Tag: Lent

Lenten Preview

WP Lent

It’s been a couple years since I wrote an entire devotional series for Lent. Lately, I have felt a gentle nudge to do so again.

As the nudge became a clearly undeniable push, I asked the Holy Mover what direction to take. I keep coming back to Resurrection morning and Mary’s encounter the unrecognizable Jesus. Jesus asks her, “Who are you looking for?” (John 20:15a)

In Advent I focus on being prepared, being ready for the coming of Jesus. Lent is a time for focus, but for me it is also about surrender, giving, and working to deepen my faith relationship. That fits so well with the question Jesus asked of Mary.

WP Looking for

Who am I looking for?

How am I looking? Am I satisfied with a glance? A nod in God’s direction?

In Proverbs we read: without vision the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18)

Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. (Ephesians 1:18)

WP Refuse to look

We cannot see what we don’t look for.

This Lenten season I want a vision. I don’t want to mistake Jesus for a gardener. I want to see Jesus all the way.

Will you journey with me? We’ll start on Wednesday morning.

WP Journey path

(Having difficulty adding pictures. I apologize for the initial absence of visual prompts…somehow seems ironically appropriate. Helps to read the instructions. Also a multi-level lesson learned. T)

Praying on the Journey

Bill Hybles wrote a book entitled, “Too Busy Not to Pray.” I own it. It looks like a good book. I haven’t read it. The title is convicting enough. I am without excuse when it comes to my prayer life.

My spiritual theme for this year has been “never leaving the temple.” I confess I haven’t been as conscious of it as I need to be. To be honest, I lost it in the month of February. How fitting it should return to my focus on Fat Tuesday, the day before my Lenten journey begins.

So my busyness and my laziness have dimmed my focus. The result has been a pathetic lull in my prayer life. I pray for each prayer request the hits my mailbox or Facebook feed—at least once.

Somehow I have to do better.

Many years ago, I gave a talk called “Shooting Down Our Excuses.” My topic was study and my aim was to address many of the excuses people (including me) throw up to keep us from moving deeper in our relationship with God. Some of those same excuses fit when we think about our prayer life.

Pastor Hybles is absolutely right we’re too busy not to pray, but how do we find time to pray?

I believe part of the problem has to do with our image the person who prays. We all have someone, either in our families or early church experience who lived the prayer warrior life. They spent hours praying…and seeing results. We consider our own lives and schedules and we feel we’ll never measure up.

We’re probably right, but a seemingly unattainable image isn’t enough reason not to pray.

Scripture tells us to “pray without ceasing.” I don’t think Paul meant we’re to be consciously praying one hundred per cent of the time. Centuries ago, Brother Lawrence described the wonder concept of practicing the presence. Our prayer should be as close to us as our breathing.

In each of our lives there are ample unnoticed opportunities which could encourage us to pray. I thought of a couple just this morning as I was getting ready for my day.

First, as I washed my face, I was aware of a feeling of tension and stress leaving as gently rubbed my cheeks and forehead. My mind was pulled into prayer as I asked Jesus to help me to release the things I was stressing over. Hmm, this could work. I started to wonder what other tasks I mindlessly went through that I could be using to prompt and improve my prayer life.

My next idea came to me as I started to brush my teeth. I got excited. I could use the time I spent brushing to pray, asking God to use my words to encourage, comfort, and teach. I could be praying the psalmist’s words, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight my God (Psalm 19:14, my paraphrase).”

It didn’t go quit like I thought. Recently, my husband purchased me a Spin toothbrush. It’s battery operated. I am pleased with how clean my teeth and gums feel after I use it and my dentist is happy too. This morning I wasn’t quite as focused as I should be and I forgot to turn it on when I began brushing my teeth.

There I was manually brushing away. It felt odd, sluggish, as I pushed the potentially powerful brush across my teeth. As the awareness of what I was doing dawned on me so did the spiritual implication. I had all the power necessary for a good cleaning right in my hand, but I wasn’t connected. And spiritually, I have all the power of God available to me. Each moment contains ample opportunity to connect.

