Tag Archives: Treasure Hunting

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Saying Goodbye … With Anticipation

I hate good-byes. And this week I’m having to say “Good-bye” to Christmas (January 7th, the day after Epiphany, is when I put away my decorations). Christmas is over. Waaaaaeh—I just tried spelling it this way for the first time. Does it sound more whiney than “Waaaaaa?”

Anyway, this week I’ll be be putting away all the Christmas decorations. Taking them down always makes me a little sad. It’s like stuffing a bobbing, jack-in-the-box clown back into its box and pressing on the lid. I feel rather cruel putting him back into his box, but I LOVE it when I start twisting the handle. I love the anticipation—knowing that he’s going to pop out any second and make me smile … again.

These make me smile:

Most of my ornaments are red and gold. Those, nestled in the fir’s greenery, are the perfect combination as far as I’m concerned. Radiant.

Unwrapping each ornament is like setting all the captives free, one by one, after twelve months of prison. Seeing really old friends in their new-found freedom is the best of all. This is a photo of one of my mom’s ornaments. I’ve liberated it for 55 years in a row (it’s ca.1922 or thereabouts). Think about that. How many things in your home have been with you your whole life … and before your life? Aren’t they amazingly special?

I love the images of Santa Clause. This little Santa light has been with me for as long as I can remember, at least since I was eight. I think I’ve only changed the bulb twice. Every year he finds a new place to perch. This year I had to put him in my kitchen window so I could look at him all the time. That’s where I’d see him the most.  I loved setting him next to the new card I got this year—one reproduced from Randy Elrod’s magnificent watercolor of Santa. What an amazing artist Randy is. How does he do it?

My favorite little Santa of all. The real star of Christmas this year. (Ben Spradlin, born October 01, 2010.) Nothing like a real baby at Christmastime.

The reason for the season. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Here are some hymns we sing at Christmas.
Think about the theology in these for a minute. It will blow your mind!

#1
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shone upon the world the light of knowledge; for thereby, they that worshipped the stars were taught by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee!

 

#2
Today the Virgin giveth birth to Him who is above all being, and the earth offereth a cave to Him whom no man can approach. Angels with shepherds give glory, and magi journey with a star. For our sake is born a young Child, the Pre-eternal God!

 

#3
How is He contained in a womb, whom nothing can contain?
And how can He who is in the bosom of the Father
be held in the arms of His Mother?
This is according to His good pleasure,
as He knows and wishes.
For being without flesh,
of His own will has He been made flesh;
and He Who Is,
for our sakes has become that which He was not.
Without departing from His own nature
He has shared in our substance.
Desiring to fill the world on high with citizens,
Christ has undergone a twofold birth.

#4
Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ is come from heaven, go to meet Him! Christ is on earth, be ye lifted up! Sing to the Lord, all the earth; sing out with gladness, all ye people. For He is glorified.

“Goodbye, 2010″ … with anticipation … :-)

(link to text of Nativity hymns)

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Take A Deep Breath (My thoughts on Andy Andrews’ The Noticer)

the-noticer-book3Today is the official release of Andy Andrews’ new book, The Noticer. Even though I’m not “officially” reviewing the book on my blog, I could not let this day go by without saying something about it.

I received a review copy of the book back in January and was asked to give some feedback before it went to press. After I read it Mike asked me what I thought. Before I could begin my critique, he said, “Better yet, let me ask you this question: Can you think of five people, right now, that you would want to give this book to?” Without one second of hesitation I said, “Absolutely.” That’s all he needed to hear.

I have indeed given the book to five people. Well, I can actually think of twelve people I’ve already given the book to—before it was even released. (There are some perks to being married to the CEO of the publishing company.) The first person I gave this book to was my friend Phil (not his real name). When Mike and I met Phil we immediately liked him. But we could tell that he had just come through some pretty rough waters. We came to find out that Phil had recently gone through a heartbreaking and painful divorce and to top it off also found himself in the midst of a failed business. We met him as a 52 years old man, lonely, unemployed and totally defeated, someone who had no hope for anything better in his future. He was lost and paralyzed about what to do next.

One morning I emailed him the following excerpt from The Noticer:

Take a deep breath. … People who can breathe … they are alive.

If you’re breathing, you are still alive. If you are alive, then you are still here, physically on this planet. If you are still here, then you have not completed what you were put on the earth to do. If you have not completed what you were put on earth to do . . . that means your very purpose has not yet been fulfilled. If your purpose has not yet been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life has not yet been lived. And if the most important part of your life has not yet been lived . . . if the most important part of your life is ahead of you, then, even during the worst times, one can be assured that there is more laughter ahead, more success to be look forward to, more children to teach and help, more friends to touch and influence.

There is proof of hope . . . for more.

~ Andy Andrews (The Noticer pg 83-85)

I followed up by sending him a copy of the book. Several days later I began to get emails from him.

The first email came in response to my question, “Are you liking The Noticer?” His response to me was, I love it! ‘Taking it to the games tomorrow to share with my friends there. … I’m smiling.

