One Year with God

DAY 31: A good friend of mine always says, "If there is something you don't like doing, do it with someone you like and you will enjoy it because you're together."  I've called on that friend many times to be the "someone I like" to walk alongside me through challenging, difficult and less enjoyable tasks - as well as all the fun things we get to do together.  And in all those circumstances I can attest to the truth of her "do it with a friend" philosophy.  When you have someone by your side to lean on the journey is always better. Today, I saw two friends in scripture doing just that.  For all the times I have read this same passage in Matthew 20, I have NEVER noticed that friends were at the heart of the story. Jesus and His disciples were on the move again.  They were leaving the city of Jericho on their way to Jerusalem.  As they were leaving the city, a huge crowd followed them. Jesus and the crowd happened to pass by, not one, but

DAY 30: It is really frustrating when someone says they will do something but never do it; odder still how easy it is to come to expect people NOT to do what they say.  This happens all too often in the context of our families.  Raising kids, this was a never ending battle. I never wanted my kids to feel that they lived in a hotel and that things would just magically get done for them.  I did not clean their rooms.  I did not pick up their laundry off the floor.  They were expected to handle their own messes.  They were also expected to help with the family messes, but I was never great at maintaining "THE CHORE CHART" like so many other moms I knew.  Life always seemed to interrupt my scheduling, so I adopted a more random system.  If something needed to be done, I would just ask my kids to do it. "Chase, can you pick up the trash the dogs drug out please?" "Hannah, we are out of towels so would you wash a load when you get home?" "Bailey

DAY 29: We are always stressing the importance of getting a good education to our kids.  When they were very young the most important thing they could do, we told them, was learn to make their letters.  "There is nothing you can't do in life if you learn your alphabet," I would say dramatically. Later, it was multiplication tables that promised to change their lives.  Then learning the presidents,  conjugating verbs, and the periodic table.  I admit, I never stressed algebra, because let's face it, even a kid knows you are never going to have to find "x" when when "y" is 40 and "z" is 12 billion. But other than that, I tried to impress upon my kids that what they invested now in their education would pay off in later life.  The choices they made during their school years, and now in college, have a direct impact on the rest of their lives. I call it the "Now & Then" principle: what you do now will make a big differenc

DAY 28: One of the biggest objections I hear from those who refuse to surrender themselves to God has to do with all the suffering in the world.  You've probably heard it, too.  "If God is so loving then why do good people suffer?"  "If God is really in control, then why do bad things happen?" The answers the world offers are pretty simple: either God is not loving or God is not able to stop the bad. Today however, I heard God speak for Himself on the subject of why bad things happen to those who know Him and those who don't.   In Exodus 5-7 Moses and Aaron begin the process of carrying out God's plan.  As instructed, they went to Pharaoh and requested that he let the Israelite go. Pharaoh refused and retaliated by decreeing that the slaves would no longer be given straw to make the bricks required.  They would have to find their own straw but still meet the old quota of bricks.  The leaders of the Israelite complained to Moses that he wasn'

DAY 27: There is an ongoing argument between our kids about who is the favorite child. When they were little ones such thoughts never crossed their minds. However, as they entered the teens years, the competition began. I find the whole thing utterly ridiculous and intensely annoying.  It goes without saying that we have never encouraged this debate but it rages on regardless of our efforts to stop it.  As you might suspect, the one who feels he has the strongest claim to superiority of our affections is  the first born.  Chase is three years older than his brother and four years older than his sister.  His logic is that we have loved him longest therefore we must love him best.  Conversely, it is the personal mission of both his siblings to knock him down a peg and in the process stake their own claim to favorite. Contributing to the competition was the addition of our adopted son during those teen years and he also feels that since he was chosen into the family he must be the fav

DAY 26: I've said it once and I'll say it again: I love reading in the Old Testament.  On the one hand it is a history book that explains the context in which Jesus entered humanity.  But it is history brought to life through the stories of individual people encountering God in a variety of circumstances.  Perhaps none of the books are more thrilling than Genesis and Exodus.  I find it a page turner every time I read it.  And then just when I am content to read a fascinating story about fascinating people, God reaches out and speaks to my heart in ways that make a difference in my life today. There I was, enjoying reading about the traumas in Moses life as he was first born under a death sentence, rescued from a basket in the river, raised by royalty, committed murder in rage, ran for his life, found love in the dessert and then encountered God in a blazing bush.  It has all the makings of a great drama.  In fact, in my theatrical mind, I often visualize the action as I r

