His Words (for when life is too heavy)
Every Sunday around here is for His Words instead of mine. If life is just too heavy, right now, and it all seems too much, read on. Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. ~ Matthew 11:28-29 MSG Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders— he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin. ~ Psalm 55:22 MSG I the Lord do not change....
Full-to-Bursting
My garden pots are in a sweet spot right now. We added quite a few new ones this year, and apparently, we chose all the right plants for all the right locations (not to mention the magical combination of pond silt and horse manure for potting soil), leaving us with beautiful, prolific blooms. I was dead-heading a few that require it, last night, and came upon one bloom that was not yet open, but was SO full with promise, it looked ready to burst. When I awoke this morning, I thought about that flower because that's how my heart felt. Full-to-bursting. And not for any reason in particular, either. It's just that everything, right now, in this moment, is on an even keel. All of my...
Thick Action
In Kevin's line of work, I've been privileged to attend a number of diverse gatherings over the years. For instance, I've been to an award ceremony for the Asian-Indian community, filled with colorful saris, exotic music, and delectable Indian food. I've also been in the audience of Chinese acrobats, a troop comprised of children of a local Chinese community. And yesterday, I was included in a "Juneteenth" celebration at the 34th annual luncheon for the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. What a dynamic group. Over 600 people gathered over the topic of "The Pursuit of Happiness," and with Pharrell Williams' "Happy" playing in the background, we listened to leaders in...
Substitutes
My daughter posted to my Facebook wall last night with this: As I was reading Green Eggs and Ham to Lilli, she told me I wasn't reading it correctly, and "that's not how Mimmie reads the words." Um, I was just reading the text; what are you doing??? After I had a good chuckle, I told her that I was pretty animated with it, and sped up during the long rhyming parts, which she tried, only to get... Stop Mommy! Not like THAT! The problem with Green Eggs and Ham is that I introduced her to that book. We read it here at my house, first, over and over on one of her visits, and then I brought it to Florida and let her keep it there for us to read on my next visit. That's sort of been "our...
Rising Down
I'm reading The Fault in our Stars, by John Green. Literally, the very first page found me highlighting a quote (from what I now understand to be a fictional book) because of two words. It goes like this: As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean: "Conjoiner, rejoinder, poisoner, concealer, revelator. Look at it, rising up and rising down, taking everything with it." "What's that?" I asked. "Water," the Dutchman said. "Well, and time." ~ Peter Van Houten, An Imperial Affliction The part that stuck with me, and that has been turned over and over in my mind like a worry stone? Rising Down. Rising down is a contradiction in terms. You cannot really simultaneously rise...