Parachute Prayer #43

Once upon a time, when my husband was deployed to Iraq over Christmas, I remember being reduced to a puddle of tears right in the middle of the baking goods aisle at WalMart by Karen Carpenter’s beloved song, Merry Christmas, Darling, playing throughout the store.

You remember the one. Merry Christmas, Darling. We’re apart, that’s true . . .

Bah. Humbug.

I didn’t fare much better with Elvis’s, Blue Christmas, or the ever-popular, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, playing at the mall.

I remember thinking at the time that it was a bit cruel. I’d like to formally request that all merchants nationwide stick to playing cheerful Christmas music in public places this year. No offense meant to Karen, Elvis, or any other Christmas crooners.

Alas, I don’t have much faith in the power of my little blog to change the playlists of shopping centers across the country. So I’d like to suggest a more positive twist:

When we hear these songs while Christmas shopping, let’s pray for military families who can’t be together for the holidays this year. Who knows? The lady one aisle over may be frantically trying to bury her tears in a bag of brown sugar. Ask God to cheer her heart, keep her husband safe, and happily reunite them soon.

Lord, it’s nice to be together at Christmas, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. Please encourage families who have to be apart. Remind them of their purpose. Assure them their sacrifice is not in vain. And help them to find creative and meaningful ways to celebrate together by heart, if not by locale. Comfort them, Lord, as only You can. Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

Wildflower Nightmare!

Warning: This post is not for the faint of heart. I know I almost fainted when I first saw what I’m about to show you.

In fact, at first I thought maybe my wildflower hunting days were over—for good. Really! Evidently, evil lurks, and I wasn’t sure the flowers were worth it.

Then I realized that all I have to do is wear my reading glasses when I go flower hunting—every time, from now on. Really!

You see, this past weekend, I was transferring my Thanksgiving pictures from my camera to my computer when I discovered I’d forgotten to transfer the pictures from my last flower hunt—in September—along with pictures from a few other events. Oh, my! How fast time goes by!

But when I began looking at the flower pictures, this is what I found: (Warning—those with heart conditions or bug-a-phobias may not want to look too close!)


Mercy me! I was that close to that bug! And I didn’t even see him! If the computer hadn’t magnified him for me, I’d have never known.

Does he seem to be smiling for the camera? No. I think he’s laughing at me.

I also found this: (It’s not so scary as the first.)



See his cute, little antennae sticking out of that cantaloupe blossom? He’s sneaky, that one.

I may never leave my house again. Or at least I’ll keep my feet on pavement or concrete when I do.

I’m only kidding. I've decided the flowers are worth the risk.

I have two wildflower thoughts on this nightmare experience:

1. Sometimes when God leads us down the wildflower thinking trail, He brings things to mind that we don’t want to think about, would rather not consider too closely. When this happens, we choose to turn away in revulsion or fear or we ask God for the courage to look and learn what He’s trying to teach, to take care of the matter, to do what He’s leading us to do.

2. Many people walk through life noticing God’s work, for example, His creation, physical healing, relationship restoration, etc. Yet they fail to see God in it. There He is right in front of their noses, but all they see is what they expect to see or what they’re specifically looking for.

This is why our lives must magnify the Lord just as my reading glasses and computer magnified those wildflower bugs. We live to reveal Jesus to those who don’t see Him, right here!

Lord, You’re full of surprises. Thanks for using even a bug or two to lead me to contemplate life with and for You.

Happy New Year! Yes! Today!

Did I jump the gun? No! As I mentioned last week, today is the first Sunday of the Christian year. It’s also the first Sunday of Advent.

(I did research jumping the gun, by the way. When a runner starts a race before the gun goes off, that’s jumping the gun. So—if we do something too early, we say we’re jumping the gun.)

As I understand it, the Christian year is a symbolic way of walking through the story of Jesus within a year’s time. We start with Advent, remembering Jesus’ first coming, then we concentrate on His ministry, death and resurrection, then the work of the church as it waits in anticipation of His second coming. Celebrating the Christian year is a means of experiencing Jesus’ story again and again, yet with more depth and meaning every time.

I like that!

