Blog – Page 3

Cake, Kites, and Memories

April 15, 2017

When my son Doug turned nine years old, we had a birthday party. He is now an adult and father of three teenagers, and I haven’t thought about that party for years. But recently I found myself thinking about it as though it happened only a few days ago. I remembered all the preparations that went into that party: the cake I baked– a chocolate-frosted racetrack, complete with little cars; special paper plates and napkins; a dining room decorated with balloons and crêpe paper streamers. I planned games and bought prizes, and even invested in a few kites in hopes that the weatherman’s prediction of a typical windy, sunny March day would prove correct.

The day came, nine boys arrived, and the fun was on. We played the games, ate cake and ice cream, and watched Doug open his presents. Then we went outside, and the weather was perfect for flying kites. Everyone had a great time. For me, the fun started with the preparations. As I checked each item off the list, it was fun imagining how things would go. Then as I welcomed the guests, led the games, served the cake, and supervised the gift opening, I enjoyed seeing the boys having fun. It was very noisy, but it was happy noise.

After we moved the party outside to fly the kites, I was able sit back and watch, seeing the excitement of boys being boys, enjoying the cool, breezy spring day.

After they all left, I started picking up the mess, basking in and that glow that follows a job well done. A few minutes later Doug walked into the kitchen. ”Hey mom,” he said.” That was a real good party. Thank you.” Well, that just topped it off for me!

I wondered what brought that party to mind after all these years. Then I heard that small, still voice saying, “Remember how you felt as you planned that party and saw everything fall into place just the way you planned? Remember how much fun it was watching the boys doing everything you set up for them? Well, that’s how I feel when I set things up for my children and they enjoy what I planned for them.”

God is always at work behind the scenes setting things up for us. He loves doing good things for His children. I’m sure He especially loves it when we take the time to give Him the credit for it. 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us He “gives us richly all things to enjoy.” And Psalm 35:7 says God “delights in the prosperity of His servant.” It brings Him pleasure when we delight in what He’s done for us.

Whether He orchestrates something “big” like finding us a new home or a better job, or something “small” like an unexpected encounter with a person we needed to talk to, or even something “just for fun” like a parking place right in front of the store, God loves setting things up for us. He enjoys the setting up part of it, and He enjoys watching the details unfold – just like I had so much fun planning that birthday party many decades ago.

Be on the alert for evidence of God’s hand in the events of your life, big and small. Let Him know you see His fingerprints and appreciate what He’s done! That will bring Him even greater pleasure.

Spring is Here! The Equinox Says So!

March 20, 2017

Today is the Spring Equinox, the First Day of Spring! The sun and the earth are in their places. Hopefully the weather will get the message soon! It’s at this time of year that the sun is directly in front of you if you’re heading west near the time of sunset, or east at sunrise, making driving a bit of a challenge. This happens because wherever you are on the planet, the sun is rising due east and setting due west.

When I was teaching Earth Science in high school, I celebrated this day with my students in a way I hoped they would remember what the equinox is all about. Twice a year on the days of the spring and fall equinoxes, I would bring cupcakes to school – but not just any cupcakes. These were Equinox Cupcakes: half chocolate and half yellow, with frosting to match, representing the fact that on this day there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness all over the world, no matter how far north or south you may be.

The equinox is caused by the earth’s position in its orbit around the sun. On all other days of the year, the tilt of the axis causes more sunlight to fall in one hemisphere or the other, causing winter in the northern hemisphere while it’s summer in the southern, and vice versa. But on the Spring and Fall Equinoxes everybody gets 12 and 12.

I am also fascinated by phases of the moon, and many other observable occurrences caused by the movements of the earth, sun, moon, and planets. I have been known go out and measure the angle of the sun in the sky, or measure the sun’s shadow at various times of the day, simply out of curiosity.

Nowadays there are websites a person can use to find out anything he wants to know about angles, length of daylight, and any other calculation he might be curious about. My days of measuring these things directly are probably over too, although I must admit, as I am out walking if I see a straight pole casting a shadow, I may try to estimate the length of the shadow compared to the height of the pole and mentally calculate how high the sun must be right now.

You may be wondering why I’m sharing this with you. Just to show you that I am truly weird? No, that isn’t why. I have mentioned in previous blogs how reassuring I find it that we can count on astronomical line-ups taking place at their appointed times, as they have been for thousands of years. I get excited about tangible evidences of God’s faithfulness. He tells us why He set this all in place: “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years’” (Genesis 1:14).

Maybe the equinoxes are also a bit special to me because it sounds like my name is in the word. The name comes from two Latin words: equi meaning “equal,” and nox meaning “night,” because the length of night is equal everywhere on that day. But there’s more than that. What most intrigues me about the equinox is the fact that it is a time of balance, perfect balance between the day and night, and that it’s happening everywhere. But when I celebrate the equinox, it is not a celebration of the sun, the earth, or their motions and angles. I am celebrating the faithfulness of our Creator God.

It has been a few years since I made my last batch of cupcakes, but I remain intrigued at this astronomical line-up that occurs regularly and predictably twice a year.

Happy Equinox Day! I hope spring arrives soon where you are!

