Moody Meditations On Middle Age – Pt. 2 – It Ain’t About How Hard You Can Hit…

I was pregnant and on a trans-Atlantic flight, sitting next to a guy I think was a Harley-Davidson mechanic. I kid you not. He was all tatted and goateed up and I was… well…bulging and hormonal. The movie on this flight was Rocky. Not the original. The sixth one. Where Rocky is truly an old man and looking for one more shot in the ring. I know, I know… I thought the same thing. “Come on…how many times will they make the same movie over and over again…” But I was wrong. So wrong.

This movie is a beautiful mediation on desire. On growing old. On the importance of identity and relationship and accomplishment. On fear and the choices we make. Well written, well acted – and even though I was sure it was going to bomb, it won me over totally. Sort of like Rocky in the ring. Don’t ever count him out.

And somewhere in the middle of it, it made me cry. No, it made me sob. What moved me was Rocky’s speech to his son, where he is trying to encourage him to become all he can be. It is a dramatic reversal in that while Rocky is the one going into the ring, it is his son who is afraid.

He said something so profound, so uniquely targeted to where I was in life that it literally opened my heart right then and there, right next to Harley-guy and in the midst of a plane full of strangers. Let me quote some of the speech and highlight the part that undid me.

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that! 

This is a lesson from middle age. By this time, most of us have figured out just how hard life can hit. We’ve realized we won’t get many of the dreams we had in our youth. We’ve felt the pain of a sucker punch, a roundhouse to the gut that takes the wind out of us. We’ve lost things. We’ve maybe come to grips with our average-ness and the fact that we don’t hit nearly as hard as we thought we did.

And a decision is in our corner now. In fact, I would suggest that middle age is really about choices. For me, much of the first half of my life involved many happy accidents. God’s providence guiding me to the right place at the right time. I didn’t really know what I was doing most of the time. But now…I know… And the questions are, “What will I do with what I know now? What will I do with this Jesus I’ve loved for years, but not really understood? What will I do with the gifts and talents and resources given me? Who will I become as I continue to walk the road of sanctification and transformation into who God made me to be?” 

Will I quit? And there are lots of ways to quit by the way. You can leave the ring literally, or just begin sleep-walking through the motions. Checking out emotionally. Doing just enough to maintain and medicate. Many do. Or am I brave enough to stay in the ring, take the hits and keep moving forward?

Cause that’s how winning is done.

Jesus, Over The Wreckage – (Jesus, pt. 5)

Europe speaks to me. No where do I find more visual metaphors for the things going on in my heart than on the continent I so love. Honest moment here, I often weep I don’t live there anymore.

During my last visit, I had a morning in Berlin with a chance to see anything I wanted. So I had a friend take me to the Gedächtniskirche, or loosely translated, the memorial church.

The church, as it stands today.

It was built in the late 1800′s, and bombed during WWII. It was not rebuilt as a reminder of the horror of war. The lessons gained and memorialized by the wreckage were too valuable to just cover over with something new. Instead, its ruins testify to its past – and were intentionally incorporated into a new church compound.

I knew as I was visiting that there was something important here for me to see, to learn. I just didn’t know what it was at the time.

This morning, months later, I was meditating on how one’s faith recovers from devastation and from pain. And my eyes were drawn to a photo I have of my morning at this church, stuck to the wall over my desk.

I was taken by the realization that the present day memorial is of Jesus… golden, present, powerful… over it all.

Somehow, He takes the wreckage of our lives – the things that have been bombed, maybe even destroyed with our own hands – and He doesn’t abandon it. He doesn’t cover it over and pretend it isn’t there. He redeems it.

I don’t understand this. But I’m trying to. And I’m trying to let the visual, of Jesus… golden, present, powerful… over my wreckage, speak to something deep in my heart.

He sees it all.

A Meaningful Photo For Me

I can’t tell you how this photo makes me feel. During one of my teaching sessions at the Connexxion Women’s Retreat, someone actually found it valuable enough to take notes.

