faith
What’s this growing in my backyard?
Sea creature. Filigree.
Spiky crown.
Unfolding.
Yesterday it bloomed. Look closely.
Now tell me there is no Creator. Are you sure? Look again.
Now tell me there is no God.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to Him. Psalm 24:1 NLT
Thank you, thank you, that after the long night, You are Sunrise…
Where do you see God working in the smallest details of your life?
No matter how bad things get or how recklessly people twist the Truth, the Gospel holds like an anchor in the storm.
Do you know the story of this phrase? Read parallel accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Do you know why it happened? While the entire Bible answers that, Paul’s brutal and beautiful letter to the Romans gives an in-depth summary. Start with the first eight chapters.
Do you know what happens next? Check out chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians.
Spoiler alert: God wins.
There’s much more, but these are good places to begin.
What does this story mean to you today?
What Bible verses help you own it?
Sunday by Tree63 sets this phrase to music, presented here in a quirky video by Darryl Swart and Brent Lathrop. Love me some Nashville.
I’ve been known to stay long past the bitter end, forever and ever, amen. But as I age, my impulse is to run.
Running seems more efficient. The minute the malaise sets in and my gut says maybe everything in this situation (or friendship or outfit or whatever) isn’t going to be okay after all, I’m set to fly. Don’t usually act on it, but I want to.
God in His wisdom paired me prone-to-bolt with a husband who is built-to-stay.
He does not easily move. He possesses patient, long-suffering stick-to-itiveness. Comes from growing up on a farm, I think.
There’s a lot of waiting on a farm. You wait for the weather to change. Wait for things to grow. Wait for the prices of your crop to go up. Wait for the costs of your implements to come down. Wait for homemade dinners. Wait for trips to town to get supplies.
In the suburbs where I come from there’s very little waiting. We devour instant gratification. Malls, 24-hour grocery stores, fast food restaurants, extreme makeovers at your choice of salons. Want to satisfy a craving? Change your life today? Walk-ins welcome.
This isn’t a contest between farm and suburbia. There are pros and cons to both. Just like there are times to run and times to stay put.
Mercifully, God is there no matter what.
When the pregnant Hagar ran, she saw God.
When the fugitive Moses ran, God met him in a burning bush.
When David ran, he sang to God Who was with him: I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed.
When Elijah ran from Jezebel, he heard God whisper.
On the other hand, when Miriam stayed among the bulrushes of the Nile, she saw God save her baby brother’s life through the hands of an Egyptian princess.
When David stayed to fight Goliath, this was his battle cry: All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.
When Jehoshaphat’s people stayed in the face of destruction at the hands of their enemies, they heard the echo of David’s words: Do not be afraid because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
When Jesus stayed and did not run from the Roman soldiers in Gethsemane, He set in motion the work of the cross.
I’m thankful for people in my life who ground me from flight. I like to think they’re thankful for people like me who bid them to fly once in a while.
I’m astounded by a God who remains steadfast in spite of us.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, You are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10 NIV
Me Without You, new from TobyMac.
Are you prone-to-bolt or built-to-stay?
Jesus didn’t have a bicycle. If He had, I wonder if He would have used it to teach us how to follow God and help others do the same.
You can’t ride a bicycle for someone else. You may steady them as they start and run alongside until they pedal. But you can’t push them all the way.
Once they get going, you may ride behind them to watch for cars, in front of them to cross streets, beside them to buffer against traffic.
You might catch your breath when they nearly collide with trees or learn to use the hand breaks or jump off before a complete stop.
They’ll have spills and accidents.
They’ll have boo-boos and band-aids.
You’ll encourage them to get up and try again.
Sometimes you’ll fall, too. You’ll remember, and they’ll see, you’re imperfect like they are. You’ll get up again. So will they.
In an unexpected moment, you’ll notice they’re tracking with you. They don’t need your help as much. You’ll stop by the water and enjoy the view together.
You don’t easily forget how to ride a bike once you learn. You carry it through life and it carries you.
