Up the Sunbeam

-- People who know me now would probably be surprised--at least I hope they would be surprised!--but when I was growing up, I had a very sharp tongue, especially when it came to my two younger brothers. As the big sister, much older than both of them (one by 6 years and the other by almost 13 years), I was sometimes left in charge as the built in babysitter, and unfortunately I got very good at using my sharp tongue as a weapon of control. During this time I can remember my parents' efforts to help me with this.  My daddy used his sense of humor and would tell me to be "Gentle like Charmin." My sweet mom would gently but firmly work to temper my speech into something more gentle, more loving, less cutting and less superior in my tone (tone of voice was big in our family). She would often remind me of a Bible verse that made God's thoughts on this perfectly clear, "Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,...

-- They were practically superheroes! At the very least, they were the equivalent of today's Secret Service, Special Forces and 5-Star Generals rolled into one. David's Mighty Men , 37 warriors named and honored for all time as Hall-of-Famers in the history of Israel. Many of them joined David after God had named him Israel's next king, but while he was still on the run, trying to stay alive in the face of then-King Saul's attempts to kill him. They risked everything to support and protect the man whom God had chosen to be their next king. David had been in caves and foxholes with these guys, had lived on the razor's edge of life and death with them, had been protected and defended by them, knew their names and their stories and where they were from. His relationship with them was forged in the fires of combat and they must have been closer to David than his own brothers. Fast-forward a quarter of a century . . . David has been on the throne for some 20 years...

-- Woody Allen is oft-quoted as saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Now, Woody Allen is an agnostic on his best days and an atheist on his worst, but even Christians sometimes use this quote as though it were true. How many times have we all heard testimonies of missionaries or pastors that follow an arc something like this: "I never wanted to be a missionary/pastor; that's the LAST thing I wanted to be!" They sigh wistfully . . . remembering the passion they once had . . . and say, "No, I dreamed of being a . . . chef doctor artist teacher musician professional golfer writer business owner (fill in your own)" then, steeling themselves, carrying grimly on with their story they say, "but God had other ideas, and now I am doing His work. You should be doing God's work too!" What they don't say out loud, but fairly scream from between the lines, is, "God is a dream killer!" "Don't...

The best basketball coach I know teaching She So Sweet the game he loves. Daddy, I hope you know that you’re my hero    My hero, my champion, my coach And every good thing a father should be and rarely is    You have taught me such important things In such creative, memorable ways. Daddy, you’ve always made me feel so wanted    Wanted and beautiful and loved Things every girl should have a chance to feel but seldom does    You always encouraged and believed And somehow you made me believe in me. Daddy, when it was time for me to leave home    Our home, our family, our bit of heaven All the safe, sweet things the world wants and hardly ever sees    You gave me the courage to step out To go find my life and to live it well. Daddy, I hope the way I live makes you proud    Proud and hopeful, and certain That all the things you taught me have settled down and taken root    My life is so much better, rich...

-- Some aches and pains are easier to ignore than others. There's the "Ooh, it hurts to move my finger," variety or the "Gee, what did I do to my knee?" kind. Those are usually fairly easy to ignore, or at least to create some mental distance where you can carry on pretty much unhindered. Then there's the, "Hmm, lunch didn't seem to agree with me, I think I'll lie down for a little while," or the "This sore throat is no fun, maybe I'll stop for a cup of hot caramel apple cider." These slow you down and may even make you ease up on your work schedule somewhat, but no big deal, right? Everyday ordinary aches and pains--we all have them, we all live with them, we all try to make the best of life with them. I am blessed to live with very few and very minor aches and pains--I hope you are too. However, I have a recent experience with pain that opened my eyes to something in me that lurks just beneath the surface of my personalit...