Many years ago a dear friend of mine was going through a particularly difficult time in her marriage. She kept her Bible in her car and each time she was stopped at a long red light she would either use the time to stop and pray, or pick up her Bible to read a few verses. She found both of these things strengthened and comforted her and as a result she was able to stand firm in her faith.

I think we might be amazed at how much time there really is in a day to pray if we will just look for it.
I want to be better connected. I want a prayer life filled with joy, coming from focused intentionality, not from a place of ought and should. I’m going to use this Lenten season to accomplish this.

The inevitable question of Lent is, “What are you giving up?” It won’t be chocolate, pop, TV or the internet…not even Facebook. I’m giving up my laziness. I’m giving up “leaving the temple.”

These next forty days I’m going to be more mindful of times when I can connect with God and intentionally connecting with others.

How will you be using this season to grow in grace and knowledge?

Giving Anything Up For Lent?

I decided what I’m giving up for Lent.

Laziness and excuses. No seriously. I’ve held on tighter to these than chocolate, coffee, or soda pop. I have procrastinated and frittered away my time mindlessly surfing the internet or vegging in front of my TV long enough. So I intend to be more active, more intentional, and more focused

Now that doesn’t mean I intend to give up being still. On the contrary, I will be all the more diligent in making sure that I carve out my time in the Word and for intentional blocks of communication with God. I will continue to daily read/study in the following devotionals: The Daily Message, Designed for Devotion, and Sparkling Gems From the Greek. I will prepare for my Sunday School lesson a little bit each day, taking time to absorb more and cross reference material. I will take more time with material for Bible Study. I will seek God’s guidance for the speaking opportunities I have in April and diligently prepare for talks.

With regards to my writing: I intend to have three things ready to submit for BRMCWC contest (due by April 20). I will complete half of the devotions for “It’s About Time”. I will create the guidelines and format to be presented to the congregation for our Advent Devotional series. And I will publish at least once a week in both my blogs.
With regard to my health and fitness: I will do some form of exercise every day. I will return to the more structured eating plan we started last summer.

I haven’t strayed so far from any of these goals, but I have gotten terribly lazy. I find any and every excuse to not follow through. And not a one of them is truly legitimate. Not one.

And I will be accountable to you in all these matters. I believe accountability is absolutely necessary and far too easy to get out of in our current society. And oh, the irony of it! We are connected on every level, but lack the accountability to be better people. It’s a sad, sad thing.

I have long believed that most of the “sacrifices” made for Lent, are for show and fail to get to the heart of the matter—our heart and our relationship with God. Lent was designed and has continued through the ages to provide us with a ready-made opportunity to live more focused and intentionally. The very teachings of Jesus, how purposefully he was as he set his face to the cross should be our example.

So that’s how I plan to journey to the cross. Each time I try to turn to an excuse for doing what I know I need to do, I will confess, repent, and get back to the task. This journey is not for the faint of heart. I can’t be lazy…Jesus wasn’t. I’m following him.

How about you?

Lenten Learning Curve

The Lenten Learning Curve (and for some reason, I want to keep typing Leaning instead of Learning…hmmmmm) has felt like a roller coaster this year.  So many ups and downs, I have just barely been able to hold on.  But I don’t want to go through Lent, or any part of life, with my squeezed tightly shut and my hands white knuckling the lap bar.  There is no joy in that, only prayers for the end of the experience.

I have never considered myself adventuresome or courageous and I have been befuddled when others tell me how much they appreciate those qualities in me.  For example, they marvel at how “comfortable” I am with getting up before a crowd and sharing my heart.  I crave those opportunities.  I feel fully me when I’m preaching or teaching.  I can’t imagine not doing that. 

That being said, there has been a vicisious battle with fear this season of Lent.  I have wrestled a deeply subconscious battle up to where I could identify it and why it had such a strangle hold on me.  I have been confronted with my reticence and reluctance to move forward towards publication in my writing.   I have had to deal with relational issues resulting in painful confrontations.  Part of me would love to press rewind and pick a different path, but I know that the lessons would just come from a different direction and who knows how severe the learning would be then?