This first Sunday of Advent focuses on Hope. When I was editing Sunday school curriculum, we taught the story of the angel appearing to Mary on this Sunday. The Jewish people had been living in anticipation of the Messiah’s coming for many years. The angel told Mary He was coming at last—and she would be His mother.

Like the Jews of that time, Christians now live in anticipation of Christ’s coming. But He won’t come as a baby; this time He’ll come as our triumphant king!

Compare, contrast, ponder, and reflect on both events with joyful hope today!


Note: If you read my posts through e-mail or feed subscriptions, I happily invite you to click through to Wildflower Thinking sometime to see my new Christmas design!

Thanksgiving Prayer Thoughts

“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” –1 Chronicles 29:13

If ever we could think of nothing else to thank God for, we could thank Him for His Presence. He is with us always—wherever we are, whatever our circumstances.

That said, if God’s Presence is the one thing we can count on when all else fails, perhaps it’s the first thing we should thank Him for this year!

Sometime today, slip away from the chaos for a few moments and spend some time thanking God for Who He is. Make a list of every attribute and biblical name for Him you can think of. Reflect on what each means to you personally.

Next, thank Him for what He’s done. Think back over your life journey, and look for God’s fingerprints all over it. Thank Him for His work in and through your life.

Thank Him also for what He will do. This is an act of faith—anticipating His work in this world, in your life, and in the lives of your loved ones. We don’t know what this will look like when God’s finished, but we know we’ll be amazed when the work is done! Thank Him for this hope.

Finally, if the weather allows, take a walk outside. Thank God for everything you see that reminds you He is there.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” –Psalm 19:1

Thank Him for revealing Himself to You through His creation and for drawing your attention to it this day, that you won’t take it for granted, but will hear the rocks cry out that God is here, that God is great beyond comprehension, that God is in control of everything.

“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.” –Psalm 11:4b

In her book, The God of All Comfort, Hannah Whitall Smith says, “It is a fact that we see what we look at, and cannot see what we look away from; and we cannot look unto Jesus while we are looking at ourselves.”

It’s good to thank God for our blessings. Let’s continue to do that, especially today. But today let’s start by thanking God for being God. Let’s take our eyes off of that which cannot last and thank God for the Presence we’ll enjoy through eternity!

Happy Thanksgiving! Bless God today!

A New Kind of New Year's Resolution

Am I jumping the gun? (Ooh! There's another strange phrase for me to research!) Thanksgiving isn’t even here, and I’m talking about New Year’s? Too early?

Actually, I’m just in time!

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian year. A new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent next week!

I didn’t know this until today. Well, I knew Advent starts next week, but I didn’t realize it was the beginning of a whole, new Christian year.

My new kind of New Year’s Resolution is to learn more about this Christian year this year.

You see, I come from a not-so-liturgical denomination. Yes. We celebrate Christmas and Easter. Many of our churches set up and light Advent candles through that season. We know all about Pentecost and some about Lent. Epiphany? May need insight into that. Our ministers preach what God’s Spirit lays on their hearts each week rather than follow the Lexionary and Christian calendar, though some feel led to follow these, and that’s okay! So long as they’re preaching God’s Word, we’re happy.

The Christian calendar just isn’t something we talk about a lot. But this year, I’m feeling strangely drawn to it. I want to look into it more closely. Christian tradition is important, and there’s much I can learn from my liturgical friends. I’ll be reading through a little book called A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job and exploring other resources, too. Whenever I discover something interesting, I’ll share! Not weekly. Not every Sunday. But as the Spirit leads. (I may be studying that which is liturgical, but I’m still a Nazarene!)

My study doesn’t officially begin until next week, but I read the introductory material this morning and learned that today is Reign of Christ Sunday! Wow! The introduction didn’t elaborate on that, but I’m speculating that if this is the last Sunday of the Christian year and the first starts with looking forward to Christ’s birth that today we’re looking forward to the Second Coming and Christ’s eternal reign. (Wait! Don’t tell me if I’m wrong! I don’t want to start at the end of the book! My hands are over my ears and I’m singing loudly, so I can’t hear you. Please don’t spoil the surprise!) For now I’ll just enjoy my speculation and think about our eternal Lord, Jesus Christ, today.

