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Truth Never Changes
Rearranging is fun. When I rearrange I always seem to find some old treasure. Recently it was a book. Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest. One of those classics that you just keep going back to because it always seems to be relevant. (Even though its original publication date was 1935.) The pages of my copy are crumpled, like I spilled something on it. Dozens of corners are turned down. Magic marker, pen, pencil are scrawled on nearly every page. It’s so old my maiden name is written on the cover in bubbly high school penmanship. (It was a gift from my church when I graduated. From high…
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What Do We Do?
(It’s another one of those this-picture-has-nothing-to-do-with-this-post-other-than-the-fact-that-this-is-my-blog-and-this-is-my-cute-kid. Apologies to all.) I just heard this line in a song . . . “If you feel it, it must be real.” That turns my stomach. This idea is absolutely pervasive. It has invaded everything. Our music. Our movies. Our commercials. Our attitudes. Our expectations. Our brains. Our hearts. Our actions. And I hate it. Because it is a lie. I’m not saying feelings always lie. I’m not saying feelings are wrong. Or sinful. Necessarily. I am saying – you cannot trust only your feelings. You cannot live from your feelings alone. You cannot base your actions on your feelings. It is a dangerous…
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Forgotten
I watched a couple of old videos I found on our computer recently. In one of them, Bergen was talking and he was stuttering. Badly. “Do you remember Bergen stuttering a lot?” I asked my husband. Kevin looked surprised at my memory loss and as we talked I suddenly remembered more clearly. Yes, Bergen did have a serious stuttering problem when he was smaller. As in, relatives could not understand what he was saying. We often struggled to understand what he was saying. We tried to encourage him to slow down in his speech, to breathe before speaking, to pause and gather his thoughts. And then I remembered how I…
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Words
You know how some things people say stick with your forever? For better or for worse? Words really are powerful. My 7th grade teacher once called me a “snot”. She probably does not even remember. But I can’t forget it. The truth is, I probably was being a snot. And she probably was having a rotten day with one too many junior high snide comments. But I am thirty-six years old and I can still clearly remember how those words made me feel. Words. What scary power. I know this and yet I am always speaking without thinking. I hear myself say such ridiculous things. But that’s not even the…
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It Doesn’t Compare
Oh. Oh. Oh. I think I am just nowbeginning to understandsomethingwith new eyes. About sin.About forgiveness.About comparing.About me. I am alwayscomparingmy sin to his sin.My sin to your sin. Andwhen I compareI begin to thinkthatIamokay. Butwe cannot place our sinson some sin scaleand measure them along those lines. Other people’s sinsarethe wrong reference point. The wrong point entirely. It’s not aboutmy sincompared toyour sin. It never has been. It’s onlyaboutmy sincompared tothe costChristalready paid. (We can onlycompareourselvesto asinless Christwho diedfor asinfulme.)
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What It Isn’t
I love my husband. I really do. But with each year and each turn and each milestone of marriage God is teaching me brand new things about love. What it is. And what it isn’t. And I have so many more lessons to learn. A number of books and wise counsel have taught me along this path, leading me to where I am now. Books like Love & Respect and Sacred Marriage. But no book teaches me more than God’s word. It strips away popular theory and is more relevant than any book claiming itself as the most relevant marriage help book on the market. Today our pastor was referencing…
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Grace
I didn’t write this. I don’t know who did. I just found it. And typed it here. There are no longer good days and bad days. There are only days of grace. There will be days where you will be given the grace to endure what’s going on around you. And there will be days where you will be given the grace to enjoy what’s going on around you. But from here on out, there are only days of grace.
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Life Is Wonderful
We took a little hike around the lake today. I heard Bergen singing this … “life is wonderful”. It is. Kevin is back in America. Fall seems to be loafing nearby. We’re all healthy. There is food in our refrigerator. Our kids are laughing. And walking on trails holding hands without being prompted. Ice cube trays and reusable ice cubes are written on my weekly grocery list. Wilder has learned how to chuckle and to grin in response to your grin. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal last night at a new-to-us restaurant. Life is wonderful. And I think it is probably all the more wonderful because it hasn’t always…
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What I Want To Do
What is now proved, was once only imagined. – William Blake There are some things that I long to feed my children every day. And it isn’t food for their stomachs. I want to offer them a sense of mystery. The incredible blessing of a vivid imagination. The gift of simple joy. The beauty of anticipation. The knowledge of a powerful and loving God. The appreciation of nature. The ability to be still. Food for their brains. Their hearts. Their souls. I know I fail miserably every day with these lofty ideals. And I always fail more dramatically on days when I forget to pursue these things myself. When I…
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He Does
“Jesus screws everything up.” I just read that statement on a blog I recently discovered. It wasn’t an anti-Jesus blog. Not at all. It was actually an amazing story about love and restoration and hope. And a man who allowed himself to be a part of God’s plan for redemption when he really wanted to take another path. But Jesus screwed that up. Because He does that. You want revenge? Oh, I don’t think you can have that AND exhibit God’s love. (You know, the very love that saved you.) Want to wallow in your own self-pity? Shoot. Foiled again. What about this? I just want to serve me. I…
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Right Now & Forever
So I have had these thoughts mulling around in my brain for a while now. Thoughts about the past. Which cause thoughts about the future. I like to dwell on yesterday. And the yesterdays before that yesterday. Oh so many yesterdays. I just let my mind sit still in last week, last month, last year. And then I think about tomorrow. And the next tomorrow. And the tomorrow that will follow that tomorrow. And all of the next weeks and months and years. Decades even. I just think on and on about the tomorrows I know nothing about. But what’s wrong with all that thinking? I’m pretty sure Paul said…
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The Truth
Who wants to be real today? Really real. You know, my favorite posts are the ones that offer some insight, some truth, however small it is. This isn’t one of those posts. I also sort of like the ones that are just plain funny. Where you see how hilarious kids can be when they just open their mouths. You won’t find that here today. Today is just a regular day. With a regular message. Or no message really. All of these things that I write? These little bits of insight here and there? The God-inspired ones? They only feel true sometimes. Even if they are true all the time. So…
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Little Red Wagons
I like word pictures. I like analogies. (Kevin likes metaphors.) I think it’s all the same way of saying – we like words. Anyway. I just heard a good word picture on the radio this week that I am going to shamelessly steal and use as my own. (It was said by some former basketball star of the olden days. Whatever.) The idea was this . . . Everyone has baggage that follows them around, baggage that they are carrying from the past – hurts, wounds, preconceptions, ideals, opinions – the stuff that makes us say what we say and do what we do. Our explanations, if you will. The…
