Graduations

We’ve been planning all year for a graduation this week. But we didn’t expect two graduations. Earlier this week our Aunt Debby graduated from the Now into Eternity. As Elizabeth crosses the stage and receives her high school diploma, a prelude to the next step in her life, Aunt Debby will be laid to rest 2000 miles away. 

We will miss being there with the family. And they will miss being with us. We will miss Aunt Debby when we visit next—miss her laughter and her conversation. In fact, it won’t really seem real that she is gone until we miss her then. 

So we will rejoice and grieve at the same time tomorrow. But isn’t that in itself simply a picture of our life on this earth? We take the good with the bad, the happy with the sad. We smile and we cry. Our hearts swell with pride and break with hurt, all at the same time. Yet our God is in every moment. And life goes on.

 

 

Short, and Sweet

Sometimes it’s the simple things that touch your heart. In these stressful days when my head is full of things that must be done, I needed something to read. Something short. And sweet.

I remembered a conversation I’d had a few days earlier about a new musical based on the book Sarah, Plain and Tall. This person had never read the book or seen the movie, but she was so touched by the musical version of the story. I’ve always loved this book, so I pulled it out again. It’s a quick read. Lyrical and sweet. The perfect combination of heart-wrenching sorrow and joy.

Pick it up again—or for the first time. You’ll be glad you did.

As We Forgive

Those of you who’ve been around my blog very long know I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. And even when I do, it isn’t often I tout them here. But it would be impossible for me to let this opportunity go by. 

As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. It is the story of the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, the story of a reconciliation taking place in a society and culture. An almost unthinkable reconciliation. This is a book about forgiveness. The stories of several individuals are interwoven with chapters discussing how and why we should seek reconciliation and forgiveness. These are topics that, as human beings, we will all face in matters big or small, but hearing how God has worked in Rwandan society, in perhaps the biggest of all matters, gives us hope. 

Don’t read this book if you don’t want to let go of your own hurts or shortcomings. Don’t read this book if you don’t want to get free of unforgiveness. Don’t read this book if you don’t want your life changed. Because that’s what it will do. You will never be able to fall back into old patterns of nursing hurts and desiring revenge without a prick of conscience again. 

Racing Downhill

Ever feel like you are in a downhill race? That pretty much describes my life right now. And given my propensity to be a bit of a klutz, I’m worried I’m going to trip over my feet and go tumbling all the way to the bottom! 

All the end of year school stuff is upon me, as well as graduation events and parties and the wedding season gearing up, too. Hard to believe I have three friends who have children getting married this summer! Add in that I’ll probably need to live at the gym due to all the cake I’m consuming at these social events and I’ve about used up all the hours in my days! 

But knowing me, I’ll find time to read, probably to research, and maybe to write. And I’ll fit in blogging somewhere, too. So hang in there with me. It’s going to be a wild ride!

 

 

The Value of Chronicles

2Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 

Do you really believe this? ALL Scripture? I’ve been reading in Chronicles lately. It is tedious, to say the least. List after list of unpronounceable names, some in the form of genealogy, some in lists of positions held. So I found myself asking: is this part God-breathed, too? If so, what in the world can I learn from it, besides what not to name my children? 

As I meditated on this, as I asked the Lord to teach me something, anything, from these endless lists, a bit of understanding dawned on me. While earlier books of the Bible cover some of the same time periods and events of Chronicles, those books are mainly concerned with the big picture stories. But in Chronicles, God has a point to make: everyone matters. 

Name after name, with even some mothers and daughters thrown in, of people we don’t know much, if anything, about. And yet God knew them. He knew them by name. He knows what they did or didn’t do. He knows how they lived their lives. He knows the positions they held, from king and high priest to the overseers of troops and supplies to simply the heads of families. Each had a place. Each had a part to fulfill. I think Chronicles is an admonition to those of us who don’t have the “out front” roles in the body of Christ or in the hierarchy of His kingdom to remain faithful. To do what we are called to do. And to know that He sees.

The Best $5 I've Ever Spent

When my mother handed me the information for the Heritage Farmstead Museum, I knew it was a place I needed to go to further understand farm life at the turn of the century—the 20^th century. Finally I had a free day and took off. They only do docent-guided tours at 1:30, but I showed up at 12:30 to look around the grounds for a little while on my own. I took pictures and imagined my characters living and working in such a place. 