If the Christian calendar concept is somewhat new to you, too, please feel free to study along with me this year. And if you’ve grown up in a liturgical denomination, I’ll greatly appreciate any comments that help to enlighten me. (Just not about the significance of today's Reign of Christ Sunday. That's next-year-this-time's surprise!)

Happy New Year’s Eve—so to speak. Reflect on Christ’s eternal reign as you worship today, all day!

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" --Revelation 11:15b

Hallelujah! Praise His name. Amen.

Book Review: 101 Simple & Thoughtful Ways to Give This Christmas Away

Wow! Matthew West wrote a book! A good book! Usually he writes songs—really good songs. But the song he wrote for the latest Veggie Tales movie gave him the idea for a book, so he wrote that, too. It’s really good. (Did I say that already?)

101 Simple & Thoughtful Ways to Give This Christmas Away is a small hardback (6.5 x 6.5). Each page lists one idea for giving Christmas away followed by West’s explanation of the idea and a Bible verse. (I had no idea there were so many Bible verses about giving, yet they were all familiar verses. Seeing them all together in one place made me realize maybe I take them for granted sometimes.)

Throughout the book, West shares personal stories of times he was challenged to give in these ways. I especially appreciated the stories of his grandfather and father giving to others in ways that taught him. Some ideas are extremely simple, like giving a smile, others are more challenging, like giving till it hurts or giving to an enemy. But each idea is well presented, thought-provoking, and easy to understand. (I especially appreciated #16.) Some of West’s ideas draw attention to well-known charities such as Operation Christmas Child and the Salvation Army.

If you are looking for simple ideas to make Christmas giving more meaningful this year—and for giving all year round!—I highly recommend this cute, little book.

Thank you Tyndale House Publishers for sending me this complimentary copy to review.

Immeasurably More

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” –Ephesians 3:20-21

Through all that Alex could remember of his nine years, he had been sharing a room with either an older or a younger brother--the curse of being in the middle, you might say. He’d had enough. If we were moving, he wanted his own room.

But we were moving to the Netherlands where, we were warned, houses and yards are small. We decided we’d better prepare Alex for the worst.

He wasn’t discouraged by the news, however. Instead, he started dreaming of all the things he wanted in a new house. “Not only should everyone have their own bedroom, but the house should have a big yard. It should be on a quiet street where kids can ride their bikes without worrying about cars.” Pretty soon we all joined in the game: our dream house would include an office, a fireplace, and a swimming pool, too.

I didn’t really expect to find all of that in our new home, but I did pray that Alex would have his own bedroom, the big yard, and the quiet street. Those things were important this time--but still they seemed too much to hope for.

Imagine my surprise when the first home we looked at had everything we’d dreamed of--except the swimming pool. But the bonus playroom and reading corner more than made up for that, especially in the windy, rainy Netherlands where a pool would have been more trouble than fun anyway! God’s wisdom beat our imaginations again--why was I surprised?

God, Your power to provide amazes me. More than all we ask or imagine, You provide all we need--and more! Future homes will be different, but we’ll trust You to know what’s best for this family and in Your ability to provide. Thank You, Lord! Amen.

Being Comfortable

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” –2 Corinthians 1:3-5

When I hear the word uncomfortable, I usually think of trying to sleep on a lumpy mattress or wearing a heavy sweater on a hot summer day. Those are uncomfortable things to do.

But when I dissect the word uncomfortable, I realize it really means un-able to be comforted. That’s an entirely different thing.

For example, when one of our sons was a newborn, he had colic. No matter how much my husband and I rocked, walked, patted, and burped him, he was uncomfortable. We weren’t able to comfort him. He could receive no comfort from us.

(Thankfully, he outgrew this. He’s a perfectly pleasant person to be around now. I offer that encouragement to comfort any of my readers who have colicky babies right now. This too shall pass. Hang in there, my poor and tired, long-suffering friends!)

So what’s my point? Christians often find themselves in uncomfortable circumstances, but they should never be uncomfortable. Do you see the difference? We serve the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles! But we must allow Him to comfort us.

Why? So that we can comfort others!