A couple of days later he wrote:

I am really just starting to believe… It is a matter of my perspective. I have had a wrong perspective for so long and I am excited about my future. Right now… Things are financially about as low as they can go; but everything else is so much better! Thanks to you and Michael for your gift of kindness. And really, I just don’t know how to say it, but I am feeling better. I have a long way to go… But I am looking forward to my journey like never before. I hope this is not temporary or fleeting thing.

When I saw him later that week, it was obvious that a deep, inner transformation was taking place. His circumstances hadn’t changed but his perspective of them was definitely changing and I could see it right on his face! The eyes don’t lie.

A few days later he jotted off this quick note to me: I just realized I am suffering from self-pity. That’s great! I was able to recognize it for what it is and that made me smile and feel better! This perspective stuff works!

And last night this little nugget showed up in my inbox: ‘Middle of  pg 133 just hit me right between the eyes. Thanks for being God’s delivery vehicle!

Upon finishing the book Phil shared these words: One thing I did know before reading The Noticer is that I needed help with the subject of perspective. So with my mechanical pencil in hand, I picked up the book and started my own conversation with Jones [the main character in the story]—God, incarnate for me. I needed to see my life from a different point of view. God’s point of view.” Phil is gaining a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Phil is really like you and me. “All people—all lives—are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or headed for a crisis.” (The Noticer pg 31, 83). What we need, to make it through a crisis, is hope and perspective. Phil said to me, last night, “No matter how bad the choices and decisions (note I did not say mistakes) I have made in my life thus far, the good news is that it is from here that the best part of my life is designed to start.” That is a different perspective. That is hope.

This book will, make a difference in your life. I’m convinced of it. And it will make a difference in the lives of your friends. After you read it, ask yourself the question: Can I think of five people, right now, whom I’d like to give the book to?” I guarantee you will come up with at least five names. You’ll want to pass it on, to someone like Phil—like you and me.

For those of us in the midst of a relationship crisis, financial crisis, health crisis, or any kind of crisis, who need to begin rebuilding our lives, remember these words from Andy, “Rebuild with a grateful heart. You may have lost a house, but you did not lose your home. Remember, you are still breathing . . .”  (The Noticer pg 95).

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Stepping Onto The Water

istock_000002187415xsmall_3My friend, Shelia Mullican, gave me a birthday gift on Sunday. She gave me a copy of Walking On Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L’Engle. I had never heard of it. Of course I have heard of Madeleine L’Engle. She’s right up there with C.S. Lewis. But, I must confess, I have never read A Wrinkle In Time. I tried, back in the sixth or seventh grade, but could never get into it. Everyone in my family loved it. They will tell you it’s still one of their all-time favorites.

For some reason I have always had a difficult time reading fantasy. Sometimes I wonder if I’m not handicapped when it comes to imagination. I’m more of a concrete person. On the Myers-Briggs profile I’m a strong S—Sensing. Creative and imaginative I’m not so much. I tend to look at life literally. But there is something in me that knows I would love Madelenine L’Engle’s books if I would just let go and let her take me where I could never go by myself. Unlike most of you Walking on Water will be my first real introduction to her. And it’s not fantasy. It’s just her, the deepest parts of her. I can’t wait.  I know I’m about to make a very dear friend.

My husband has encouraged me to write. And the fact that he is in the publishing business causes me to take his encouragement seriously—though I feel completely inadequate when I give it a try. I do not enjoy the process of writing. Occasionally, I like having written. I have many half-finished blog posts waiting in “the wings,” but I keep getting stuck.

I want to like writing. I want to push through the out-of-my-comfort-zone feeling. I want to know what it’s like to stop analyzing every word, and criticizing every thought and just let go. Nicole Nordeman, in the Introduction to Walking On Water, says that L’Engle helped her “remember how to slow down, how to let go, how to wake up to the voice of the Creator in [her].” Are we all meant to hear that voice and become “co-creators” on some level?

Nicole says,

Now somehow this book has landed in your hands. … Maybe, like me, one of your friends recommended it because for the fifteenth day in a row you’ve sat staring at an empty canvas, or a lump of clay on your wheel, or a blank piece of paper on your piano, and you’re stuck. …

Be encouraged. Close your eyes and let go. Remember, as Peter did, what it felt like when nothing was sustaining you in the small space between your feet and those daunting waves but the power of an unrelenting Love.

And walk on.

Thank you, Shelia. I’m walking into the pages. I feel as though I’m entering into a mystical land full of secret treasures, and I do love treasure hunting. But I’m a little scared.

 

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A Super-Human Husband?

Superman logoIt started about 3:00pm yesterday with the ring of the doorbell. Peering through the glass front door, stood a man holding a glass container, protecting a stunning, twelve-blossomed, golden orchid; the base of which relaxed among a nest of submerged river rock. The card simply said, “Will you be my Valentine? Mike.”

After 30 years of marriage we’ve come a long way from the box of chocolate covered cherries, purchased at the eleventh hour from the Walgreens down the street.

The second installment of my Valentine’s Day gift surprised me this morning right before Mike and I left to meet up with our running group. I knew Mike was getting ready to post a blog. I just didn’t know that it would be about me. A blog post? About me? Wow! For all the world to see. I know I’m blessed. It’s very humbling.
 

