Musings and Marvelings on my Jesus Journey

  I am marvling about.... Just the Right Gift It is that time of year. We all are buying gifts, giving gifts, thinking about gifts. We make a list. We consider each person on our list. What would they like? What do they need? What is something that lets them know that we really know them? Understand them? Are aware of what "makes them tick" ? Some of us resort to asking for ideas, that way we know they will like what we get them. But admittedly it takes some of the personalization out of it. Removes the element of surprise with it's potential unabashed delight as the receiver gleams at the "perfect" gift, maybe one they had not even considered, but yet is "just right"! Recently our daughter surprised me with an unexpected, fun gift. A cream frother for coffee. I had not even considered such an item. But what fun it is. Each morning now, as I whip up some flavorful, healthy-ish cream to enhance the enjoyment of my morning ritual, I am warmed by her thou

 I am musing about... WOUNDS We have all been wounded. We are all broken. We all have been touched by the evil and darkness of the world we live in. The number of wounds, their depth, their story, their effects, vary from person to person. There are wounds that many of us can only imagine, while others can not imagine life without them. The hurting among us is real. We read of those in Africa, or Afghanistan. We hear of their plight, their hunger, of the pain and hardships  they endure. We don't read of the person beside us in the pew who's wounds are cutting through their heart and soul, causing a pain they can barely endure and are yet afraid to share. We read of those in the city, or alarmingly even in our own seemingly sheltered communities, who have experienced or maybe presently are experiencing things that seem beyond our comprehension. For others, the ability to comprehend is way to easy. As if it is almost innate. For it defines their reality. Not who they are, but wha

I am musing about those beautiful words.....   Oh, Come Let Us Adore Him, As we lift our voices again this Christmas season and proclaim this familiar carol... are we contemplating the words? Adore. To revere, hold in high regard, to esteem with great devotion, to respect, to worship. It is easy to adore a sweet, innocent, precious, beautiful little baby. To be taken in with the awe and wonder of a baby. Born in a manger. Heralded by angels. Visited by shepherds. But do we adore the man? The grown man Jesus? Do we revere Him? Hold him in highest respect? Worship Him? In the way we speak? In the way we live? True adoration. I know that I want to come to know His character more in this coming year, to have an even greater sense of awe and wonder and respect. To more purely adore Him. To more sincerely and gratefully worship Him. To love him more fully. To lean on him more completely. To share him more purposefully.  To experience greater awe, as we come to know just a bit more, the simpl

  Did you know our brother Jim? Did you ever talk to him? Because if you did It's safe to say, There's a good chance  you made his day. He loved people, There is no doubt  He liked to visit Liked to find things out Not in a gossipy sort of way That was not Jim's kind of way, He simply cared  Took an interest you see, He just enjoyed knowing  About you and me, He loved his Jesus With all his heart He leaned on him greatly He did from the start, After he surrendered, Back in 78, From that time on He served love from his plate, He enjoyed little kids Had a heart for the old, He loved to sing, Had a faith that was bold, Took care of his mom With kindness and care, Took her for rides, They were quite a pair, They gardened together, Made apple sauce, As boys worked on their farm, He was a fun, friendly boss, He was a farmer Through and through, He embraced all the things That grain farmers do, Then there was that day Five years ago, When things changed forever An accident you kno