Houston Summer #1

Written 6/21/22

“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” Psalm 40:5

    ‘Divide and Conquer’ is no longer our catch phrase! When work called Dennis to Methodist Hospital in Houston for the summer, he said, “I can’t go without you!” 

And I answered, “No you can’t!”

    With the help and blessing of our whole crew, dear friends and my mom, home in Idaho, we are enjoying all the dates we’ve never had in thirty years of marriage here! While Dennis heals hearts by day, I thought I might write my sequel. Instead, I’m savoring our own fresh real-life chapters. I walk for hours filling my tank with praise music and prayer, smiling at every passerby that lifts their eyes to me, beholding God’s creation and enjoying the tiniest details as well as the grandest structures of this magnificent city. Daily I meet someone new, and am honored to catch a glimpse of their incredible life. The people. That’s what’s truly exquisite about this place! Will you join me on my walks sometimes when I have something to share? I’d love to show you what I see! I’m capturing every moment of this life sabbatical and precious time cultivating our sacred marriage. Receive. That’s our word. We’re receiving the grace of this gift, from our people and our good, good Father! And there’s no place on earth we’d rather be than here right now together!

Quiet Corners

If I peer into the quiet corners of my daily life I see real things that my fictional characters have welcomed into their world. You may think it’s my imagination so I can do as I please, but oddly, this isn’t the case. In Stratford I must step lightly because I am their guest.

    On page 5 of The Color of God Lillian’s furry companion makes his entrance:

    “The familiar creak of the last step alerted Mr. Blue Suede Shoes, Lillian’s Himalayan cat, to his mistress’ arrival. He stretched, then rubbed his chin against Lillian’s leg. ‘You missed breakfast on the fire escape!’ Lillian scolded, but her speech died on her lips.”

    In this photo, our female kitty, Damascus, makes her appearance beside my 1850 Parisian urn with a broken handle. Out of the blue this magnificent antique pushed its way into a scene on page 100 where Jesse’s passionate emotions get the best of her. When Lillian asks her what she’s doing and Jesse yells, “My job!” with the intent of hosing off people she doesn’t like the scene turns:

    “Lillian grabbed at the urn. ‘You’ll do no such thing; calm down!’
The fragile handle of the antique broke off in Lillian’s hand. Jesse stopped her tirade and stared at the handle. She wilted as she spoke through her own lament. ‘Oh, Lillian… I’m such a maniac. I’m so sorry.’”

    It’s my own delight in furry creatures that love us unconditionally that inspires me to make room for animals in my writing. And, as far as broken things go, life isn’t always kind, but God is our healer. In his tender hands, our broken lives, are made whole.

Inspiration for Our Hearts

Hello Dear Friends, here is a memory from 2018 to help inspire our hearts today.

    One of the 10-year-olds had a rough day yesterday. We were determined to begin this new, clean-slate day well. Before the rest of the homeschool crew awakened, we popped in to see my folks. Then I said, “Come on!” and we leapt off the porch steps for a run. He listed off several complaints, but then quietly took my hand. Have you ever held hands while running? It felt a bit funny, but I was certain he’d let go at some point. He never did! I had to shorten our route, but I think I smiled the whole time.

    In the Message Bible, Jeremiah 31:2 speaks this, “They found grace out in the desert...[they] met God out looking for them! God told them, ‘I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again...’ “

    God never misses a thing, all morning he’s been working on the restoration of my heart as well. I’m sure He was holding our hands (and our hearts) as we ran. He’s holding yours too!

Joy Everlasting

"Peace is what happens when we quit doing violence to the present moment by searching for a better one." ~Dr. Kelly Flanagan (Untangled)

    "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I [Jesus] have overcome the world." John 16:33

    In this day, on this little plot of earth where you sit, stand, rest or move forward, God is with you. He has not turned his face, or become distracted from all the trouble he sees. He is not bound by time or space, but has held us in this one ~ together ~ with purpose we can only dare to imagine. Let's be brave together, shall we? Let's trust, Love, Forgive, and be of good to one another, even to those who speak with hostility and condemn. What if the world could be a better place because you're in it? Well guess what! It is! In all we do remember one thing, and it is the only way my life makes sense, that Jesus is real and he loves us. And nothing shakes or surprises him.

    Be strong and courageous and put your life in his hands. He alone in trustworthy. And in him, we find JOY everlasting!

On the Way

Looking for God?

