Staking Our Claim
I started a new Bible study with two of my closest friends, yesterday, which walks us through Gideon's story in the book of Judges. It's only three little chapters long, yet Day One of study has already started to unsettle me. Bible study does that. It can shake you out of complacency, and move you out of areas where maybe you've spent a little too much time. It digs deep and sheds light on places in your heart that you've kept a little dark and dusty, cleaning house in the very best of ways. When the story starts, God has given Israel the land He has promised them. It's been a long, hard road getting there, and now they're poised to walk in, but God is very clear about what they're...
Love Letters
I ran across a post from my cousin the other day regarding a love letter. I was intrigued because, as far as I knew, this cousin was single and not currently involved with anyone. The front of the letter (she had posted a pic) said this... For you. Really. After further investigation, I realized it was a letter for someone she'd never met, and, likely, never would. Apparently, one girl on the 4 train in NYC tried it, dropping off, randomly into the world, a letter for someone to find and be encouraged. She put it out there for others to try, and now it's taken off, spurring quite a following of letter-writers. It's an idea that makes my soul sing alleluia! Who among us can't use a...
Time Travel
I cleaned out some closets over the weekend, one of which was the storage closet in my grandkid room. Mostly, I have toys and baby equipment in there, but the top shelves are filled with photo albums, baby books, and old Bible study notebooks and materials. With that kind of stuff, I have a hard time not stopping and looking through them. I always see something I forgot about, something special and dear, and this time was no exception. In the girls' baby books were recorded "firsts." When they pulled up or crawled, cut their first tooth, and ate their first solid food. There were pictures galore of funny little things they'd done that I'd totally let slip into the dark and dusty...
Chips and Love
I love Mexican food. If given the opportunity to choose where to eat out, 9 times out of 10, I'll choose Mexican. I love Charro beans and Mexican rice. I'm a connoisseur of Chile Relleno. Guacamole and queso both make my heart sing. But, above all, I love - ADORE - chips and salsa. It provides the perfect combination of flavors and textures, and to my mind, is very near impossible to stop eating. For years, Kevin and I have shown our love for each other by offering up the best chip out of the bowl to the other. Not just any chip, mind you, but the ones where several chips are wrapped up and folding into each other, creating a multi-layered effect that holds extra salsa or queso or...
Fits Like a Glove
We were recently at a Trade Days flea market, and Kevin stopped in front of a booth selling all different types of gloves. He had been looking for a good pair of work gloves to replace some that had served him well for years, but finally just played out. He tried several on, and eventually landed on a real contender, easing the snug leather over his hands, enjoying the smooth feel. I thought about his old gloves. They had looked just like these when he first got them. No blemishes or stains. No stretching or wrinkles. No punctures or tears. But after years of being pressed into service, and called to many an abusive situation, they had been pushed to the limit. When they finally...