Canyons & Fireworks

This week, my husband and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. We were friends for a year and became best friends before our seven month courtship. It's hard to remember my life before we were together and the happiness we now share. We love each other deeply, but I think the biggest contributor to our happy home is that we appreciate one another. He makes it easy for me because he is a rare unicorn. My husband cooks, cleans, and leads our family spiritually. I may not deserve how great he is, but our marriage is a testament that God answers prayer! As wonderful as Rob is, he is not perfect. Despite all of his exceptional qualities (and yes, there are a lot), he can not possibly meet all of my needs. Only God is capable of such a feat. With any relationship comes an invitation to focus on the good, and another invitation to focus on the shortcomings. Perhaps that is why my pastor promotes Philippians 4:8 as the most important scripture to memorize, "And now dear broth

According to attachment theory, our attachment is developed between birth and two or three years old. So often we hear things like, "No reason to celebrate the first birthday because the baby is too little to remember." I wonder if babies can feel celebrated. If so, those feelings are stored in the unconscious mind and nervous system. Our nervous system plays a part in almost everything we do and is our personal history keeper. May is mental health awareness month. I am a huge advocate for professional counseling, specifically professional Christian counseling.  That said, counseling deals mainly in the conscious and subconscious mind. Yet, our attachment is developed in a timezone outside of memory.  To address imperfections or traumas from our non-verbal unconscious beginnings, we must employ techniques that allow us to enter into a similar state.  Christian meditation is the practice of Psalm 46:10 (Be still and know that I am God). Meditation is not a time of prayer, seek

Like many others, I have been meditating on Psalm 24 this year. Each verse, much like the verses of Psalm 23, offer nuggets of wisdom to ponder. I was struck by verse two of chapter 24, "For He has built it upon the seas. He has set it upon the rivers." (NLV) In speaking of the world, Kind David knew something that was unearthed not long ago.  As recently as 2014, scientists discovered huge reservoirs of water stored within ringwoodite located about 400 miles beneath the Earth's surface. These subterranean oceans possess three times more water than the total of the oceans on the surface. This finding is not only fascinating but has also evoked new questions about the Earth's water cycle. King David's utterance was not just a poetic nicety, but actually a valid statement. Last week, I touched on Job's revelation, which hinted toward gravity, a completely foreign concept of his day.  The Bible has always offered truths before scientifically proven by man. I lear

Have you ever felt like you had nothing left to give? Maybe you are caring for an elderly parent, or fighting for your marriage. Perhaps work has been extra demanding, or you are dealing with failing health.  When busyness turns emotionally and spiritually draining, we are met with the end of ourselves.  To be truly depleted takes some recovery time and help. We all need self-care in our daily lives, but recuperation requires another level of tending.  In times of utter exhaustion, I am comforted by Job 26:7, "God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing." (NLT) The chapter is an elegant praise and worth reading but also revelatory for its day. Job is believed to have lived right before or about the time of Abraham, and the concept of the earth suspended in space was only widely accepted about 1670, as in about 350 years ago.  In ancient times, many believed the earth was supported by elephants standing on a large sea turtle. More intellectua

I grew up in the country and rode on quaint roads, winding between hills that connected farms and were canopied with trees.  The exactly one mile car ride from my childhood home to my grandparents' farm relieved our family of six from ascending, on foot, the steap slope of the neighboring farm. Diablo, the neighbor's black Stallion, loved to race along side our silver three rowed stationwagon. The contest exerted Diablo's muscles overlaid with raven black shinny fur as he raced up the hill, along side our car, and inside his fence. The sight transported me into the novel, Black Beauty .  Last week, I took a backway not usually traveled when I noticed the curvature in the pavement and a thin treeline to my left. The scene did not rival the terrain of my youth, but it did bring the beloved countryside to remembrance.   Diablo was galloping, in my mind, when the treeline gave way and revealed the new construction of a castle on the corner! Trust my use of the word. Size was no

When was the last time you got in a funk? Not an argument with your spouse or teen, or even a bad day, but in a morphed state for a period of time. Perhaps a new level of anger clenched more than just your fists but your heart. Maybe someone abandoned you unceremoniously. Perchance, you were in a scuffle with disappointment over your own behavior or performance.  Whatever the scenario, we have all been in the place of unshakable demeanor altering unpleasantness. A creep's comment can be plucked from under your skin with a new hairdo, handbag, or box of gourmet chocolates; but if the remark irritated a deeper issue, the usual distractions would not alleviate the sting.  Whatever shall we do when favored indulgences fail to suffice and we can't change the people who hurt us? Scripture points to the not so popular tool of mourning. Not only do we hate to mourn, but most of us doubt its power to help heal. We fear the beginning of tears will unleash a never-ending river, and we wou