    Love this from Romans 9 "Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can't get around. But the stone is me! If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way."

    'On the way, not in the way', don't you love this? And he's in the center, a firm foundation, deep and deeper still, making all things good in time...that's God! Phew, I was worried for a minute there, had to get some truth words in this little head of mine before the day rushed me along in its current.

God is here, the rock on which we stand. And when we search we find him!

Psalm 18

"I love you God – you make me strong. God is the bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God – the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. I sing to God the Praise-Lofty and find myself safe and saved." Psalm 18:1-3

    Need some encouragement today? Psalms is a great place for that. Find refuge for your soul with words of truth, grace and love. Then after a little bit, back to work, fueled to love well the faces before you!

Spreading Redemption

 Good Morning Beloveds!  

    This just in. In where? In my mind, as I find inspiration for today, this day at hand, the one that waits for us to use it wisely. May I share these words with you as a way of facing whatever comes our way; armed, filled and steadfast?

    "My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 

    The rattling of our souls by the brimming storm of global change through the empowerment of religious persecution seeks to overwhelm and destroy us. The dignity of facing a fellow human who holds a different view, ideology and faith without condemnation or revenge is disappearing. Why? Because we are allowing those in power to usurp our free will. Do we know how this happens? Yes. It happens when we forget to love. Yes, this is the beginning of our demise. When we forget to show compassion, to care for the poor, protect the widows, adopt the orphans and live selflessly, others take charge! They take our good works from our hands and we sit back to enjoy our comforts and pleasures in isolation. The fragile wait for us to speak and act, but when we don't, the fabric of a cohesive community of care reverts to mandated rules of power yielding leaders. Are they deaf to our desires and beliefs or in our silence are we giving them control? Do not be overwhelmed by evil, overcome evil with good! We can! We must! Beloveds, are our best days behind us? No! The God of peace, love, and hope first calls in his gentle way of healing our lives through forgiveness individually. Then, when our souls overflow, we are called to love. Be filled with his peace today, his other-worldly peace, then go out and change the world! Impossible? Of course not! Who would Dennis and I be if we thought anything was impossible! And you are the same! Hand in hand, engaging with the unstoppable love of The Savior, we can do whatever must be done to spread redemption to our waiting world. Start by loving the next person you see! 

    Have a wonderful day!

Happy Endings

I never waste time on unhappy endings in fictional books or movies. If things look rough in the middle, I sometimes skip to the end to find the joy, but if I see only sadness, I give it no more attention. The joy to come encourages me to engage in the story. Reality is full of sadness, heart ache and pain. Yet the Author of life invites us to find healing and joy through Jesus at the end of our earth story. The promise of victory over death is true. With this real ending in mind, strength and courage inspire our journey, no matter how rocky the road appears in this current chapter. And this earthly life is really just the intro to eternity. In the mean time, my mind and imagination find inspiration in happy endings!

Solid Ground

What is the solid ground of life? Things feel so shaky sometimes and that on which I can rely isn't always trustworthy, neither is the whom=me! For the last two days I've been thinking about these words from Hebrews 5:7, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Prayers, questions, tears, surrender...hmm, I can do those things. Every day of our lives we can be heard by the one who can save us. How lovely is this truth! The accomplishing, the failing, the strength, the weakness, the trust the fear...my own complicated recipe of self can be replaced with the simple direction of what Jesus said and did. To begin this day with these simple words is to know that I am on solid ground.

Icebergs

I have this theory about icebergs. I think the most difficult things we face in life appear as brutally sharp and hard as packed ice and often it seems we can barely hold our footing or keep from slipping into disaster. We usually find a way to hang on, or someone lovingly grabs ahold of us and we hold tight, but we feel exposed to danger and life feels harsh. The setting of such struggles makes us feel as if we are desolate and forgotten by the Almighty, if there even is one. But if we really had eyes to see in a spiritual/eternal perspective, I believe we would see the tremendous amount of darkness from which we are spared. It is that from which we are saved that is the vastness of the mountain under the water, and the water is indeed, Living Water, protecting us from the biggest portion of pain and despair. If we saw the angels and the demons and the warring, perhaps we would see the way over which we are fought and loved for the eternal long-haul! And if there were no hardship to experience, would we know the fragility of our lives? Would we know to hold onto that which is stronger than the ground on which we stand and the things we see before us? If we saw no need, we would not know our need of the one who loves us most.