Pass it on.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV
I’m With You by the sweet voices of Nichole Nordeman and Amy Grant.
Who helps you follow God? Who are you helping?
My what a difference a week makes.
First syndicated post, first blogging conference, first trip to New York City in almost 20 years, first opportunity to meet several online blogger friends in real life, first time seeing THE Martha Stewart speak live and in person.
My brain is full to overflowing.
I can quit or press on. Give up or give it my all. Be afraid or be brave. Cave to other people’s ideas of who I should be or reaffirm who I am and continue to be that person. Keep writing in series of lists—my favorite literary rhythm—or learn to break it up a bit.
I’ve been challenged in more ways than I could have imagined a week ago. In the words of THE Martha, it’s a good thing.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:5 NIV
Aaron Shust sang the perfect rallying song on the radio as I drove home from the airport yesterday: My Savior, My God.
How have you been challenged lately?
Will it defeat you or inspire you?
Write your heart out. Go for broke. Ursula K. Le Guin
There are days I’m tempted to quit writing and go to work at Ann Taylor.
You may have expected me to say J Crew instead of Ann Taylor. Well, J Crew has yet to respond to my request to open a store in Wichita. Better get with the program, Jenna Lyons. Ann’s here and she’s vying to be my go-to store.
Ann Taylor. Pretty clothes. Sweet discount. Sleek space. Well-defined career opportunities.
I can hear the imaginary trolls of Nightmare on Aimee Street. “Yes!” they say. “It’s about time she got a real job.”
Why are they still hanging around anyway? Be gone, oh ye of little faith!
Back to Ann. I could work while the child is in school. Cook fine dinners from Pinterest recipes in the evenings. Sleep normal hours instead of waking up in the middle of the night to plink plink plink away at the keyboard until I’m cross-eyed.
I wouldn’t wonder where this is going, what’s the plan, how will I get there. Wouldn’t need to take a stand on controversial food, social, and cultural issues or dread negative comments. Wouldn’t fear people hating me and my blog because there would be no blog. There would only be Ann.
Ann is a possibility. She hangs like a life jacket on the back wall of my brain.
Until I remember the rush of writing and publishing and facilitating a dialogue. It’s like a throwing a mini party with every post. I can’t get that with Ann.
I can have a pleasant career, a steady paycheck, and very nice clothes with Ann. No shame in that, but it’s not my passion. I can sell dresses with cheerfulness and take joy in the new arrivals each season. But it’s not the thing that makes me sing.
There’s a little stream of stories inside me that hasn’t run dry yet.
God provides. God provides.
What if I just write until it does?
Shall we go for broke, you and I?
What do you say?
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? Matthew 6:30 NLT
Rush for a Change of Atmosphere by Big Audio Dynamite. For M.
Will you go for broke?
This post was syndicated by BlogHer on July 30, 2012.
The ruckus over Chick-fil-A raises the question: Who’s behaving like the hater here?
Chick-fil-A president and chief operating officer Dan Cathy’s recent comments in Baptist Press should come as no surprise. The company is privately owned. In 45 years of existence, their restaurants have never been open on Sundays. They’ve always supported a traditional, Biblical definition of marriage and family.
“We intend to stay the course,” said Cathy in the article. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
So, let’s see. They haven’t changed their religious views. They aren’t refusing to serve people who disagree. We’re free to express our beliefs in this country.
Why the uproar now?
Chick-fil-A’s charitable donations were being criticized before the Baptist Press published their story. When Cathy reiterated his long-held convictions, in a religious publication mind you, Chick-fil-A critics were poised to pounce.
Cathy was labeled homophobic. Activists boycotted. Boston’s mayor banned Chick-fil-A from the city. The Jim Henson Company broke ties with them.
Another commentator wants public schools and sports facilities to stop doing business with Chick-fil-A because they support families through non-profit groups that share their beliefs. Are you kidding me?
Attacking a successful company is unlikely to change anyone’s mind. It won’t help the economy either. Plus it’s mean.
