March 4, 2011 · 10:55 pm

Weekend Moment:Bob the Banana


Bob The Banana came into our lives when we lived in south Florida. (That’s Bob in our backyard with Julia when she was seven years old).

Several years ago, my friend Madora’s mother was very ill. During this time,  Madora’s neighbors had gone to Disney and won  Bob in a game. Thinking that he would cheer her up, they drove back from Disney to Coral Springs with him. When Madora opened her front door that day, imagine her surprise to see a 6 ft. tall velvet banana on her doorstep! She christened him Bob, stationed him where she would see him everyday, and Bob fulfilled his purpose by making her smile during a sad and difficult time.

Following her mother’s death, Madora decided to have a garage sale, so the kids and I went over one afternoon to help her set up.

Bob was the first thing they saw and it was love at first sight.

Seeing their total delight, Madora insisted we take him home with us.

How could I say no?

So, Madora helped me stuff Bob into our van and I drove home, all the while wondering what Doug would think of this new–and very cumbersome–addition to the family.

Bob was an instant hit.

When you live in south Florida, you always have a ton of visitors. Someone came up with the great idea to take a photo of Bob with each guest and create a separate album, so that’s what we did!

Here are a few of our good-natured visitors:

This is my cousin Johanna, who was in town to plan her wedding to the fabulous Matt in Key West. People often tell me that we look like sisters…I take that as a huge compliment. 🙂

This is my mom’s cousin Elaine. Or, as we call her THE Elaine because there is only one. Elaine is one of those people who is larger than life. Wherever she goes, a party is sure to follow. This particular day, Elaine chose to have her photo taken with Bob in the front yard. We had no way of knowing that this photo-op  would coincide with a showing of our next door neighbor’s home that had been on the market for quite some time.  I have no idea why that couple never made an offer and became our neighbors. What’s the big deal about seeing a 6 ft. banana preparing for his close up in the front yard?!

This is my friend Jenn from Rhode Island and her adorable son Evan. He did not look like he was too sure about Bob!  Or the color of that accent wall.

This is our nephew Tony and  my husband Doug by the pool. Tony was the ring-bearer in our wedding 18 years ago. He is now married with a son. Time sure does fly.  Bob loved to lounge by the water and soak up the rays. Now that he lives with us in the mountains of New Hampshire, those days are long gone. Poor Bob.

I do have one regret about Bob. Our friend Darrin is an award-winning auto-cross driver who also lived in Florida. We always intended to put Bob in the passenger seat of Darrin’s Miata (complete with a helmet, of course) and watch him take a spin around the track!  That would have been a cool photo!

Even though we now live in the northeast, we have continued the tradition of having of our guests pose for photos with Bob. Strange, though…we don’t have nearly the amount of visitors we used to have when we lived in Florida! Especially during the winter months.  Hmmm…

No matter where life finds you, I hope that  laughter will be a part of your day.  If you don’t feel that you have anything to laugh about, then hopefully these photos of Bob will at least cause you to smile. 🙂

“Laughter is an instant vacation.” –Milton Berle

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March 4, 2011 · 8:30 am

Tender Affection


For  the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you and My covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. —Isaiah 54:10 (emphasis added).

I really needed to see this Scripture this morning.

Yesterday, I received a phone call from a dear friend who is heartbroken over a recent turn of events. I could hear the exhaustion and sadness in her voice and it brought tears to my eyes. After we spoke, I thought about several other loved ones who are currently in the midst of some major trials and my heart felt heavy. This life can be so hard sometimes.

Yet, this verse gives me such hope. In the original language, the word for compassion means: “to love deeply, have mercy, have tender affection.”

This is the heart of our God for His people.

He is not a disinterested bystander, passively watching as we struggle. He enters into it with us.

If you are going through a rough time this morning, picture Jesus taking your face in His hands and whispering: “I love you deeply. I am filled with mercy and tender affection for you. You are not alone.”

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will cause you to rest. I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.” —Jesus (Matthew 11:28).

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March 3, 2011 · 6:52 am

Focus


I learned an important lesson from my dog Buddy today.

(I am well aware that those of you who know Buddy will find this amusing and probably hard to believe). 🙂

Be that as it may, my little Bichon demonstrated something I needed to remember: focus is key.

I had carried a muffin upstairs for breakfast and proceeded to set it on the table beside me while I did some work on my laptop.

