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| First strawberries May our gracious Lord, Giver of all good gifts, Open our eyes this day To hidden treasures as near As our own neighborhood.      From top, strawberries in a hanging basket; a neighbor's redbud, a daffodil down the block, a cheeky robin posing for the camera (first sighting of the year), Bradford pears in bloom, pear blossoms up close. |
Friday, March 11, 2011
Treasures at Hand
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Anointing: A Poem
The brightness of this alabaster dream
Shattered into fragments at Your feet?
What preciousness deserves so great a price?
This is My body, crushed to give for you.
Emptied, too?
Not one sweet drop remaining for myself?
Bereft of fragrance brightening my days?
What gain can justify such costly waste?
This is My blood, poured out for your forgiveness.
Broken, emptied.
Shattered into fragments at His feet.
Not one drop spared, the fragrance fills the house.
The poverty of all my all is dust
Beneath Your feet, O worthy, precious Lord.
Your sins have been forgiven; go in peace.
Monday, March 7, 2011
How Quickly I Forget (On Numbers)
How quickly I forget that the census numbers are only a small part of the Biblical book of Numbers.
How quickly I forget the many great, pivotal, true stories found there, even though the New Testament refers back to several of them.
How quickly I forget how quickly the Israelites forgot the miracle of the manna, wailing, "We're all gonna die!" whenever no water was in sight.
How quickly they forgot the Passover, the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud and fire leading them through unknown territory. They forgot and despaired that the conquest of the Promised Land was too hard, the people too numerous and powerful, their own strength too little.
How quickly I forget that seeds of complaint ripen into fruit of rebellion, a "no" heart towards God, and even idolatry; that complaining equates to rejecting and despising God (Numbers 11:20); that fear is disobedience and unbelief (Numbers 14:9-11; Hebrews 3:12-15).
How quickly I forget. . .
So I remember Truth by reading it again and again. I remember God's goodness by slowing down to count His gifts.
Thank You, Lord, for
~Israel's example and God's glory recorded in Numbers
~Invitation to change my behavior in response to God's perspective on Israel's
~Yahweh's jealousy for my affections and trust
~His patience not to write me off because of complaints and fears
~Comic irony (yes, even in Scripture!) of the blind seer and the seeing donkey (Numbers 22-24)
~Curses turned to blessings (see item above)
~Disciplining Your children because You love us too much to leave us in our sins
~Daffodils, Bradford pears, and redbuds blooming out
~Gift of new poem after dry spell
~Celebrating sister's birthday
~Husband taking time off work to accompany me to the doctor downtown. Again. He is too good.
~Three consecutive nights of sound sleep
~New pain medicine improving costochondritis control
~Loving prayers undergirding me
~Practicing gratitude in community, week by week
(from the gratitude journal, #4040-4054)
How quickly I forget the many great, pivotal, true stories found there, even though the New Testament refers back to several of them.
How quickly I forget how quickly the Israelites forgot the miracle of the manna, wailing, "We're all gonna die!" whenever no water was in sight.
How quickly they forgot the Passover, the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud and fire leading them through unknown territory. They forgot and despaired that the conquest of the Promised Land was too hard, the people too numerous and powerful, their own strength too little.
How quickly I forget that seeds of complaint ripen into fruit of rebellion, a "no" heart towards God, and even idolatry; that complaining equates to rejecting and despising God (Numbers 11:20); that fear is disobedience and unbelief (Numbers 14:9-11; Hebrews 3:12-15).
How quickly I forget. . .
So I remember Truth by reading it again and again. I remember God's goodness by slowing down to count His gifts.
Thank You, Lord, for
~Israel's example and God's glory recorded in Numbers
~Invitation to change my behavior in response to God's perspective on Israel's
~Yahweh's jealousy for my affections and trust
~His patience not to write me off because of complaints and fears
~Comic irony (yes, even in Scripture!) of the blind seer and the seeing donkey (Numbers 22-24)
~Curses turned to blessings (see item above)
~Disciplining Your children because You love us too much to leave us in our sins
~Daffodils, Bradford pears, and redbuds blooming out
~Gift of new poem after dry spell
~Celebrating sister's birthday
~Husband taking time off work to accompany me to the doctor downtown. Again. He is too good.
~Three consecutive nights of sound sleep
~New pain medicine improving costochondritis control
~Loving prayers undergirding me
~Practicing gratitude in community, week by week
(from the gratitude journal, #4040-4054)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Hope-Full: A Poem
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13, HCSB).
Trust digs channels for hope
To flow from holy Source--
Spurting, splashing, splattering
Down, upon, into emptiness.
