Tag Archives: Jesus

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 →

What’s a baby worth these days?

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A California couple has been arrested for trying to sell their 6-month-old baby outside a Wal-Mart store for $25.   Evidently their need for narcotics outweighed their love for their child.  How desperate they must be to try trading the little one for drug money.  It seems they’ve sunk to the lowest of lows.  I feel sorry for them – what kind of existence is that?  The baby was removed by social services so it’s safe, even though it was born to and nursed by a woman hooked on meth.  You can read an article about it here.

When I read this I was appalled, baffled.  I’m sure the women the father approached in that parking lot were so taken off guard.  “Is this guy kidding?  $25??”  Surely a life is worth more than that.  Continue reading →

New Every Morning

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mer • cy [mur see] noun
1.  compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power
2.  the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment

Do you ever feel like you’ve really grown, reached some new milestones in your faith and become stronger, only to look in the mirror one day to see a shallow, doubting, pouting, childish disciple looking back? Continue reading →

True Beauty

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I have to admit, some reality TV fascinates me…or at least captures my attention for a while.  Last night my youngest daughter and I watched part the show “True Beauty” in which several models are in competition to see who is the most beautiful, who can become the “face of Vegas.”  What they don’t know is that judges are watching what happens behind the scenes and deciding the winner based on inner beauty: their character and not their looks.  Continue reading →

Fighter

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I’ve talked so much about Zumba class and how much I love it that my friends and family are probably tired of hearing it.  Let me just say that God brought it to me when I needed an outlet, some fun, some community, and of course some exercise.

Right now one of the songs we dance/exercise to is Christina Aguilera’s song “Fighter.”  We do some kickboxing during the chorus:

It makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

Christina Aguilera “Fighter” ©2003

She’s singing about someone who cheated on her and did her wrong, but I when I hear those words I usually think of something I’m struggling with (or friends and family are facing) like temptation, feeling down, disappointment, challenges, etc.  Yesterday I was thinking about cancer.  Continue reading →

So…

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There have been lots of thoughts churning in my head the last few days – of course when are there NOT lots of thoughts churning in there?  Anyway, here is a window into my crowded head if you’re so inclined to read on:

I think part of my feeling distant from God lately is that I’ve been angry with Him – angry that He hasn’t answered prayers the way I thought.  I mean, did he even take into consideration the five point argument I shared with Him about why my way was good?  And how about that time-table of His?  Why do I think that if something doesn’t happen in a few weeks or even months that it means God isn’t there or doesn’t care?  That is pretty silly.  As much as I thought I was resisting the enemy, I had fallen prey again to his ploy of self-pity and forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness?  About all God has done in my life and in the lives of those around me.  What other proof do I need that He is there and active in our lives?  That He really does care about each of us in love.   There are a number of Bible verses that tell God’s people to recall the things God has done throughout their lives so they won’t lose hope, so they will stay on track, so they will be thankful.  I’ve been forgetting to remember. Continue reading →