Checking In

My nephew turned 16 last month and is now the proud owner of a legitimate driver's license.  What a milestone in a young boy's life.  

But, boy, do I ever remember the scariness of that season when my own children began taking off by themselves -- or with a sibling with them.  Which is exactly why I asked him when he walked through the door last week, "Have you texted your mother to let her know you're here?"  He bowed his head in embarrassment and said, "Yes, ma'am, I'm doing that now."  (Like I wouldn't have called her if he hadn't shown up...)

You've got to admit, it's pretty humiliating when you've just received such "freedom" to have to let mama  know when you get somewhere.  But it could be worse.  When my husband turned 16 and went to see his girlfriend who practically lived down the street, not only did his mother stand at the end of the driveway and watch him almost the entire way there, but when he got to the girl's house, he had to go inside and ask to use the phone so he could call her and tell her he had made it.  Yes.  Texting and driving is dangerous.  But once you get there, it can save a lot of face.

So it's probably no surprise that when my nephew was leaving, I asked, "Do you need to text your mother and tell her you're on the way home?"  

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and began typing.  "But I don't know why.  They made me get the "find my phone" app so she can tell where I am at all times just by looking."  I chuckled.  Technology.  It's a wonderful thing!

I'm reminded of what King David wrote:

You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue,

You, Lord, know it completely.

Psalm 139:1-4

But it sure does delight Him when we check in.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised (2 Sam. 22:4).

Just an ordinary moment....

Dink You

I just got back from a weekend of keeping one precious little man.  I can hardly believe he's almost 2 years old.  Time doesn't slow down for the grandbabies anymore than it did for my own children.  I told his mom what my own mother told me: Enjoy this time.  In a blink of an eye, he'll be grown.  And he will.  

One thing for sure, his little personality continues to develop more and more every time I see him, with his vernacular expanding at an exponential rate as well.  He still has long conversations with me that sound Portuguese.  Usually it's something very funny, because when he's through, he'll just laugh and laugh.  And so will I.  Yet more and more words are becoming decipherable.  But two in particular.  He has learned the word "please" ... or "pease."  His mother and I laughed at how he thinks he can get anything he wants just by saying that little word.  And she's mostly right....  But, gratefully, he's added yet another phrase to his vocabulary that somehow completes the first.  "Dink you."  I give him one of G-Nan's cheese straws: "dink you."  Give him his cup: "dink you."  Set him down from his high chair: "dink you."  Even when my husband strapped him into the car seat and threw his jacket over him to give him a little extra warmth due to Saturday's cold weather, he looked at his Geezer and said, "dink you."  

Oh, sweet child, may "dink you" become the habit of your life ... one that you never outgrow.

And may thankfulness become the practice and conformity of my own existence as well.

Be cheerful no matter what; 

pray all the time; 

thank God no matter what happens.  

This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

1 Thessalonians 5:16

Just an ordinary moment...

A Cup Overflowing, 421-440

You are my God and I will thank You;

You are my God and I will exalt You.

Psalm 118.28

#421  that God created the world -- and everything in it -- out of sheer love

#422  a house set in order after a season of upheaval

#423  a husband sweeping the kitchen floor after dinner

#424  creativity

#425  successful surgeries

#426  face-timing in Bass Pro with my grandson -- and throwing kisses 

#427  for a young man in my prayers ... and a very small ray of hope

#428  that God accepts me unconditionally and that my value in His sight has been affirmed once and for all by the death of His Son

#429  for the gift of hope -- "Hope is the essence of the reign of God.  Hope allows us to trust that, in ways we may not understand, God is at work, and that one day, He will establish His kingdom." (Maxie Dunnam)  Don't you just love that?

#430  overhearing my name lifted in prayer

#431  childhood friends ... and still giggling -- every 3 months, I have the privilege of hosting these 6 ladies for lunch.  They have literally known each other all their lives ... attending every grade in school together ... from kindergarten through 12th grade.  What a blessing. What a hoot to hear them reminisce.