DAY 25: According to my mom , it is only natural that I make my living in communications. A big talker from a young age, I earned myself the nickname “chatty Kathy” at home.  It was quite a contrast to my sister who was (and is) far more reserved.  Many times my mom would see me tagging along a few steps behind my older sister just chattering away as if I were saying the most important things in the world, while Tammi walked ahead seemingly unaware I was even there.   In school, my conduct grades reflected my outgoing nature.  While I generally received “Satisfactory” check-marks in areas like “follows the rules” and “gets along with others,” I almost always received “Unsatisfactory” in “listens well” and “pays attention.”   Sometimes I even got check minuses.  My skills were clearly under-appreciated but rapidly developing. My parents urged me to put those “skills” to good use as I got older.  In high school I joined the speech competition team.  It was awesome to finally get som

DAY 24: It is a burden to have a memory as bad as mine.  I can't remember names.  I forget things I have said and done.  I misplace my keys daily.  I won't even go into the time I forgot to put on shoes before I left the house and arrived at a parent-teacher conference in my slippers.  For the most part, my lapses are more annoying than anything, but occasionally they are costly.  Like when I forgot that I signed up to take a meal to a family with a new baby. I hope that had left overs, otherwise on my assigned night they went hungry. But nothing is more costly than spiritual forgetfulness.   I would even go so far as to call it amnesia.  Spiritual Amnesia is when I completely forget the past faithfulness of God in my life in the face a difficult circumstance.  I don't know if it is the stress, or the fear, or perhaps my focus being consumed by my immediate crisis, but at such times when I need it the most, I can forget how faithful God has been. Just today, as I fa

DAY 23: It has been a great w inter for terrestrial fireworks. With various meteor showers lighting up the night, it is a s if the uni verse is has been showing off. When my kids were younger we would take advantage of all the movements of the heavens.  If a comet was passing by, we would set the alarm for 3am so we could enjoy the show.  With sleepy eyes and hot chocolate in hand, we would lay under the stars and wait to be awed by the multitude of falling stars. It's hard to say who enjoyed it more: me, the kids, or the five dogs who were so excited to have company in the yard. Summer or winter, sun or moon, we tried to catch every eclipse, comet, and meteor shower in our area.  Such times are a thrilling reminder that the universe is a dynamic, vigorous, untamable and seemingly inexhaustible force. After all, what do we know of that is more enduring than the sun? As Providence would have it, on the very day that the sun is reminding us of its dominance in the  heav

DAY 22: I've been talking a lot of smack lately to my daughter about how I am going to join an exercise "boot camp" being offered at a local health club.  It is suppose to be a really tough work out regimen but the results are suppose to be amazing.  My daughter is one of those who works out a lot to keep those college pounds away.  More than that, she is just really strong and has great endurance.  She teases me a great deal because I can't open a pickle jar; so I really want to prove to her that I can succeed at boot camp and get strong. The course started the first week of January; and I am ashamed to say, after all my bluster about how I was gonna beef up and give her some competition on the hiking trails, I didn't sign up.  The truth is that I  doubted that I would be able to survive.  I am a wimp.  I am weak.  I don't like to sweat.  Come on -really? What were the chances I would survive the first week?  So doubt won and I didn't go.  All my talk a

DAY 21: It could be argued that we live in a world where we are all too easily offended.  Blame it on mammas and daddies who coddled their children too much; or our litigious societies that make it profitable to be offended because you can sue for just about anything. Perhaps it is the modern psycho-analytical age that encourages us all to say how we feel and put our self-esteem above all else.  We are offended by what is taught in schools and what is not. We are offended by things on the TV, in the news, and when another driver cuts in front of us in traffic.  We are offended by what other people wear, what they believe, what they say and what they do.  We are offended in our homes, at our offices, and in the streets. Sometimes justified, often times not, everywhere we turn there is something that we find offensive. But who is actually to blame for the offense?  For example, If I show up at a dinner party wearing jeans but my hostess is in satin and pearls and she is offended by