The Power Of A Mentor

While in Germany, we lived near a historic church with a large graveyard. While walking through one day, we came upon this.

The gravestone of Carl Zeiss, inventor of modern lenses.

Carl Zeiss was a scientist of the 1800′s who lived and worked in Jena. He helped develop the modern field of optics, founding a company, Carl Zeiss International that is still a world leader in photographic and microscopic lenses. My camera has a Zeiss lens. He was a famous and accomplished man with many revolutionary discoveries to his credit. But his grave reveals something very interesting. Look behind the marker, to the left in the greens. There is a plaque there.

Dr, Friedrich Körner, master teacher of Carl Zeiss.

The plaque is dedicated to Dr. Friedrich Körner, whom you may not have heard of. In fact, I tried to look him up on Wikipedia and he doesn’t even have his own entry. His only mention is in Carl Zeiss’ page. This marker tells us that he was the master teacher of Carl Zeiss. Jeff and I found it very interesting that Körner’s influence was so great, someone memorialized it near Zeiss’ grave.

No Körner, no Zeiss. That is the power of a mentor. Intentionally investing in the life of someone else can not only help them reach their full potential, it can also change history. Not everyone can be a world-famous scientist. But everyone can help influence those around them to be and accomplish more.

And for followers of Jesus, we are commanded to invest in each other’s lives. It just makes me wonder, what if our influence on those around us was recorded for all to see. Where would my name pop up?

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

America!

Also, in honor of the 4th of July (just a day late) here’s Neil Diamond’s America, which is my favorite pop patriotic song. An over the top performance? You bet it is! It’s Neil Diamond. And we Americans aren’t exactly known for our subtlety. But wow, the man can put on a show! Even if you don’t like this, you can’t deny, he’s got the audience eating out of his hand. And there is something embedded in the heart of most Americans… maybe it is the realization of how blessed we are in this nation, that we can’t help but be joyfully patriotic when the 4th of July comes around. “On the boats and on the planes…they’re coming to America. Today!” Enjoy!

Heartbreaking Dysfunction

John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Jeff was away on a business trip this evening so I got a night an unexpected night all to myself with the tv. I’m not sure why but I got sucked in to A&E’s shows called Hoarders and Intervention. It was like watching a train wreck – you can’t pull your eyes away even though you know a horrible crash is coming. And I felt sick and disturbed afterwards. Hoarders is about truly mentally ill people who’s lives are filled with clutter, waste, trash, etc. They can’t throw away anything and their houses are disaster areas with no place to sit or sleep. Their homes are so filthy that eviction or children being taken in to protective custody are normal outcomes. Intervention is about drug users, the toll they take on their families and the resulting intervention they take in an effort to reclaim their loved one’s health and lives.

Watching these lives implode, I realized that there is no other word for what I saw but SIN. There is a “right” out there, and where these people ended up is so wrong. You can say that most things in life are relative until you see the devastating effects of sin in lives and hearts up close. I was only watching on tv. Those families were living right in the middle of it. The condition of their lives wasn’t relative, it was disastrous. Sin brought them there. Sin was trying to keep them there.

Hear me clearly, I’m not judging. I’ve lived long enough to know anyone is capable of anything, ANYTHING, given the right circumstances and pressures. Without Jesus changing me from the inside out and conquering the sin nature that would master me, I could be a hoarder, an addict, an enabler or a destroyer of all that I have and those that I love.

But hear me clearly, my heart is breaking for the world tonight and the mess we’ve made of things.

After an evening spent watching the collateral damage of dysfunction and addiction I’m reminded of Jesus’ words that He has overcome the world. How those words bring hope to those who are ruled over so powerfully by their sin. I’m reminded of the promise that one day there will be no more crying and that He will restore all things to how they are supposed to be. And I understand a bit more fully why the Bible ends with a prayer for Jesus to come, and quickly.

A Season of Gathering

(Part 8 of the Seasons series)

Pr. 10:5 He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

I’ve sensed that some seasons of my life are about harvest, and I only hurt myself by sleeping through it. There is something available, and it is something I need. I just have to be proactive about retrieving it. about going out and gathering it.

