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 n...

  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 boo...

  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 Bi...

  Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones. –Benjamin Franklin   A French physiologist is credited as the first to tell us, You are what you eat. The computer-age equivalent of this is Garbage In; Garbage Out . Whatever goes into my mouth has a direct effect on how my body and mind looks and feels and functions. It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?  The same holds true of our “spiritual bellies.” Whatever we feed our spirit day after day after day forms and shapes the way we view the world around us. It influences how we grow to interact with our fellow travelers on this journey called Life . As Christians, we are instructed to feed our spirit on whatever is true, noble, right, pure and lovely ( Philippians 4:8 ), and to cultivate the fruits of the spirit ( Galatians 5:28 ). These are the things we need to grow stronger in our faith and more Christ-like in our walk. By contrast, t...

  The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety. –Felix Mendelssohn   It is impossible to go through life without having favorites . I am most definitely a cat person. I appreciate the way my cat Howard settles down next to my leg, rests his chin on my shin and purrs. It is almost as if he is willing any sadness or pain to leave my body. But as for protecting us? Not so much. A burglar could come in and pretty much do whatever he desires, and Howard would most likely join Tucker under the bed, terrified. (Move over, boys. Me, too!) A dog, however, could bark and raise a ruckus. And when you’re sad, a dog can look deep in your eyes and seemingly understand it all. (If only they could be litter box trained. . . .) And if we didn’t have room for even a cat, or if we were allergic to furry critters, goldfish or even birds are viable options as companions. Not my first choice, or even second or third, but many folks prefer them over other, cuddlier pets. Point is: our...

N ever lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting. –Ralph Waldo Emerson   When my husband first started his treatments for cancer, I went out and bought a pretty spiral notebook. I figured it would serve me well to have a place to take notes, to journal—and generally write down whatever relevant words might come along. It has served me well so far.  But it also serves me in an unexpected way. The cover is lovely, a black background with pastel flowers. In brilliant gold, it proclaims this message:   Fill my heart with JOY! –Psalm 4:7   That’s a terrific inspiration on its own. But one day, I glanced over at this journal as it was lying on the coffee table, and the words were upside down.  Something about the chosen font for the word JOY , when stood on its head, looked for all the world like it bore a completely different, wonderful message: HOPE . There it is. When your world gets turned upside down, by a rou...

God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion. –Desmond Tutu   I always go with Chuck when he has his infusions. I don’t stay for the whole time, but I think it’s important to be there. The last couple of weeks, I was noticing the wide variety among folks waiting for their turn to see the doctor. A youngish woman wearing a dark blue hijab, nervously chattering with her husband in Arabic. An older couple holding hands, looking tired. Clearly, this cancer journey has been a long one for them. A young couple. She is in a wheelchair. Every hair from her head has fallen out. She is weak and tired, and committed. Her husband tries to look certain that things will be all right. A woman whom I had seen at another doctor’s office, who brings her needlepoint to keep her hands busy while she waits. The pillow she’s working on is beautiful. All of us, from our different circumstan...