In his post, Mike lists ten things he loves about me. (I especially love #10 “And, finally—let’s be honest—she is really, really, cute.”) I know for each thing he loves about me he could list five things that drive him up the wall. But he chose to leave those off. Whew.

This morning, one of my blog-readers suggested that, “It would be fun if you commented, on your blog, about some of the things your husband posts about. For example, you could do a follow up post on how we can make our husbands feel superhuman.” (#8 “She makes me feel super-human. To the degree that I have experienced any success, it is largely because Gail has been my constant cheerleader and my biggest fan.”) I’d like to give it a try.

Just as I cannot fathom the challenges of being a single parent, I cannot begin to appreciate the pressures a man faces when trying to protect and provide for the needs of an entire family. After Mike and I started our family, I stopped working outside the home. He has been the sole bread-winner ever since.

Early on I asked myself what will be my unique contribution? How can I balance this out? Lots of things came to mind, but THE most important thing I chose to cultivate was a heart of appreciation and the practice of encouragement. It’s proven to be the best gift I could possibly give to Mike and to my family as well.

Here are a four of the ways I flesh this out:

  1. I think it begins with a recognition and a respect for the pressures Mike faces every day. He carries a very heavy burden, day-in and day-out. 24/7. It never leaves him. He carries this burden because it’s his “duty,” but most of all because he loves us. I make a point to verbalize that “I get it.” His sacrifices don’t go unnoticed.
     
  2. Secondly, I realize that I’m not entitled to any particular way of life, or life at all for that matter. Every day is a gift from my Father above. Nothing is to be taken for granted. The extent to which I enjoy security and comfort in this temporal life, I owe to a husband who faithfully shows up for life everyday. He works hard, perseveres through difficulties, and constantly seeks to learn and grow all along the way. He needs to know that I appreciate his faithfulness. All day long I notice things to thank him for—big and little. And then I follow through by actually saying, “Thank you so much for taking the trash out.” “Thanks for checking in with me today.” “Thanks for going to work today.”
     
  3. Mike has to do some very difficult things in his job. Being the CEO of the world’s largest Christian Publisher is hard. He has to make decisions and take actions which are scary. So much of what he does is uncharted territory for him. He’s not sure he actually has what it takes to do it right. There are risks involved. It’s important for someone who knows him better than he may know himself to weigh in. He needs to hear, “You can totally do this!” “Let’s talk about it. What’s the worse that can happen?” “If you loose your job and we have to live in a cardboard box, I’m with you.” “We can make it. You’ve got what it takes. Go for it.”
     
  4. Finally, I choose to focus on what I love about Mike. The Lord knows that he’s not perfect. No one is. But if I keep trying to change him and make it my responsibility to help him “improve,” we’d be divorced by now. Instead of asking questions like, “Why can’t he ever do…?” or “Why doesn’t he …?” — which only leads to negative answers such as, “Because he’s selfish,” or “Because he’s so critical.” I instead choose to focus on what I love about him. “Why do I love him so much?” (What a great question! Try to answer that one.) “Why does he keep going to work for me day after day?” Those kinds of questions are very powerful, leading to answers which only fuel love.

So there you have it. My Valentine’s Day gift to him. A post. About him—well sort of. I love Mike today because he remembered me on Valentine’s Day. And for all the years when he didn’t remember me, I loved him then too. He’s super-human in my book.

 

Ahhh, those were the days.

Ahhh, those were the days.

 

 

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Consistency: My Greatest Personal Strength

n604922829_509432_1437After reading the title for this post, I know you’re jealous. Everyone knows that consistency is the key to everything. Well, I’ve got this one nailed. Consistency is my greatest personal strength. I am consistently starting over.

So here I am again—same show, different location. Starting over. This is my second attempt at keeping a blog. The last one I began in July of 2007. I had one post that year. Yep, one post. My second post showed up in May of 2008. There were a total of five posts that year, the last of which was in July of 2008. One solid year with six posts.

I’m not sure why I have such a hard time being consistent with new projects, but it’s been the story of my life. If I had been born within the last 20 or 30 years I’m sure I would have been diagnosed with ADD. I have such a hard time staying focused. But I’m not satisfied with staying that way. I’m starting over. Today. Fresh. Sort of like a person who really wants to quit smoking, I’m not giving up. I believe in the old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

I really do want to write, if for no other reason than to bring some clarity to my own thinking—to bring focus into my life. I like it when I am focused because it means that I am living in the present moment. And the present moment is the only place where I can come face-to-face with the living God. To just be with him. To hear his voice. To receive his love. To discover his treasures.

If you’re on a treasure hunt, and you really want to find a treasure, you can’t be regretting what went wrong yesterday or afraid of what might happen tomorrow, you have to have your eyes wide open to what’s directly in your sight. Each of your five senses have to be on high alert so not to miss a single clue. That’s how I want to live my life—on a perpetual treasure hunt. Come join me.

P.S. I’m not sure how long it will take me to post another post, but don’t give up on me. I’m very consistent.

[The photo above is of my grandaughter, Ellie. After eating all of her ice cream one day, she turned the remaining cone into a telescope. She's on the lookout, too.]