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Make It Personal

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A couple months after a dear friend’s husband left her with a two-year-old and a baby on the way, she called and asked my husband and me if she could borrow some money. She had a large credit card bill she needed to pay off so she could get on her feet and move forward. We loved her. We really wanted to help her. And we had the money to loan her, but it would be a sacrifice. We trusted her, but we also knew it was risky; financial arrangements like that can really do damage to relationships if they go south. But we loved her. So, we took the risk. She eventually paid every penny back. In fact, she paid us something every month, without fail, until the debt was gone, even if it was only ten dollars. I don’t tell this story to toot our horns for our generosity, or even to toot hers for her perseverance. This story is a significant one in my life because it changed the way I view my money. Scripture speaks clearly and frequently about the importance of helping those in financial...
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Sleep Study #4

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I had a sleep study done a couple weeks ago. This is my fourth in the last twenty years or so. I’ve written about my sleep saga in earlier posts if you want to catch up. It's a LONG saga. See, I haven’t been using my CPAP for a year. I was trying a mandibular advancement device (interesting concept – look it up), but it gave me serious jaw and ear pain, and I didn’t think it was helping my sleep anyway. And I really don’t want to go back on the CPAP if I don’t have to. I mean, I don’t mind actually wearing it at night; the main problem is the maintenance . You have to clean the thing all the time and replace parts constantly. It’s ridiculous – especially when I don’t think it helps that much. However, I’d been noticing in the last month or two that I was markedly sleepy – the kind of sleepy that made a doctor suggest a sleep study in the first place twenty years ago. The kind of sleepy that made a neurologist about fifteen years ago remark, “You know, there are states that hav...
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Fear for Fun?

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My daughter is in the bedroom watching a horror video game with her friend in Atlanta. A few things I find fascinating about this fact. 1)      There exists a genre called “Horror Video Games”. 2)      Video games are apparently now an online spectator sport. 3)      She is able to do these things in real time with a friend a thousand miles away. Technology . But #4 is the one I want to talk about today: 4)      She and her friend are choosing to watch something meant to be frightening. And enjoying it. When did being scared become something fun and desirable? I suppose it’s nothing new in civilization. For centuries, people have done risky and dangerous things for the thrill of it, I guess. But I don’t get it. It is not fun to be frightened . As I sit here listening to the dramatic screams coming from her computer, I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever found delight in fear. I remember the firs...
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The Right Role Models

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Oh, the Good Samaritan! We love that story, don’t we? This self-sacrificial, compassionate stranger who stops to help an injured man that the religious folk couldn’t be bothered with. We want to be that Samaritan – that wonderful, admirable human! But I think we lose sight of the fact that Jesus’ listeners were probably a bit horrified by this tale. They hated Samaritans. HATED them. And lest we get self-righteous about this, they felt like they were quite justified in hating them because the Samaritans were the heretics – the ones who twisted the religious systems of the Israelites and thought they had it right and the Jews had it wrong. (Pause a moment and consider who you look at in our world today feeling quite certain they have it all wrong.) The very idea that Jesus would use a SAMARITAN as a positive role model in one of his parables is absolutely astonishing. It would be like him telling us a story today where the bad guys were an obnoxious TV preacher ( oh, of course – he...
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What We Call It . . .

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Have you asked Jesus into your heart? This isn’t a gospel presentation; it’s a question about verbiage. If you grew up in an evangelical church (or any church that does not baptize babies), I’m guessing there’s a good chance that it was explained to you as a matter of “asking Jesus into your heart”. Am I right? Particularly if you are at least a Millennial or older. But a recent podcast made me wonder about that language. They were making the valid point that young children are very literal; this description of the concept may not be very clear. One of the podcasters said she’d gotten a question from a kid about whether Jesus can taste the food she eats if he’s living in her heart. Cute, yes . . . but maybe a bit concerning. My kids told me that “asking Jesus into my heart” was the language they remember from their own particular decisions of faith (probably because they heard it from me and their dad). And they don’t remember being confused by it. But whether it’s confusing or n...
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When the Sorrow Remains

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I don’t often find myself arguing with a “daily devotional” I’m reading. That’s probably because most people writing “daily devotionals” seem to stick to pretty general principles that all would agree with. The goal here is to lift our spirits and inspire us for a great day ahead. And last Saturday’s daily devotional was of that nature. It addressed a verse in Psalm 23 – the one about God preparing a table for us in the presence of our enemies. The author says that God is a place of refuge for us in difficult times (oh, yes). He says, “In his presence one can find comfort, cleansing, renewing, and peace” (amen). He says, “I never leave His presence disappointed, discouraged, or downhearted.” (Um . . . wait.) That statement stopped me short. I mean, it sounds good. It sounds like something that would get a big “Amen!” in a worship service. But then I really thought about it. Are you saying, sir, that when you spend time with the Father in prayer, all feelings of disappoint...
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Satisfied

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Because of the generosity of families at my school, I had a decent chunk of money to spend on myself for Christmas. So I started a list of things I needed. Top of the list was clothing – I’ve lost weight and most of my work slacks are falling off of me (which is a good problem to have, of course). Courtney, my fashion-forward friend who helps me not look stupid, told me where to shop, and I picked up some goodies. After that, though, I had a hard time thinking of what else I might want to spend this money on. At one point, I grabbed a shopping cart at Walmart and just started walking through aisles, looking for anything that might jump out at me. And nothing jumped. Which was weird.  I don’t shop much in stores anymore. Most of my purchases come from Amazon because it’s so easy . Also, the pandemic opened the door to curbside pickup for stuff I need to buy locally, and I’ve become a big fan. It's great to be able to just pull up in a parking spot and have someone bring my pur...
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