Sniffing out the work of God in the world…
What a weekend:
1) Performed the wedding ceremony for a second cousin of mine in Little Rock (they’ve both been Harding students). Pictures of me in a robe at the Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church will follow.
2) Got to hang out with Leon and Margaret in Searcy.
3) Got to hear Dusty preach in Conway this morning. Then got to baptize my niece after church.
4) Got to be with my mom on Mother’s Day.
5) Got to hold Reese when I returned to Abilene tonight.
That’s a good weekend.
Overheard in the middle school Bible class last night:
Student A: Please pray that it stops raining. I’m tired of all the rain.
Student B: Please pray that it continues to rain. We need all the rain we can get.
Student C: “Dear God, some of us want it to quit raining, and some of us want it to keep raining. You can work it out.”
(Everything I needed to know about theology I learned in a middle school Bible class!)
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“The real question before our death, then, is not, How much can I still accomplish, or how much influence can I still exert? but, How can I live so that I can continue to be fruitful when I am no longer here among my family and friends?” - Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring
Has anyone noticed a relationship between my becoming a grandfather and my becoming a less frequent blogger?
Right now sweet Reese and her parents (notice the status you get when you give birth to the first grandchild: you are “her parents”) are living with us while Matt does his family practice rotation.
Yesterday was one of the great days of my life. Several reasons. But among them was a couple early morning hours with her. I was leaving very early to go work out when Diane said, “You’re about to miss one of the best parts of the day with her.” So I forgot about working out! Then yesterday she went with me to ACU campus to watch croquet. Yes, you read that right: croquet. A grudge match between the psychology and English departments.
I’d like to read The Hobbit to her today. But seriously, five weeks old is probably too young.
Pepperdine was wonderful. I soaked in every ounce of beauty I could. This was the eighth year of my class with Zoe. What a joy to be with them again.
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Recently on Austin City Limits I heard John Fogerty sing a song that my dad sang to me when I was young. Brought back really powerful memories. “When I was a little bitty baby my momma used to rock-a me in the cradle . . . .”
What songs do you remember being sung to you? And . . . what songs did you sing to your own children?
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”
Almost everything enjoyable eventually comes to an end. Vacations hit a screeching halt, friends and family have to return home, spring break passes.
Looks fade. Bodies slowly waste away. Children grow up.
But God’s love never ceases. His love is stubborn, persistent, enduring. Nothing in all creation can separate us from it.
O love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow,
May richer, fuller be.
(Short blog I wrote 3 years ago. Came to mind again as I was refreshed by the ocean depths.)
Surprise, surprise. It’s another glorious day in Malibu. I started speaking here in 1986 and haven’t missed a year since.
No matter how much you work on lectureship programs in other places, you can’t provide Malibu. Lots of sun; salt in the air; views of Catalina Island; mountains; fresh seafood.
Spiritual renewal can take place in a desert.
But who says it has to?