A moment of awe

     O my stars--this is what the Lord treated us to yesterday evening!  And this was simply taken from our back deck. If only I were a decent photographer...but what a sunset!  Glory on full display--on a regular old thursday evening!  Folks abstractedly driving home from work, kids arriving home dirty and tired from sports practice, exhausted moms trying to think of something new to make with "chicken again." 
     And yet in the midst of the mundane, God breaks through.  Just to remind us of His all-consuming greatness and His creative glory.  It was like a little postcard from the Father to turn our gaze away, just a moment, from all the clutter and busyness that consumes us and to pause and refocus on the Maker, the Giver, the Sustainer...the Redeemer.
     "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Ps.107:8)
     "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.  All Your works shall praise You.  They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." (Ps.145:9-12)
     How can we not give thanks?  How dare we not give thanks?
     So Father, thank You for the reminder that You are forever on the throne, and You are the Author of awe. Might we pause in wonder and worship the Wonder-Maker.  To God be the glory.
   

Remembering and rejoicing

     I can't believe I forgot!  Well, actually I can, since I've always been a pretty good "forgetter"--and old age has only enhanced this not very useful skill. Sure, some things we need to forget...like old injuries, old bad habits, old hurts and misunderstandings.  We need to let them go, release them like a ballon into the wild blue yonder and move into God's amazing grace.  After all, isn't that what He did for us on the Calvary?  By Jesus' death on the cross, God took our sins and cast them into the impenetrable, deepest depths of the ocean and put up sign: "No Fishing Forever! Love, God."  O thank You for removing and forgetting our sins, Father!
     But there are lots of things we need to remember.  Remember His Word...for as D.L.Moody said, "The Bible will keep you from sin; or sin will keep you from the Bible."  Remember His forgiveness...and freely forgive others since we have been forgiven so immeasurably much more than we will ever be asked to forgive.  Remember His amazing grace...and extend grace, rejoice in grace, live by grace.  Remember His love...and that we are God's beloved...the apple of His eye. O my, try to get over that one--or as Max Lucado says, "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it!"  Remember His power...and that all things, ALL things, are possible with God.  Remember His holiness...and keep short accounts with our sin by coming to the throne of grace in repentance and gratitude.
    When we forget, we fret.  But when we remember, we rejoice.
     We just studied yesterday Paul's words in Philippians, but somehow I completely missed that little word, "Remember"--"I thank my God every time I remember you." (1:3)  And over and over again, God's Word links remembering with rejoicing.
     At the last supper, at the end, Jesus joins them--remember and thanking: "And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, 'This is My body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of Me." (I Cor.11:24)
     When we remember God's faithfulness and goodness to us in the past, when we remember His greatness and His character, when we remember what the Lord Jesus has done, then we rejoice and are thankful.
      So, to make a long story short (but when have I ever done that?): I forgot to get out our family's thanksgiving book.  We started in November of 1995, and here's the first page--

       On the left side is Janie's masterpiece of thanksgiving (she was one at the time) and on the other Mary Norris (5 at the time) writes in her own large hand--"I am thankful for God."  Well, that just about covers it.
      Of course, the list includes a few less exalted items--like "I'm thankful for Squeaky Mouse" (Richard--aged 3) or "I'm thankful for clowns" (also Richard) or "I'm thankful when I couldn't find my tooth and God helped me to find it" (Mary Norris--obviously concerned about the tooth fairy).       We also have entries thanking God for grapes, for bagels, for chocolate cake (food is a big theme of gratitude in our house), for the Tarheels winning a football game, for a good night's sleep (that would be mom), for a new house, for new babies, and for being on the "Happy Apple" at school (meaning good behavior).
      Then there's thankfulness for my parents going home to be with the Lord (some thankfulness is hard, isn't it?), for healing broken bones, for learning to wait on God, for college, for wonderful teachers, for bringing Matt into Mary Norris' life (getting married in a few months!), for God's grace and forgiveness and on and on. We also had a lot of entries thanking God for our sweet old dog, Moses.  Boy, we miss him--but we remember and rejoice that God gave him to us.
     I was struck by the very first entry from last year on Nov.1 "I am thankful to be able to walk again!" (Janie)  I had written a few days later, "Thank You, Lord, for saving and healing Janie from that wreck and brain injury. We see her wheelchair sitting in the hall [waiting to be returned to the hospital] and it is a reminder of Your incredible power, mercy, and grace.  Thank You, Lord!"  It occurs to me that this is a tiny foretaste of heaven, isn't it?  No more need for wheelchairs or hospitals or caskets or seeing eye dogs or divorce courts or nursing homes or orphanages or empty places at the table or tears.  Never again.  There's something worth remembering and rejoicing about with great joy.
     Sometimes we forget, don't we?  So simple, yet so profound--to remember, write it down...because we are all pretty good forgetters.  But gratitude springs out of remembering.
     Thanks for reminding me Lord...and for Your infinite grace and Your relentless love.  O Father, help us to remember...and then rejoice.
     To God be the glory.  