During one season I had access to a very wise woman who let me meet with her, ask questions and pick her brain. I tried to be intentional about scheduling time with her and coming with questions I needed answers to. I’ve had several seasons where I’ve had a keen interest in reading, usually on a particular topic, that coincided with larger amounts of free time. Those two things combined to provide me with prolonged seasons of information intake. I’ve had some periods of my life where I needed to rest, slowing my social calendar and taking lots of naps while my body recovered. I’ve been involved in Bible studies that I could only describe as “magic”, where God continually showed Himself to us. I would mentally bring a catcher’s mitt so that I wouldn’t miss out on receiving anything God was throwing my way.

All of these seasons for me were about gathering something I would need for later, about storing up information, rest or experiences. It makes me wonder how I’m doing now with:

Recognizing what is out there that I need. Am I looking for and aware of the possibilities before me?

Being proactive at getting out there and gathering what is available. Am I sleeping during the harvest?

Why I Love Art- it connects

(The Why I Love Art series, pt. 6)

Have you ever watched an episode of Behind The Actor’s Studio? It’s an interview where artists talk about their art and how they got to where they are today. If you’ve seen the show at all, you know there are three recurring themes among most of the actors who appear on the show – they come from a broken home, they have at least one tattoo and they’ve struggled with an addictive/destructive behavior. Interesting that, like Munch whom I wrote about earlier, for some reason creatives tend to be pain-filled and self-destructive.

I find this video fascinating  and illustrates what I love about artists. Artists identify their pain and articulate it for the rest of us. One reason I enjoy the show is that actors, of all people, are in touch with the condition of their heart. It’s part of their job to know what’s going on in there and to be able to channel it to touch the rest of us. They want to move us emotionally, connecting us with a character or a theme, so that we engage with their message. At their core, actors, like other artists are just communicators. They are dying to tell us something. Sometimes literally.

This video is the first of 5 parts and is about 10 minutes long. It really gets going at about the 2 minute mark and if you have time, I recommend watching it in its entirety.  In it Angelina Jolie describes her early years and how she became, not just an actress or celebrity, but an artist. Um, not surprisingly, it’s a shocking and tumultuous path.

As a Christ-follower, I’m interested in the condition of the human heart and soul and how we carry truth to those places. And is she ever in touch with those places. While AJ may say things that are quite mind-blowing for those of us out in the ‘burbs’, her brutal honesty and utter comfort with her pain and past is amazing to see. She is clearly a talented and charismatic communicator. By the way, this is just before the Brangelina hullaballo and just before she seemingly took on über-celebrity, not-quite-human status. Here she is just an Academy award-winning actress with a fascinating past. Interestingly enough, later in the interview she describes how she found her first son (who is all that she has at this point) in Cambodia.

I watch this and realize that so many people live in such a different world from me. Yet I want to connect with them right where they are. Not being stunningly beautiful or a famous movie star, I walked away from this video wondering how can I communicate the truth from inside my soul in a way that others understand and find compelling?

Artists have a clue about the answer to this question, and it’s one of the reasons I love art.

A Season Of Hidden Things

Winter covers everything. But life is hidden underground.

(Part 7 of the Seasons series)

I’ve had seasons of my life where it felt like nothing was going on. I couldn’t discern any forward progress with my internal spiritual growth, external ministry or life experiences. It seemed like my life was sleeping.

Times like that are a spiritual winter.

But outward appearances during winter can be deceiving. While it looks like death is all around, there is actually quite a bit of life going on underground. The root systems of trees are repairing themselves, increasing their capacity for the times of growth that are coming soon. The vessels that move nutrients and water are both resting and getting stronger.

I’ve found that during my spiritual winters, even though it might be hidden, God is actually working deep things into my heart and soul. Developing patience, trust, healing past wounds, collecting stories of His faithfulness, of the benefits of following God even when it isn’t easy. During these seasons there is often preparation for the next.

