When the Menu is Manna

                                                   Sow a garden of gratitude! Sometimes, my garden resembles one of a “Madditude," a term I use to describe a garden overrun by negative thoughts and emotions. The enemy thrives in sowing seeds of negativity. It arrives through the disappointment you didn't see coming, the unresolved conflict that dampens your spirit, or those prayers that seem to go unanswered forever. All are perfect grounds for choking out the roots of gratefulness in our lives.  So much more than “thankfulness at the moment,” gratitude is the deep-abiding, perfectly paired combination of our disappointments and triumphs. The former provides the strength for the latter. So, bury the seeds of doubt, discord, and disappointment. Water them with tears of joy and sadness, with acts of kindness and love, and watch a garden of gratitude begin ...

  It was the beginning of a new season of Bible study. I was a young stay-at-home mom who looked very forward to "getting out of the house" without the diaper bag, cheerios stuck to my sweater, or the infamous smiley face stickers from the that well-known superstore that my eldest loved to stick in strange places. In particular, she would stick them on my backside unknown to me at least  until I stood up in one of the front row pews at our church, and the need for check in the mirror along with a pocket check began.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I was apprehensive. I didn't know anyone, and crowds were not my thing then and still aren't now. I nervously entered the room and placed my belongings on a seat, among others, which looked like a safe place until I could get my bearings and maybe even meet other people braving the stay-at-home mom time in life.  The gathering was a well-established Bible study group. I decided to step out for a minute to take a few deep...

  Has there been a time when your trust was shaky or on the fringes of becoming nonexistent? I certainly have friend. It is such an unsettling, stressful place to try to exist. Losing your confidence in someone or even yourself can be debilitating and cause you to ask questions like, "How did this happen?" "What can I do?" "Where do I go from here? Or "Who will be with me?" Maybe these were Joshua's very thoughts. One minute, he was the right-hand man of Moses, a trusted and respected figure in the community, and the next, he was the leader of the Israelites, a role he might have felt unprepared for to a people that did not have a history of being somewhat unruly. He, too, must have wondered why he would be chosen to lead this band of people with a bent to waywardness. Like me, and maybe like you, when things seem to have gone completely crazy, he probably asked the same question, "What's going on here?" I think we've all had the...

                                                To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven Ecclesiastes 3:1 Well, it's June 25, 5:31 pm. I am officially another year older. Each year I realize more and more how precious and short life is. I think of all those things I plan to do but never seem to get around to doing. Checklists get me through life.  So, here's to year 59 with 59 things listed in no specific order to honor the gift of another year.  Finish the current manuscript for the last devotional book in the When the Menu is Manna series. (Check it out on Amazon) Keep my exercise routine of Pilates, floor exercises, and regular appointments with my beloved friend, treadmill Get up earlier Memorize one scripture each week and apply it to my life Clean out some, probably not all, closets Buy Christmas presents early Ta...

Harvey Brown was a gentleman I will never forget. I met him during my sophomore year in high school while playing the piano for Sunday morning services at the convalescent center in the town where I lived. Mr. Brown was the song leader for the service and also a center resident. Each week, he and I would gather a few minutes before the service to pick out the songs we would sing. Within minutes, the congregation members would begin to arrive and find their places in the small chapel pews. I chuckled under my breath as we greeted the worshippers. The same rhetoric could be heard weekly: "How are you this morning, Miss Audrey?"  She would reply: "I can't hear you!" "Can't you speak up a little bit?" or "Good morning, Mr. Johnson. How's your day so far?" The reply was the same almost every week, "When is this gonna be over? I'm hungry." Breakfast had not even been over an hour at that point. One by one, they took their plac...

"It's NOT my job." Have you heard this before? Better yet, have you said it? I confess I've been on both sides of this statement. I've listened to it, and though I hate to admit it, I have also said this. Before an opinion begins to form, there are some valid reasons one might say that something is not their job. Acting would break the chain of command; more qualifications or resources must be needed to complete the job. However, saying it is not my job because there is no desire to do what needs to be done, even with the authority, skills, or resources to accomplish the task, is a far different matter. Unwillingness has crossed the line from focusing on self rather than the need in the situation, and therein lies the battle between self-importance and serving.  Serving others is often far from glamorous. In my world as both an elementary teacher and administrator, it has meant many things: wiping noses, yes, cleaning up the results of lunches that didn't set ...

"He loves me. He loves me not."  Do you remember picking the petals off a flower in this game of chance and waiting to see if chance would bring the outcome you wanted? You may have even discarded an extra petal to win this game of chance. I was guilty of that a time or two. A silly game for sure, yet it is an excellent example of our bent to love only under the right self-made conditions. Ironically, often without meaning to, we not only place conditions on others but also on God's love for us. We find it difficult to accept that God's love is unconditional. No petals are needed.   In Mark chapter 2, Jesus begins His public ministry, with crowds in awe of His magnificent works and miracles of healing. People were more focused on what He could do for them than on who He was or why He came. In this chapter, Jesus establishes His authority. It seems that He experienced some definite "He loves me not" moments when those in authority resisted His claim. At the s...

  Today, I choose goodness. I'm not always good, but I still choose it. I'm sure many of you can relate to this. I will never forget picking up my kindergartener from school one day only to receive a glowing report about how well she behaved every day! By the time we reached home, I was confident they had put the wrong child in my car because the little one sitting in the backseat of my Jeep and now entering the house was indeed an imposter. I saw nothing "good" about how she was now behaving. A little flustered yet curious about her Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior transition from the school pick-up line to our home, I asked her about the sudden behavior change that began to surface when her teacher was out of sight. She matter-of-factly replied, "I'm tired of being good!" My initial reaction was to scold her and question why I wasn't seeing the 'good' child her teacher described. Instead, I took a moment to breathe and tapped into what I li...