Manumission

    Manumission...or manumitting, formal emancipation from slavery. I have just read this word in my morning reading. This is the direct quote in regards to stewardship of the talents given. Archbishop Trench writes "...the master's inviting his slave to sit down with him at the table did itself constitute the act of manumission; henceforth he was free." When the master returned, the first two servants presented what they'd done with what they'd been given, the master gave them freedom in return. The third servant, buried what was to be used for good, then blamed the master for being harsh, therefore justifying himself for doing nothing with what he had.  

    In unpacking this today, I think of the earthly gifts we're given; time, talent, our possessions, limited to a season, a lifetime...as compared to eternal things, the people...every person with whom we have now and have ever had contact....What am I to steward? I am to steward what I have this day, this hour. So in the one hand are earthly things, to be used purposefully for that which will last long past my lifetime here, the people. There is purpose in all things, in every day, and in everything that has to do with loving someone well with what we've got until our day of freedom from earthly entangling things comes. What I do for others is not dependent on how they react, I am to care for and give fully from what I've been given, that is the joy of pouring out, as God pours in...the days are short, and freedom from all these struggles will come. Manumission in my simple mind, encourages me to remember today what is my mission at hand, and to do it well, with what I've got.

The Feast

This morning I am thinking of chocolate, and who doesn't love a good story laced with delicious things to eat?  

    In the year of 1989-1990 I lived in Norway on a scholarship. The director of the program, Barbara Lysholt Pedersen, amazed me! She could discuss politics with diplomats and heads of state in the daytime, then in the evening, whip up the most delicious Indian Curry dishes with a martini in hand, wearing a silk house-coat and watching the Benny Hill Show with me! I felt smart and valuable (and free to enjoy another's delightful hospitality) in her company, because of the way I was treated. Barbara invited all of the scholarship recipients to the Chocolate factory in Oslo where we were given a private tour. I will never forget elegant Barbara, dressed in a pink suede suit, reaching across a conveyer belt for the broken remnants of a divine chocolate creation. We were indulged like royalty, with no exquisite taste kept from our watering mouths! I ate nothing. Yes, I am sad to say, I tasted nothing because I was dieting! We were given tiny boxes of liquor filled delicacies on our way home. At around midnight, as I sat in my room, I ate the entire contents, even though I don't even like that type of chocolate! In my legalistic mind of self preservation, I had missed the feast! I am sharing this story this morning (again with some of you because it applies to the parable of the great feast!  

    The invitations arrived, but everyone who received one had a valid excuse in their own minds why they could not partake of it. When the messenger returned empty handed, new invitations were sent to the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind (that is spiritually speaking). Trench says, "He calls to his table the spiritually sick, the spiritually needy; while the rich in their own virtues, in their own merits, at once exclude themselves and are excluded by him thence. The people who knew not the law, and whom the Pharisees accounted cursed, the despised and outcasts of the nation, the publicans and sinners, they should enter into the kingdom of God, before the great, the wise, the proud,-before those who said they saw,-before those who thanked God they were not as other men,-before those who counted that they had need of nothing." Did I need chocolate? Well, perhaps that is debatable, but it is clear that I had the most glorious chance to receive something (almost) beyond earthly blessings and I refused it! Today is the day we have to decide our steps, tomorrow is unknown, let's choose chocolate, spiritually speaking! (I think chocolate must be a hint of the feast to come, don't you?)

The Good Samaritan

 Oh this is so good!  

    In discussing The Good Samaritan, Archbishop Trench writes about the question of "Whom shall I love?" given by a young lawyer. "...for he wished to have laid down beforehand how much he was to do, and where he should be at liberty to stop, -who had a claim and who not upon his love; thus proving that he knew little of that love, whose essence is that it has no limit, except in its own inability to proceed further, that it receives a law only from itself, that it is a debt which we must be well content to be ever paying, and not less still to owe (Rom. xiii.)." Oh I am so excited to meet this man from whom I often quote, in heaven some day! I believe that the encouragement for our lives today is often most profoundly given in lives led well from the past. Archbishop Trench has been in heaven longer than his years on earth...yet today his words of Truth ring clear as fuel for the daily question of how to live and whom we shall love. If we were to stand on the witness stand at this moment, and a flood of questions were directed our way, have we lived in a manner in which we could answer all questions of our actions in truth, without fear or shame? Are we living our lives fueled by the love that never ends and loving endlessly? Are we silent or do we have a well of things to say that would bless and direct others to the truth we know about life? I am considering this in the light of all things today.