As happens every morning, I heard Buddy galloping down the hallway at full speed, ready to jump up onto my lap to offer me his customary wet and furry greeting for the day.

However, this morning he literally stopped in mid-dash when he saw the muffin.

Suddenly, everything–including me, his favorite person– appeared to be forgotten as he fastened his black eyes on the jewel before him. He moved slowly toward it, finally coming to a stop directly in front of the table. Then he just sat on his haunches and stared.

That is where he remained for ten solid minutes, focused with laser-like intensity on the object of his desire. Nothing made him move, not even the things that normally cause him to erupt into a frenzy of barking, such as the oil truck arriving or the ringing of the  jingle bells on the doorknob of the front door, as my daughter ran outside to get her camera from the car.

Buddy’s quest for the muffin ended with the tiniest of tidbits before he happily went on his way,  but the image of his focused concentration remained with me.

Where is my focus?

Is it on what it truly important…or the trivial?

The eternal…or the temporal?

Blessings…or complaints?

God…or man?

Earlier in the week, someone said something to me that really hurt my feelings. I have a fairly tough skin and am certainly open to constructive criticism, but I felt that what was said was totally unwarranted and untrue. I began to turn it over and over in my mind as I went through my day until finally, I heard Jesus speak gently to my spirit: “What is true ?”

That one question immediately put a stop to the fruitless cycle. My focus was all wrong. I had allowed the nastiness of one person (who I didn’t even know personally!) to completely take over my day! What was said was not true…so why was I giving it any more thought?

One of my memory verses for this year is: ” You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on…the best and not the worst, the beautiful and not the ugly, things to praise, not things to curse.”–Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

My focus had been on the ugly rather than the beautiful and as a result, I had  unnecessarily allowed the day to be  colored by a dark brush.

Last night, my mind went into overdrive about a particular issue, which can often happen when I am tired. I found myself lost in a sea of  “what if’s?”. I allowed my imagination to run wild with all kinds of scary possibilities, while temporarily losing sight of the myriad of ways Jesus has totally and completely provided for me.

One of the most helpful tools I have learned to combat this comes from author Elizabeth George, who wrote Loving God With All Your Mind .When worry threatens to overwhelm, she suggests asking:

“Is this true and is this real?”

That little question has saved me time and again for pointless worrying. If what I am focused on is neither true, nor real, then why am I allowing it prominence in my thought life?  Mark Twain once  humorously declared, “I am an old man and have known great and many troubles…but most of them never happened.”

Each time I catch myself being tempted to worry, I meditate on this verse:  “Turn your entire attention on what is happening right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” —Matthew 6:34 (The Message).

That verse came to my rescue last night and as I started to focus on what was true and real, I was able to relax and get to sleep. There are so many blessings to focus on right now! I am no longer willing to miss those things because I am blinded by worry. Yes, we all have concerns and some of them are huge. But there are gifts waiting to be unwrapped wherever we are…if we have eyes to see.

As for me, I want to focus with laser-like intensity on one Person, just as the author of Hebrews admonishes us: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” —Hebrews 12:1-2.

In the Greek, the word for fix means: “to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something else.” Or Someone else.

He guards my reputation and my future. I have nothing to fear.

By the way, here is a photo of the Bichon who inspired this post today and reminded me to focus on the right things. Buddy was a puppy here. That was seven years…and many pounds…ago. 🙂

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March 2, 2011 · 5:48 am

Face To Face


My family and I lived in south Florida for five years. Each December, the First Baptist Church in Ft. Lauderdale presents an Emmy-winning Broadway-caliber Christmas pageant.

One year, my friend Madora treated a group of us to a matinee as an early Christmas gift. The sanctuary seats at least 3000 and is three stories high. We had wonderful seats on the ground floor in the first row of the second section.

As the the lights dimmed and the show began, an expectant hush fell over the crowd.  The first half celebrated the holiday season with dancing, singing, and numerous set changes. After intermission, the show switched gears to tell  the story of the life of Christ, from birth to resurrection. It was an amazing production, filled with real animals (a camel, a donkey, horses), as well as flying angels and the resurrected “Jesus” being lifted several feet off the stage to depict the Ascension.

At one point, during the Palm Sunday scene, the actor playing Jesus rode right past us on a donkey, bathed in the spotlight. He waved and smiled and every eye was on him as he made his way through the sanctuary lined with palm branches and up onto the stage.

