Real Life Reflections

HOW ABOUT BOTH? The knock, knock, knock came every year, and every year, my mom would ask, "what was that?" We'd all heard it as the eight of us sat around the kitchen table eating lasagna - an interesting choice for a German family's traditional Christmas Eve dinner, but then, as my dad always said, Germans make the best lasagna (and the best spaghetti and the best chow mien and the best tacos and the best . .  . ). Of course, we knew the noise we'd just heard had to be Santa. We were all in the kitchen, so who else could have made that noise? He came on Christmas Eve at our house (our last name began with "B," and Santa had to start somewhere, right? Oh those poor schmucks whose last name began with "T" or, God-forbid, "Z!" After dinner, with the dishes cleared, we formed a train and sang Jingle Bells as we marched down the steps to find what treasures Santa had left for us. I was always so impressed by Santa - not only did the ...

"Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow Me and I'll show you how. " Luke 9:24 The Message I can recall three times in the past thirty five years when I had the thought that life was going along swimmingly. Three. That's less than once every ten years, and within a week or less of each of those three thoughts, the tide changed. Sometimes I think I spend 90% of my energy in attempts to make my life easier, to get away from whatever causes me pain at the moment. In short, I run from suffering - even if that "suffering" is, in actuality, a mere inconvenience. The passage above from Luke 9 is a familiar one. In most versions, it says something like, "if you try to gain your life, you lose it; but if you lose your life for My sake, you'll gain it." Of course, Jesus is talking about martyrs here, right? Or bringing it a little closer to home, He's talking about giving of yourself and your time to help others when you'd rather ...

Empty-nesters - that's what my husband and I are. For years, we giggled with glee as visions of empty-nesthood danced  before us: the utter freedom and abundance of time that would be ours when we reached that promised land; the friendships we'd finally have time to renew, the books we'd have time to read, the vacations, and on and on! Our children would be adults, on there own, responsible for their own schedules, decisions, and life. We would never have to worry about them again! Ha! The things no one tells you. We love our children. We loved raising them and having them at home with us, but honestly, the child-rearing years are stressful. I suppose it doesn't have to be that way. There are plenty of parents who simply allow their children to co-exist in the same house, but for those who pro-actively mold their children's characters, teach them, work with them, attempt to be a vital influence in their life in hopes that somehow their influence will be stronger t...

They say that the first step in any healing process is the admission of the problem. Here's mine: I'm a Pharisee. Pharisees don't need God because they're so good at serving Him all by themselves. God, of course, knew I was a Pharisee before I did, and like a parent who tells their child to go to their room and think about what they'd just done, He recently put me in a time-out. I had shingles in my eye and on my face and head. It hurt so badly at times that I couldn't even watch the Cards play all their division series games (now that's pain!). I couldn't read, not only because of the pain, but because I could barely see. All I could do was lie on the sofa with either ice or a warm compress held over my eye and forehead. I was in time-out from life. This all began the first night of our vacation (and getting shingles on vacation was not our worst vacation ever. Someday I'll tell you about March, 1993). On our way home, after I'd ...

Last week I highlighted the story in Mark 6 where Jesus sends His disciples out across the lake while He stays on land. In the middle of the night, Jesus, who is still on land while the disciples are "far out to sea," sees them "struggling against the wind." Jesus does His walking on water thing and crosses the lake. He intends to walk right by His struggling disciples . . . Honestly, I got a little stuck right there - He intended to walk right by His struggling disciples? What?! What kind of loving Savior does that? It must be the kind who wasn't worried, who saw no cause for alarm. He knew they'd make it to the other side. He obviously intended to surprise them and meet them when they did; but as soon as He saw that they were afraid, He climbed into the boat and the winds died down. Jesus was going to walk right by them because He wasn't worried about them. The disciples were fine. Absolutely fine. But when Jesus saw that they were afraid, He went...

Have you ever noticed that life can be hard? I know, amazing revelation there, but I'm pretty sure it's true. Just when you think things are finally going your way - BAM! You get hit with another one. I've come to the point where if I have that thought - that, "hey life isn't so bad right now" thought - my next thought is "uh oh. Why did I just think that?" as if not recognizing a current lack of difficulties could ward off future difficulties. In Mark 6, the disciples are out on the lake in a storm, and Jesus isn't with them. He actually told them to cross the lake without Him ( The Message translation says He insisted ), and when they're "far out to sea," the wind picks up against them. Jesus, who is waaayyyy back on land, "could see His men struggling with the oars." So He comes walking on by, and scares His disciples half to death. When Jesus sees that they're afraid, He comforts them immediately and climbs int...

I wonder how many books have been written, how many sermons have been preached, and how many retreats have been offered on the subject of prayer. I haven't done the research, but I'd venture a guess that it's more than a few, much more. I began to read a book on the subject a couple of days ago, but I found that rather than encourage me, it weighed me down. With each page, I felt the burden on my back grow heavier. This morning as I read, I pondered the problem and realized that the whole book is based on how I should pray. Virtually every chapter has a checklist. The author lines everything out for you from the proper time of day to pray (morning) to your physical posture (on your knees) to the types of prayer (praise, thanksgiving, petition, etc) to your attitude while in prayer (submission). No wonder I could feel my burden grow more weighty with each paragraph! I don't know about you, but my life already overflows with "shoulds." There are days wh...