Weariness

 Let's chat about something I have read this morning, shall we? First, a bit more coffee for me, as a grandson is sleeping, which is certainly worth another mug! I wish I could transport a cup to you as well, through the airways. However brilliant our technology has become, we can still only share a cup, when we sit in each other's presence. In scripture today I stopped at a little phrase from Psalm 139:18b "When I awake, I am still with you." I was so low and weary last night and this morning that I just wanted to sleep on and on. Yes, it is humbling to say, especially since many of you have real reasons to indulge in such thinking. I have none! I have some simple thoughts, which weigh heavy on my heart today... hellos end in goodbyes, summers become fall, children grow up to be equipped to launch and leave, our parents age, the garden fades and I must adapt! The only constant is change and if we cannot keep up, we will be left behind and overwhelmed. Really? No! No. Why? Because we have a God that is trapped by none of my silly emotional roadblocks or our real struggles and sorrows, or deep needs. Whether our bodies are desperate for healing, we see no way out financially, we feel we have made a wrong decision, or our hearts have trapped us in unforgiveness or sin...God is God! Bishop Trench says God calls us not 'to' a height (as if we must work to reach a spiritual level), he calls us 'from' a height...from the otherness of this life, not to a 'high calling' ,no, he is calling to us, from 'on high'. This earth, where soil can turn to mud in the simple passing of a storm, where tiny nails pop strong tires and we are stopped dead in our tracks on the side of the road on which we travel, God is with us, immovable by earthly hardship, above our smallest and greatest difficulties. In the center of our need he calls us upward, to himself...the place where He lives and to which he calls us to 'awaken' is his unchangeable love, constant care, steady goodness, trustworthy guidance, daily provision, and ultimate purpose and plan for his children who love him. What is our part in this scenario? It is our simple surrender to his love, our giving up of earthly treasure for his priceless eternal riches and our willingness to trust in his ways. If you have entered this day with weariness or worry pulling at your spirit, ask God to fill your cup, he will! His presence is with you and me. He is good.  

Cheers to your day!

Coffee

Good Morning! Do I seem a little fixated on coffee? Yes, yes I do. Why? Well there's always a good story somewhere, after you've sorted through several uninspiring ones!

    The price of airline tickets for children leapt substantially at the age of 12, when I was a child. Thus, my frugal parents purchased individual tickets for each of their three children before the summer of our eleventh year. My fearless sister was the first to embark on the six week Norway adventure ALONE, I followed three years later. A vivid picture from my journey holds its place in my mind, like a tattered bookmark left in a favorite chapter. It is a memory so rich that if I breath in deeply, I can almost smell the coffee cooking in the worn kettle on the crackling fire, only three long strides from the icy stream. I can also almost smell the forest, moist with morning dew, as I stare at the wriggling trout, caught in an expert instant by my mother's uncle, who is ancient as the mountains, with callused hands and kind eyes. He spoke no English and I knew only the trill of foreign Norwegian words on the tip of my tongue, from the songs my mother would sing before meals or bed (I didn't learn Norwegian until I was seventeen). There were no words between us, but there was cool mountain air, sharp in my lungs and fresh on my breath. There were my uncle's steady wide steps leading me up to the special fishing spot, and the meal, caught, cleaned and cooked, just for me. And from his hand, there was the cup and the coffee shared, the smile on his deeply wrinkled face, and the love that spoke volumes between us in the middle of the forest, in the rugged Norwegian terrain. As in every tiny space on earth where two can meet in glance or embrace, love can be the unspoken beginning of the story. And sometimes the faint smell of coffee might be the fragrance of sweet memories fueling the moment.

Have a great day!

Footnotes

It is in the footnotes, that I often find the most choice morsels for the day ahead, and the thoughts we share. Here is the tastiest one, from God's inspiration through a German theologian (I think), through Rev. Arnot, to us, "The whole visible world is only a parable of the invisible world...yes, the parable is nature's own language in the human heart." Yes, Jesus used the language of story, to free the thoughts of many to whom a conversation might never reach. I become easily entangled in the muddle of my own mind, but then, someone else's story comes to light and the transforming power of life outside my own head, pulls my thoughts into alignment, and unity with others. This morning I thought to share one story, but in the midst of beginning, two precious people came to me through messages, in need of prayer. God bless you as God weaves his love in and through the story of our day and the ones with whom we are privileged to share it!

