Tag Archives: Jesus

“I’ll tell you who you really are”

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“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  There seem to a rare, lucky few who actually know the answer to that question, even from a young age.  You know, kids that say they want to be a doctor and end up actually becoming one.  I was not one of those people.  In elementary school I knew I was going to be a veterinarian.  I liked animals so it just seemed natural.  My girls had various aspirations growing up like nursing, teaching, being an artist, etc.  I’ll never forget the surprise and giggles we got as a family when my youngest (about 10 at the time) once told us at the dinner table that she wanted to be a monster truck driver.   I think she’s changed her mind since then…I think. Continue reading →

Promoted

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In the short video I was watching on facebook, two soldiers stood side by side in their fatigues, one talking about the other.   The one on the right was my cousin Karl.  I remember playing with Karl when we were kids.  He was one of my favorite cousins.  He was “Karlie” to me then.  Now he stands having served overseas many duties over many months, and years here at home, helping keep all of us safe and free.  The video was of the brief ceremony promoting him to his new rank of lieutenant colonel.  I wish we could have stayed closer over these years, he and his family and mine, but distance and life transitions have made that difficult.  I was still really proud as I watched.  What a good man he is.  Who knew when we were goofing around and riding go-carts as 12-year-olds with his sister and my sister and brother that He had this in him?

One thing his friend said before he was officially promoted that really stood out to me Continue reading →

The Buck Does Not Stop Here

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I know God doesn’t have an actual desk, but if He did, there’d be one of those signs on it that reads “The Buck Stops Here.”  He gave me that image the other day when I was letting myself get weighed down with concerns.  How often I forget that I’m supposed to pass burdens on up to Him, I’m not supposed to try to carry them all by myself.  Have you ever seen a little child wanting to help or prove how big they are by dragging a suitcase or carrying a bag too heavy for them?  “Here let me take that,” the mom says.  “No,” the child says as they strain and grunt to pull it along, “I got it.” They eventually have to give in because they just can’t do it without help.

Jesus said to come to Him when I’m worn out from trying to lug heavy stuff along.  He said that His way of life is light and easier to carry and besides that He’ll be with me, helping the whole time.   (Matt. 11:28)  The buck of burdens doesn’t stop with me, it stops with Him.  He’s the only One who really knows what to do with them.  He is the only One strong enough, wise enough, patient enough.

The buck of decision-making doesn’t stop with me either.  I used to work in a doctor’s office as receptionist and enjoyed greeting the patients and getting to know the “regulars.”  Continue reading →

Daredevils

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What some find entertaining, I often find too stressful to enjoy watching:  daredevils.  Those reckless, bold, wild people who love to walk a tightrope way too high over a busy street or catapult themselves across canyons or jump long rows of semi-trucks, just for fun, just to prove they can do it.  Have you noticed that a single danger isn’t usually enough?  “Not only will I jump my motorcycle over these trucks, I’ll do it BLINDFOLDED!  And we’re setting all the trucks on FIRE!  AND I’ll be holding my tiny, helpless kitten ‘Snuffy’ as I jump across!  I SPIT in the face of fear and death!”  Did Snuffy get a say in this??  The crowd leans forward on the edge of their seats to watch, holding their breath, loving every minute.  Continue reading →

Follow Jesus

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I like Twitter.  It helps me keep up with friends I’m not with every day, including my two older daughters.  Each of their tweets is a little glimpse into their day, their hearts and thoughts and it makes me feel connected.  Sometimes on the home page Twitter gives recommendations of people to “follow.”  There are some I comedians I follow that crack me up, some well-known pastors I follow that encourage or challenge me, and so on.  For a while I followed some Olympic athletes like Apolo Ohno.  He’s such a positive, enthusiastic person.   Some people I follow and would love to hear more of what they’re thinking, but they just aren’t into twitter and rarely say anything.

I’d like to recommend that on this path we call everyday life on planet Earth, that you follow Jesus.  He’s always got something to say and it’s not self-promoting, nonsensical blather.  Whatever he says gives life.

I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar to what I did when I was little.  Continue reading →

Glow

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It’s one of our favorite family laughs.  We were living in Las Cruces, New Mexico and had been teaching our girls a little bit about constellations: the big dipper, little dipper, the north star, and Orion’s belt.  They had fun looking for them in the wide, clear desert sky at night.  All three shared a bedroom and while out shopping one day we picked up a package of glow-in-the-dark stars to put up on their wall.  I put them up while they were at school one day and arranged them into some of the constellations, hoping the girls would recognize them when the lights went out.  Bedtime rolled around and all three were tucked in.  After we said our prayers, I asked, “Are you ready to see your stars?”  Continue reading →

Not so scary

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I watched “The Sixth Sense” for the first time, believe it or not, on Friday night.  I’m becoming a fan of M. Night Shyamalan’s early movies.  They’re so interesting and thought-provoking.

You know me, I tend to link up things I see with spiritual matters, looking for illustrations to real life from what I’ve watched on-screen.   I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie but one of the biggest lessons one of the main characters learns is to not be terrified of ghosts (dead people) that he sees, even though many of them are pretty ghastly.  They appear to him the way they were when they died or were killed so I don’t blame him for wanting to keep far away from them!  Continue reading →

Shift

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It’s happened before, numerous times actually.  God shifts my gaze from myself and my so-called problems to Him.  Unfortunately, I seem to gradually rotate back to my old way of thinking and often need Him to turn me around again and again, back where I see only Him.

Last weekend he turned me around by letting me see a special friend who is in the midst of her fight against cancer.  I hadn’t seen her in person since her diagnosis and it moved me more than I expected.  Though she has lost her hair and we both look older, in her beautiful eyes I still saw the real her.  Love flooded through me and then shame for being so caught up and overwhelmed by my “problems.” Continue reading →

Roots

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My sister, Jodi, writes a monthly newsletter for women about overall well-being and making healthy choices.  Her words are always encouraging and helpful.  This month she shared a great illustration about a vine that keeps cropping up near their house, because although they’ve cut and pulled it away time and time again, there is evidently still a root in the ground somewhere and so it keeps coming back.  Jodi says that similarly, in our lives, if we don’t get to the root of a problem, we can cut and pull at symptoms that show on the outside but they’ll just keep recurring.  So true!

If a negative attitude or thought sits long enough inside our hearts, I believe it begins to take root and will be harder to get rid of than if we extract it as soon as we notice it there.  Continue reading →

Waaaaaa

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I’m reading several books at once and that probably isn’t the best idea for my scatterbrain to retain something valuable from each one.  I started reading “The Me I Want to Be” by John Ortberg (discussing as I progress through with a good friend of mine) and am still reading it.  Then another good friend recommended “Shattered Dreams” by Larry Crabb which is also a really good book.    Toss in my daily Bible reading and, slightly embarrassed to admit, another read through of Eclipse and there are lots of words tumbling around in my head.

I haven’t written for a few days, oddly enough because I felt at a loss for words.  If I could just grab a hold of a few of the ones churning in my mind and put them into some kind of meaningful order to share with you.  Continue reading →