At 1:30, no docent had arrived. Finally, at 1:45, the director of the museum came to give me the tour herself. So there I was with this wonderful historian, just her and I, walking through this enormous museum-house and discussing what would be available to an average person and when they might own it, admiring the reproduction paint colors and wallpapers, and studying the original furnishings, clothing, toys, etc. As we talked, I discovered that she has done research on the home front during World War I. She invited me to come back and visit with her about that another day. My conversation with her as well as all I saw in the house was absolutely invaluable and would have been enough to make my $5 worthwhile. But when we stepped outside, this lovely lady handed me off to the Executive Director of the Museum, who took me around the rest of the buildings in the “farm yard.” 

Again, a fascinating historian who answered every question I threw at him. At the end, he gave me his card and an invitation to call or email as well as the name of the director of another such place that focused more on town buildings and would be another good source of information. Two hours of individual attention from two historians steeped in the time period I am working in. See what I mean? Definitely the best $5 I’ve ever spent!

Worship With The Body of Christ

We worshipped yesterday with a congregation made up of many people from Africa. We visit this church once a year with the team our daughter goes with on her summer trips to Ghana. It is always a wonderful time being with other parts of the body of Christ. This time it made me think: why don’t we do this more often? Not go to this church, necessarily, but visit other churches that are not like the one we frequent, worship in different ways with different parts of the body of Christ. After all, we’re going to spend eternity worshipping with these people! 

The thought sparked an analogy between our physical bodies and our spiritual ones. I’ve heard that when you exercise using the same routine, the same movements, that your body gets so used to it that it doesn’t have to work as hard and thus, stagnates a bit. That’s why it is important to change up your exercise routine occasionally. It struck me yesterday that perhaps it is the same with our spiritual “exercises.” We get into our routine, we get used to the way we do things. And, perhaps, we get a little comfortable, a little less focused on the Lord and more going by rote. What if, occasionally, we stepped out of that comfort zone and fellowshipped with other parts of the body of Christ who worship differently from us? Perhaps they are more free and expressive in their worship. Perhaps more reserved. Perhaps more liturgical. Just coming at worship from a different perspective, even if we don’t agree with that congregation on every point of theology, opens our eyes to Christ in a new way.

 

The Nun's Story

Not long ago I walked into the library at my kids’ school and perused the shelves as I waited for a meeting to begin. Now I’ve been known to be intrigued by books others would easily skim over. Sometimes such a book will almost jump off the shelf and into my hands with little explanation why. 

Such was the case with The Nun’s Story by Kathryn Hulme. It’s an old book, published in 1956. I opened the book to read the front flap and found a summary and endorsement by none other than Daphne du Maurier, one of my favorite authors. And the subject matter of the book? A woman’s (nun’s) struggle to surrender to obedience. Since obedience seems to be the lesson I’ve been stuck on this year, I left a note on the librarian’s desk and took the book home with me. 

Fascinating book on many levels, but definitely the book for me right now. I could identify with the main character, Sister Luke, as she struggled to die to herself, to conform her iron will to the mandates of her convent and of the Lord. She not only learns obedience and humility, but, in the end, she learns to listen to the voice of the Lord over it all. It may not be a book to speak to everyone, but for me, at this moment in my life, the story touched deep places in me with every twist and turn of this woman’s life. 

I’ll be finding a copy of this book for my own shelves now. And then I discovered, quite by accident, that there is a movie adapted from the book starring Audrey Hepburn that garnered quite a few Oscar nominations and awards. So I guess I’ll be acquiring that as well. 

Has the Lord used an obscure book (or at least obscure to your current culture, maybe well known in its time) to further open your spiritual eyes? For me, this is but one of many.

Something To Look Forward To

I always look forward to the arrival of an e-newsletter I subscribe to called “British Missives” by my friend Therese Stenzel. Besides various tidbits of British life, she also makes book recommendations for those of us to love to read stories in and about England and Scotland. Today I got SO excited when I read the title of the up and coming Liz Curtis Higgs novel, Here Burns My Candle. 

I immediately searched for a blurb and release date, and found one here. It is the story of Ruth, retold in 1745 Scotland. If that sounds strange to you, then you obviously haven’t experienced Liz’s other Scotland books—all retelling of Biblical stories in a completely different age and location yet with all the character and truth of the originals. Love, love, love those books! So now I’m looking forward to March 2010. I just wish it wasn’t nearly a year away!

For Me?

It is a dark and stormy day. What a great day to write! And I actually have the day, since the rain will knock out the early afternoon baseball game. Just when I think I’ll fly to pieces because my schedule has been so kid-heavy and writing-light (ok, non-existent!), along comes the gift of a day without obligation. I know the Lord doesn’t orchestrate rainy days for my benefit alone, but sometimes it feels like it!

Why No Posts?

Last week and this week: 8 ball games, a fundraising dinner, prom, booster club meeting, and 2 track meets. The track meets and 2 of the games were over an hour away!