My favorite day!

     A bank of trees right in front of one of our son's school, Broughton High School.  How many times have I driven there, dropped off there, gone into meetings or concerts or various events there, and even attended church there (since that's where our church, Capital Community, meets)...and yet never ever noticed these trees?  Not once!  Unbelievable.
     O Lord, keep us astonished at Your glory and in awe of Your grace in our lives.  Remove the blinders of indifference or preoccupation or exhaustion so that we might glimpse You at work...for You are always working and moving.  Always.
     Especially on a mundane monday morning.  I awoke early this morning, tired and a bit overwhelmed...and I hadn't even stepped out of bed yet!  Just weary from contemplating all I had to do, all that had been left undone, and wondering why all the minutes and hours and days and years seem to just evaporate before my eyes.
    These are the times we have to redirect our gaze--away from all the stuff to be done and onto the Sovereign who strengthens and astonishes.  Gaze at God; glance at all else.
     And this is the only today that He has given us.  This day, this hour, this minute, to love God and others.  To allow awe of the Almighty to swamp our weariness.
     "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps.118:24)
      It's a choice, right?  A choice to rejoice even in a mundane monday.
     "'What day is it,' Pooh asked Piglet.  'It's today,' squeaked Piglet.  'My favorite day!' said Pooh."  (Winnie the Pooh)
     Mine too, Pooh.  I just needed the reminder.  And on this "today," might we choose to gaze at God and expect to be astonished.  And trust that He will fill in all those empty places...for He promises,  "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jer.31:25)
     Thank You, Father...You already have.  Do it again, Lord.
     To God be the glory.
     
   
   

Not one sparrow...

     As I walked into the kitchen this morning, I heard it: a hard thump.  O no!  Another bird must have run into our big kitchen window overlooking the backyard.  Always such a sad sound.  But then, suddenly, I heard it again--thump.  What on earth?  Another bird?  And then yet, a third hard thump...but this time I looked up to see a tiny sparrow inside our kitchen.  Such a pathetic sight to see him darting about, flying desperately and hopelessly at the windows, then repeatedly dropping to the floor, stunned.
       We couldn't imagine how he found his way inside our house--except perhaps somehow or other managing to squeeze through a small crack in the screen door.  Goodness, must have required some impressive arial gymnastics to pull off that one.
     But we knew time was short.  We had to figure out a way to help him get outside again before he broke his neck flying into our windows.  My husband went towards him with a towel to try to gently pick him up from the floor, but the sparrow revived and flew towards the kitchen door.  Alas, I had opened the door but hadn't yet opened the screen, so he fell back hard once again.    And this time he didn't move.
     Richard carefully picked him up and took him outside and lay him on the ground.  But things didn't look good--he lay there listlessly on his side, still and quiet.
     A few minutes later, Peter and I left to run by his favorite gourmet eating establishment--Chick-fil-A--and there was the little sparrow on the ground, still unmoving.  I know this is pitiful, but I felt so forlorn.  I love birds, and it was so sad to see one of these delicate little creatures die on our watch.  Peter and I said a quick prayer for him (though without much hope).  Ironically, when we arrived for our fine dining experience of nuggets and hash browns, the first thing we glimpsed outside Chick-fil-A  was a bunch of this little fellow's cousins flitting about the tables, picking up crumbs.      
     I couldn't help but think of Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs on your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows."
     "O thank You, Father," I whispered.  Thank You for the reminder that You are sovereignly in control of all things--even this one little insignificant sparrow that fell in our house.  Think of all the sparrows!  They're everywhere--simply innumerable! Yet our Heavenly Father knows of every single one...and if the Creator cares about one nameless tiny sparrow, then how much infinitely more does He love, tend, and provide for us, His children, made in His image and saved by His Son?  
      Today, whatever might be facing us, let's choose to "Fear not."  Why?  Because the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe sees us individually, knows us intimately, loves us unconditionally, forgives us completely, and cares for us perfectly.  So whatever His plans for us this day, we will rest and trust in Him.
     And by the way, when we got home from Chick-fil-A, that little sparrow had recovered and flown off into the wild blue yonder!  So might need to add to that list--He's also our Daddy who answers prayers powerfully--even the little ones!  To God be the glory.

From glory to glory to glory...