So while the lessons have not been easy, they have proved to be immensely beneficial, life-giving, and even freeing.  And while I’m not ready to throw my arms in the air and scream wahoo, I’m at least willing to admit that I’m thankful for the lessons learned.

Yesterday I faced the largest of those lessons.  I went and registered for the last time.  The deputy who worked on my paperwork was nearly as excited for me as I was.  A couple times he mentioned that he didn’t get to do this (finish someone’s paperwork) very often…um, never.  He asked if I was going to have a party.  Several people have offered to throw one for me.  Not only is the dark cloud lifted, but the fear that somehow it never would happen is gone too!  And the still small voice in the back of my heart whispers, “Will you trust Me now?”

In an endeavor to be more trusting, I took a couple steps.  I applied for a scholarship to the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.  And I got it!  My reaction when I opened the email was such a mix of laughter and tears.  Then I decided that I would apply to different publishing companies to be a reviewer of books on my blog.  And I was accepted by one company.  I can barely describe how encouraged and excited I am. 

So I’m learning and leaning.  Trusting more.  Maybe I haven’t gotten to a full-fledged “Yes!”, but I’m at a very decent, “Okay!” with God.  It’s not perfect but it’s progress.  And that’s good for me.  Not bad for a recovering perfectionist.  Not bad at all.

 

We’re Still in Lent….I’m still journeying

Have been thinking a lot about fear these past few days. Have been feeling it, too. Not liking it very much conceptually or emotionally.

I broke down and tried to tell a friend about it. We were having our weekly Bible study (currently we’re translating and studying the Gospel of Mark). Before we dive into the text, we spend some time catching up and sharing what’s been happening in our lives. She asked me if I had been doing any writing and I had to confess that I had been too frozen by fear to be creative at all. She didn’t get it. I don’t blame her, neither do I.

I am facing a day in the very near future when I will bring to a close a very shame-filled part of my life. March 26th should be a time of celebration, but I am afraid that some kind of hiccup in the system is going to happen and instead of an end I will just experience a never-ending dark hanging over my life. My fear isn’t completely unfounded for in the middle of this “sentence” there was legislation that temporarily snatched away the hope of an end. It was a very dark time for me. I found that living without hope of end of pain, emotional in my case, is difficult to say the least.

My friend went on to ask me how my faith was impacting this fear. Her question implied that if I had faith then I wouldn’t have fear. I wish it were that simple. Perhaps the problem is that for me, it’s not just about fear–it’s really about control. Who’s really in control of my life and can I trust the one who is in control to do a better job of managing my life than I can? What if He takes me to a place that is overwhelmingly difficult? Why can’t I have some of the ease that others get?

Thinking this way took me on a journey through scriptures that should bring me comfort and contentment. There is the verse that is often quoted from Jeremiah, that God has plans for, plans that involve hope and a future, is generally taken out of context. If you read the entire chapter, you find that God has put his people in a very dangerous exile and told them to get comfortable. Job, asks a question that echoes what these folks must have been feeling and fearing: shall we take the good and not the bad? Life must have looked better to the one to whom the Psalmist wrote Psalm 37. He or she seemed to be in a difficult place and when they looked around them people who were living rough and faithless lives seemed to be prospering. It didn’t seem fair.

Ok. Everything written up to this point is from yesterday and before. What a difference a day makes. Or at least, what a difference a sermon can make. I had one of those moments this morning when I was almost positive that my pastor had been reading my emails, blogs, or mind this week. His message was straight from God’s heart to mine. (And I told him so, too.)

The title of the message was “Victory and Deliverence.” He used Acts 12:1-11 as his text. It was one of his more powerful and spirited sermons. Or maybe it just seemed that way, since it felt like he was sharing it just with me. I was most affected by the first half, the part about victory. He shared that he had a thought, one that didn’t come from his many books and it impacted his preparation. “Victory doesn‘t require winning.” He spoke about trusting God and not being concerned about the outcome. The pump was primed for me during the offertory, of all things. The pianist played a beautiful arrangement of “Because He Lives.” As I listened to the music, I was totally captured by the phrase: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.” Looking at the pieces individually may not have the same impact for you, but it just about knocked me over.

