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Managing Expectations at Christmas
The words “managing expectations” resonates with me because I expect more than half my worries and disappointments can be traced to unrealistic expectations of myself, of others, and I guess it’s safe to include God in this list. Woe is me. At no time of year do my expectations collide so spectacularly with Reality as at Christmas. The year winds down and my expectations wind up. Earlier this year, I read Minnie Driver’s memoir. Her title was worth the price of the book. Managing Expectations. Those two words formed the spine of her story. Then she added flesh and bones to describe her chaotic childhood and her launch into the…
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Hark! A Predator at my Door
“Can I come get my hawk?” I was still in my robe. Answering the doorbell, my husband could see a young man holding his phone. Minutes before, a hawk had flown into the glass door to our patio. I’d been watching it as both the bird and I stood dazed and confused. It’s common for dove to fly into the glass and when I heard the thud, that’s what I thought had happened. But this thud was more like a crash. Grateful the glass hadn’t cracked, I jumped up, saw this HUGE bird, thankful it wasn’t dead, I grabbed my dog’s collar, and yelled for my husband. “Is that a…
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A Few Good Friends
If you live long enough, you will lose more than a few good friends. Some while you live and others when they die. Ironically, funerals bring together family and friends who you and I may have gone years without seeing. Losing a friend, we press the pause button long enough to reflect on the way friend connections keep us going till we’re gone. Consider how God uses friends to shape our lives, as someone described friendship. “Friends for a season Friends for a reason Friends for life” F*R*I*E*N*D*S If you watched the sitcom Friends when it was the number one show on TV during its ten years, 1994–2004, Matthew Perry…
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Ongoing Conversations with God
The Bible’s place is in your heart, not on a bookshelf or coffee table. The Bible does not open itself by itself, nor does God reveal his truths all at once. You and I often approach the Bible expecting to get what we need out of it and go on our way. My friend’s son came home from his first day in first grade. “How did it go?” his mom asked. “I didn’t even learn how to read.” Big Expectations of God The Bible is the revelation of who God is, his purposes for the world he created, and his plan for all human history. Vast and incomprehensible, God is.…
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Fifteen days, ten states, and 3,170 miles later, my first morning back home almost felt as if I’d never left. Familiar and comforting and reassuring, Home Sweet Home. My daughter informs me homeostasis is the term that describes how the brain seeks comfort, avoids pain, and resists change. So why in the world do I want to travel? First day back home, I awoke to 38 degrees, plunging into Fall, cold and wet. I settled into my morning routine: coffee, reading, a visit with my younger daughter and granddaughter Charlotte. I like to begin the day in first gear, not overdrive. So why would I ever leave home? “When I…
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Read a Book in October: National Book Month
Who knew? I didn’t know until yesterday there’s a National Book Month. “Since 1950, the National Book Foundation has highlighted the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and YA literature. In 2003, the organization created the first National Book Month.” [1] That month, October. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Anne of Green Gables I’m so glad to read books that arouse my imagination. While walking my dog Kona, I’ve been listening to Rachel McAdams read Anne of Green Gables on Audible. Rachel’s narration is rapturous, positively and elegantly expressive. One characteristic of this classic novel relates to Anne’s extraordinary imagination, her ability to…
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Not All Who WONDER Are Lost
On August 15, 2022, Frederick Buechner died at age 96. My daughter said, “I thought he died a long time ago, like Shakespeare, or some of the other people you quote.” I laughed. “Authors pass but books persist.” [1] And books offer a window into the soul of their writers. Introduced to Buechner’s writing while I was in seminary, God has used his writings to help me think. About life. About doubt. About how Christians fear the challenge of thinking deeply about their faith and default to letting others think for them. Frederick Buechner, author, preacher, and theologian, shared life-giving words through books and sermons that conveyed deep faith underlying…