     "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor.3:18)
     From glory--

     to glory--

     to glory--

     to glory--

     Just a few glimpses of God's glory on display all about us!  And these were simply taken while driving to a haircut with a crummy little cell phone camera!  If only I'd had a good camera with me...and more time and access...and considerably more photographic skill in order to do justice to the Lord's magnificent masterpieces!  
     But driving about the last couple of days, it stuck me anew: what a spectacular show God gives us every autumn...and how frequently we go about our busy lives with nary a notice. Failing far too often to give even a word of thanks or praise to our generous, gracious Creator.  
     We should be driving from tree to tree to tree--from portrait to portrait to portrait--using each as another opportunity to give Him glory, to give Him praise.  Oh, my, Lord another one...and another one...and another... 
     Each a silent masterpiece singing wordlessly but powerfully of the glory and goodness of their awesome Maker.  
     And ours.  
     For here's the truly astounding part: the more we behold Him--in His Word, in prayer, in rejoicing in His creation and His character--the more we, too, will be transformed from glory to glory to glory...   
     What a miracle--to consider that the Savior, the Almighty, the Sustainer and Redeemer, will increasingly transform us more and more into His glorious image.  To behold Him is to become ever more like Him.  Can mind even begin to comprehend such a glorious wonder?  No, words simply fail...it's all His amazing grace, isn't it?
     So today, might we slow down and savor the beauty of God's myriad masterpieces that line our streets, dot our parking lots, and grace our yards.  Don't let the trees multiple numbers, their commonplace frequency, rob them of their power to astound and awe you.  
     And as we savor, might we offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise to their glorious Creator.  Each new tree, a new opportunity to give Him glory...from glory to glory.  And each a fresh reminder that the Almighty is doing this in our lives as well--as we behold Him, we are becoming more like Him...from glory to glory to glory...all the way to heaven.  O thank You, Jesus! 
     To God be the glory. 

Autumn's bittersweet gifts

   

     Late last night, as I sat working on my computer in an impossibly still, quiet house, I heard it.
     The distant, muffled and rhythmic "Boom...boom...boom...boom..."   Sunday night...the final night of the State Fair. The final hurrah of the State Fair's nightly fireworks display.  We wouldn't discern their distant sound from the Fair again until next October.
     We'd been hearing them every night like clockwork--beginning at 9:45.  That faint sound of thunder that always signaled the glorious display of shooting, sparkling flashes of rainbow-colored happiness displayed across the black night sky.  I thought of all the families enjoying the wonder for one more night, one final, sweet fall night.
     I thought of all the times we'd delighted in fireworks with our children at so many places over so many years--from the State Fair to the mountains to the beach to the golf course and even to the street in front of our house.  A moment of melancholy that our children are growing up and moving away washed over me.  How quickly the years have sailed by.  How I wish I could slow them down a bit--savor more and worry less.
     My husband adores fall--it's his favorite season.  And I'm inclined to agree with him.  All the joy and anticipation of the holidays...but not yet with all the fuss and busyness of preparing for them! All the beauty of showy trees robed in dresses of scarlet and orange and yellow.  The refreshment and cool, clean scent of fall air.  And the joyous anticipation of children returning home of the holidays.  All the wondrous tastes of fall--the sweetness of pumpkin anything and tart apples and hot scented cider.
      So much to look happily anticipate.  So much to savor.
     And so much to remember.  My husband says fall also proves to be a beautifully bittersweet time.  For autumn brings back glad memories of his own childhood and the happiness of football and childhood friends and holidays.  And the joyous memories of our own children growing up.        Going to a local farm and laughing in the itchy straw for the hayride...and picking just the right pumpkin to take home.  And carefully choosing just the right Halloween costume--not too scary, not too lame, not too uncomfortable.  Watching thanksgiving plays or eating school thanksgiving feasts with children dressed as Indians in paper bag suits or as pilgrims with construction paper hats. Going to Greensboro or Rocky Mount and enjoying being with grandparents and siblings and hearing the ecstatic squeals of overly-sugared, but happy little ones running everywhere.  Gathering around our home's old organ, while my sister, Jane, played the familiar, wonderful Christmas hymns, and we all sang at the top of our lungs. Sometimes my Daddy and brother adding a bit of accompaniment with the sax. So many wonderful memories.
     But we can choose sadness over the swiftness of it all...or gladness over the gift of it all.  I choose gratitude.

     I choose to remember and rejoice.  I choose to wonder at the gracious, generous gift of it all and say "O thank You, Father for all this...for the Fair.  For the sound and beauty of fireworks.  For the children.  For parents and grandparents and siblings. For football games and hayrides and pilgrim hats and family sing-alongs.  For the memories of so much living...and learning that You, Father, are forever good and faithful and changeless.    
     And with that rhythmic booming, I also thought of our good old Moses.  How could I forget him?!  Fireworks always alarmed our sweet old black lab, since he surely assumed they signaled the imminent arrival of the scourge of his existence--thunderstorms.  O how he feared the sound and fury of thunder and would huddle nervously next to us.  Occasionally pacing and looking at us as if to say, "Don't you realize something truly terrible is happening here?  Is this okay?  Don't we need to leave...or better yet eat?"  And once again, while we miss our "Mo," I choose gratitude over the gift, rather than sorrow that is passed all too quickly.

