Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Best Breakfasts

Imagine this breakfast...
A tall glass of cold milk, a bowl of fruit, bacon, eggs, and toast.

Now here's what I really had...
A peach milkshake and a Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich.

Pretty close, isn't it? I just can't explain that crucial pickle...

Friday, August 21, 2009

God is amazing.

Did you get that? His ways are not our ways.

luggage lost on a flight located after 3 weeks

In man's eyes, this luggage was gone. Military uniforms, medals, items of sentimental value were all considered lost forever. After all, who has ever actually gotten their bag located after this long? The airline pays their value of it, and that's that. But God had other things in mind to reveal His glory.

an insurance company raised their allowances on medical services, providing additional income to a struggling practice

Insurance companies aren't in the business of reevaluating random claims and paying out more to doctors. This just doesn't happen. Audits request money back, they don't give out more. But God had other things in mind to reveal His glory.

godly wisdom and strength given to a man exactly when he needed it

When the rubber meets the road, our advice tends to be what the other person wants to hear. But God had other things in mind to reveal His glory.

God, you are glorious. I am so thankful that Your ways are not our ways.

There are no other explanations for these answers to prayer. They cannot be coincidences, they must be providential.

All power, wisdom and knowledge belongs to You.

May the recipients of these answered prayers worship you as a result of this display of your glory.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tomatoes and the Glory of God



Normally when we think of good fruit, we associate it with the requirement of a healthy root. I am experiencing something a bit different on the corner of my porch.


My tomato plant looks pathetic. From the beginning, it has appeared weak and fragile. I have taken off many yellowed branches, in the hopes that energy would not be put into dead parts, but be transferred to the parts that were healthy to encourage them to grow.


Despite the gangly appearance, the plant continues to bear fruit - and good fruit at that. I can only explain this by the existence of a healthy root.
But the appearance of the plant encourages me, that God might use a weak and unassuming vessel to bear fruit for His kingdom.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Finished: Henry Huggins and Henry and the Paper Route

I'm still counting book screenings! Secretly, I just like reading juvenile fiction.

OK. That's not a secret anymore.

Here's my trouble with Henry...does my son need suggestions on what to do with his spare time? Do I want him coming home with a kitten or ripping apart a golf ball just to see what's inside. Is reading this going to make him start that?

But I do love that this book is all boy. It's a simple and curious boy and dog story. And I actually read the introduction, and was delighted to see that this was Beverly Cleary's first book - one that she struggled with writing because she thought women were supposed to write about girls. She had worked with boys who were bored because all of the juvenile books were about girly things, and was so inspired to introduce Henry.

There still are a lot of girly books out there, but this one's a gem for a boy.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Finished: Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave

Hey! I figure if I read it, it counts. It doesn't matter that I'm screening a library book for my 2nd grader.

Cave exploration, geology terms...good boy stuff.

Danny Dunn and the Fossil Cave, Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin

Friday, August 14, 2009

Prayer Pieces

I ask and I want, and I ask with a selfish desire for all things to be right...but this is my desire...looking forward to that day when all things will be made new.

Things are not new. They are not right.

There is pain and sadness.

There is depression and despair.

You make things right.

You've promised, and I wait in eager anticipation for that day. And I know it will come.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.