As I watched him surrounded by people, tears unexpectedly filled my eyes and I found myself telling Him, “Lord, if I had been on the earth at the same time You were, I would have wanted You to know me. I wouldn’t have wanted to be  just to a face in the crowd. I would have wanted You to know my name.”

The show ended to thunderous and sustained applause. It truly was an incredible experience and we all felt blessed at having the chance to experience something so beautiful.

Afterward, I was browsing the wall of  books in the large lobby of the church when I heard someone come up behind me. I turned around, expecting to see one of my girlfriends. However…

There, standing in front of me was the actor who had played Jesus.

He was still dressed in his white resurrection robe and his smile was warm as he reached out to take my hand.

Then he asked me my name.

It took me a second to respond but I told him.

He asked if I had enjoyed the pageant, then gave my hand a gentle squeeze before leaving, saying, “God bless you, Susan.”

Then he was gone, melting into the crowd.

I was left speechless, knowing that the real Jesus had just let me know that He had heard the cry of my heart inside that sanctuary. Out of literally thousands of people who were present that day,  that actor had approached me to ask my name of all things!

Jesus was reminding me that He does see me. He does hear me. I am not just one of the crowd to Him.

He knows my name.

Just as He knows yours.

That day was also a reminder that there is coming a day when faith will become sight and I will finally see the very Face of Love, the beautiful Face of Jesus Himself in all His resurrected glory.

Brennan Manning has written, “The true Christian is the lover separated from his Beloved; the day of reunion cannot come too soon.”

I love this definition of Christianity. I am not following a myth or a figment of my imagination. I follow and have given all that I have and am to a Person who gave His all for me and has radically changed my life.

Christianity is not a religion. When He walked this earth, Jesus directed some of His harshest words toward the religious elite of His day.

It is a relationship! A stunning, utterly transforming, passionate love story between Jesus and His Bride (Revelation 19:6-9).

After the show that night, my girlfriends and I had dinner, then browsed the charming shops along Los Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. I found a necklace that I admired and as I was trying to decide if I should buy it, one of my friends suggested that I purchase it as a reminder of the day I met “Jesus.”  I thought that was a fabulous idea and although it is not an expensive necklace, it is precious to me.

It is a reminder of a day in south Florida when the real Jesus broke through an ordinary day to give me a moment that I will always treasure…and to remind me of a glorious day yet to come.

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” — I Corinthians 13:12

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March 1, 2011 · 7:21 am

Not One Inch


I knew it was bad news as soon as I heard my husband’s voice on the phone that February day.

His job…along with several others at his company…had been cut as a result of the economic crisis.

I hung up the phone, shaking my head in disbelief. This had happened to us once before, when the economy took a nosedive after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I prayed it would never happen again.

But it did.

I chose the above photo for this post because it perfectly conveys how I felt at that moment in time. The skies had suddenly turned dark and ominous, warning that a powerful storm was on its way. I had no way of knowing what was around that  bend…or how long the road would be.

The first phone call I made was to my mom. Her heartbroken, shocked silence brought tears to my eyes and I let them fall while  I felt the clammy grip of fear begin to try to take hold around my heart.

I gave my mom the details; then suddenly, I heard myself speak these words, with a confidence I certainly didn’t feel at the moment: “You know what, Mom? I am not giving any ground to the Enemy on this one. None at all. NOT ONE INCH!!!”

At that moment,  I knew that those three words would comprise my battle plan for this new…and very unwanted…season of life.

Not. One. Inch.

It is at time like this when one’s professed faith is put to the test: Will I believe only what I can see with my physical eyes? Will I allow my feelings to run the show? Will I allow fear to fill my mind and poison my outlook on the future? Will I allow worry to steal my sleep and my peace?

OR…will I give priority to God’s eternal, unchanging Word? Will I rest and trust in His rock-solid promises, as well as His goodness? Will I approach this scary cirumstance in the attitude of conquest, filled with the courage that my Savior freely and fully offers me?

I had a ton of head knowledge about Jesus.  But He was about to take all that knowledge and make such a blazing imprint on my redeemed heart that I will never be the same again.  It was time for a dramatic encounter with my Savior.  I have learned that there are times when He will not hesitate to take drastic measures to not only get our attention, but to wake up a slumbering soul.

Before my husband even got home from his last day at work, I had a list of Scriptures ready to live on for the days, weeks, and months ahead. These promises would be my lifeline and I would cling to them with all the strength I had.  Jesus led me to Scripture after Scripture for my battle plan.