DAY 20: I received a surprise party invite in the mail not long ago. I was really looking forward to celebrating my friend's upcoming birthday, but even more than that, it was so much fun knowing the secret!  There is just something delicious about having information others don't have.  Perhaps that is the appeal of gossip.  It just inherently makes us feel special to have this guarded information.  Let me just say for the record, however, that I am for surprise parties... I am strongly against gossip.  The secrets I love are the ones that you know will bring joy when they are exposed; and it is a special delight to be entrusted with them until the cat is out of the bag.   And I've known some great secrets.  I knew my son was going to propose to his girlfriend and even got to plan the surprise engagement party.  I knew a good friend was getting the job she wanted before she knew.  I knew I was pregnant for three days before I told my husband. The list of secrets I

DAY 19: I'm was in one of those situations where I was completely over my head.  I wish I were talking about the deep end of the pool, but I'm referring to the deep end of life. One place is in helping a dear family deal with all of the medical fallout that comes when someone you love suffers a stroke, I was severely out of my depth. With no medical training and no experience in this kind of matter it feels like the blind leading the blind.  Yet they are first generation Americans and they were depending on me to find a way to get the best care for their beloved wife and mother. I had been doing the best I can, but in so many ways my efforts had just not been good enough. Once I realized that, God let me in on a secret as I read from Genesis 41.  Things had not been going so well for Joseph either.  You remember, he was the boy with the coat of many colors who made his brothers so jealous they sold him into slavery in Egypt.  After a false accusation from his master's

Day 18: I am a huge John Wayne fan.  Growing up, he was the only hero I had and the only star I ever wrote a fan letter to.  I loved everything about him.  I love his swagger.  His sideways "I dare you" look.  His awesome one liners that I still quote today.  When my kids are running late, I call out, "Come on, we're burnin' daylight." If one sasses, I remind them, "You better smile when you say that, mister. "  Or perhaps I'll respond, "You're short on ears and long on mouth, son." After all, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." Or in my case... a mom! Really, what's not to admire about the man. He was a hero with True Grit. He never lost his cool, and rarely lost a fight. His characters, which of course I equate with him, were tough but fair, proud but wise, rowdy but not raunchy.  He played flawed men who seemed to always find the better self.  And he never ever backed down.  Isn't that what a

DAY 17: I came across one of those chapters today in my daily reading that most of us think about skipping.  After some narratives, it launched into a family lineage of the brothers Jacob and Esau.  Personally, I like these passages because they often contain intriguing little tidbits that make me think of my own quirky family. Take for instance some of the things I found as I was reading Genesis 35 and 36 today.  First, we find out that Jacob gets a name change. God tells him, "You will now be called Israel." I can relate to that.  If you dig far enough back in just about any family you will find that your current surname is probably some variation of your family's original name.  My Uncle Bob, who is now in the presence of Jesus, spent his entire long life investigating our family's genealogy.  Bob was one of nine brothers and sisters of Mayward and Ludie Hembree, a couple who participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. It turns out, that like Jacob, our famil

DAY 16: It is day 16 of our ONE YEAR WITH GOD.  My personal goal is to meet with Him every single day, not to discover truths, or wisdom, or answers to my zillions of questions.  The goal is much simpler than that.  I just want to be God's friend.  I want to know Him better.  I want our relationship to be deeper.  I want to love Him more. I have tried other more complicated strategies to find the secret to intimacy with God, but through them I actually know Him less. Commentaries, Bible studies and small group meetings might help me "know" more, but they don't always lead to knowing Him more.  It is completely contrary to everything we learn growing up, "Just work hard and you would succeed."  Ironically, working hard to get more information about God doesn't really lead to knowing Him, only knowing about him.  That is because spiritual truth isn't a product of effort or intellect that comes from us.  It is a revelation that is granted by God.

DAY 15: Some people like to keep their spiritual life private.  They think of it as a personal thing. Truth be told, when my kids were younger, they wished desperately that I was one of those people.  They were sorely disappointed.  I love telling people what I am learning about God.  I get so excited when I discover something about His character or when I see His hand in my life.  They just wished I wasn't so excited about sharing it with THEIR friends. Even now, when they bring home a college friend, if I happen to see God at work somewhere, I try to engage their friends in a conversation about it.  It's not that they are embarrassed about God - just about their mom from time to time.  As much as I want to make them "comfortable" and "happy" I admit that my enthusiasm gets the better of me most of the time. I am happy to say that as they are getting older, they too are discovering the joy of telling someone else about how TOTALLY AWESOME God is.  They