Feb 172012
 

“Delight yourself in the Lord…”

“His delight is in the law of the Lord…”

“Delight yourself in the wife of your youth…”

“As a father delights to give good gifts to his children…”

When I think of the word “delight”, a whole list of Bible verses comes to mind.

And each time, the word is a verb—or an adverb.  Delighting is an action.  And sometimes, it’s hard work.

I want to take delight in my children.  I want to delight my husband.  I want to truly delight in God’s Word.

But I’m learning that it doesn’t come naturally.  I need to truly purpose to delight

Five-Minute Friday: Delight

Feb 112012
 

imageDearest,

A few moments of reflection, and I’m right back there…six years ago. 

Valentine’s Day landed on a Tuesday then, too.  And I’d just finally—on February 9, to be exact—used my free ticket voucher to get a ticket to come see you.

I was arriving the day before Valentine’s Day.  And we were both learning a lot about faith and trust in two different ways.

You weren’t just my boyfriend; you were (and are!) my best friend.  I trusted you implicitly.  And we were both trusting the Lord with our futures, with each other. 

But having the faith for things hoped forThat was an entirely different matter.

I’m so glad this Valentine’s Day finds us celebrating all those hoped for things all over again…along with a few we never would have imagined that week in February… Winking smile

All my love,
your Valentine

Five-Minute Friday: Trust

Feb 042012
 

imageIt’s hard to be anything but real when we have people over for dinner. 

They might arrive just moments after I’ve finished vacuuming the momentarily neat floor.  But that doesn’t mean it won’t be strewn with toys before they leave.  They see that our children don’t always eat their dinner nicely or politely—or at all.  The rolls might have turned out perfectly but I forgot to salt the soup. 

But they are real friends and we talk late without noticing the time or even thinking about putting up a façade.

It’s harder to be real online. 

No matter how I write, it’s never all of my day or everything about us.  It might be more real to start out every post with a picture of the toys on the floor or the dirty dishes in the sink. It just might not be the most encouraging.

But I remember my purpose in blogging: to open up my fingers to Him as I hone my writing skills, praying to bring a bit of encouragement to someone even as I am convicted by the words I type.

And I know you’ll know I’m real when I break links and misspell words and forget to salt the blog post.

Five-Minute Friday: Real

Jan 272012
 

imageI fail Him so often. 

The hasty word.  The thoughts that only He Who made me hears.  The pride and the impatience and the list goes on.

And yet, in His tender grace, He is so quick to forgive me when I come to Him yet again.

 

I don’t love him as I should.

The tone of voice I use.  The times I think only of myself.  The faults that he who knows me better than anyone sees so very clearly.

And yet, in his tender love, he pulls me close and then does the dishes.

 

They don’t listen and they disobey.

Too often, my frustration with them stems from seeing my sinful self reflected there.

But then, I have the opportunity to give the tender love and forgiveness I’ve been shown.

 

Five-Minute Friday: tender

Jan 202012
 

The dream is always vivid.

Oh no, I’m such a bad friend—I haven’t written or called Merritt in forever!

And it’s always the same.  Except for last night.

I haven’t heard from him in forever.  Should I write or call?  No, that would be assuming too much.  I’ll text Marlys instead and maybe she’ll let me know how he’s doing, too.

(Never mind that none of them had cell phones until after I married into the family, and that even I didn’t text until very recently!)

I feel terrible.  How could we go so long without talking?  How could I lose touch with my best friend?

And then I wake up.  Slowly, I become aware of the deep breathing next to me. 

I’m married to him!  He’s the speed dial I can call any time of day.  We don’t have to write letters or have those hours-long phone conversations: we sit across the table from each other at every meal, we fall asleep next to each other every night.

I turn my head to watch him sleep.  I can’t resist pulling him closer.  And I hug him a bit tighter when he wakes.

Five-Minute Friday: Vivid

Jan 142012
 

I watched her with her children today.

The gentle voice.  The soft instruction.

She didn’t try to moderate disagreements from where she was at the kitchen counter; she didn’t wait until she was finished mixing the corn bread to explain their error.

Swiftly, silently she was there dealing with the offender.

She wasn’t so engrossed in her work that she could turn a deaf ear to the upset voices; she wasn’t more intent on her task than on her children.

She was awake and attentive to the constant need for instruction.

 

I listened in her home today.

Peaceful.  Playful.  Quiet.  Happy.

We swapped ideas about teaching reading and sharing. We discussed titles and concepts of parenting books and methods.

She’s not perfect, and neither are they.

But what struck me most was what she didn’t say, the tone that wasn’t in her voice.

What I heard was the loving, patient way she spoke to each one of putting her sister first.

What they saw was that she put them first.

Five-Minute Friday: awake

Jan 062012
 

In the din of the day, the children, the dishes—sometimes I almost miss it.

His gentle roar.

But then, in the faces of my children, I catch a glimpse of it.

His slightly reproachful face.

And when the quiet hours finally come at the end of the day, I can feel it.

His claws, scratching away the ugly, dragon-like scales.

No, He is not safe.  But He is good.

And so very patient with me.

Five-Minute Friday: Roar

Jan 032012
 

I open a new post.  I pause and look at the blank screen.

Often, I have a topic idea.  Some days, it’s just a one-word prompt. 

Sometimes, I have no idea at all what I’ll write.  Others, I think I have it all outlined in my head, only to end up with a completely different ending than I’d planned.  There are times I figure it out while I’m writing.

He opens a new year.  He has no need to pause and look at the blank calendar.

He knows exactly what each day will hold.  He knows not only the name of each person who will be born and who will die in this year, but He knows the number of the hairs on their heads. 

He doesn’t figure it out as the year happens.  He knew each detail of every year before Eve ever opened her eyes that very first year in that very first garden. 

When last year began, I thought I knew everything that would happen.  But it was harder and better than I had imagined. 

This year, I have no idea what all will come our way.  But before I even opened the 2012 calendar, He knew…

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

-Bill Gaither

Five-Minute Friday: “Open”