A crisis is no time for posturing or pretense…I needed to be totally honest with Jesus. So, the first thing I told Him, through many tears, was that I was disappointed and heartbroken that He has allowed this.

This would be my first test: what do you do when your sovereign Savior allows one of your worst fear to come true?  When your spirit feels crushed and your heart is filled with pain?

Ps. 62:8 says, “Trust Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.”

Let it all out. He can take it.  He is your safe place. He knows exactly how you feel. (Ps. 139:1-4). He sees each tear you cry. (Ps. 56:8).

Where in the world do we get this idea that we have to “clean ourselves up” before we can come to Jesus? We come to Him for the bath!  He would much rather have us approach Him with red-rimmed, puffy eyes, mascara streaks halfway down our faces, yet honest and real, as opposed to every hair in place, makeup perfectly done, pious-sounding words that we don’t mean coming from our lips, mask firmly in place, and  all the while, our hearts remain cold to His touch,  encased in bitterness and hurt feelings. He seeks…and sees…ALL of us…the good, the bad, and the ugly…and yet He loves us with a passion that is beyond our ability to fully grasp.

When we pour it all out and are empty and spent, we have made room for Jesus to then  fill the hollow places.

What does  He fill our hearts with?

*A gentle reminder that trials are part of life on this fallen planet, but He is in control: “In Me, you have perfect peace and confidence. In the world , you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer (take courage, be confident, certain, undaunted!). For I have overcome the world. (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.” —John 16:33 (Amplified Version).

Even in the face of one of my worst fears, Jesus was telling me that because I belonged to Him, I could be confident, certain, and undaunted. Courageous!

Beth Moore once said, ” There is no denial in courage. Courage is denying the reality its’ victory over you.”

Christians were never meant to live in denial. We can meet any circumstance straight on because  we have:

*the certain knowledge that He will never leave us: “…God Himself has said, “I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will not, I will not, I will not, in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake you nor let you down (relax My hold on you! Assuredly not!)” —Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Version).

*the fact that we are more than  conquerors through Him. (Romans 8:37).  In the original language, the word conqueor means: “to gain a surpassing victory, to overcome, to prevail.” I am NOT a victim of my circumstances! Neither are you!  Because of  Christ’s strength working through us, we need NOT come through our tough seasons defeated and a shell of who we once were. Not on your life! We can emerge out of that battle stronger, more purposeful, filled to the brim with faith and grace, and more in love with our powerful Savior than we have ever been!

*overflowing HOPE: “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing…that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”–Romans 15:13 (Amplified version). Jesus Christ Himself IS our living Hope (I Peter 1:3). Hope for the Christian is never wishful thinking! Our hope is firmly anchored in the Person of Jesus, our resurrected Savior, who promises to work ALL things for our ultimate good! (Romans 8:28).  The King James Version declares this to be a “lively hope” meaning, ” to be fresh, strong, powerful, to have an expectation of good, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.” Our hope in Jesus blows away the stale dustiness of our days and breathes fresh life into our souls, even in times of trial.

*the realization that most importantly, it’s ALL about HIM: “In Him, all things were created…all things have been created by Him and through Him. He is before all things and in Him, all things hold together.”–Colossians 1:16-17. I exist to make much of Christ, not the other way around. The late Christian recording artist Rich Mullins once said that he wanted his life to be an arrow pointing to Christ and that is my desire as well. If I have to go through a trial so that others can see that Jesus is alive  and the supreme treasure of life, then it is all worth it!  Much like a diamond sparkles brightly against a black velvet backdrop, the dazzling beauty of Jesus can sometimes best be seen by a watching world  during our dark days.

This has been by far the hardest journey Jesus and I have ever taken together. There have been good days and bad days. It wasn’t always pretty and it has been scary and heartbreaking at times. It’s not even over yet. However, as I walked (and to be honest, sometimes stumbled or crawled) along this painful road, I made an amazing discovery:

He is more beautiful that I ever knew.

He is way more powerful than I ever imagined.

He is infinitely more tender than the sweetest human love.

He is firm—yet kind–in His conviction of sin in my life.

He is more wonderfully creative than I ever dreamed.

His resources truly are inexhaustible.

He is radically committed to bringing His light into all the dark corners of my heart.

He still does miracles.

He will not tolerate divided affections.  He wants ALL  of me.  He is LORD.

