People

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

I’m reading Soul Survivor, a fascinating book by Philip Yancey in which he describes thirteen people who deeply influenced his life, helping him maintain his faith as he worked through disheartening church experiences. It probes deeply and is refreshingly honest… but I digress. His book has caused me to consider those who made a difference in my life, such as…

  • Sam, my high school Sunday school teacher whose passion for God was undeniable, introduced me to ministry in the mountains of Mahwah on Sunday afternoons.
  • Harry & Eunice, who befriended us when we were newlyweds and taught us by word and example how to create a Christian home.
  • Bob & Ruth, who revealed to us the intensely personal love of Jesus, and introduced us to the indwelling Holy Spirit and the matchless value of koinonia fellowship.
  • Madelyn, with whom I mined the paths of adoption, racism, and shifting convictions from theory to action.
  • Pastor John for preaching about grace—constantly—and breaking through my Reformed doctrine, slowly moving God from judge to Lover of my soul.
  • The friends who sat with us under John’s teaching and beyond, learning to do life together, accepting one another, and loving unconditionally.
  • My husband who has always encouraged me to be all I can be, to stretch further, to serve better, to use my gifts, to make a difference.
  • David, our silent son whose prayer and worship don’t have words we understand, but who has taught us more about trust, praying, and praising than the most gifted preachers.
  • Each of our children who, in many ways, have grown beyond us and yet respect and love us. They stretched us, produced fruit that pleases us, and strengthened our faith by proving God can work through flawed parents.

This is a smattering, a far from comprehensive list, but one that has prompted praise in my heart. I invite you to plumb your memory banks and allow those in your past to prompt praise to God for putting them in your life.

What I Like about Summer

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

Each season I blog about what I love during that time of year. I always feel disingenuous when I proclaim, “I love summer,” because I don’t. Yet, there are things I do like about summer, so here’s my more honest assessment of summer’s blessings.

  • Watermelon—red and ripe, juicy and drippy, sweet and refreshing.
  • Ice cream cones—I know, there is no off-season for this creamy treat but it’s especially good in summer, particularly from the Belville Creamery in NY state with its picture postcard view. It is worth the trip (and the calories) for a scoop of coconut ice cream with almonds covered in dark chocolate.
  • The slower pace that invites us to relax and unwind, to take deep breaths, reset our internal clocks, and appreciate life and living.
  • Barbecues—paper plates, cold salads, hot dogs, warm friends, and easy conversation.
  • Lightning bugs, flying, flickering, adding sparkle to lazy summer evenings. May we never grow too old to thrill at their display.
  • Iced tea, but not just any iced tea, only the family recipe passed down from my mother-in-law. Just enough sugar and lemon, half decaf, steeped to perfection, delicious and refreshing. 
  • Seasonal flora and fauna—fruits and flowers, birds and butterflies, each with their own unique beauty.
  • Summer storms—sometimes sudden, always fascinating, breaking into the monotonous heat with a spectacular show of rumbles and flashes, drenching and replenishing the earth.

Hmm. Maybe I do love summer! What are your summer favorites?

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.
Psalm 74:17

Retirement?

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.

Psalm 92:14

Today is my husband’s last full day of work. He entered the work world delivering newspapers when he was only nine and ended as a care pastor looking at 75. We’ve talked a lot about what it looks like to retire. Mirriam-Webster defines it this way:  

  1. to withdraw from action or danger 
  2. to withdraw especially for privacy
  3. to move back
  4. to withdraw from one’s position or occupation 
  5. to go to bed

In the past ten months we have relocated, renovated, recovered from health challenges, and now retired. Each of Webster’s definitions sounds appealing but, while we will take some down time to recover, we will not stop. We think about traveling some, enjoying open calendars, and living at a slower pace. Age has slowed us down, but we’re convinced that if we’re breathing, there’s more to do.

Perhaps our friend, Pastor Marty, said it best: “Rich won’t retire, he’ll re-fire.” And that’s what we anticipate—new fire. We’re excited to see what God will do in this next chapter and expect to encounter grace-filled opportunities.

If you’re reading this, you’re breathing, and you, my friend are not finished yet either! Join us in expecting God-surprises.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8

Pause to Ponder your Body

~ Barbara ~ Leave a comment

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:13, 15-17

Every vein was perfectly placed when I was in my mother’s womb. As a child, I ran and played without a thought about the miracle of my heart beating or my blood flowing. When I was a teen my body changed into womanhood, including all the normal mood swings, but I was still oblivious to the wonder of my brain directing my body parts or my veins carrying my blood. I had children and aged, but my health allowed me to come and go at will, my worst ailments being a backache or headache, so I was still mindless of the miracle of the daily ebb and flow of my body… until now.

Now I am mindful of my heart beating irregularly, of the intricacies and cooperation my unseen body parts, of the miraculous complexities of the human body. I had a stroke, went into a-fib, and, this week, had a cardiac ablation. We call a CT (computed tomography) of the brain, the loop recorder in my chest, and the ablation procedure modern day medical miracles.

As I contemplated what was about to happen—a doctor would insert catheters into two veins, directing them up into my heart, and sensors would record my heart’s electricity, identifying the area causing the arrhythmia and create small scars in my heart to block the irregular rhythms—I was awed. Yes, a modern day medical miracle. But it pales in comparison to the miracle of my creation.

God wove those veins in place when He formed me. They were in place when I toddled and grew and aged. Throughout those years my heart beat with regularity, until it didn’t. The mercy is that I overcame the physical challenges of stroke and a-fib. But, with all due respect, I must put modern medicine in its place because, as astonishing as it is, it pales in comparison to the miracle of God’s intricate creation. Indeed, medicine only discovers the details of God’s amazing design and learns aspects of the human body’s functionality that God ordered. He is my Creator, Designer, Sustainer, Healer. Selah.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (verse 14).