So much of the time we just see what we see and go on. We hear what we hear and move on. How are you? Fine, thank you, how are you? Fine. That’s nice. But that’s not really what’s going on. Or, that’s not all that’s going on. It never is. A friend of ours had been battling the ravages of cancer for many months and was ushered into glory a few days ago. I learned so much from him… the way he lived and the way he died was so instructive. He’s now seen the glorious morning beyond the…
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Over the years, standing at the sink many times each day, I’ve seen the most remarkable sights… all the changes each season brings. Through the years, I’ve become aware of what changes will come about in each of the different months. I look for what each new season brings–eagerly anticipating the blooms that will soon appear all over the yard… the tiny new, elegant leaves of the giant old weeping willow tree, the daffodils that will soon dance around the base of that old tree. Today was no different, the familiar sights were there… the earth pounding with the shoots…
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You know that… you know it’s a new day and whether you’ve faced it with dread or with joy, the truth is that today’s a new day. Dear sister, dear friend, dear mama… today’s a new day and if you’re in the valley today, it’s been my prayer as I’ve prepared to write this note, that *you* will rest in the Lord today. No matter how the devil hounds us, especially in the valleys, we must determine today to quit looking for a way out of the valley or a way we could have, should have, would have done something…
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The older I get, the more I see it: the look — the longing look in a mother’s eyes when things didn’t turn out like she hoped. It’s not necessarily disappointment or despair or even bitterness — it’s just sort of: sorrow. There’s another look, too — it’s the hopeful look in a mother’s eyes at the mention of one of her children, a memory or an event from days gone by… it’s joy. Joy is in her eyes. Well, that’s what I’ve come to think motherhood’s all about: joys and sorrows. Motherhood is a call to sorrow; Motherhood’s a…
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Based on past performance, many of us can attest that doing a new thing is hard. This is where some of us fall off the cliff — or don’t even try! It takes determination to not allow past performance to thwart us from trying or doing a new thing! Doing a new thing is tough. Especially when that new thing takes will power or money — few of us have much of either. And, as we age, we have this daunting fear that past results (things that were good before they stopped being good) don’t necessarily mean that today’s performance…
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I’ve entitled this blog entry The Vacant Chair — a title that’s not original with me, but the title of a poem I’ll add to this post in a moment. The poem was written by a dear saint, the husband of a precious friend who passed into heaven earlier this year. It’s interesting that the poem should come in the mail today… as I have been thinking of several different ones who have ‘vacant chairs’ at their tables again this year. I think of the mothers and fathers who stand at the glass watching for the wayward son or daughter,…
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“She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” proverbs 31.26 As we have “spell-check” to alert us to misspelled words – or a grammar-check to alert us of grammar mistakes, this verse serves a divine speech-check — except that we never get a second chance to say the right thing first. This verse then would be our speech-filter verse. The word spoken is spoken – no highlight, delete, re-speak… what’s said is said. We might tend to say the first thing that comes to our mind — and may not stop and…
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I smile as I look back and recall a blog entry I wrote on the 22nd of March called Springtime… seasons. At the end of that post I wrote: “… And I can truly say that God has had the sweetest surprises in store for me following some of the seemingly most barren seasons. Praise the Lord. He only does all things well. May I never take this for granted.” Additionally, in that post I included the lyrics of a song Spring Time’s Comin’ that’s surely become even more meaningful to me since that post was written — because just…