Pastor didn’t know about my nagging fear. He knows March 26 is coming for me, but he had no idea how I had been struggling. The pianist has no clue about my fear or the importance of March 26 for me. Yet both she and the pastor, in obedience to God shared exactly what I needed to hear to get me through this trying time.

Tuesday, the 27th, may not be any different than the day before. Some emergency law may go into effect that in effect snatches away my intensely anticipated and longed for freedom, but I know I’ll be okay.

To seal the deal for me, one of the major points in this morning’s Sunday School lesson (which the co-teacher taught today, not me) was that we need to have a “so be it” attitude (think Mary speaking to the angel about being God’s handmaden, or Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene) in our relationship with God, especially as it pertains to our prayer life.

I no more know what the 26th or 27th will hold any more than I know what’s going to happen in the next minute, hour, or day. What I do know is that I know who’s I am. I know that whatever the plan is, wherever the path leads, I can trust the maker of path and plan to have what’s best for me–even when I can’t see it or don’t understand. I have already been delivered from the worst and am a victor through Christ. And really, what more do I need? I can’t think of anything.

Funny. I don’t feel afraid anymore. And the only thing that’s changed is me.

Lent Day Seventeen: Staying Connected

I miss being on Facebook. Long story about why I’m not, but for now let’s just leave it at: it wasn’t my choice. When I stop to really think about it, what I miss the most is some of the connections and reconnections that I made. It was good to catch up with old friends from high school and keep tabs with family separated by distance. I don’t however miss the wasted hours of gaming that I got sucked into.

When I was “unfriended” by the major site for sociality it wasn’t long until this little extrovert wandered over to Twitter and got connected. Interestingly though, the connections I made were much more intentional. I chose to follow people who expressed like ideas, but also those who could stretch my thinking, who could encourage me, teach me. I only follow one family member and a handful of personal friends or acquaintances. There just aren’t a lot of people that I know who know me there.

Now Pinterest, that’s a completely different story. I know people there and I am having a blast finding new ideas and letting my creative little girl who has been buried deep within out to play! New recipes. Crafty ideas. That place makes me smile!

I’m imagining that you’re wondering what on earth that has to with God or Lent. I’m glad I’ve made you wonder. (insert small smile here) Wait for it…This morning on Twitter I read the tweet of a highly esteemed Christian pastor-leader-preacher-writer that said, “God created Twitter. How can we serve His purpose?” (Ray Ortland) This simple tweet really caught my attention. What I failed to notice originally was that there was a URL attached that directed me to a blog interview with Pastor Ortland where he discussed his thoughts on how we can use the vast array of social media to share God’s message. I’m glad I just went back and read it. You can find it here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/serving-up-tweets-an-interview-with-ray-ortlund-on-social-media

A couple years ago, when I still was on FB, a pastor friend of mine decided that for Lent he would give up his presence on FB. For him it had become a time waster and he decided to use that time instead for going deep into the Word and his relationship with God. He encouraged others to consider the same kind of action. While I understood his intentions, I wasn’t inclined to follow his lead because I was very conscious of using my media connections as an opportunity to discuss my faith journey.

He was also taking this position because of some very negative experiences he had on FB. I was thankful that I hadn’t had much of that happen for me, but I saw others doing battle with this. Some of the misunderstandings were toxic and painful and I could easily imagine not wanting that to be a part of your daily experience. But on the other hand, do we always run away from confrontation, or do we learn how to confront in a Godly manner?

So what do we do with this? How do we survive in this viral community without being of that community? Is that what Jesus prayed for us (see John 17)? I choose to land in the thinking of Paul in Colossians: “Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone (4:5-6, NLT)”

Maybe Pastor Ortland was right. Maybe God did create Twitter. Let us use it wisely and to His glory.

Day Sixteen: Boredom’s Cure

(Sorry for the lapse.  Computer and then internet issues have sought to sabotage my commitment to daily writing.  Thank you for hanging in there with me.)

Being bored has never been a good thing. When I was a kid, if I told my mom I was bored, she would gladly find me something to do…and it was never pleasant. Remembering this, I did what all mothers do: I passed the same trick along to my children, foster children, and grandchildren. The mere threat of my finding something for them to do generally cured any malaise.

