It's been way too long since I blogged, but a few days have ganged up on me all at once over these last few weeks.  For those of you who have expressed an interest in and an appreciation for some of my photographs, I humbly thank you.  We have a snowstorm, perhaps, blizzard, bearing down upon us, and my hope is to do some reflecting over the coming hours while fervently praying that the power does not go out!  Where would we be if, suddenly finding ourselves in neolithic conditions, we are forced to reckon with being shut-in - in the cold?  And who are these peculiar creatures with whom I am forced to share more space and time than I'm accustomed?
     In my particular case, I will have to clear a spot in the yard come what may for the four-legged ones who will have to venture out for a potty break now and then.  At least the curly one, Coco, will be hard pressed to find the squirrel or rabbit "pebbles" which she views fondly as nature's treats...Perhaps her breath will be uncontaminated for but a few hours.  And the cat, creatively renamed "Cat" by me, will taunt the curly one in her waking moments and later dream of warmer days and mouse hunts to come......

No time to blog...

One of these days I'm going to have to take a holiday - just for blogging.  I feel so many thoughts flooding in - especially when I'm driving - and so little time to blog.

     When I stopped at a store after a very fulfilling day, I offered the person behind me the chance to put her twelve items next to mine - even though room in the "twelve items only" conveyor was tiny...  She did so, but didn't acknowledge the gesture on my part in any way.  Because the young lady was half my age, she might have been worried that I was "making a move;" however, I have to assert that if that ever entered my mind I'd yell, "run like ----," because my life is so complicated...
 
     I contrasted this with the reception I received at a sister store last evening from Ruth.  Ruth was in despair, because she was scheduled to work until 3 AM this morning.  She lamented the management scheduling decisions, and I simply assured her that she's one of the best cashiers (along with Joyce, Becky, Joe, some of the other employees I've come to know).  She seemed to appreciate the remark, although when I referred to the scheduler in an uncomplimentary way I had to clarify whom I was referencing...(not Ruth).

     These encounters just underscore the fact that some people are going to give us "the brush," while others are going to appreciate our comments and our relationships...  Watch for and celebrate your interactions with the receptive ones, my friends, because the time we're given is way too precious to waste!  

Sharing of oneself is a lifestyle...

     Some people are inclined to give of themselves in remarkable ways.  I think I have much to learn from these folks, these teachers....One such person is Becky, a cashier at a store I patronize.  Becky radiates the love of the LORD, and I only regret that I don't see her more frequently these days.  Another is Ruth.  Her story from last evening is as follows:
    

    

     Her name is Ruth, and she works in a store I frequent.  I noticed she was subdued this evening, and I surmised she was exhausted…She verified that - as we spoke, and yet she still loaded my groceries into the cart.  Ruth is one of those individuals who always has a witty word for those in her care - except tonight.  Tonight unfolded differently, and as she observed that she had about three hours yet to work, I helped her load my groceries after she chided me a bit with “You must be tired, too,” which I sheepishly confessed I really was not.  Then as we parted, she turned and immediately began assisting a little boy with something he’d dropped in the aisle…

     Suddenly outside of herself, Ruth was renewed…  Gracious and gifting once again…

The greater gifts are gifts of self when we feel least able to give…  That makes our effort even more extraordinary…More like the embrace of God...

I still have much to learn from these wise ones, and maybe you do, too!

     There has been a beautiful Christmas tree that came from deep in the woods...It was so large that it towered and filled a corner of the worship space.  Standing under it, I felt like a small child again - at age four, staring upward - remembering how it felt to be lifted up by my Dad high over his head...Jesus wants us to come to Him like small children, and that's precisely how I felt in the wonder of it all...

     The tree was so huge that it had to be sturdily roped with bungee cords in order to keep the tree in the stand.  I think some people thought it was one of the most beautiful trees ever placed there in their worship space...  On Wednesday at chapel with the four and five year old students, I had been preparing for the singing when suddenly I was drawn to look into the innermost branches of the tree, and there it was.

     A small birds nest, which had been carefully constructed, was hidden from first view, but as I pulled it outward for the amazed children, I remembered something about a traditional view of finding nests in Holy Days trees.  One of the teachers verified the understanding that when one finds a nest in a tree, the household is blessed...  I trust that this will be the case for our Household of Faith.  The teacher then related how blessed she had been the year her family found a nest in their tree...The children excitedly examined the nest, mud and tangled twigs, that reflected for us - the Lord's wonder in that very moment!

     It has been said that Carl Rogers, psychologist and theologian, once said that we seldom critique a sunset...
We refrain from saying, "Oh, I wish there were more indigo here and less orange there...!"  We simply enjoy a sunset.  We drink in the breathtaking colors which adorn the horizon.  So, too, last weekend with the splendid sunsets we viewed - a New Year's gift from the God of surprise...
     I would add that a sunset can teach us many things.  As we face the end of our temporal lives, we may have eyes to see that a sunset here in this temporal world is a sunrise in the Halls of Heaven, where our loved ones await...
     We have great hymns that were inspired by sunsets...
          "Beyond the Sunset"
          "Unclouded Day"
Great hymn stories accompany the composition of these testimonials in song, and I hope one day to sing "beyond the sunset," in a "place where no storm clouds rise."

This image was snapped at New Hudson on Milford Rd.  on Sunday, January 2nd...

Sunday, January 2nd

I made a series of quick stops on the way to worship at All Saints Church on the evening of Sunday, January 2nd...  This farms scene is actually in Novi - right off 10 mile, but it could have been almost anywhere in the US...