My affection for J Crew clothing is well-documented in this blog. The company contributes to causes at odds with my values. Last year J Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons left her husband of nine years and the father of her son for another woman. Not a decision that lines up with my faith.
I suppose I could stop buying clothes from J Crew, write nasty grams on their Facebook page, insist they be thrown out of malls that have received tax breaks, and start picketing their stores.
But that would just make me a bully who’s missing out on some mighty fine fashion, now wouldn’t it?
Chick-fil-A uses their resources to support and care for families in ways they see fit. That includes contributing to non-profits that share their beliefs.
Speaking from experience, that also includes family activity nights at their restaurants, refreshing beverages for free, and politely carrying trays to tables for mothers like me who have their hands full. Besides, the food is delicious.
I don’t hate gay people. I don’t believe the Cathy family and their franchisees hate gay people. I don’t plan to stop eating at Chick-fil-A anytime soon. I understand if your convictions differ. You can stop eating there if you want.
You’ll be missing out on some mighty fine chicken if you do.
But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. from Joshua 24:15 NLT
The Chick-fil-A Song by St. Louis comedian Tim Hawkins with a new verse for Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy.
Will you eat mor chikin? (Please mind your manners or your comment will be deleted.)
It’s morning. The entire day is ahead of me. Already I know there won’t be enough time to accomplish all I want. I bet many of you can relate.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t have it all.
This idea that we can excel at work, be happily married, parent effectively, exercise strenuously, volunteer wholeheartedly, entertain, invest, maintain an orderly house, grow our own food, cook gourmet meals, train as concert pianists, and blog on the side is unrealistic, wouldn’t you agree?
Work-life balance is a human condition, not a women’s issue.
Men struggle with this, too. I don’t mean to leave them out of this discussion, nor do I mean to ignore single people or those who aren’t parents. However, the debate over work-life balance for moms gathered new steam with Anne-Marie Slaughter’s recent article in the Atlantic Magazine.
Slaughter’s post, combined with the July 16th announcement naming the pregnant Marissa Mayer as CEO of Yahoo!, sparked a flurry of commentaries in The Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review, Christianity Today, The Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, and the like.
Our time, strength, and resources are limited. We have to pick and choose. There are opportunity costs.
Years ago when Rosie O’Donnell was adopting another child to add to her brood, I was struck by the honesty of what she told her audience one day on her show. She said although we may see her as having it all—as a celebrity, businesswoman, author, activist, philanthropist, fundraiser, and parent—what we see belies what happens behind the scenes.
Rosie said she has help. Lots of help. And money. Lots of money. Her situation is different from that of her viewers.
Today the same could be said of Marissa, Angelina, Gisele, Giada, First Lady Michelle Obama, and other high-profile moms. That’s not to criticize or suggest they don’t work hard. It’s simply to state a fact; their situations are vastly different than most women’s.
What are you called to do? Pick and choose that. Pursue it with passion. Kick the rest to the curb without guilt. Resist judging when others do the same in their lives.
Comparing ourselves to the unrealistic and untrue standard of having it all is unfair and self-destructive. It kills our motivation and contentment.
In the end, all any of us really have is what God gives us today. Will we trust it’s enough?
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to Him,
for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 NIV
Today by Newworldson. Sweet song. So God, what You wanna do today?
What do you think about work-life balance?
Can we have it all?
Riddle me this. What does toner do exactly?
Not the laser printer kind. The skincare kind. I know it’s supposed to exfoliate. Every skincare program includes it. But it’s way too harsh for my very dry skin.
I tell the whitecoats at Clinique I won’t use their Clarifying Lotion toner. I’ll skip Step 2 in the 3-Step.
“Oh, no! You can’t do that!” they say. “You just need another formulation. You must exfoliate with a Clarifying Lotion in Step 2.”
Must. A small but mighty manipulative word.