So what about me? How as an adult do I do battle with boredom? I began by considering the antonyms for boredom, as suggested by dictionary.com: amuse; thrill, enrapture. Hmmm. The last few days I’ve been amusing myself with my new Nook Tablet. I have enjoyed learning its intricacies and capabilities. That has been good. Thrill? Not big into thrills. I wasn’t blessed with an abundance of curiosity or daring. I’m not even sure I’ve thought of thrill in a positive light for a very long time. Lately all I can think of is saying that I’m not thrilled about something or other, usually about feeling like I have no choices. My time doesn’t seem to belong to me. I don’t have any pocket money to blow. What would I do if my time were my own? Would it be thrilling to make a few choices? To say no when everyone expects me to say yes? Hmmm.

Enraptured. Now there’s something to think about. I just dashed over to dictionary.com again to check whether I really knew what the word meant. To me it’s an all encompassing kind of word. It’s a feeling of being lost in something. It’s an experience engaging all my senses.

One of the actual definitions is: to delight beyond measure. And therein, as my mother would say, lies the rub. I’m not feeling much joy these days. I can’t tell you why or when joy took a hiatus, but I’m definitely missing it.

So I turned to the scriptures to find my cure. First stop, Psalms. Now I realized I was feeling like David in Psalm 13. He was one depressed dude. But in the end he returns to the source of his faith. Later he reminds himself in Psalm 37 not to worry about how good the other guy has it but trust in God who will give him the delight of his heart. Finally I landed in Psalm 51, where David writes: Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. I had trouble finding the verse. I put in several different combinations and each one included: the joy of my salvation. Now that little difference may not jump out at you, but it spoke volumes to me.

Do you wear glasses? I do. I started wearing glasses when I was 40. I’ve always had trouble with my eyes (4 corrective eye muscle surgeries before I was 9), so I was familiar with the ocular device where the doctor asks you to consider which lens is clearer, “This one or this one? This one or this one? This one or this one?” This part of the examination seems to take forever, and some of the differences are so minute that they’re practically indistinguishable.

That’s what I started thinking about as I considered the difference between “my salvation” and “your salvation.” How much difference can one word really make? For me, in this case, a huge difference. As I reflected, I realized that I was once again at that place where I want things the way I want them. I had been relying upon my wisdom, my strength, my salvation. Interesting side note: I just spelled that slavation–as if doing it my made me a slave to my self and didn’t provide what I needed most: salvation from the only one who can truly provide it, now and forever. No wonder I had lost my joy.

I wish I could say that I have determined three steps to reach my goal of restored joy. Wouldn’t that be nice? Right now, all I can muster is a determination to seek after God and his salvation through greater dependence on the word and more time in direct communication with him in prayer. And trust me, I’ll let you know where that gets me. Shalom.

Day Thirteen: Routine

Do you have certain things in your routine that you just have to do or you feel disjointed or incomplete? For some, they have to read the morning paper or watch the early news first thing in the morning. Some can’t get going without their first cup of coffee. Others have a bathroom routine that is scripted down to the minute. The same can be said for how they face the things of work or how they wind down in their day.

Right before my husband and I got married we saw a movie about an ice skater who went blind. It was called “Ice Castles.” As she practiced with her partner, over and over, to drill the performance into her body, he reminded her that she could do this. As they skated out on the ice at competition, he squeezed her hand and whispered the word, “Routine.” When Nelson and I were married that is what he had engraved on the inside of my wedding band.

Now, there are some who might see that as negative or sarcastic. I mean, really, who wants their relationship to become “routine”? People are always looking for fresh and new. Manufacturers understand that and are always seeking to make their product “new and improved.” Routine typically carries with it connotations of complacency and boredom. I don’t happen to see it that way.

Having a routine helps me feel grounded and safe. I like the predictability and security of knowing what is supposed to come next. Thankfully, though, I’m not completely locked into that. Some people absolutely loose it if you change their routine. In their minds, the whole day is shot if their routine is disrupted. Somewhere along the way I developed the ability to toss my routine and be adaptable and flexible. It’s helped me survive.

