Lord, teach me. . . .

  One way to define spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself you go on to something better, which is following Jesus. –Eugene H. Peterson I’m sure you are familiar with the popular poem about walking along the beach with Jesus, and seeing two sets of footprints in the sand, but only one set during the really difficult challenges of life. And when questioned, Jesus replies My child, it was then that I carried you . It’s a comforting image, especially when one is having a lousy day or two. But if you think about it, if we are truly seeking to be disciples of the Christ, there should always be only one set of footprints. And the tracks we see should be those of Jesus. Imagine a fresh snowfall in the woods. It’s pretty deep, and you haven’t got your snow boots. Someone has gone ahead of you—just one brave soul who knows the way—and left clear tracks for you to follow if you choose. It’s a good path, so you step gingerly into the first boot print, then the next,

  I’m not everybody’s cup of tea. But sometimes criticism can be hurtful. I’m a good piano player. I can sing well. I write good songs. If you don’t like it, fair enough. But give me a break. –Elton John When I was in sixth grade, long before the internet, there were slam books. Do you remember slam books? Spiral notebooks with someone’s name written on each page. If you were in the book, you were assigned a number, so you could comment on other people anonymously, be brutally honest what you thought about them. I remember when I first dared to go to my page and see what people wrote. I already knew I wasn’t one of the popular kids, but I had no idea how mean other people could be, even my “friends.” She’s smart, but I hate her hair! She’s friends with [that other girl]. How pathetic! I remember asking one of my friends, who was also one of the popular kids, how she could be so mean. Oh, it doesn’t mean anything. Everybody does it. Except God. God never had a slam book. I

  We tend to forget that baby steps, no matter how small, still move you forward. –Anonymous As a child, I remember playing a game we called Mother, May I ? One person stood with their back to everyone else, and everyone else was at the far end of the gym. “Mother” would invite someone, for instance, to take three giant steps forward . Before moving, we had to ask: Mother, May I? If we forgot to ask, it meant we had to go all the way back to the beginning. The goal was to be the first to get home to Mother. Sometimes, people would get upset because Mother would only tell us to take one bay step forward . That’s not fair! How can we get anywhere with only baby steps ??? But sometimes, that’s the very best way to move forward. If the walks are slippery . . . if we are trying a new food . . . even if we are setting out on a new spiritual discipline. Baby steps may be exactly what’s called for! As Lent draws near, many folks might decide they’re going to read the whole Bible,