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In Time.
Celebrations are beautiful moments to remember God’s blessings and goodness and to experience beauty and happiness. This past weekend I had the privilege of celebrating the marriage of a friend and reunite with other dear friends. These were moments of laughter. Honor. Hope. At the same time I was well aware of hurt and injustice around the world.
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Dreams and Cisterns
One of the first poems I remember memorizing as an elementary student is, “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? The poem struck a chord with me, even in elementary school. Dreams were real and the sky was the limit in my dreams. I didn’t like raisins as a kid and I certainly didn’t want my dreams to dry up…
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Cheese Squares and October 31
On a recent evening I was looking for a late night snack and found a piece of American cheese in the refrigerator. I unwrapped the cheese and instinctively folded it into tiny squares before eating the slice. I literally laughed out loud when I realized what I had done. And then I wondered to myself, “What in the world am I doing?! Why did I fold the cheese into squares?!” My (silent) response to the internal questioning was: “Absolutely! It’s the most fun way to eat cheese and it’s what I’ve always done.” Habit. Some habits are good. Some habits are not so good. On a day like Halloween I…
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I Am Not Who I Want To Be
Today my twin brother and I will extend our birthday celebration by over two months through our gift exchange with one another. There is no reason for the delay. Time simply ran away. Two months into my thirty-ninth year and daily I am reminded of who I am not. Mother. Wife. (Twenty-Something) Young. Renowned Speaker, Writer, Activist and World-Changer (or FBI agent) impacting thousands while living missionally in my community and world. And what I have. Two jobs. Mortgage. Student Loans. These things alarm me and my mind runs crazy. Who will know if something ever happens to me? Will I be alone until I pass? Who will take care…
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The Everyday Ordinary
It has been eight years and yet I still consider the other side of seminary and church staff as weird. If I'm honest then I must also admit that I often read with envy of friends who do what I used to “do”: prepare lessons/sermons, attend national conferences, lead mission trips, pioneer new ministries, study cross-cultural and justice issues, etc.
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Living “Local”
Shop Local. Live Local. The two phrases above are versions of a population slogan in many of our cities. Among many ideological motives, the primary idea of the slogans are to support local businesses – to move away from mass-produced convenience in order to encourage and provide opportunities for our neighbors to share their talent, creativity, handiwork, and expertise.
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Living with Singular Purpose
Ephesians 4:11-13 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
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Reminders
Today’s post seems simple. Almost too simple. Yet, I realize that I often over-complicate life in such a way that basic concepts of the Christian life are lost. A few of those concepts: purpose and joy.
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Perceiving God’s Handiwork
If I truly acknowledge my thought life then I am forced to reckon with the reality that a significant portion of my time is spent, not in the pursuit of God, but in daydreams, in the longing for “something” more. The desires range from more sleep to bills paid off to a husband to a friend’s healing from cancer or to a vacation.
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532.
532. The number of miles I will walk between now and November 7. This distance is the rough equivalent of walking from my home in Memphis, TN through Dallas, TX to Forth Worth and back to Dallas. Ironically, I will finish the final 60 miles at the Komen 3-Day for the Cure in Dallas-Fort Worth.