So yes, I'm still here, but I'm too overwhelmed with kid stuff to have anything constructive to say about anything else! But it's all winding down. I think.

Miss Match

Do you love the old black and white movies of the 40s, like I do? Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Myrna Loy. P.I.’s tracking down bad guys. Nazis on the decline, Russians on the rise. If you want to read a book that puts you in mind of watching those great films, pick up one (or both) of the Allie Fortune mysteries by Sara Mills. 

Miss Fortune, the first book in the series and Sara Mills’s debut novel, came out last year. It was such a fun read. Now the second book has arrived—Miss Match—which I liked even better than the first. Allie Fortune is a lady P.I. in New York City just a couple of years after the end of World War II. Not only does she search out problems and bad guys, she also has to walk a fine line with her matchmaking mother. When I read these books, I see them played out before me in black and white. The characters are memorable, the mysteries intriguing. 

If this time period appeals to you, pick up one of these books. I don’t think you’ll be sorry you did.

Jeroboam's Lesson

I read the story of Jeroboam recently. Are you saying, “Who?” Jeroboam, the first king of Israel after Israel and Judah split into two kingdoms. (See First Kings 11-13.) Jeroboam’s story starts out so well. 

Because of Solomon’s sin, God tells Jeroboam He will give him the kingdom, instead, although Solomon’s son will keep the tribe of Judah. After Jeroboam hears this word from the Lord, he must go into exile in Egypt until Solomon’s death. Solomon dies. Jeroboam returns and, through Solomon’s son’s foolishness, finally receives the kingdom, just as the Lord had said. 

When the Lord takes us into a new realm of success—maybe even power or authority—how do we respond? Jeroboam suddenly became afraid the Lord would take the kingdom out of his hand, which shows us two things: 1) he now felt he “deserved” that place and 2) he trusted the Lord to get him there, but not to keep him there. Now he had to devise his own plans to hold his people and his power. And he did it by setting up two golden calves for his people to worship. 

Now we may not set up idols for others, but how often do we grasp to keep the things—whether possessions or positions—God has graciously bestowed on us? Those things may be for a lifetime or for a season, but if they are gifts from God, held at His say. We cannot devise ways in the flesh to hold on to them. Well, we can devise ways, but those ways never work! In the end, what did Jeroboam get for all his striving to force the loyalty of the hearts of Israel to him? The house of Jeroboam was blotted out and destroyed from the face of the earth. (I Kings 13:34) 

If God has given you something to hold, be it a possession or a position, won’t you trust Him with it—whether it is to last for a moment or for a lifetime? 

Consequences

The school year of saying yes when I shouldn’t have is coming to a close. Finally. I have floundered in my writing because I said yes to a volunteer job I shouldn’t have, to a job I thought would be no big deal but grew into a monster that ate my time and energy. My husband told me not to take the position, but I didn’t listen. Then I literally had to set aside my writing from September to January and March to May.  I thought, at first, that it was a “denying myself” setting aside. But I’ve figured out it wasn’t. It was disobedience, plain and simple. It was a setting aside of what the Lord called me to do to instead do what man asked of me. So I’ve spent this school year living out the consequence of a wrong choice. 

All I can say is it sure makes me want to obey the voice of the Lord next time. 

The Lamb of God

We’ve been studying the book of Mark in our Sunday School class. As we’ve observed the disciples’ reaction to Jesus and His ministry, their misunderstanding of why He came and what His kingdom would look like, I keep remembering the words of the prophet as Jesus stepped into the public eye: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” 

That statement encompassed it all, and yet no one got it. No one (or very few) equated “the lamb of God” with the physical sacrifices in the temple. They didn’t hear “takes away the sin of the world” and understand atonement or justification. In fact, although Jesus talked throughout His ministry about the kingdom of God and why He came, he did not refer to Himself as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Every time he spoke of lambs and sheep and shepherds, he spoke of Himself as the Shepherd and His people as the sheep. 

So I think even we, like the disciples, tend to forget that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But that is exactly what is on my mind as Easter week begins. The Lamb of God. Who takes away my sin. 

I dare you to mull that over for a few minutes and walk away unchanged.

Begin at the Beginning?

At what point in a story should the audience jump in? That is a question every writer (of books or movies or plays) must grapple with. And it is not as easy as it sounds!In the past few weeks, I’ve run across two examples of writers who made opposite choices. 

The first comes from a book I’ve wanted to read for over a year—a  nice, fat paperback (I love fat books!), a unique retelling of a story I love. But, alas, as I delved into its pages I found myself bored. Why? Because the author began at the beginning of the character’s story. Not at his birth, but at the beginning incident that shaped who he was becoming. But the story of his evolution isn’t nearly as compelling as the story of who he is on the other side of it. I would much rather the author have started the story on about page 350 (of almost 500) and given me the rest in snatches and hints along the way. 