Photo from examiner.com

Take Time to Remember

March 16, 2017

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about memorial stones. In the Old Testament, we read about memorial stones people set up to commemorate a special event or encounter with God. The morning after Jacob wrestled with God, he set up a stone (Genesis 28:18-22) as a reminder of his experience at that place. After Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River, God told them to take twelve stones from the middle of the riverbed to the new land where they were going. He also had twelve stones placed in a pile in the middle of the river as a memorial of their crossing into the Promised Land.

In our day, we have memorial stones as well: war monuments, wedding rings, tassels from our graduation hats, inscribed cornerstones on buildings, blue ribbons from a long-ago fair. Objects like these serve as symbols or reminders of important times or places in our lives.

Not all memorial stones are physical objects; many are actions we take to celebrate important events. Communion, for example, is a tangible reminder of Jesus’ death on the cross. He broke the loaf of bread and gave it to the disciples as a reminder of His body, broken for them. Then he shared the cup of wine with them, as a reminder of His shed blood. “Do this,” he said, “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 21:19). Two thousand years later, Christians the world over continue to observe the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup, to “proclaim His death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This is not just a ritual or tradition, but a time to ponder what Jesus did for us.

These examples in the Bible show us the importance of remembering our special encounters with God, and all the good things he has done in our lives. In Deuteronomy 6:11-12, before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan into the promised land, He warned them,” When you have eaten and are full beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

We find a story in Matthew 16:5-12 showing us that Jesus was not pleased when his disciples failed to remember the two times He fed thousands of people with a few loaves and fish. ”Do you not understand or remember?” He asked them (v. 9). Remembering God’s goodness in the past helps us trust him in our present circumstances.

Forty-five years ago, on March 16, 1972, at a prayer meeting with a group of friends and neighbors, I asked Jesus to become my Lord and Savior. After the prayer meeting ended, we all went to McDonald’s for dinner. We all had Shamrock Shakes. A year later, when the anniversary of that day came around, one of my friends said, “Remember how we all went out for Shamrock Shakes after the meeting where you got saved?” So she and I went to McDonald’s for Shamrock Shakes to celebrate my new life in Christ.

Now every year in the middle of March you’ll find me pulling into the McDonald’s drive-up window or walking into the restaurant, ordering a Shamrock Shake. Sometimes I go by myself and quietly contemplate that day, and the life I’ve had since then because of what Jesus did for me. Other years I may share the experience, and my story, with others. I’m pretty sure I’ve never missed a year.

The recipe for those shakes has changed many times in the last forty-five years. Sometimes they’re really quite tasty; other times they taste like toothpaste. (Actually, this year they’re pretty good!) The flavor is not important. The Shamrock Shake is my special memorial stone, a touchstone reminding me of the friend who cared enough about me to go out on a limb, sharing the Gospel in the rather unusual way God told her to share it with me, as well as all the other friends who were with me on that day.

For several days before I head to McDonald’s, I begin thinking about that Shamrock Shake, and how what happened on that day in 1972 changed my life. Do you have a special, unique object or tradition that serves as a memorial stone in your life? I’d love to hear about it.

Our High Position

March 11, 2017

This morning I was reading Psalm 91. Sometimes when I’m reading something very familiar, I go into it thinking I already know everything it says. But reading God’s Word is like peeling back the layers of an onion with a center you never reach. And today I saw something new.

God is speaking about the one who “dwells in the secret place of the Most High” (v. 1). In verse 14 He says, ”Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My Name.”

This is mind-boggling when we really think about being set on high. God is “on high” in heaven ruling the universe. According to Ephesians 2:6, we are “seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.” If so, then we are seated “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named” (Ephesians 1:21), just like Jesus – above every sickness and disease, every negative emotion, every hindrance we may encounter. If we can name it, we are seated above it! How amazing is that!

So many scriptures came flooding into my mind about the authority God has given us in Christ. What really got me excited though was thinking about why I have been set on high. Why have I been given this authority over the power of the enemy? Is it because I wrote a couple of Christian books, or because I was faithful about reading my Bible every day, or went to church when I didn’t really feel like it?

While those might be good things, they aren’t the reason. That’s the really awesome thing about all of this. It has nothing to do with anything I have done or not done. According to Psalm 91:14 God has set me on high, past tense, done deal. I don’t need to earn my way back there every time I miss the mark. I am there for one reason, and that is because I have known His Name.

And this is true about all of us who acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God who died for us. So it isn’t arrogant for me, or you, to say that we have been set on high, or to talk about the authority we have over all the power of the enemy, because it’s not about us. It’s about God; it’s about what Jesus has done for us. We know His Name, and that is enough.

Sometimes it’s hard to see ourselves as ones who are set on high. We may be dealing with fear, doubt, or other negative thoughts and emotions. We may have a problem in our physical body that we don’t appear to be receiving healing for. But this isn’t because we’re not seated on high. God has put us there. It’s because we need a greater revelation of who we really are, and where we really are.

Step number one is getting into that secret place of the Most High, which I am coming to realize more and more means getting into the Word of God, not just reading it but meditating on the verses that stand out. When we come to that place where we truly know His Name, and walk in the power of His Name, we’ll become more and more like who we really are, ones who have been set on high.