Treasured Possessions

Among my most treasured possessions is this frame from my oldest daughter which reads,

"Do they miss me at home--do they miss me? 'Twoud be an assurance most dear, to know that this moment some loved one was saying, 'I wish she were here.'"

Do you wonder if God asks that: do we miss Him at home, do we miss Him? Would it be an assurance most dear to Him to know that at this moment we were saying, "We wish He was here?"

Maybe we'll find that moment even today.

Lonely, Cold and Isolated

Lonely. Cold. Isolated.

This is a real status, a real victory for the enemy of God.

I read once that we awaken and enter our day to the extent that we feel useful, productive and like we belong.

Useful. Productive. Belonging.

Who can you help today to reach the warmth of usefulness, productiveness, and belonging?

How can you reach out to counter lonely, cold and isolated?

Someone needs you. Ask God to bring that person to your mind. Share yourself to help him or her recover the self he or she is designed to become.

That is the mercy of God. That is the genius of God. That creates the community God intended all along.

You Are So Much More

You are so much more...

than yesterday's careless remark from a friend.

than the size you are wearing.

than the tasks left undone on your to-do list. 

You are wired, created, gifted and set in motion...

by the same Person Who fired up the sun.

to experience the limitless love of that Person. 

to love others as only you can.

What a difference a little Truth can make.

Put the joyous back in your heart because Truth is waiting to tell you its good news. 

Freedom To Reject The Best

So God created the universe, installed Adam and Eve as caretakers, and clearly stated that His best was found in this one thing: not eating from this certain tree.

As we all know, earth's first caretakers exercised their freedom to reject God's best.

And then we hopped on the same train, and to this day, continue to reject God's best.

We choose grudge-holding over the freedom in forgiveness.

We choose self-indulgence over the freedom of maturity in relationships with loved ones.

We choose destruction of our health over the freedom of wellness found in vibrant food choice.

God has granted each person in the world free access to Him and free access to reject Him.

But since His best is connected to Him, we can't have both.

Isn't it crazy that we reject the best?

Recipe For Sneaky

It is so interesting to me that God trusts us to carry on His story through the generations. Trust is a motivator and an endowment. It is to be guarded and tended and can be lost in a moment.

Trust is earned through repeated acts of integrity, where honesty and openness can be measured.

When we misbehave to break trust, we must unravel what drives us and set a new course.

The unraveling of one type of misbehavior has always eluded me because I couldn't seem to put my finger on the ingredients present. What drives sneaky people?

A dear friend may have provided the answer. She said she used to be sneaky as a child, and realized she was/is a rebel yet a people-pleaser.

In that need for conformity to please others, her rebellious streak had to be hidden.

She wanted to do something that would break the rules? She had to hide it.

I asked her what brought her to the incredible level of integrity she is known for today. She had a precious answer, "My mom telling me over and over the right way to live."

Can God trust her to carry on His story? Absolutely.

I think God loves rebels. They drive the very story line of the Bible.

Our job? Tell each other and ourselves the right way to live. In the listening, God will trust us with the greatest privilege we can know: sharing His story.

I Obsess Over Vegetables and God

I obsess over vegetables and God.

Because I love to eat, I figured out a long time ago that aging and eating poorly (i.e., typical American fare) are a deadly recipe.

I want the best and hope to be around a long time to watch my children and grandchildren grow.

My decision to embrace vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans (and occasional salmon and tuna) almost exclusively has, nearly two years in, only made me feel better and better. I am a fan of Genesis 1:29 where God says He gives us seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees for food. I can take Him at His word.

So my obsession with vegetables is a calculated choice.

What I can't remember is when I started obsessing over God...and why. I realize others may not have that obsession.

Is it because I can definitely be a rule-follower and I have decided that He must have created us and I want in with the guy who made the rules?

Or is it that He chased me down with some crazy love and I couldn't think of a good reason to turn it down?

I have no idea.

But what I do know is that my obsession over God is as life-giving as my love affair with vegetables.

It takes work and time and everydayness but the relationship takes on a depth and breadth and richness that makes me a fan of 1 John 4:7-10 where God says we love each other only because He loves us. Pursuing love of God and each other is also a calculated choice.

I'm pretty sure the vegetables don't care if I obsess over them, but God might just be a fan.

I Want To Be More Like Miles

I want to be more like Miles.

Not quite two, he left New York City with his mom and flew to western North Carolina. He awoke yesterday to an open view of mountains, countless birds and squirrels, and a new venue of toys and rooms to explore.

His face said it all.

His breath literally caught as over and over he said, "Oh" and "Ah."

The wonder of a world new to him.

My delight was watching his discovery, and it made me think how it must delight God to watch our faces when we pause to find...wonder.

A toddler lives a life of discovery because so much is new to him. But couldn't we live like that if we kept putting ourselves on God's clock, allowing Him to set or at least impact our agenda? Is it possible there are things that could still be new to us if we let God show us around?

Today perhaps you can pause to find...wonder. It's right there in moment you take to smile at a stranger. Or you might find it when you take a drive with a loved one. It will certainly be found in any moments you set aside to expressly be with the Author of Wonder Himself.

Happy Wondering. The view is great from there.