Up the Sunbeam

-- "I am God, your God! . . . I own the cattle on a thousand hills." Psalm 50:7, 10b Very old words that speak to my now. He is God, my God, and He owns more than enough to take care of my needs. May God bless you richly through His word in this little mini-post. I'll be back soon with new posts--thank you in advance for your patience while I give some attention to some practical life stuff (I'd so much rather be here with you!)

-- That's a funny title, I know. Good - Bad High - Low Light - Dark Up - Down Victory - Defeat Success - Failure Honor - Disgrace Glory - Shame I think it's safe to say that these pairs of words are polar opposites. There is kind of a "never the twain shall meet" quality about each combination. These are "one or the other" propositions--you can't have both, at least not simultaneously . . . or so we think. As a lover of words, I have always enjoyed oxymorons--those quirky little figures of speech that carry contradiction like cargo--"jumbo shrimp," "act natural," "same difference," or "alone together." The word oxymoron is an oxymoron itself, meaning "sharply dull." Well, I think Jesus was a living oxymoron. He was God incarnate who left His home in HEAVEN and came to EARTH for one purpose--He said that purpose was to be lifted up. "But I, when I am lifted up from the ear...

-- There is a doubting whisper swirling about during these uncertain days . . . have you heard it? People talk about it, wonder about it, don't know what to do a bout it . . . some even write blogs about it :) IT is the feeling that God is . . . nowhere to be found . . . distant . . . cold . . . ignoring our cries . . . indifferent to our suffering . . . somewhere else . . . too late . . . not coming . . . IT comes in many forms, but IT boils down to the sinking sensation that because we sometimes don't feel Him close, maybe He doesn't love us after all. IT . IS. A. LIE! But this well-crafted lie is so commonly FELT among skeptics and believers alike. We feel it when we're disappointed, when things don't go our way. We feel it when we're afraid, when we can't see around the bend. We feel it when stupid, earth-ish aggravations happen at absolutely the wrong time. We feel it when we ask Him for help and it appears to us that He hasn't and...

-- Storm watch! For days ahead of time they warned of a stack of storms from the Pacific. Anticipation . . . then . . . I awoke to the sound of rain bullets pelting windows in the wee hours, drivin g wind forcing water sideways. Drummer Boy stumbled out of bed early--I think he couldn't resist nature's finest percussion--he probably wondered if he could play his double-bass that fast! What a wild, raucous celebration!! Like an orchestra playing big bold brassy music, with cymbals crashing and timpanis thundering, the weather was a wild thing all day! Rain started. . . and stopped . . . and started again. My 4th floor office affords almost a 360° view and there was a lot to see! By late afternoon, a cloud made of midnight crested over the hills to th e west, while the east side of the building was bathed in light as warm as morning sun! It seemed night and day were colliding directly above us! All at once, the rain in that rolling black thunderhead crashed h...

-- Welcome to my world. Traffic here in the Bay Area is a constant consideration in nearly everything we want to do. It becomes part of every decision, every plan, every schedule. I live with it and try to work with it, but I don't like it! Does your world ever look like this? Do you feel like everything moves too fast? Is it hard to see clearly because of your breakneck pace and all the urgent and instantaneous actions and reactions for which you must always be ready? Does this ever happen to you--just when everything is speeding out of control, inexplicably, traffic comes to a halt, leaving you stuck at a standstill when you desperately need to show up on time? Now, the emotions that were hovering just below a simmer, bubble up to a full boil and you're in danger of succumbing to road rage! Like those hot-headed people in the news w ho lose their temper over time pressures and inconsiderate drivers, you find it all too easy to react badly to the stresses of your to...

-- "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:9 NASB Jesus paints Himself in the simplest of things, such familiar things. The Bread of life, the Light of the world, the Lamb of God, and here He calls Himself "the Door." For the longest time I didn't understand how Jesus could, in the same breath, be both the Good Shepherd and the Door for His sheep. Only after studying the shepherds of Jesus' day, did it become clearer for me. For the protection of his flock, a shepherd would lie down, placing his own body across the threshold of the doorway of the fold through the night, saying in essence, "you can't get to my sheep without going through me." He became the door to keep the sheep in and to keep the predators out. In the morning, he would lead his sheep to pastures of his choosing, always going before them. Evening would find him leading his sheep back to the shel...

-- As a little girl, there were few things I loved as much as trips to the mountains . My folks would pack up our Volkswagen and we would leave the verdant corn fields of the fertile Iowa plains in pursuit of the wilder beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Some of our biggest dreams, God-sized dreams, were born there. We would camp among the towering trees of National Forests and make hot chocolate and S'mores at our evening campfire. At dawn, my Iowa farm-girl mom was already up, cooking scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast--there is nothing like the smell of sizzling bacon blended with the heady fragrance of pine trees and morning-crisp mountain air! Oh! Take me back!! Our days would find us in our intrepid Volkswagen, Daddy driving, treating the little red bug like a jeep or a mountain goat depending on the quality of the road that had caught our fancy. The place s we went!! The things we saw!! The rarefied air we breathed!! "No clan on earth possesses the memories that...

-- F rom within dark and damp decay inside a hollow tree trunk, an unexpected light caught my attention. Changing my angle for a closer look, I discovered a favorite thing--a frame within the frame. The leafy light that filtered into the rotting tree was all the brighter for the surrounding dark inside. It glowed warm and soft despite the chill of the day and the winter white light of the hazy sun. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5 TNIV Today, I had to change my angle of observation to look for the frame within the frame of my life. When I looked for it, there it was--light shining in the darkness. While I felt somewhat surrounded by evidence of decay and diminishing joy, God gave me opportunities to speak His encouragement to people who needed His touch. In shining His light into dark moments of a very mundane day, His bright, warm glow sparkled back all over me! "The Life-Light blazed out of the darknes...

-- Like a painter's palette holding orange and gold and pu rple . . . the glory of a new day comes in vivid color. Painted by the Artist's imagination, a one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-seen-again masterpiece. The day, only just begun, stretches out, as yet unlived, untouched. Birthed in radiant beauty, it holds fresh promise bathed in new mercies. " . . . His mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:23 NLT If the tiny new beginning of a new morning brings God's new mercies, what do you suppose the dawn of not only a new year, but a new decade must bring? Where the year ahead is all a big unknown to us, He is already well-acquainted with every moment of it. He has a limitless supply of Himself with which to meet our every moment's need . . . with new mercies . So I wrote Saturday night in anticipation of my Sunday publishing day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sunday morning: Well, just as I was writing about being able to rely on God's mercifu...