Resolutions and Safeguards
But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” (Luke 18:16-17) Time for the annual check-up. It’s a new year!! How did the 2020 resolutions work out? What’s on deck for 2021?? For 2020, one of my New Year’s resolutions was “Don’t be crabby.” Many would say this is not a good resolution as it’s not “SMART,” that is, Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-restricted. But it turned out to be...
Read MoreRoad Work
So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance… Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-8a, 9 NASB) Trail quality matters. This came home to me with special force last week as Kent and I explored three new areas. First, we visited a marshy lowland frequented by pheasant hunters tucked between WA 203 and the West Snoqualmie Valley Road. No...
Read MoreTeetering on the Brink
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NASB) Living out my walk with Jesus in “the 167,” as we say at Creekside (the other 167 hours of the week after the hour of church service), has been challenging these days leading up to the election of 2020. One week, my pastor exhorts plainly from the pulpit: faith without works is dead. Get busy doing what God is telling you to do! Another week, our text is James 3:1-12. My pastor preaches: beware, beware! “What a great forest is set on fire by a small...
Read MoreFollow the Plucky Widow
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” (Luke 18:1-5 NASB) One of my prayer journal entries...
Read MoreNo More Hugs ’Til Christmas
There is a time for every event under heaven… A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing. (Ecclesiastes 3:1b, 5b NASB) We spent a glorious week with our daughter, her husband, and their young boys in a rented house on Whidbey Island for the last week of summer. Unfettered by social distancing, we devoted ourselves to play, with plenty of jostling, wrestling, bumping, snuggling and hugging. There were biking, kite flying, indoor games, and a rope swing, but the highlight was the beach. We lived by the tides, daring the sticky mud when the tide was out, wading in the ebbing tide, building...
Read MoreHello, Caesar
Give the king Your judgments, O God. For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help. The afflicted also, and him who has no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy he will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, And their blood will be precious in his sight. Psalm 72:1, 12-14, a psalm of David (NASB) One sister in Christ asked recently, “How do I (a white person) repent of shooting someone when I didn’t do the shooting?” We were having a fresh discussion about racial injustice, stemming from the murder of George Floyd. I...
Read MoreThe Lost Backpack
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NASB) On a recent spring day, Kent and I met up with our grandsons in front of their house for an outdoor adventure. We walked down to the ball fields and checked out the sheltered area in the forest where we had a built a fort the week before. It had...
Read MoreNew Wineskins for a Pandemic
No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, “The old is good enough.” (Luke 5:37-38, Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 NASB) At 9:15am, every Tuesday for the past three weeks, the doorbell rang. Each time, I ran to the door with a smile on my face. There were two paper grocery bags full of groceries on the doormat. A few feet away, on the first or second step, stood a smiling Heidi. Oh wow!...
Read MoreMy Last Day With Dad
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away. Beloved brothers and sisters, you have journeyed with me for a few years as my parents aged and grew more precious with each passing year. Thank you! Now Daddy has passed on, and I’d like to share a few things I’m grateful for. I am grateful for the many hours I spent with Daddy during the final weeks. It was so hard for him to breathe or to talk, but he still smiled, murmured yes or no, gave out a few words. He squeezed my hand, he smiled and said, “I love you too” when I told him I loved him (about a...
Read MoreA Reckless Love Story
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. (Cory Asbury) Valentine’s Day is coming. Outside the south door of the Redmond Fred Meyer is a display of primroses, red ones forming a huge heart embedded in a frame of the blues. It’s so gorgeous I took a picture. One Valentine’s Day back in the ’90s, my husband Kent went all-in decorating my office at our manufacturing business. Streamers...
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