Up the Sunbeam

-- Sitting atop a knoll overlooking two parks, a baseball diamond, a soccer field, a playground, and a beautiful little hidden lake with a gushing fountain, someone built an invitation. Oh, I know it looks like an ordinary wooden bench, but trust me, it's an invitation. The way up is not far, not treacherous or slippery, just a little steep, just a bit of a test.  It's a spot you wouldn't naturally be drawn to, but the addition of the bench makes it beckon to all who would respond.  I'm ashamed when I think of how long it's been since I've been up there, but with the foot trouble I've been having, and more than that, my current lack of conditioning, I haven't even attempted that hill in a long time. It's a place to stop and rest, a place to get your bearings, a place to survey the beauty for miles around . . . the invitation should be irresistible, but it's not.  I have proven time and again that I can look longingly up that hill and wish ...

-- The woman in the pew in front of me had a distracting habit of rocking back and forth as though she were soothing a baby to sleep. I had to work to turn my attention from my annoyance at her rocking and focus my attention above and beyond her to the guest speaker. He had an engaging style, and had thoughtfully provided fill-in-the-blank notes for his sermon, which was a welcome way to pay attention to him and not the rocking woman I couldn't NOT see. His topic this morning was utterly familiar, much-studied, well-known . . . and woefully under-practiced, both inside and outside of the church. He spoke about LOVE. The visiting seminary professor brought a message that was both convicting AND uplifting (evidence of his giftedness), and he highlighted many points of truth about love and our responsibility that are absolutely crucial to our lives in Christ. While I will continue to chew on the meaty goodness of this message, there was one idea he shared that really sparked my...

"Any occurrence requiring undivided attention will be accompanied by a compelling distraction." Robert Bloch Heat waves turned everything to liquid. People looked like melting wax figures, dripping and drooping in the 104° scorcher of a day. The blinding assault from the sun was rivaled only by the suffocating radiant heat rising off the pavement. This wa s the setting for the Walnut Festival that draws many tens of thousands of people every year for fun, food, carnival rides and entertainment. Yesterday, my son was part of the entertainment for a large portion of the day, playing drums for multiple bands, finishing the day with his own band's 40 minute set. When you are the mother of a drummer, you spend a lot of time transporting his drum set to and from rehearsals and perfor mances. It is a job I love and take on willingly! However, a drum set is not an easy thing to carry around, so you try to pull your car as close to the stage as possible. I got per...