Borrowed From The Creator

I hate it when people steal my ideas. Well, the good ones anyway. I joke that one of my goals is to come up with 100 ideas a week in hopes that one of them will be really good. That’s probably a bit ambitious, but between parenting, running a home, work, writing, speaking, and just life in general, there is always room for new ideas. Alas, a lot of them are just okay (you may have read a few posts that stemmed from those “okay” ideas). A great many of them are terrible. Some I forget before I have a chance to capture them, and some are just sparks that eventually lead to something else.

In any case, I’m convinced it’s all part of the creative process, and every once in awhile, I have a “eureka!” moment and come up with something I fall in love with. Sometimes I can use it right away, but more often it’s tucked into one of many notebooks where it is tweaked and groomed as it waits for its debut. Such ideas are my pets. My sweet little chicks in my incubation tank of a notebook. And that’s why I get so annoyed when someone steals one of them.

The Finish Line

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of walking (yes, walking…intentionally) the USMC Historic Half with two of my favorite people. During the course of a 13.1 mile walk (or run, I imagine) there are good times and bad times. You have lots of time to talk with your friends. You laugh at the signs, you commiserate and celebrate with the people around you. People spill into the streets to encourage you and support you with water or Gatorade, or just a smile and a wave. There are sites to see and a variety of things to keep you entertained. It feels good to be outside and alive.

Fearless Follower Focus (Guest Post)

Today I have the pleasure of turning my little piece of internet real estate over to Liz Swauger. Liz is truly a remarkable young lady and a treasured family friend. She will be leaving for a 12-14 month mission trip to Thailand in just a few weeks. I will miss her terribly, but am so excited to see what God has in store for her and those whose lives she will touch. I am so inspired by her willingness to step out in faith and follow where the Father leads...even halfway around the world. Please join me in praying for Liz as she faithfully responds to God's call and embarks on this new adventure.

Last summer, the small group I co-led went through David Platt’s book, Radical. That study quickly wrecked my lofty Christian metaphors and spiritualized motifs and instead demanded practical and courageous Christ-like living. Platt argues that while God does call us to teach others to “obey everything [Jesus] commanded [us],” there is another half to the Great Commission, the “go” part. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19-20). That part requires a lot more intentionality and proactivity.

The more I dug into the Gospel (God’s goodness, my sin and rebellion, Christ’s substitution and sacrifice, and my response to that), the more I wanted to share it. This desire led me to travel with my church on a vision trip to Bangkok, Thailand in August of 2011. While there, we walked through a red light district; we played with children in the slums; we taught English. We stood at the top of the Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok, and looked over a city with a population twice the size of New York City and where less than 1% of them are believers. That is spiritual darkness.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Today is Zack's birthday. I've always liked that it falls so close to Mother's Day because I am doubly reminded of what a blessing he is to me.  A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about how being a mom has provided me with just a glimpse of what it means to be a beloved child of God, and I thought I'd share it with you today.

From Good andPerfect Gifts, 5/13/10

This past week marked the celebration of both Mother's Day and my son's birthday. Any attempt to describe what a blessing my son is to me would wear out my keyboard and deplete my vocabulary, so I'm not even going to try. However, one of the blessings of parenthood is that it gives us a better understanding of God's love for us. Through Christ, we are God's beloved children, and our love for our children gives us a taste of the immensity, depth, and steadfast nature of God's love for us.