Sometimes, He shakes the foundations of our lives so that we can see what can’t be shaken. (Hebrews 12:27). My identity was all wrapped up in externals prior to this season (although I wasn’t even fully aware of that). He has shown me that I can be stripped of those things and still be okay—even thrive!— because they do not define me. Christ alone defines me…and He will never change. He is my sure Foundation.

Were there days when I did give ground to the Enemy, despite my best intentions? Yes…sometimes it seemed that I gave up miles! Yet…Jesus was faithful to lift me out of that pit, dust me off, steady me, and put me back on my feet to walk the path He had chosen for me, hand in hand with Him. (see Psalm 18).  In His strength, I regained that lost ground and haven’t looked back.  Not one inch.

“…Even during storms when the winds are most intense, we are more than conquerors. You may be tempted to run from the ordeal of a fierce storm of testing but head straight for it! God is there to meet you in the center of each trial…He will whisper to you His secrets, which will bring you out with a radiant face and such an invincible faith that all the demons of hell will never be able to shake it.” —E.A. Kilbourne

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February 28, 2011 · 7:23 am

Cookbook for Brides


Recently, I came across a gag wedding gift from my friend Terri.

It was a book called Cookbook For Brides by Dorothy Malone and it was published in 1947.

As I leafed through the pages, I was dismayed to discover that apparently, I am a hopeless failure as a wife.

I knew I was in trouble when I read part of the foreward: “At the time of marriage, only two out of any ten brides know how to cook. It’s a sad indictment of our sense of values, for every woman ultimately knows that a well-cooked meal is a most excellent adornment to a happy marriage.”

Uh-oh.

Ms. Malone continues: “It’s fun to  cook!…It’s an even greater thrill to watch the light of admiration that creeps into a husband’s eyes when he realizes that he has snatched a very jewel from the matrimonial mart and that he will be well and delightfully fed all the days of his life!”

Doug may have looked at me with admiration a time or two during our eighteen years of marriage, but it was never for my cooking.

And I’m pretty sure he cannot say that he has been well and delightfully fed all the days of his life by me.

My consternation continued as I moved on to chapter two: “Clever is the bride who is attractively dressed and nicely complexioned when the sun shines on her at breakfast time. An intelligent and beautiful bride I once knew had an excellent plan of procedure. Setting her mind to it, she rose 15 minutes before her husband and slipped noiselessly into her dressing room. There she tinted her complexion and put on a beguiling breakfast coat. When her husband’s eyes rested on her, a few minutes afterward, she looked as though she had just stepped from a freshly washed and rosy cloud.”

Does a blue fleece robe covered with white clouds count as a beguiling breakfast coat?

I was further admonished to “remember always that your table linen should be scrupulously spotless, freshly laundered, and smooth as a sheet of silver.”

I have placemats with lovely lake scenes on them.

When carving meat, “don’t moan if any splatters go out of bounds and land on the tablecloth, in spite of your best efforts. If you must moan, for goodness sake don’t do it publicly. Do it privately, preferrably in the privacy of your own soul.”

When I was growing up, the other moms on our street called me “The Mouth Of Theresa Avenue.”  I rarely say anything  in the privacy of my own soul when I am upset. Everyone around me pretty much knows it…although I am getting much better at this!

I’m certain that Ms. Malone was absolutely sincere when she wrote this book and it must have been helpful for the brides of that day. However, I am most grateful that I was a bride in the  1990’s and not 1947. Can you imagine the pressure of having to live up to these standards? (The things I shared were just the tip of the iceberg!).

I am blessed to have a husband who tells me I look beautiful even when I am wearing sweats and no makeup. One who chooses to see past my faults and concentrate on the good things. One who encourages my dreams and listens to my concerns with great patience. One who laughs heartily and often and is an amazing father.

Is he perfect?  Of course not….no man is. But he is the perfect man for me.  That man has had his hands full with me from day one. He doesn’t try to change me; he just loves me the way I am.

He is God’s greatest blessing to me.

And I am mighty thankful that he doesn’t give a hoot that I can’t cook, don’t own a breakfast coat, and have never once looked like I just stepped from a rosy cloud. 🙂

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February 26, 2011 · 6:48 am

Weekend Moment: A Taste Of Home


Native Pittsburghers will automatically recognize this photo.

This is an Eat’ n Park Smiley cookie. It is a circle of light, sugary deliciousness. One bite instantly transports me back to my beloved hometown in western PA.