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful acts of love we can bestow, when given without condition and humbly received, healing begins.

    In the story of The Prodigal Son, Trench writes, "Nor should we fail to note that it is AFTER, and not before, the kiss of reconciliation, that this confession finds place; that kiss did not stop the mouth of his confession, but opened it rather; for the more the sinner knows and tastes of the love of God, the more he grieves ever to have sinned against that love."

    

    As I glance out the window on this ice cold morning, where pansy bloom and lingering rose bud brave the frost, the sparkling ice shimmers in deadly finality on the garden remnants, hard and unforgiving. Inside, the fire on the hearth burns as one candle in our advent wreath shines brightly. Here, a grandson and a kitten, luxuriously lounging, feel warmth and protection, mirroring this idea, that it is often that which we are given that creates our reflective response.

    Trench concludes his analogy thus, "It is under the genial rays of this kindly love, that the heart, which was before bound up as by a deadly frost, begins to thaw and to melt and loosen, and the waters of repentance to flow freely. The knowledge of God's love in Christ is the cruse of salt which alone can turn the bitter and barren-making streams of remorse into the healing waters of repentance. (2 Kin. ii. 19-22)

    As we face difficulties in the hours unfolding, where our flesh makes ready justification of our own rights and privileges over those who will wrong us, in truth or by our own perception, perhaps we might consider the illogical response of forgiveness first, God's steady supply of a Bonfire's worth of love to thaw each heart, including our own, in this chilly day.  

    God bless you and fuel you!

Spilling Out

Good Morning!  

    Jim Fleming is a gifted pastor and kind friend, from Memphis. He once said, and I paraphrase, 'People are like the drinks served on a tray by a waiter, when jostled, the contents always spill out.' And so I must remember, that the junk that is 'hidden' will eventually spill out. Wouldn't I rather be rid of it myself, before the yuck in me, pours over to stain you? There is only one way to do this, it is to surrender the junk to the Lord, and then ask for Him to replace it with His goodness. It reminds me of my foolish irritation one night many years ago when Dennis received a typical call at around 3am. I asked him, "Why do you always sound like you've been waiting for the call? You don't even sound tired, but I know you're exhausted!" "Well," he replied, "I guess I have been waiting." It is this way with God, the 'cleaning out and filling up' as the Littles say when we pray, are requests made to the Waiting God, who loves us with eternal love that can handle every hard thing and make our lives brand new!

Moses

Have you ever read the story of Moses and the burning bush? I was thinking about it this morning and then a reference to it appeared in my book...ah, that purposeful pointing of the Holy Spirit. So I read the details in Exodus. Moses was doing his daily work of tending sheep, he was seized with curiosity when he saw a bush that burned, but did not become consumed, so he approached it. God spoke to him saying, 'I've heard the cries of my people and I'm sending help, in the form of a person...you!' This is the daily request to each of us, and Moses responded to God in the same way we might. 'Me? What can I do? I'm just a simple person, incapable of even speaking a full sentence without stuttering, and you know all about my temper...remember that huge mistake I made that got me here in the first place!?' The beautiful part of this story is that Moses was a regular guy, whose life had been filled with miracles of survival and provision, but who had made a mess of things too, just like us. He didn't want to take on the tough job God gave him, but he did it anyway, even amidst his own complaints. So what were God's job requirements? I think they were humility, compassion and obedience. God's love worked powerfully through Moses' weaknesses, was the broken vessel through which God's love flowed freely. Our brokenness is sometimes the best thing we have to offer.

Miracles

Do you need a miracle today? You are one, you know. Every face we see is one. Your eyes reading this, your fingers typing letters, your mind wondering where I am going with this, or perhaps not believing this at all...miracles, pretending to be ordinary flesh and blood. But then, flesh and blood can never be ordinary, there has never been a single ordinary person on earth! If we teated each other and ourselves the way God sees us, I wonder how our lives would change. We are vessels of brilliant possibility and we hold the gift of free will in our heart of hearts, judgement and condemnation are not ours to disperse...love is. We are friends in this space, that is an incredible miracle! So this is my prayer this morning...whatever clings to us that hurts, lies and steals the truth of who we are and the gifts we have, that draws from us an emptiness, would be removed...and I pray that that space will be filled with the empowerment of love, strength and Truth. With God All things are possible! Walk in that truth. I pray that you will see miracles today beginning with the beautiful face you see in the mirror!