Jeanne Bledsoe, Betty Gray, Nelle Shelton, Billie Davis, Jane Chapman, Dot Blackstock

#432  after a night of restlessness, waking up to Matthew 6:31-33

Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?"  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

#433 tapping into a spiritual giant: John Wesley

#434  a lone blue heron standing statuesque by the side of the road

#435  4.2 lbs. -- less

#436  an impromptu lunch with my favorite daughter

#437  soul to soul with a friend [sigh]

#438  an afternoon rain shower and taking the time to listen

#439  the way birds "come out" after a rain -- numbers too numerous to count; every feeder taken

#440  two people growing in the same direction

Full and thankful....

Come and See

To say that I am moderately challenged by the latest technological advances is to be gracious indeed.  I can do what I can do and that is about it.  Especially when it comes to cell phones.  What used to be a device that was used for nothing but talking to another person (in your own town, mind you), has now become a tool to access the whole world.  And so when I woke up recently and discovered my "life line" was not responding, I did the only thing I knew to do:  I got in the car and headed 12 miles up the road to the hospital phone store.

Fortunately, I was early enough that I didn't have to wait, which was a good thing, because I spent the next 4 hours of my day there being helped by an incredibly patient young man.  We found out that indeed my phone had seen its last day having passed quietly in the night, and with no time to mourn, the tech proceeded to ask me the only question worth asking:  "What are you looking for?"

Quite frankly, I wasn't sure.  Should I go with another Android?  After all, it's what I had been using for several years now and really all I knew.  Seeing my confusion, the tech said, "Come and let me show you what I've got."  And so I followed, and for the next 30 minutes, we cased the walls and he showed me all he had to offer.  Certainly, most of it was more than my little brain could comprehend.  But after many questions and much thought, I finally settled on the phone that I thought would suit me best.

You know, there was Another who said, "What are you looking for?"  Strangely, not until I began looking for this particular verse did I realize these were the very first words John records Jesus as saying.  "What are you looking for?"  It was not a harsh reproof as He turned and saw John the Baptist's disciples following Him.  It was an invitation to their desires -- to state their wishes, to express their feelings, to lay open their minds and hearts to Him.

Yes, He turned toward the disciples at their first inclination to follow Him and sincerely asked, "What are you looking for?"  No doubt, He poses the same query to us: what is it you are looking for?  Why not take some time to answer with what is deep in your heart, with what is weighing on your mind, with what is turning in your spirit, and then listen for the same invitation He gave to John and Andrew that particular morning: "Come and see."  

And when we do respond, the truth is it's probably more than our little brains can comprehend.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, He said to them, "What are you looking for?' They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, 

"Come and see"....

John 1:38-39

Just an ordinary moment...

A Cup Overflowing, 401-420

If I have said it once to my piano students, I have said it a thousand times, "You have got to count.  It's the most important thing you can do ... even more so that getting the notes right.  It's what makes the music flow."  And so I continue...

#401  a silent Christmas night and a heart that is very, very full

#402  a day filled with family -- 38 of us 

#403  hearing "I love you" for the first time from my grandson's lips

#404  Christmas morning and four generations around my breakfast room table  Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God (Psalm 90:1-2).

#405  siblings that love and care for each other and enjoy hang time

#406  the color red (In all honesty, the "red" here are the cardinals outside my window every morning, but when I saw this picture ... well it just seemed to fit as well.  Red... I love it.)

#407  the glory of God hidden in an Infant

#408  the glory of God hidden in each of God's children

#409  the morning song of a house finch -- Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation."  Psalm 95:1

#410  the way the wind sounds and the mystery of its origin

#411  and then the sudden stillness of the same

#412  playing in an inflatable 

#413  for friends of long ago that still bring a smile to my face and mind -- Kathy, you will always be the "Big Toe (alto)"

#414  green in December

#415  old home places -- where my great-grandmother lived

#416  landmarks -- I can find Nannie's house (my great-aunt) by looking for the windmill

#417  "grace upon grace" ... an abundance of blessing, a cascade of goodness.  This is what God desires for me.  I ask that I not be content with less

#418  learning to discern and recognize the song of a particular Carolina Wren who frequents my morning sacred space -- and sings to me

#419  New Year's Eve communion

#420  that God's order provides for new beginnings

My cup overflows...