How can I give God access to the hidden things in my heart and life during the dark seasons? How can I learn not to get discouraged when the externals of my life look so inactive? How can I cultivate a heart that grows deep during the winter, as well as big during the summer?

Why I Love Art – it’s beautiful

The Dessert - Harmony in Red by Henri Matisse

(Why I Love Art series, pt 5)

I, biology major that I was, took a modern art class in college. To this day I couldn’t tell you why I did, as I’m about as non-artistic, i.e. linear a thinker as you will find. I was definitely out of my element and more than a bit argumentative. (Jackson Pollack and splatter art? If a 3 year old can do it, is it high art? Discuss.) I found it fascinating however,  and one of the most enjoyable classes I’ve ever taken. I loved learning about how modern artists, those who came along after the invention of photography, were freed from the requirement of rendering pictures that were realistic. They didn’t have to capture a moment the way it actually was. They could begin to play with it. They were freed to express what ever it was they wanted to, pretty much in any way they wanted to. Art became about saying something, not just about capturing an accurate visual picture of someone or something.

Therefore we got impressionism, pointillism, dadaism, cubism, etc. All are bendings of reality. And can we be honest for a moment…sometimes modern art is ugly. Not all ugly art is bad art, but sometimes artists of minimal talent get by on shock value, rather than ability.

Maybe here is where I show my lack of artistic expertise, but I think it’s ok for art to be beautiful. Not that it has to be, but when it is… it’s just beautiful.

I love the work of Henri Matisse, a French artist from the early 20th century. He used color and shapes to create art that makes the observer smile and want to engage his work. Above is The Dessert – Harmony in Red. It works for me. I want to look at this painting. I like how it makes me feel. I like how it looks. Because Matisse created something that is easy for me to look at, he has my attention. What artist or communicator doesn’t want that?

Most people who view art aren’t artists. They don’t have the technical vocabulary or education to deconstruct a work. They just know what they like and what speaks to them.

Maybe the lesson for modern communicators, and that is what artists are, is that one’s message doesn’t have to offend to captivate. Shock has its place, but it ultimately can’t compensate for lack of talent.  At the end of the day, isn’t art about engaging with an audience?

And maybe, just maybe, the innate longing for beauty that resides within each one of us is a lingering fingerprint of the ultimate artist and beauty-lover who made us?

Gen. 1:27a So God created man in his own image...

Eccl. 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

A Season Of Rain

(Part 6 of the Seasons series)

Heb. 6:7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.

We’ve been talking about the seasonality of our lives and how they follow certain

From the air, farm fields are fascinating. I wonder what my life looks like from God's perspective?

rhythms: just like the earth does as it moves through each year. Many parts of the world experience a rainy season, a time when the skies open up and pour down the stuff of life in such abundance that normal life has to adjust to it.

I love this verse from Hebrews 6:7 because it speaks to something very beautiful in the life of a believer. We are not blessed just so that we can be blessed. We are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. During some seasons of life He rains down things upon us that produce a crop in our lives. A Bible study that rocks us to the core. A mission trip where He changes us deeply. A vision of our lives that we are compelled to follow. An education. Friendships. Material blessings. Experiences. A marriage. Children. Building a family. Transitions. Starting a career. Learning a skill. Making memories. Gaining abilities. A conversation that opens our eyes to possibilities we never saw before.

When the rain comes, are we like land that drinks it in, absorbing every last drop? Are we intentional about grabbing and holding tightly all that God is sending our way? And do we in turn, take that rain and use it to produce something useful for others? Do we let God “farm” us, growing things in us specifically for the benefit of those around us?

A field is prepared, sown, cared for all with the harvest in mind. It is cultivated so that it might yield something of value, that many might be blessed by what it produces.  We are blessed by this rhythm too, finding something of what we were created for.

Are we aware of the rain? How do we drink in our blessings, letting God use them for more than just our personal satisfaction? How can we position our lives so that we are like fertile fields, producing something of great value for those we love?

Why I Love Art – it evokes

(Pt. 3 in the Why  I Love Art Series)

Being evoked is different from being provoked in that provoking is pushing, evoking is pulling. It refers to drawing forth something. Bringing it out.