There are skincare lines that boast of a kinder, gentler exfoliation. A-thousand-points-of-light toners, smelling of orange blossoms and chamomile. Might as well splash cold tea or rose water on my face.
Seriously, what does toner do? Is it necessary when an occasional 7 Day Scrub does the trick to get rid of dead skin cells?
Daily cleansing and moisturizing is what my skin needs to be healthy. Like confession and restoration. Toner is optional. Like legalism in a bottle.
It’s an added step. An upstanding thing to do perhaps. A requirement by those who added it. Usually does more harm than good. Absolutely not a deal breaker to get the desired results.
I don’t want to get by with less than what I need or less than what’s best. But I don’t want the unnecessary, heavy, drying burden of add-ons either.
I can’t earn salvation with add-ons. I can’t earn salvation with faith plus add-ons. Faith alone brings salvation and inspires actions of courage and obedience. There’s no earning to it on my part.
My time’s too precious to succumb to legalism. My skin’s too dry to use toner.
Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
You tell me I’ve been made Free, by Dara Maclean. Sing it, sister.
Have you ever encountered legalism? How did you let go of it or have you?
Disclaimer: I’m not being compensated to promote Clinique, nor do I mean to pick on them. Personally, I like and use Clinique products. Just not the toner.
The time has come for this blog to give self-hosting a try.
Those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this crazy blogging experiment will remember I told you we’d overcome blogging together. Well, sharpen your pencils. School’s in session.
I adore WordPress; it will remain my blogging platform. But now instead of WordPress.com hosting and in a way owning my blog, I’ll pay a company called Bluehost $6.95 a month to host it for me on WordPress.org.
A WordPress Happiness Engineer will assist us starting at 5 a.m. tomorrow (eek!) in a 24-hour Guided Transfer process. Our engineer’s name is Hew. He’ll move everyday epistle from this site to the new, self-hosted site.
Everyone, please say hello to Hew in the comments.
Tell Hew how important it is to you that nothing be lost in the transfer and that he has us up and running in no time flat. We wouldn’t want an unhappy blogger girl, now would we?
A few other things you might like to know:
1. The Guided Transfer is “transparent” to readers. I think that means you won’t feel a thing. Please let me know if anything seems out of the ordinary—apart from the regular out-of-the-ordinary you’ve come to expect here.
2. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I’m thankful for WordPress.com and recommend it to anyone who wants to start a blog. WordPress.com gave me the chance to write and a beautiful place to do it for free. It’s with much deliberation (months and months of it, ask my husband!) I make this transition.
3. The widgets made me do it. I’m excited to try self-hosting because there is much to learn and be gained—like additional widgets. Widgets are those cool plug-ins that will allow us to do all sorts of cool plug-in things. Self-hosting will give me access to Google Analytics and custom themes. I’ll have more choices if ever I acquire sponsors, allow advertising again, or create something to sell.
I can’t wait to test drive all the bells and whistles. But first we have to make it through the Guided Transfer in one piece.
Notice that Bluehost rhymes with Holy Ghost, another name for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Reminds me of God’s care in all circumstances.
Calm me, Lord. Bless Hew as he works. Bless Bluehost as they do whatever it is they do. Go before this process and make ready the widgets. Amen.
See you on the other side.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26 NIV
Dare You to Move by Switchfoot.
Please give your comment love to our new friend and Happiness Engineer Hew.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12a NIV
Some things should go without saying. When in doubt, you can usually find a sign to help like this one I spotted last week.
Cracks me up. Of course there’s no boarding after bus leaves curb. Theoretically, it would be moving! Doors closed. Game over.
Life’s like that.
We have one life and one death. No reincarnation. No do-overs or second chances from the grave. We die and face judgment. We face God.
But Christ also died once. In Him there is salvation without condemnation, the assurance of eternal life.
What? No one ever told you?
Consider this is your sign. Your ride is parked at the curb. The doors are open. Get on the bus.
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 NLT
Funk musician Frankie Smith says, “Get on the bus!” The Double Dutch Bus.
Will you sit with me on the bus?