses my exact sentiment to God too. Here are some lines that placed words to what is going on inside of me: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever . . . I cried to the Lord in anguish and He answered me by setting me free. . . It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man . . . I was pushed back and about to fall but the Lord helped me and my song has become my salvation . . .this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it . . . Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.” Psalm 118. So grateful for the personalities in Scripture who have penned their hearts on paper, these expressions have brought encouragement, alignment, and resolve.
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:37am.
The truth is a good gift. It may not always feel that way, especially when it reveals something painful in ourselves or others, yet it remains good for it brings clarity. It takes a bit of courage to face it and accept it, but there is freedom in seeing things for what they really are, seeing others as they are, and seeing ourselves the same. I have embraced some hard truth lately, but I have also been privileged to speak truth that brought joy and relief. Yesterday I watched the countenance of man change before my eyes as truth about who he is in Christ penetrated his spirit. Truth brings clarity, and clarity brings freedom.
Posted on February 14, 2012 at 6:28am.
The day started a bit rough. If it wasn’t for our needy dog I may have turned over, pulled the covers over my head and gone back to sleep. A cup of coffee, some quiet moments alone, and several psalms are already making this day better. This day like any other day will deliver a a ton of expectations from every direction, but I am reminded that there is literally nobody I am called to please, but Jesus. As a recovering people pleaser, like the Psalmnist I long to put my trust in Him, and Him alone. I bend my heart to that end, and depend on the Spirit to move me even closer in this day
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:11am.
You never really know when you meet someone what kind of a lasting presence they will have in your life. When Terri and I were expecting Emily we moved into a tiny house off of Lawyers Road. The neighborhood and houses were so small and so close that if you were to play “Simon says” and took two large steps you would find yourself in your neighbor’s living room. Which happened a lot as our girls were little tikes. They would dash out of our garage door and right into Bill and Maryanne’s kitchen with their sights fixed on Maryanne’s cookie jar. This dear old couple became a part of our family. Maryanne would sit with the girls so Terri could grab a shower, and Bill would meet me in the driveway at the end of a hard day and place his hand on my shoulder with a very boisterous “welcome home”. We were only neighbors for five years, but friends for a lifetime. They are so much a part of our memories and family movies. In recent years they moved back to TN to be near family. Bill called me last summer to tell me that Maryanne had passed and we had a good cry together. And yesterday I got a letter from their daughter informing me that Bill went to sleep in his recliner and never woke up. The world has a bit less goodness and kindness in it today. In respect to this man who influenced me in ways I never fully expressed, I vow to be more like Bill.
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 6:39am.
The past is a complicated friend. Some friends you would like to forget, but this one seems to linger no matter how gifted we are in the art of denial. And as tough as it is to accommodate this old friend, it is essential that he remain. For even though he seeks to discourage and condemn, given to the Spirit he reminds us how far we have come. We “have been called out of darkness into His wonderful light”. We are no longer what we once were, there is a gap that is growing wider each day from what once held us captive. My complicated friend who sought to haunt me this morning only served to remind me of the work that God has done.