Thirsty vessel drinks,
Drop by drop,
Joy and peace--
Filling, fulness, flowing over open lip
Down, upon, into emptiness.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5, NIV
Trust digs channels for hope
To flow from holy Source--
Spurting, splashing, splattering
Down, upon, into emptiness.
Thirsty vessel drinks,
Drop by drop,
Joy and peace--
Filling, fulness, flowing over open lip
Down, upon, into emptiness.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5, NIV
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Book Review: A Lifetime of Wisdom, by Joni Eareckson Tada
The passage of time has a way of altering our perspective. When sad and hurtful memories are the primary focus, pain deepens into bitterness and resentment; when blessings and God's grace in the midst of trials fill our hearts, time beautifies the one remembering.
Joni Eareckson Tada's four decades as a quadriplegic exemplify the latter possibility. Every time I have heard her or watched her speak, the radiant peace and joy on her face attest to God's goodness and grace through trials I cannot fully grasp.
Joni's recent book, A Lifetime of Wisdom: Embracing the Way God Heals You (Zondervan, 2009), captures what she calls the rubies of wisdom gained over 40 years of severe physical disability and increasing chronic pain. Each chapter presents a vignette from her early years of paralysis, followed by a longer account of the strength and comfort she has found for or through that particular struggle. Almost unbelievably, she has arrived at a place where she can honestly thank the Lord for her wheelchair.
In recording what she would have liked her younger self to know, she offers comfort, hope, and encouragement to others facing chronic illness or disability. The intensity of her own suffering lends authority and grace to her words to the suffering. I also found the book humbling. Her trials have far exceeded mine, but her response through the decades shines with nobility and courage I have lacked in relatively minor struggles of much shorter duration.
Two anecdotes particularly challenged and encouraged me. Her dependence on others for physical needs such as bedtime and waking routines has often meant 12-hour nights alone in bed in the dark. She understands the fear and loneliness of keeping company with pain in the night watches, but she has learned to practice Bible and hymn memorization during the day with her helpers so she has a place to hang her thoughts during those long periods of solitude and silence. What a challenging but inspiring example! The book also records a conversation with a Canadian missionary who also suffered long with chronic pain. The missionary friend encouraged Joni from Psalm 10:17 that the inability to pray because of the distracting, concentration-breaking effects of pain is not in itself sin. In such cases, she said, the Lord hears the afflicted one's desire to pray as prayer. This has not often been my experience, but it was at the time I first read that account, and I found the story and Scripture deeply comforting.
All in all, I heartily recommend this book to those seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him fully in the midst of pain, weakness, and infirmity. Joni's gentle wisdom and inspiring testimony offer hope that God truly heals souls even where He chooses not to heal bodies during this life. It may also benefit caregivers as an aid to understanding the emotional and spiritual struggles their loved ones face.
Joni Eareckson Tada's four decades as a quadriplegic exemplify the latter possibility. Every time I have heard her or watched her speak, the radiant peace and joy on her face attest to God's goodness and grace through trials I cannot fully grasp.
Joni's recent book, A Lifetime of Wisdom: Embracing the Way God Heals You (Zondervan, 2009), captures what she calls the rubies of wisdom gained over 40 years of severe physical disability and increasing chronic pain. Each chapter presents a vignette from her early years of paralysis, followed by a longer account of the strength and comfort she has found for or through that particular struggle. Almost unbelievably, she has arrived at a place where she can honestly thank the Lord for her wheelchair.
In recording what she would have liked her younger self to know, she offers comfort, hope, and encouragement to others facing chronic illness or disability. The intensity of her own suffering lends authority and grace to her words to the suffering. I also found the book humbling. Her trials have far exceeded mine, but her response through the decades shines with nobility and courage I have lacked in relatively minor struggles of much shorter duration.
Two anecdotes particularly challenged and encouraged me. Her dependence on others for physical needs such as bedtime and waking routines has often meant 12-hour nights alone in bed in the dark. She understands the fear and loneliness of keeping company with pain in the night watches, but she has learned to practice Bible and hymn memorization during the day with her helpers so she has a place to hang her thoughts during those long periods of solitude and silence. What a challenging but inspiring example! The book also records a conversation with a Canadian missionary who also suffered long with chronic pain. The missionary friend encouraged Joni from Psalm 10:17 that the inability to pray because of the distracting, concentration-breaking effects of pain is not in itself sin. In such cases, she said, the Lord hears the afflicted one's desire to pray as prayer. This has not often been my experience, but it was at the time I first read that account, and I found the story and Scripture deeply comforting.
All in all, I heartily recommend this book to those seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him fully in the midst of pain, weakness, and infirmity. Joni's gentle wisdom and inspiring testimony offer hope that God truly heals souls even where He chooses not to heal bodies during this life. It may also benefit caregivers as an aid to understanding the emotional and spiritual struggles their loved ones face.
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