The Eat’n Park restaurant  is a staple of life where I grew up. It is the type of place where you are greeted with a smile, the food is fresh and fast, the coffee is always hot, and you can sit and talk for hours.  It tends to be loved by natives and tolerated by transplants. To this day my husband, who moved to the area in his 20s, is perpetually mystified by my insistence on visiting the place at least three times on any given visit to PA. 🙂  Every time I walk in the door, my face breaks into a smile and I love the feeling that I am home.

Earlier this week, an old friend of my brother’s visited our town with his family.  Imagine my delight when John and his wife Deanna walked through our front door holding a container of Smiley cookies! A taste of my hometown from 700 miles away!

After dinner, I surprised our guests and my brother Jeff by playing  a videotape of  Jeff’s  high school graduation party from 1987.  The tape began to play and suddenly, there we all were in living color on a sun-drenched June day in all our 80s glory: big hair, high waisted jeans, tube socks, aviator sunglasses…and to John’s embarrassment and Deanna’s delight…tight shorts and gold chains!

We were all so skinny!

For all the laughter, watching that video was bittersweet. Several loved ones seen laughing, eating, and chatting are now gone from our lives. How wonderful it was to once again hear their voices (I especially loved hearing my dad’s laugh). The house where I grew up was sold to another family seven years ago.

I love that through the gift of technology, we can go back and view or listen to a particular  moment in time. For that reason, I am forever capturing family events via camera or video. Several summers ago, I interviewed my parents and my dad’s siblings in the  living room of my childhood home. I had sent them the list of questions I would ask beforehand so they would have a chance to think about their answers. As they sat down for the taping, they all seemed self-conscious by the presence of the videocamera. My aunt Dot fretted that there was nothing special about any of them and didn’t think she would have much to say. I assured her they were all special and began to tape. Over an hour later, they were still going strong, sharing story after fascinating  story. I ran out of tape before they ran out of anecdotes and stories.

It was one of the best days of my life, having a front row seat to listen to the memories of members of the Greatest Generation.

My dad was gone one year later.

Josh was only 6 and Julia was 5 when he died. Each year, their memories of him grow more hazy. Yet…at any time, they can slip in the DVD and listen to their grandad talk about his life. What a priceless treasure.

So, this weekend, be sure to  pick up your camera and capture your moments.

And if you live in Pittsburgh, treat yourself to a visit to Eat’n Park! 🙂

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February 25, 2011 · 11:43 am

Spring Is Coming!


We are getting a snowstorm in my part of the country today.

Schools are closed.  The winds are whipping across our yard, causing the snow to swirl upward into spirals, a delightful wintry dance.  The skies are gray and the colors of spring and summer are hidden underneath a blanket of white.

As much as I can appreciate the stark beauty of winter, I dearly love spring and summer and eagerly await their radiant return each year.

There are some seasons in life that cause us to feel that winter is here to stay forever. We can begin to despair of ever again feeling the warmth of the sun.

God seems hidden.

We may feel inside what winter trees look like:  the 0nce  full, thriving, flowering, green trees now appear to be bare, brittle, cold, and  lifeless.

C.S. Lewis perfectly captured this feeling in the The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe when he described Narnia under the cruel reign of the  white witch: “It’s always winter but never Christmas.”

I felt like that last spring. I was one year into a very tough season with no end in sight. To be honest, I felt totally exhausted, discouraged, and drained.  I was scared. I had very few answers and at least a million questions. With everything in me, I wanted this season to be over! I longed for happier, more carefree days. I felt like my life was on “pause” and if I could only release that pause button, my life could truly begin again in earnest.

That, however, is a faulty assumption. That is living by sight and not by  faith. There is life to be found, even in the pause.

That April, Jesus, the very Creator and Sustainer of life, the very One who came to give us life in all its fullness ( Colossians 1: 16; John 10:10),  broke into my gray days in a most wonderful way. He arranged for me to hear the same  beautiful Scripture five times in just three days, all  from different sources: “Arise, My beautiful one and come with Me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come!” —Song of Songs, 2:10-11.

On the morning of April 17th, I opened my love letter (the Bible) to see what Jesus had to say to me that morning. I almost fell off the chair when I saw that Song of Songs 2:10-11 was part of my directed reading for that day!!! (I was using a ‘read through the Bible in a year’ plan).

