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If It’s You, Jesus, Tell Me To Come To You
On our first vacation while living in Indonesia, we went for a short boat ride to view the beautiful coastline. My son was eighteen months old and I was pregnant. As we rounded a peninsula, the small craft began to rock harder and the once gentle waves grew larger and larger until water crashed on top of us. Soon we shivered in our soaked clothing despite the clear blue skies. The pleasant site-seeing jaunt had become a harrowing countdown until we reached shore. My poor husband, certain he had exposed his young family to mortal danger, was filled with relief (as was I) when we finally disembarked. Jesus’s disciples were…
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Sleeping in the Storm
I toss and turn as the minutes turn to hours. Sleep seems far away. Have you been there? I’ve struggled with sleep as far back as I can remember. Even with pillows and blankets on a fairly comfortable bed, rest feels so elusive some nights. I find it striking that Jesus could sleep on boat tossed by a violent storm. It’s almost as if you can see storm clouds on the distant horizon as Jesus steps into a boat in Matthew 8. Two men approach him, applying for discipleship, and ask to follow him. Jesus tells them they must leave personal comfort and family obligation behind. Following him requires…
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No Fear…”Seeking My Favorite Things”
What are your favorite things? According to the familiar song, “My Favorite Things” written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, these are a few of Maria’s favorite things. Julie Andrews, who portrays Maria, in the award-winning musical “The Sound of Music” gives a list of some of her favorite things to help the Von Trapp children from being afraid of the storm. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, Brown paper packages tied up with string These are a few of my favorite things.” As the song continues, the lyrics are uplifting and fun. In the movie, Maria whisk through the music with delight to…
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A Lesson from the Vacuum: What it Taught Me About God
His eyes flashed with anxiety. What is the whirring sound coming from the living room? They asked. My eight-month-old looked to me for reassurance. “It’s okay,” I said. “Daddy is vacuuming.” Immediately, the words sank deep into my soul. The lesson I was trying to teach my son is one I needed to hear myself. Daddy holds the vacuum. At two-and-a-half feet tall, a towering four-foot purple vacuum with the word Shark written on the front seems to threaten your very existence. It might just suck you up along with the dust bunnies on the rug. Isn’t that how we feel about life sometimes? The storm whirls around us, large…