If we walk around with sad faces all the time, whining about our discomfort in our circumstances, we won’t encourage anyone! Yet when we receive God’s comfort in trying times, others see this and become hopeful that they can be comforted, too. By receiving God’s comfort for ourselves, we make it possible for others to receive His comfort as well. Our comfort in times of suffering overflows to everyone!

This is good news!

So let’s not be uncomfortable. Let’s seek encouragement and hope from the God of all comfort. Let’s let Him walk us and rock us until the tears go away, and we can go about our day in joy and peace. It may take some time—that’s okay. Taking the needed time to be comforted is important. We can’t fake it; we must allow God to truly comfort us. We just can’t refuse to be comforted, to let God do His work in our lives. That’s being uncomfortable. That’s what we must avoid.

God of all comfort, thank You for working in my life to comfort me and through my life to comfort others. May others see Your amazing work and seek it for themselves that they can be comforted, too. Amen.

Parachute Prayer #42

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” –Matthew 9:37-38

What a perfect verse for November! We’re surrounded by reminders of the harvest—apples, pumpkins, Thanksgiving décor! As we prepare for Thanksgiving, these remind us to give thanks for all God has provided all year long.

But though I am eternally thankful, I am also concerned about the harvest Jesus was referring to. There are people out there who have much, yet without Jesus, don’t really have anything. There are people who have little and need Jesus, too.

Jesus says there are plenty of hearts out there ready to receive all He has to give—ready to be brought into the Kingdom of God—ready to celebrate Thanksgiving completely, not only for what they have, but for salvation and a life with Jesus, too! When we see signs of harvest, let’s pray as Jesus told His disciples to! Let’s pray that He’ll send workers into His harvest field who will faithfully lead ready hearts to Him.

And while we’re at it, let’s not forget to ask Him to show us what we can do. We may be just the workers He needs to reach those near our homes for Him. We may be the very workers He's asked us to pray He'll send! (Now don't let that thought scare you off; pray for harvest workers anyway. Unsaved people waiting! Pray for workers for them.)

Lord of the harvest, please send many workers into Your field. The harvest is plentiful; call Your people to bring it in. Make each of us open to what You’re leading us to do. We know You'll help us because You love those who are waiting in the field. Thank You, Lord! May this year’s harvest be the best one yet! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Book Review: The Sacred Meal

Nora Gallagher has a unique writing style. I enjoyed reading The Sacred Meal, and it definitely made me think. I agreed with some statements from every chapter, but at the start of each, I wondered if I would. Rather than state her point at the outset, Gallagher reminisces, moving from story to thought to another story, connections not always obvious until the end when she wraps it all up and, suddenly, her point is finally clear.

Though I liked her writing style and enjoyed her stories and found some statements in each chapter to embrace wholeheartedly, there were a few issues that greatly concerned me. Throughout the book, Gallagher refers to historical, human Jesus and seems to ignore the God Who came to save. In her chapter on the history of communion, she leaves out the biblical accounts of the Last Supper, of Jesus Himself giving us this sacrament. In fact, she compares communion to the Muslim’s Ramadan and the Jewish Seder saying that since all three faiths come from Abraham, they are bound to have common rituals. All three may involve food, but that doesn’t make them similar, historically or otherwise.

Further, Gallagher seems to define communion as something that unites people, that links them together with some mystic bond. That’s true, but only if we recognize Jesus as that bond. We are united as we remember His sacrifice, as we reflect on what He did for us on the cross, as we worship Him together with gratitude. Gallagher mentions being thankful, but there doesn’t seem to be any worship or recognition of Christ involved. At the end of one chapter, she suggests it doesn’t matter what we believe, but only how we live. I get the impression she believes we save ourselves by following Christ’s example, by living good lives, that we don’t really need him; He’s just a good life model to follow. This concerns me. How we live is important, true. But living the way God wants us to is only possible if we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior, if He lives in us.

The Sacred Meal is a thought-provoking book with some good ideas, but I hesitate to recommend it. If you do choose to read it, read the biblical accounts of the Last Supper first, be clear on what your church believes about Communion, and compare and contrast with other books and articles on the topic. I don’t think Gallagher should have the only word.