I believe that God wants to offer us this balance between predictability and adaptability. We can count on him. The Word tells us that he is the same “yesterday and forever” and that he will “never leave us or forsake us.” Because we know that we learn to trust him in the “no matter whats” of life. When we are hit with an unexpected curveball in our health, finances, career, or relationships that require we adapt, we can because there is a source of stability that will get us through the uncertainty back to what feels “routine.” And it may be, that we learn to create a new “routine”, new patterns and rituals based on the new growth we experience as a result of trust.

There’s an old hymn that reminds us: “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll. Fastened to the rock that cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.” As you move through your day and your daily routine, be thankful for what you can count on and open to the possibilities for growth and grace. Even an openness to new can become routine!

Lent Day Ten: What’s That Smell?

15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15, NIV).

I used to work in a gas station convenience store. I always knew when it was 3:15 because a certain woman came to buy a cappuccino on her way to work and she wore a distinctive perfume. After spending a shift in a stale aired place catching her scent always made me smile.  Not every smell was quite as pleasant. I knew when the vet students came in from the farms. I knew when the stoners were making a run for munchies. I knew when the newspaper delivery guy who was a chain smoker walked into the shop. And don’t get me started on the bathrooms.

Smells are incredibly powerful and can evoke all kinds of emotions. Experts tell us that before a child can ever really distinguish her mother’s face she knows her mother’s smell. My neighborhood was full of the smells of barbeque grilling this past weekend. All kinds of memories can be evoked by the smell of homemade bread or fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies. Home sellers are encouraged to create very pleasant smells in their homes when prospective buyers are touring.

People can be very sensitive to smells. It is considered selfish and inconsiderate in social settings for people to wear fragrances due to allergies and extreme sensitivities. What was once thought to be pleasant and appropriate can now result in exacerbating asthma attacks. I love my husband’s aftershave but I can’t convince him that less is better. He seems to be unable to smell a single spritz so he crosses a line into overkill and overpower.

So, how does that fit in with Paul’s teaching about our being the aroma of Christ? It reminded me of walking into our home recently. My husband had marinated some salmon and had it baking in the oven. The smell made me salivate and envision a very delicious dinner. Our younger daughter stopped by to drop something off and immediately screwed up her nose and complained about the awful fishy smell. How could it be both?

Our lives as believers will leave an impression. For some, it will be pleasant. For others, however, it will be considered stench. We can be considerate to not overpower, but we cannot afford to allow political correctness or social convention to rob us or dilute the truth of who we are in Christ. Be sensitive but always be sweet in the eyes of God.

Lent Day Eight: Naive

On more than one occasion, I have been accused of being naïve, so I went and looked up the meaning.

According to dictionary.com:
1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She’s so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.
I think I’m ok with that. But that wasn’t always the case.

Back in the mid-nineties, I felt led to pursue my Doctor of Ministries degree. It seemed like the logical thing to do. I applied to the denominational seminary of the church I was a part of. I completed the first seminar and was totally in love with being back in school again. I raced into the second course with all kinds of enthusiasm and anticipation. Unfortunately, I ran headlong into a professor who rigidly held to position and style of teaching. I wasn’t deep enough or reflective enough. I didn’t see things his way. He wanted to fail me. I worked hard in the course and tried to present my position and perspective. I was told that if I was hoped to advance in the process I would have to learn to “jump through the hoops” placed before me. I’m not a very good jumper, so I dropped out of the program.

I’m especially happy that my brand of naivety includes the fourth definition from the list above! But the more I think about it, the more I believe that Jesus was looking for a certain level of naiveté from his own. Do you remember when the disciples were trying to identify their own importance, and how Jesus put them in their place?

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4, NIV)

I’d rather be simple than cynical, or arrogant. I’d rather be real than artificial (reminds me of Paul’s instruction to the Romans that their love was to be without hypocrisy). I want to be credulous. I want to be ready to believe and to trust. I especially want that kind of relationship with the creator of the universe who invites you and me to call him, “Daddy.”