In her book The God of All Comfort: Finding Your Way Into His Arms author Dee Brestin writes, “When we see something new (while reading the Bible)—something that has always been there, but which now, the Spirit reveals to us—we are being touched by Almighty God, we are being ‘kissed by the King’, we are being quickened by the One who raised  Jesus from the dead!”  (Earlier in the book, Dee noted that “a kiss from the King according to rabbinic tradition, is a living word from God.”).

I had just been kissed by the King. That was now the sixth time He was showing me that Scripture in a very short amount of time. Joy suffused my soul as if the sun had suddenly broken through the clouds.

I looked  up from my Bible to take in the view from my picture window…and saw a coating of snow! The calendar said it was spring…but it sure looked like winter outside.

The spiritual lesson was not lost on me. When  I looked outside, I saw snow, gray skies, and bare branches. It was undoubtedly a winter scene.

YET…the calendar definitively declared that spring had arrived! Which would I choose to believe: what my eyes could see or what the calendar said?

Jesus was giving me a promise:  a new season is on its way! Would I choose to cling to His promise and trust Him for what I cannot see (which is the essence of faith?). Or…would I focus only on my difficult circumstances and let that eclipse His promise?

I chose to believe His Word.

Jesus is ALWAYS true to His Word.

Just thirteen days later, He performed a miracle in our situation, one that left us stunned with wonder and feeling dearly loved and cherished.

As God’s own, we ARE always  dearly loved and cherished…even during the long gray days of winter.

If today finds you in a winter season, stay in the Word. It is your lifeline. Claim His promises of tender love and care for you. He is always at work, even when we can’t see it. He will always prove faithful.

Granted, His timetable differs from ours most of the time…but He knows what He is doing.  As my friend Claire reminded us at Bible study last night, “He paints on a canvas bigger than we can see.”

Winter may be here…but spring is just around the corner!

Expect hope to be rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons of life do not last. —Sarah Ban Breathrach

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February 23, 2011 · 6:42 pm

Treasuring Time


“We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand…and melting like a snowflake.” —Marie B. Ray

This afternoon, my husband and I took our daughter Julia to  the local high school to get her registered for freshman year in the fall.

As I watched Julia interact with the guidance counselor, so poised and confident, the school office suddenly melted away and this is what I saw in my mind’s eye:

and this:

and this:

After the meeting, we went to the car to wait for her brother. As I drove home, listening to their laughter and chatter, more pictures from the past flashed through my mind:

Where has the time gone?!

Seasons change so quickly.

For the past 11 1/2 years, the kids have been homeschooled. That was a journey I never thought I would take and I went into it with much fear and trembling. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart. To this day, it is the toughest thing I have ever done…but the joy was immense. I wouldn’t trade even one moment.

Eleven and a half years went by in the blink of an eye. My son is now in school full time, so once fall arrives, both will be gone and the house will be quiet…the days of workbooks, field trips, lunch out every Wednesday afternoon, long walks, messy science projects, bursts of laughter, and even sibling squabbles…will all be relegated to sweet memories.

I won’t mourn for the fact that my children are confident teenagers, ready to spread their wings; that is as it should be.

But I will mourn the fact that as I was living those precious days and years, I did not truly treasure them for the gifts that they were. I took them for granted. Just because the days sometimes felt like they would last forever, they did not.

I won’t make the same mistake again. For the next few years, I will  cherish this time with my children.

I will not just see; I will perceive.

I will not just hear, I will listen.

I will not just pass the time; I will redeem it.

I will celebrate.

I will fully enter into my moments, even the seemingly “small” ones, realizing that “the whole of life–even the hard–is made up of the minute parts and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole…there is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up.” –Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Time is the great equalizer. Rich, poor, young, old, sick, healthy…we all have the same amount.

We all choose how to spend our days.

I will choose joy.

I will choose gratitude.

I will choose grace.

I will choose courage.

I will choose kindness.

I will choose mercy.

I will treasure.

“Time is a relentless river. It rages on, a respecter of no one. And this, this is the only way to slow time: When I fully enter time’s swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention, I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here. I can slow the torrent by being all here. I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.” —Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

So, this day…and every day…enter fully into your moments. And live.

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February 22, 2011 · 7:34 am

Detours


“The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.”–Unknown

I am a classic Type A personality: first-born,  honor roll student, list-maker extraordinnaire, etc. I set and achieve goals. I am driven. I must have a plan!

I spent most of my life resisting detours of any kind, until I realized how futile that is…because like it or not, detours are part of life.

