(I)
Aways arriving
Sneakily or boldly states
This is a new day
(II)
Each day, everywhere
A continued connection
A daily greeting
(III)
All times, all places
Every day, new beginnings
Something of eternity
Category: Other Stuff…
Children of the Heavenly Father
I went to church yesterday. That’s not so unusual. Most Sundays you’ll find me in some church somewhere. This particular Sunday I was struck by an old hymn we sang, “Children of the Heavenly Father.” Even though the song is rife with archaic, medieval sounding language, the song and the events of the day grabbed my attention.
Children of the heav’nly Father safely in his bosom gather…
There we were, safely gathered all in the same place, Baby Eli and his mom and dad, George, Hope, me and the rest of the congregation.
God his own doth tend and nourish; in his holy courts they flourish…
Of course, the point of attending church on Sunday is to worship God. That is not to say that God can’t be worshipped any other day. I believe that all of life can be an act of worship. But yesterday, through the sacraments of baptism and holy communion we were ‘tended and nourished’ and reminded of why we worship God.
…in his mighty arms he bears them…
Baby Eli was baptized. Baptism symbolizes the washing away of sins by the sacrifice Jesus made for us. It is a sign and seal of God’s covenant of grace. After the baptism and while the congregation sang, Eli, carried in the strong arms of his dad, met his church family. The simple act of a dad carrying his son provided a poignant picture of the God about whom we were singing.
From all evil things he spares them…
George. About 10 years ago I had an unpleasant encounter with George. Even though I no longer remember the details of the disagreement, I remember the strong feelings expressed and the inability to amicably resolve the problem.
George showed up in my church yesterday. He was there for the baptism. I’d like to say that we talked, reconciled and left as friends. It didn’t happen that way. Maybe it will someday, but yesterday our paths didn’t cross. However, I left with the realization that 10 years ago God helped me through that very difficult time.
I’m sure that George and I have probably changed a bit over the 10 years, hopefully for the better. I know he is not evil, then or now. And, like me, Eli and the rest he also is a child of the Heavenly Father.
Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh;
The service concluded. It was time to head home. I headed toward the exit and there walked Hope. Actually, there limped Hope with her strong right leg clamped in a brace.
She is a former student of mine from six years ago. A gifted runner on the cross country team that I coached. A sweet kid. It seems that a freak twist of the knee damaged something. Now in her senior year she is missing the beginning chunk of her cross country season. Disappointing I’m sure.
We talked. She seemed upbeat, hopeful that the MRI results will deliver good news. For now the ability to run has been taken from her. I pray that she knows that the One who loves her the most and the best has not forsaken her.
Children of the heav’nly Father… his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.
Today’s gift is the reminder that baby Eli and his parents, George, Hope, me and you are indeed children of the Heavenly Father. This is the Good News…
The First Day of School
When I take my morning walk, quite often I’ll hum or even sing the old hymn “This is my Father’s World.” It’s a theme song for me I guess, if people have such a thing. It’s a song that comes to mind as I experience the wonders of God’s good creation every morning. It’s a song that meant something to me back when I was still teaching.
Today is the first day of school at the Christian School where I taught for 30+ years before retiring a few years ago. First school days will be happening for my grandchildren at their Christian schools at some point in the near future, too. To be honest I don’t often think about ‘first days’ of school that much any more. But today, I pray that for them, at whatever level they’re at they’ll be learning, in some way, about what I sing.
Join me? “This is my father’s world…”
Christian Education. Today’s gift.
Safety Net?
Shining silky cloud
Hammocked amid grassy poles
Invitingly safe
Cute
This morning’s unexpected delight.
Gray Day
In the beginning when God created, the world contained the substances and processes to produce today’s gray, foggy day. A gray day. God’s creation.
In the beginning when God created all, even the stuff of gray days, he pronounced his creation good. So, I’m not complaining. In the midst of the grayness, if one pays attention, one can find surprising moments of delight, also the work of the Creator.
In the beginning when God created, he had a plan. Today is part of that plan. Gray day or not, pay attention to the gifts the Creator sends your way.
______________ today’s gift, from God the Creator to you.
Morning Walks…
My usual walking routine is to wake up, get ready and go. I walk alone.
This past week my routine changed in that I got up, got ready and went, still alone, but walked in three different states.
Different states, means…
different paths…
different people and things along the way….
Different states, paths, people, things… always alone.
Wait! Not alone! No matter the state, type of path, people or things, I’m never alone. Over the course of a multitude of morning meanderings, I have come to realize that every day, I have Jesus walking with me.
Today’s gift.
“… and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Just What I Needed
I turned the corner to leave the cereal aisle and there she stood. A teaching colleague from years past; a friend that I hadn’t talked to in years pushed her cart with the week’s groceries.
You know how it goes, after the initial surprise, we caught up on stuff. You know, things like family. “How are the kids doing? Really they’re that old!?” Topics that only scratched the surface to be sure, but useful for folks who’ve been apart for a time. It kept the conversation going a bit.
As we chatted a little more we dodged the folks trying to make their way to the Special K. We rearranged our carts so shoppers could get by then the conversation changed. The topic turned to God. Yep, it happened right there in the grocery store, next to the Frosted Mini Wheats. Right there among shoppers filling their carts with tomorrow’s breakfast, in stepped God.
Several years ago, she and her husband left secure teaching jobs in a stable Christian school to start up a Christian school in the same town, in the heart of a neighborhood rife with poverty, instability and crime. A gutsy move, I thought at the time. They said, a calling from God.
God calls, indeed. He’s a God that not only calls, but over the years he’s demonstrated that he equips and blesses. Over the years God has made that little school a blessing to the neighborhood. He brought the right people together, gave them the courage to take a leap of faith and through them multiplied his blessing and grace to an impoverished neighborhood. God was and is at work through the Tree of Life School in the Edison neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Michigan. It’s an incredible story, to be sure.
That’s about where our conversation ended. For me it was an important reminder that God graciously walks daily with me too, as I try to fulfill his calling. It was a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness right there in the cereal aisle. Today, a little chat about God with a friend, just down the way from the Corn Flakes, was just what I needed.
Today’s gift.
Around the Corner
The trail I walk on just about every morning is a mostly flat meandering path following a creek. There are woods, fields and marshes that change with the seasons. Today’s flowers are different from a month ago. Yet day by day things pretty much remain the same.
Sometimes unexpected things come along that surprise and delight. Like this morning. I was walking along, turning a corner that bends the path into a swampy area, when I met this curious traveler.
We stood facing each other for a few minutes, long enough for me to get out my phone and snap a few pictures. Delightful.
Today, I turned a corner that I’ve walked hundreds of times seeing the same scene almost every time, until today. A surprise. A gift. And then more.
So it is with life. We travel in our day-to-day routines. We work. We play. We struggle. We enjoy. We fret.
We worry about what’s next, what’s around the next corner. It’s impossible to tell. Yet the One who created fawns and flowers walks with us as we travel our straight and crooked paths. He tells us there’s no need to worry.
So today, praise God who has all our corners, beginning to end, in view. Praise the one who reminds us “Do not be afraid… you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 Today’s gift.
Diamonds
While I took my morning walk I noticed that the overnight rain left droplets of water on things along the trail, in particular, on the grasses. The beaded drops looked like tiny diamonds.
My after-walk morning was empty and post-rain gloomy, so I decided I needed to hunt for more diamonds… with my camera. Off to Crane Park I went. Here is some of what I saw.
These droplet diamonds brightened my day. I’m sure you have brightened the day for someone today as well. Whether you know it or not, God the creator of all, is at work through the good things you do today.
You are today’s gift.
Walk as Children of Light 