                                        (Moses in his Christmas sweater on Christmas morning!)
      "Only one life...twill soon be past.  Only what's done for Jesus will last."
      How many times have we heard that, but these swiftly flying years teach me to remember...to rejoice and be grateful...and to rest in the only One who will never change, never leave us, never forsake us, never let us down, never be less than the perfectly Omnipotent, Omniscient, Transcendent Almighty Lord.
     Jesus, You're our Hope and Stay in this ever-changing life...because of Who You are and what You've done, the best is yet to come.  So yes, we may experience fall's bittersweet sorrows over the swiftness of it all...but also gladness and gratitude over the gift of it all.  And yes, life continues to move at a seemingly breakneck pace with our children growing up far too quickly...but we will savor these moments with joy in our hearts and wisdom in our ways.  And yes, sometimes that melancholy of memories and missing loved ones who've gone on to their true Home can wash over us.
     But, O my, You, Lord Jesus, are with us.  Forever.  And with You, we trust, we know that the best is yet to come.  That will be one glorious reunion, one joyous Wedding Feast of the Lamb that will put all our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations and fireworks displays to shame!  After all, I wonder if all our celebrations and happy memories are all just a tiny foretaste of what You have in store for us one glorious day.
     So in the meantime, we choose savoring the now that we have rather than sorrowing over the then that is over.
     We choose gratitude for the gifts...O so many gifts, and we choose to continue to look for those gifts every day that You give us, and we thank You for each of them.
     And we choose faithfulness and trust each day in our forever faithful Father who will be with us through it all.
     "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.  You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!' For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.  You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes  and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers...So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."  Teach us, Lord, to treasure You and Your gifts this day.
      Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the gift of autumn's memories, for the joy of Your presence with us in the gift of this day, and for the joyous gift and hope of heaven's glorious future.
      To God be the glory.

"Give it the Kutasch!"

     Two "whatever you do" verses to encourage those of us who may be feeling a bit weary of heart while facing much work to be done:
     "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Col.3:17)
     "Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ." (Col.3:23-24)
     "Whatever you do"--working on a Sunday school lesson--serving the Lord.  Folding laundry--serving the Lord.  Changing diapers--serving the Lord.  Writing a paper for school--serving the Lord.  Running errands--serving the Lord.  Studying or exercising or cooking or cleaning or loving that unlovely person or encouraging that one who is struggling--serving the Lord.
     What a difference when we remember that all we do and say can and should be offered to the Lord as service to the One who was the ultimate Servant to us and for us.  The Sovereign who served.  How can we do any less?  And how transformative when we know that our smallest acts of love or forgiveness or kindness or grace or helpfulness can be means of serving and honoring and rejoicing in our Lord.
     And I love that we are commanded to give "thanks to God" in whatever we do.  Even the distasteful.  Or the difficult.  Or even the things we despise and desperately want to delay.  We're to do them ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus and to give thanks to God through Him.  He's the Creator and the Sustainer of our thankfulness--our Sovereign Savior who served.
     So we place our gaze upon Him as we serve.  We seek His glory as we serve.  And we choose to give thanks as we serve.
     And then we do it "heartily!"  We do it with everything we've got...because after all, we've only got one shot at serving on this planet.  We'll have eternity to rejoice...but only right now, only today, to serve in whatever ways He's called us to serve.
     I was reminded the other day of one of my favorite stories I heard years ago from Chuck Swindoll.  He and his sister, Luci, used to love to go fishing in the summers at an old pier in a muddy bay.  Every single time they went, they saw an old man who sat on the end of the pier fishing.  Mr. Kutasch would sit motionless for hours on end waiting for the fish to bite.  And then suddenly, with the most imperceptible bobbing of the cork, Kutasch (as they called him) would suddenly jerk his line out of the water with such ferocity and enthusiasm that the line (and any poor fish on it) would fly out of the water and back over their heads.  Apparently this happened time and again.  Kutasch rarely, if ever, caught anything, but he never seemed to give up trying.  And, boy, every time he had a bite, he would give it all he had ripping that line out of the water!         And so Chuck and his sister began telling one another, whenever they had some especially difficult challenge ahead of them, "Give it the Kutasch!"  Over the years it stuck--whether facing cancer treatments or dealing with family hardships or facing burdensome work issues or simply persevering in something long and hard--they'd call one another and simply say, "Give it the Kutasch!"  I love that!  That's what it means to work heartily...and not give up!
     So today, Whatever we do, let's do it for the Lord, do it with thanksgiving..and give it the old Kutasch!  And to God be the glory.