empty

Mar 102012
 

Nothing can run on empty forever.

I can always tell when the gauge is getting near “E”.

So why don’t I do something about it before I’m running on fumes?

The empty sleep tank can’t always be helped.  The ability to fill the sunshine tank depends on the time of year.  And the quiet tank has to be sacrificed at this stage in my life.

But the other tanks?

I can pick up the phone and call a friend to fill the fellowship tank.  I can get down on the floor and hug my children to fill the touch tank.

I can pick up my Bible or turn on a CD to refill the spiritual tank.  I can throw an apron over my head and stop what I’m doing a moment to pray and refill the peace tank.

So why do I let all of my tanks get so close to empty that I’m just plain running on E all the time?

“Fill ‘er up.  With premium, please.”

Five-Minute Friday: Empty

ache

Mar 032012
 

I never quite know when it will manifest itself, this ache of the shadowlands. 

Sometimes, it’s in the long days, the up-all-night exhaustion, the longing for rest.

Others, it’s in the goodbyes and the distance.  The never-quite-enough fellowship and conversation that leaves me longing for the time when relationships won’t be marred by sin, hindered by time.

Some days, it’s a name on Facebook, or heartbreaking news from a friend.  The brokenness and the imperfection of this earth make me ache for our Heavenly Home.

But isn’t that how it should be?  These are only the shadowlands.  We were made to ache for something better, something more. 

Further up, further in, until we see His face.  And then, there will be no more ache, no more tears…

Five-Minute Friday: Ache

true grit

Feb 282012
 

imageIt’s the dirt and saw dust and chainsaw bar oil on my daddy’s clothes and hands and face every night when he came home from work.

It’s the way my husband’s kisses taste of sweat and soil, the way his laundry has the lingering traces of manure and mud.

It’s the way my brother works his jaw when he’s thinking hard, forming an argument of law or logic.

It’s the way our soldier brother grits his teeth and doesn’t grin and bears it for the love of country and of freedom.

It’s the way my grandpa rubs the callouses off his hands with sandpaper.

It’s the way my papa gets up at 4:30 every morning and underlines verses in his Bible, with a coffee cup and 3×5 cards.

Dirt and determination  Strength of muscle and of principle.  If character is epitomized by a love of family and of doing a job right, the men in my family embody true grit.

Five-Minute Friday: “Grit”
(handwritten on lined paper while traveling last weekend…
five minutes doesn’t allow for an all-inclusive list!)

delight

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

Valentines & Trust

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 for?  That 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

real

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

tender

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

vivid

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

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