We can either fight against them or we can allow them to work for us.

I can still remember one particular detour that took place when I was 16 years old. Our family was making our annual summer pilgrimage from Pittsburgh, PA to Myrtle Beach, SC, where my uncle Duane had a vacation home. I had had my driver’s license for a few months and was always looking for a chance to get behind the wheel. Probably against his better judgment, my dad agreed to let me drive part of the way down. He and my mom promptly fell asleep and I took the opportunity to push a cassette  into the sound system (yes, this was the 80s, long before the invention of CDs!) so I could enjoy some musical accompaniment as I whizzed along the highway. An hour and a  half later, I was still going strong, so happy to be helping out with the long drive.

Until my dad awoke from his nap and happened to notice the signs along the highway.

They all said north.

After all that driving, we were only about 45 minutes from our home in Pennsylvania. It turns out that there was a fork in the highway and I had taken the wrong one.

I always did have a terrible sense of direction.

I comforted myself by theorizing that I had probably saved us from being in a terrible accident that may have awaited us on the southbound part of the highway. Of course, I contemplated this from the back seat, where I was banished for the remainder of the trip.

Each detour presents us with a fork in the road:  we can view this interruption of our plans with anger, bitterness, irritation, disappointment, fear or acceptance, anticipation, a willingness to experience something new, and peace and trust in our good God.

Of course, detours vary in degree.

When I graduated from college, I was convinced that I had aced a particular job interview and was poised on the edge of a great career. However, I wasn’t offered that job and the path I had planned to travel was suddenly closed.

To this day, I am grateful for that detour. Since I didn’t get that job, I went to work for another company…and met my husband. Without that detour, this moment in time would never have  happened:

(Please note that in 1992, big poofy shoulders and enormous head pieces were all the rage for brides). 🙂

Of course, some detours hurt deeply: a health crisis, job loss, financial struggles, a major move when you would loved to have stayed put; the unexpected death of a loved one. I have experienced all of those.

Yet, each one of those detours turned out to be a blessing in disguise:

*They forged steel into my soul and fire into my heart. I’m tougher than I thought I was. I am a survivor.

*They allowed me to meet wonderful people that I would never have known otherwise…some have become my very closest friends.

*They have made me long for that great heavenly day when I will finally see my Savior’s beautiful face and He will wipe away every tear from my eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. (Revelation 21:4)

*They have challenged me to live by the truth of God’s Word rather than allowing my feelings  and my limited vision to dominate.

*They have caused me to truly treasure the good times. Those moments are all the sweeter for having endured the hard ones.

*They have forced me to live within today’s parameters, focusing on the here now. And even in the hardest of times, blessings still abound…if we have eyes to see them.

I am currently on a  God-appointed detour, so this is all fresh to me. I thought I would share some steps that have helped me along the way. If you are experiencing a detour, please think about the following:

1) Remember that God knows the path that you take. (Job 23:10). That includes the detours. He knows all there is to know about you (Psalm 139). You have not slipped through the cracks.

2)He hears your cries and has compassion on you. (Psalm 37:14; Psalm 18:6-7; Psalm 145:8). In fact, we are told that He is good to all and His tender mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:9)

3) He can ONLY do good to you. (Jeremiah 32:40). During a detour—especially if it is a painful one—you must always remember the comforting and reassuring promise of Jeremiah 29:11, which says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and a hope.”

4). There is a purpose for the detour. Nothing is random. (Proverbs 19:21; Romans 8:28).

5) He will guide you every step of the way. (Psalm 23:3; Psalm 48:14; Psalm 73:24).

6) You are never alone (even if you sometimes feel that way). (Matthew 28:20).

7) Remember that you are not able to see the big picture…but you can trust God’s sovereign and good purposes. (Isaiah 55:5-9; Romans 8:28).

8) God does not make mistakes. (Deuteronomy 32:4).

9) Remember that every detour has an end. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). His timing is perfect. This season will not last forever even if it feels that way. So…

10) With that in mind, enjoy the scenery while on the detour. (Psalm 118:24). It may seem that there is nothing to enjoy, especially when life is hard. Life can be brutal, no doubt about it. But our beautiful God delights in giving us gifts (James 1:17) and they can be found, even in the hard places. I know that from experience.

“This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity.”—Hermann Hesse

He has made everything beautiful in its time.—Ecclesiastes 3:11

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