Month: September 2014

October is a Good Month for ‘Selah’: Writing for 31 Days

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If you’re like me, life is so crazy busy that you don’t often take time to slow down, pause and reflect on……well, anything. Over the next 31 days, I plan to press “pause” at the end of each day and think about one thing in particular: Where did God show Himself in my life today? I’ll share those “God-spots” here, and in the process I hope to develop a new habit of ending each day with reflection and praise. Borrowing a Biblical term, I’m calling this habit: Selah This little word is found 71 times in Psalms and 3 times in Habakkuk. The word selah comes from the Hebrew calah, which means “to pause and carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths.” I have a general plan for how I hope to tune in to God each day — in literature, music, art, scripture, people. However, God is in control of when and where He shows up, so this could change. Truth is, …

When the Innocent Suffer; Stop the Heartache

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The issue of violence in the home deserves more than 31 days of concentrated attention. It’s a sad fact that domestic violence affects one in four women in the United States every day. The recent headlines citing sports figures accused of abusive behavior have turned the spotlight on domestic violence. As a volunteer at a local agency which provides services for victims of abuse, and works to create awareness in our community, I care very much about what happens to those who are impacted by domestic violence. A year ago, I wrote a series of blog posts about domestic violence. I am sharing with you the one that is closest to my mother-heart — how violence impacts children. “Are you mean?” It’s not a question I’m asked often, so when the little girl with the cynical blue eyes asked, I knew I’d better give a straight answer. “I don’t think so.” “Are you nice? Are you nice to your kids? Do you ever smack their bottoms?” I told her …

What Declaration Do You Make With Your Life?

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I’m linking up today at 3DLessons4Life for Thought-Provoking Thursday. Join me there for “something to think about” by tapping the little red sofa.   There’s a beautiful, empty space above the sofa in our “front” room. The picture that has hung there for years (and which hung in the dining room of the house where I grew up) has been moved to another room, so now I have this empty canvas to fill. I’m excited…..but a little anxious. When people walk through my home, I want them to feel that they KNOW us. We live in a 138-year-old brick farm house that is charmingly imperfect. It will never be featured on HGTV, but it’s where we do life. And I love it. On the wall above our fireplace mantle, we’ve placed these words:   The words are a daily reminder that we’re not doing this alone. So now, this wonderful space I plan to fill above my sofa could hold so many different things. Artwork and photographs, a little shelf, a sconce, a wreath, letters or words. …

Reflecting on the “How and Where” of God’s Reflection in Our Little World

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When I’m tuned in — spending time in Scripture, lifting my heart to hear God’s whispers — I see more of the touch of God in this crazy world. The wonderful thing about our God is that He shows up even when we’re NOT paying attention. He just does that. Because He loves us. In my usual state of distraction, I often miss it. And when I do catch it, I don’t always proclaim those beautiful “God-spots” to the world. I don’t want to miss it. I don’t want to waste the chance to say “Did you see that? Did you notice? That was God!” I joined a 31-day writing challenge with the original intention to write a post here every day for 31 days during the month of October. The prompt I’ve chosen is “Inspiration & Faith”. The really neat side effect for me — as I pray it will be for you — is that the focus God’s laid on my heart for this challenge will cause me to be even more tuned …

How ‘Forgotten Children’ Changed My Life

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At a writing conference in Michigan last spring, I met a tall young woman with a captivating smile and a beautiful accent. We ran into each other over and over again during the conference (including in various restrooms) and decided we could be “cyber friends”. Though we live half a continent apart, I’ve enjoyed getting acquainted with Bronwyn Lea over the past several months via her blog and other writings. At her request, I’m honored to share these words that have had an impact on my life. Many conversations over the years have given me pause, turned me on my heels, changed my view of things, but few have had the impact of two words spoken from the altar by a woman in the church we began attending six years ago: “Forgotten children.” To read more of my post about these words that impacted my life, visit Bronwyn’s blog here…..   To read about more about our 2013 mission trip to Honduras, click on “missions” on my blog.    

What Stinks in Your Back Yard?

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Our two dogs are hunters by avocation, “man’s best friend” when they’re not on the prowl. On any given day, remnants of their most recent hunting expedition can be found on our front lawn. Such was the case on a beautiful late summer evening recently. As I rolled along on my riding mower, making my perfectly straight paths, I spotted a pile of feathers up ahead. Actually, I smelled them before I saw them. You have a couple of choices when coming upon one of their specimens: make a wide swath around said item and hope Husband disposes of it later mow right over it as if it doesn’t exist (don’t laugh — I’ve done this with deer skeletons) stop the mower, get off, find a shovel, hold your breath, scoop it up and carry it across the road to the ditch None of these are pleasant options. Even swinging wide to miss the pile, it still stinks. This time, I decided to get rid of the offensive heap. It took several scoops and more …

A Call for Church Elders to Stay the Course

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It’s a sad reality that millennials (those born between 1985 and 2000) are leaving the church in record numbers. (See my comments here.) But recent discussion centers around the fact that Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are also turning from faith traditions. Last week, I read with interest the Her.meneutics column in Christianity Today by Michelle Van Loon (also shared this week in her blog at Patheos.com.) She’s calling the exodus of church-goers over 50 “The Midlife Church Crisis”. I’ve been thinking a lot about her lament that church doesn’t have much to offer us “empty-nesters”. Van Loon bases her assessment on her own lack of opportunity to become involved in a new church setting that obviously caters to young families, and on an informal survey she conducted on her blog among people she says are in their “second adulthood”. I don’t doubt that most churches focus on young families, and I believe her survey results which indicate “nearly half …. told me they had downshifted their involvement in their local church.” …