He’s in the waiting

by Dawn Aldrich

by Kerrie Butterfield

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you.”

2 Peter 3:9

A few years ago I went shopping on December 22nd  to do a little last minute Christmas shopping, when I stumbled upon a sweet Mom and her very determined toddler who Papa used to talk with  me about my own heart:

I was waiting in the express line with one tiny item when I heard the screams of a visibly upset todler. He was having a massive tantrum. You could see he was deeply distressed,  sad, and his despair was overwhelming him and His Mom. This is what I overheard:

Mom: “I ‘m not buying that for you. Christmas is just 3 days away.”

Little boy: “I’s never coming!! Christmas is never going to come. It’s 700 days away!!!!” (more crying, and angry tears)

Mom: “It’s just 3 days away.”

Little boy: “It is not. It is never coming. It’s never going to happen.”

Mom: “I wouldn’t lie to you, it is really close. I promise. Three isn’t a lot. Just a little.”

Little boy: “It’s forever!!!”

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Where Are the Worms?

by Carol Nicholls

Image by Andy Langager
Flickr.com_4711980319_a417dcf16b_CC BY-ND 2.0

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit.” John 5:8

Have you ever picked up a perfect apple, bit into its sweetness and then found half a worm? Suddenly that bite of deliciousness makes you gag! Or, perhaps, your computer is working fine until the next time you turn it on and the internet refuses to connect. After a lot of frustrating work you discover it has a “bug.”

It’s amazing how many times what starts with joy ends with irritation and disappointment. There’s the shiny new car that becomes a lemon; next door to the wonderful new home you purchased resides a noisy, rude neighbor or relationships that begin with hope, suddenly end with bitter disappointment.

When you think about your life, how many things have not worked out and left you wondering what went wrong? Is there someone or something that just rubs you the wrong way for no apparent reason?

Deep inside, like the worm in the apple, there is a reason.

What Good Is

by Wendy

Image by M42
Flickr.com_2537258043_306e52e206_CC BY-ND 2.0

Anxious and exhausted, I grabbed my journal and flopped on the bed. The room was quiet and neat, just what I needed before the harrowing week ahead.

Oh, the week.  I’d failed miserably two years ago, and I shuddered as images filled my head.  Forty international choral professionals. One world-renowned conductor. And me.  Five days, five opportunities dreaded assignments to conduct. I cloistered myself in my room, studied, skipped meals, and stayed up until 2am conducting.  Finally, with years of habit to unlearn and 2 nights to do it, my arms would not obey. Conducting patterns disappeared as I slipped and slopped my way through piece after piece.  Jangled, disoriented and dismayed, I cried myself to sleep. The next day, terrified, tears seeped out of my eyes in front of the professor, and soon the whole class knew. I was falling, with no net.

Now those same terrifying days would stare me down again in just… twelve hours.

Are My Beliefs Paramount to the Lord?

by Mike McKinniss

“Disagreement” by kodakhrome under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other night, at times intense, sensitive and personal. We were talking about things that mattered deeply to us about family and trauma, about healing and God.

And we disagreed. She, on the basis of her reading of Scripture and her experience, believed one way about the Lord and his work in the present. I, from similar grounds, believed another.

Sola fides. We’re only now a week past the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s epoch-altering convictions. His ideas he hammered to the parish door, then into the minds and hearts of generations of Protestants, and chief among these is the notion that it is through faith alone (sola fides was his Latin term for it) that we are saved by God. He got his cues from Paul: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8a, ESV).

This is no small matter.

Repentance: Feel the Love

by Mindy Kiker

Image by Jason Watson
Flicker.com_deviantmonk_8khVEE-4P7_CC BY-ND 2.0

Love your enemies, do good to them….Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36

Love is tough. It’s gritty and glorious. I struggle to love people when I’m disappointed in them, or in myself, or with life in general. Sometimes I come across less like a lover and more like an accuser. You don’t want to know me when I get into striving mode with a long to-do list and a tight time schedule with little margin. I inevitably start to feel the strain, but instead of dealing with my own heart before The Lord, I like to start first by blaming others:

It’s the kids’ problem–they’re so disobedient. Why did I have so many children?

It’s my husband’s problem–he’s not at all helpful. Why didn’t I stay single?

It’s my many obligations–why didn’t I say “No!”? What was I thinking?