Up the Sunbeam

-- After three unexpected hours of standing in the parking lot of Oakland's Oracle Arena, it was finally time to go inside. My spirits lifted immeasurably as I exchanged the bone-burning ache of standing indefinitely on concrete to at least putting one foot in front of the other up the ramp toward the entrance. Drummer Boy, She So Sweet and I moved quickly into the darkened interior of the arena and made our way down the lighted stairway to our seats where we waited with relieved anticipation for the show to start. One session of the taped-for-TV auditions for Simon Cowell's singing competition show, XFactor, was about to begin! We watched with interest and listened to the preliminary instructions given to us about our role as the audience, and played along with the people whose job it was to warm us up for our role in the show; they especially wanted to get us prepared for the grand entrance of the judges. Comedian, Frank Nicotero, who acted as a sort of master of cerem...

-- Someday I will have read everything ever written by C. S. Lewis.  I am woefully behind on the way to achieving this goal, despite owning a whole shelf full of his books, but it's a work in progress.  However, maybe knowing this will help you understand why my interest was especially sparked by something our pastor shared yesterday. In a sermon about integrity , focused particularly on marriage, he referred to an idea taught by C. S. Lewis that if we could see now what glorious beings believers will become in heaven, we might be tempted to worship them. With this idea in view, the pastor encouraged us to appreciate the privilege we have of watching, up close, the becoming  of our spouses and children. He further encouraged us to be filled with grace toward them as we keep in mind that they are works in progress on the way to future glories unimagined. "However, as it is written:    'No eye has seen,    no ear has heard, no mind ha...

-- The deep, inky blue of the shepherds’ sky was awash in waves rolling in on heaven's tide. Not waves made of water, nothing anyone could see, but something was coming, something profound was about to happen. As the shepherds kept uneasy watch, the round soft shapes of the sheep showed pale in the starlight as they munched their way contentedly across the grassy hills that rolled below. The shepherds knew nothing of the coming hosts, the angels who were riding the tide, riding to greet them, riding the billows of history to make an announcement that would change everything. No wonder then that the angel appointed to speak to them had to start where all angels start when they bring a message from God to the earth, "Fear not." "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."   Luke 2:10 KJV Standing astride the sky-waves, just like the One  he came to herald would on...

-- "The LORD will march out like a champion . . ." Isaiah 42:13a NIV The Super Bowl has not yet begun as I sit down to write this.  It is a story yet to be written, a battle yet to be fought.  Football fans everywhere are poised and waiting for the contest to unfold.  I am one of them.  Who will win the day?  Whose great season will end in triumph and who will go home in deepest disappointment?  Who will have the game of his life?  Who will make mistakes that affect the outcome of the game?  We don't know!  As they say, "That's why they play the game." Humanity loves a contest!  We just love to watch and/or participate in competition.  The Super Bowl is in an elite category of contests, right up there with Game 7 of a World Series (or NBA or NHL Championship), the 5th Set of a Wimbledon Final, the final round at Augusta, the Home Stretch at the Kentucky Derby, the Gold Medal game in the Olympics.  The drama just doesn't ge...

Scarlet . . . tangerine . . . mustard . . . a tumble of leaves like oversized confetti falling to comm emorate the season's transition. The e xuberant riots of color flutter and dance, flying blatantly in the face of the death the falling signals. Such incongruent joy in the midst of dying, baring, slowing, rotting. Joy is always out of place on this decaying planet . . . that's the point. It's not from here! It is foreign and made of materials alien to our world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I remember when my family moved from Iowa to British Columbia when I was 8 years old. We quickly found that not only did we deeply miss friends and family far away, but there were some things from our American home we couldn't get in our new home in Canada. How I missed Butterfinger and Three Musketeers! Canadian bacon was delicious, but the cur e just didn't have the same flavor of Iowa bacon. Our favorite seasoning, Lawry's Sea...

This picture isn't of me, but in many ways, this girl IS me and is so representative of my thoughts about my country. I have a very soft spot in my heart for the 4th of July and all that we celebrate today. As an American girl who moved to Canada at age 8, something wonderful happened to my patriotis m. . . at least I think it was wonderful. I always loved being an American, but I don't think I gave it much thought until I was in a new country, looking back across the border. As a little girl growing up in rural Iowa, the 4th of July was about fireworks and family and community and fun--pure Americana at its best! When we moved to Canada I learned about what was then called Dominion Day, Canada's equivalent to our 4th of July but celebrated on July 1st. I didn't mind celebrating Canada's independence, but I did very much mind that there were no 4th of July fireworks to go with it! As I got older, although I deeply loved my home in beautiful British Colu...