Contemplating Life

  Without Abatement I see You in the sunrise As light and color break the sky. I feel Your gentle touch In the breezes brushing by. The glory of the mountains Reveal Your majesty. The waving grasses on the plains Tell of Your Presence here with me. The hum of bees in the apple trees, The dust that flies from a cardinal’s wings, The pitter patter of a gentle rain - You exist in everything. So man in all his selfishness He lives without excuse When he denies Your existence And blinds his eyes to truth. For from the very beginning Your eternal Glory has been displayed And shines without abatement In everything You’ve made. © "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:20

  I’ve been thinking a lot the past 48 hours about the concept of “judging”. I’m sure it’s because of my own experience recently and the experience of a few friends lately. Social media (especially Facebook) is sometimes a great forum for judgment. You don’t have to look someone in the eye when you blast them with your condemnations. The ability to comment “anonymously” in some forums online seems to give people a license to let loose with their self-righteous thoughts. Of course there is always the person who I “almost” have a modicum of respect for because at least that person pours out his/her venom over the phone or face-to-face – your voice and/or presence denies your anonymity. Any way you look at it, people do have a tendency to be mean a lot lately. What is really bothering me is the actions of those professing to be Christian who are berating other Christians. It should not be. We are specifically told in Luke 6:37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not cond

  The picture accompanying this blog is of a card included in a gift my dear friend Shelly gave me. I plan to frame it and hang it in my office. I will be honest – for most of my life I have always been surprised when someone has really liked me and desired to spend time with me. I guess I have had such a warped sense of who I am that a big part of me has just wanted to hide in the shadows. I never felt worthy of people’s time or affection. When my son texted me recently after we had spent the day then retired to a hotel, he simply said, “Thanks for today. I really like you guys.” You can’t imagine what that did to my heart! I remember being in my 20s and becoming friends with a pastor’s wife. I was on the fringes of the church and not really a part, and I think I was a place of safety for Joan. I still remember the day she yelled at me. She told me that she really wanted to be friends, but I kept myself hidden behind a wall (mostly of jokes) to keep anyone from getting close. She wa