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Soul Time
Today was a day for stepping it back, listening to sounds that aren’t man-made, opening my heart to hear what God has to say. It was splendid. Sammy and I drove to a park about an hour away. It was a brisk 35 degrees when we left, but the sun was dancing a solo in a crystal-clear blue sky. Sammy loves to travel,. She was eagerly looking out the back window as we cruised down the highway. Traffic was light. People in Texas think 35 degrees is wicked weather. We arrived at this magical park, and basically had the entire place to ourselves. I saw 4 people the entire time…
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Music in Hand
Have you ever really looked at your hands? I mean, the way our fingers are not exactly straight so we can do things like pick up a single sheet of paper or make a fist or caress someone we love? Our hands are definitely a work of art! Sensitive. Strong. Capable. Meant for good. Did you know there are 13 bones in your wrist? Think of all the ways you can move your hand…left, right, up, down, lateral. It’s crazy! It’s divine! Today I was playing some music for a couple of worship pastors in the Austin area. I realized, after the fact, that my hands kind of “did their…
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Do Over
It’s almost difficult to believe that another year is winding down. It seems incredible to think back on the Y2K frenzy and how many thought we were at the apocalypse! Now that is only a hazy, distant memory. Time is certainly a funny thing. And it seems at this time in the calendar it is almost a given to evaluate what has happened in the past months. So here goes my end-of-December look. One of the things I appreciate most about this life we live is the fact we are on a finite 24-hour cycle. (And I don’t mean the news!) Today is unique. It is not yesterday nor is…
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Let’s Hear It For Joseph…
Most people can tell you about Mary, the mother of Jesus. It’s such a remarkable story! In our Western culture, we tend not to even blink any more if a young, unmarried woman is pregnant. No big deal, right? I mean, Hollywood types do it all the time. It’s a new “normal”. Not 2,000 years ago. This was literally a stoning offence. Which is why it might be good to pause a moment and also think of Joseph’s reaction to the whole situation. Here was a young man who had no intimate relations with his finance. He knew for certain the child was not his! There could be no doubt…
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Reflections
It is nearly Christmas. A bustling, busy time filled with family and friends. It is also a time when many feel less than jolly. I wish this was not the case. Recently I read a good book about Christmas, “An Even Better Christmas” by Mark Chandler. While many of the concepts were simple and straightforward, I enjoyed the mental picture of one thing in particular. God breaking through. Where God has inserted Himself into our world in order to offer an alternative way “out”. (This is all my paraphrase.) So, as I feverishly work on projects to end the year strong, bake cookies, listen to Christmas music and generally live…
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Thankful
I remember what it was like before – before I began to understand God’s love. It was a restless, driven, searching time. Many days were interesting and lively yet in the end, unfulfilling. Thankfully, now it is different. Today, years have passed. Some good, some challenging. There are people who are part of the fabric of my life who are no longer here. Yes, I miss them. You might think it could be a melancholy time. It isn’t. Sure, I’ve had those days. Times when I make the dreadful mistake of comparing my life to some cultural “norm” – that is so unhelpful! All those kinds of comparisons tend to…
