Saturday, April 30, 2011

Kitchen Table Talk




If my kitchen table could talk, oh what it could share. The top is made of pine, a softer wood that hides nothing. Every slash mark written on paper during a game is imprinted atop the table. Every tap of the last domino held in Mexican dominoes is reflected in the dents. The worn green bench with matching two chairs came from another table set my mother had dating back to before I was born. Aside the table sits my ‘youth’ chair, which I sat in until I was a teenager.
Countless days we sat in these old chairs, prayers always preceding a meal. Laughter raising the roof. Yes, there were a few arguments at this table but mostly laughter and joy. Tears were shed when we discussed hard times in our lives or the lives of someone we loved.
I stare transfixed at the table now as the ebb and flow of life is moving around me in fast-forward through years past. Gifts wrapped, clothes folded, Bible studied, home work done.
Children growing.
Years passing.
The day in- day out of life. The things we overlook waiting for some grand event or major holiday. Those little uneventful times are our life. And my kitchen table has seen it all. Have I? Have I savored these moments or rushed through them?

What about you?
How do you savor the little moments in time?

“In the whole of world history there is always only one really significant hour—the present.” Dietrich Bonheoffer

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Untitled


A Shadow
Imperceptible, yet ever present
Creeps, seeps, hovers ominously within each of us.
Darkness and selfishness are its abode, shunning kindness and generosity.
But one man banished the shadows, fled from evil, and sacrificed Himself
In His love, his selflessness.
It is from Him that we learn to turn from our shadows
And walk into the way of the light.


 Author
Anonymous 13 year old



Monday, April 11, 2011

Are You Connected?


Experience Life! Fully connected… let nothing hold you back from having Massive Power within your hands!

Are these words referring to the richness of Life one can experience through having a relationship with Jesus?
Or is this a Verizon Wireless add I received in the mail?

Sadly it’s the latter.
But I have to laugh at how similar the two can be compared.  They both give you a feeling of relationship with someone else. One is temporary, the other eternal. Our souls are clearly longing for a life more fully connected to its Maker. We have the power within our hands but it won’t be found in a phone or I Pad.
Through creation to created technology, from tweeting to texting, there is a deep hunger for connection.

God is shouting to us through His word, “What I have is freely given! Take it and you really can experience life to the fullest!”

How do you spend time getting fully connected? Here is what one person has written,
Give Dad a more welcome greeting when he comes home than the dog.
Speak kindly to your younger brother.
Iron the dress for your sister.
Listen to the troubles of another.

I might add,
Look into the eyes of your kids or husband when they talk to you.
Be generous to others.

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 1 Timothy 6:18-19

And God says.. “Can you hear me now?’