On the other hand, as I drove girls to a softball tournament I again had the experience of “listening” to a familiar movie. This always helps me see things in the writing of the story that I don’t see when I watch it. The opening scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean struck me in where it began each character’s story. In the opening “prologue” type scene, we are introduced to the Elizabeth, Will and the gold coin—the coin being the most important of the three. Then we are drawn into the present day story some years later, meeting these two characters again in different circumstances. When we first meet Jack Sparrow, just a bit later, we learn he is a pirate and his ship is called the Black Pearl, and yet he has no ship. In fact, he is trying to steal one from the British navy! 

The place the screenwriter chose to bring the audience into the story propels the audience through the story by NOT knowing every detail of the characters’ lives to the point that we meet them. A more amateur writer might have started this story when the pirates found the cursed gold or maybe when Captain Barbosa arranged a mutiny to take over the Black Pearl from Captain Jack Sparrow. But both of those beginnings would have made it tedious to get to the real action, to the real story. 

So where to begin? I’m still learning to figure that out!

 

And the List Grows On

I can’t seem to get everything done these days. I have a “to do” list a mile long of things that must be accomplished between now and graduation. I mark off two or three or four items only to add five or six or seven more. I’m not sure I’ll ever get ahead at this rate. It makes me want to grab a stack of books, hide, and ignore all the “to dos” that are calling my name—although I’ll try not to ignore my few but faithful blog readers!

Abigail's Example

I read the story of Abigail and David again today. (I Samuel 25) I’ve always loved this story, from many different perspectives through many different seasons of my life, but today a new thought struck me: I need to pray that I will be an Abigail in the lives of my friends and family and I need to pray that the Lord will raise up Abigails in my own life. 

Why? Because, like David, who one chapter earlier told Saul that the Lord would judge between them but he would not retaliate against Saul for trying to kill him without cause, we forget our great stands of faith. When Nabal insults David and his men, David rears up in anger and readies his men to slaughter Nabal and his house. That’s when the Lord sends Abigail to step in and remind David not to, in her words, “avenge himself by his own hands.” 

I want to have the courage to step in between those I love and those they desire to avenge themselves against, whether in word or deed, and remind them that it is the Lord who will fight their battles. What more incredible act of mercy and love is there than to help keep them from sin they will later regret? Abigail arrived in the path of David’s anger with humility, kindness, and truth. And she kept David from bloodshed he would have later regretted. Our battles don’t often involve actual bloodshed these days, but they do involve words that wound and actions that hurt others financially, socially, or in myriad other ways. 

Lord, send “Abigails” my way to keep me from sin and give me the courage and grace to boldly step into the face of another’s anger and remind that one of who You are and how You will fight for them.

 

 

Who Knew?

This evening, I walk into the kitchen to find my daughter trying to wash paint from her hands. Not latex paint, mind you. The hard stuff. But do we have any paint thinner in the house? Of course not! As I gather my keys and purse (all the while muttering under my breath and counting to 10, then 20), she says, “Wait, Mom. I think this is working.” 

I look up. “What’s working?” Of course I’m rolling my eyes and slipping on my shoes. Nothing but paint thinner will remove that paint. I know. I’m the mom. 

“Yes, it’s working,” she says. “I’m using olive oil and it’s coming off.” 

Open-mouthed, I stare at her clean hands, watch her dab a bit of olive oil on one last spot. It comes clean. 

Who knew olive oil would take paint off your skin? (OK, so other people know because I googled it after the fact. But I had no idea!) And who knew an almost-eighteen-year-old could actually have the sense to try it?

 

 

A Lesson from Saul

I read the story of Saul again the other day. It really is an awful story if you read straight through from his being chosen as king to God saying He will tear the kingdom from Saul and Samuel refusing to ever see Saul again. (Read I Samuel 9-15.) He falls so far, so fast. But the thing that struck me this time as the saddest part of the whole situation comes at the very end of chapter 15. “And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.” 

Wow. I don’t ever want to live in such a manner that the Lord “regrets” where He has placed me! Looking back over Saul’s life, I think the biggest key to avoiding that outcome is humility. Saul went from knowing he was nobody to believing he was somebody. He forgot, in his position of authority and fame, that it was the Lord and only the Lord that raised him to that place. He had done nothing to deserve it. But it all went to his head. Suddenly, nothing was his fault anymore. He didn’t make decisions based on anyone’s good but his own. And he used the outward appearance of worship only when it elevated him in the eyes of his subjects, not because God deserved it or required it of him. 

It’s a good lesson for us all.