Edvard Munch’s The Scream evokes a response from us, pulling something from inside of us. Loneliness, angst, despair. A rush of emotion so strong we just have to let it out before it consumes us.

Like Nirvana’s Teen Spirit, it’s the perfect marriage of medium and message. The guitar riff, the contorted lyrics, the way the song makes a listener feel – we know instinctively that song is about anger. With The Scream we have the colors, the shapes, the facial expression, the dramatic brush strokes – even without an art degree we know exactly what this is about. It’s about a man having a moment where it all feels like it’s falling apart. And no one seems to care or notice.

We’ve all been there, those moments where life just makes us want to scream and release our pain from the gut. It is why this painting is so iconic. It pulls and evokes a response from us.

At their core, artists of all types – paint, music, drama, writing,  speaking – are communicators. They are trying to say something to us and to pull something from us. A response, an emotion, a thought, interaction, change. Edvard Munch pulls off a masterpiece with this work. No one looks at it and says, “Eh, whatever.” We react. Which is precisely his goal.

It is a shame that Munch never created a painting showing a resolution of this moment: where peace, joy and love overtake the darkness in our souls. This is why Jesus came – to meet us in these moments, walk us through them and bring healing from them.

John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Col. 1:27b … Christ in you, the hope of glory.

A Season of Death

(Part 3 in the Season series)
John 12:25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Fall is a beautiful time when the leaves change colors from green to various shades of red, yellow, orange and brown. The color of each leaf is specific to each tree. Poplars always turn yellow, maples always turn red, etc. It is their true color.

Around here we head north to the mountains to marvel at the show. And God puts it on every year.

Dying leaves, going out in a blaze of glory.

 

Funny thing about fall though. It is all about dying. Healthy leaves are green because of chlorophyll, the pigment that allows them to photosynthesize and make food from sunlight. As hours of daylight decrease though, the outside green dies, revealing the natural and true color of the leaf underneath the surface. That color is always present, just hidden during times of prosperity and growth. It takes death to reveal its true beauty and identity.

Oh, the spiritual implications of this are so grand and heavy, books have been written on the topic.  God has placed His imprint upon me and I am His image-bearer. As I grow into His likeness, there are internal characteristics that should blossom and develop. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These things reside in my heart and bringing them to the surface usually involves removing the things that are hiding them.

Dying oak leaves, getting ready to fall. Just beautiful.

A life with Jesus means that there are seasons of my life that are about my death. In fact, He demands it. But it is a dying to the things that are killing me anyway. My selfishness, idolatry, hatred, lack of self-control, temper, short-sightedness, my lack of faith- the destructive habits and tendencies that wound and injure all around me.

 

During some seasons of my life, God is killing me. And it can be a beautiful thing.

Am I displaying the beauty of what God has planted within my soul? What in my life is hiding it?

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Why I Love Art – it unsettles

(The Why I Love Art series, pt. 2)

Job 16:16 ”My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids..

Pr. 15:13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

Self-portrait with cigarette by Edvard Munch

Some art should make you think, wince even. An artist has something to say and he’s trying to get his point across in a way that grabs your attention and emotions. Sometimes the strategy is to make you feel a bit unsettled.

Edvard Munch, painter of The Scream and perhaps Norway’s most famous artist, unsettles me at times. This is a self-portrait that I saw in person a few months ago. I admit it has haunted me. Here is a man, looking out at us from a deep personal darkness. He’s not happy. I tried to walk away a few times, but my eyes were drawn back to it. Back to him. What is he feeling? Thinking? What are the universal experiences and emotions he is trying to share?

Self-portraits are supposed to do more than just share an image – they are supposed to tell us something about the person. Look at the profile pictures on Facebook. They are often more than just a photo but an impression of the person’s personality. Munch suffered various bouts with mental illness, depression and addiction. Could he be telling something of what it feels like to be trapped inside himself? The surrounding darkness?

Munch did several self-portraits, revealing a common weakness of artists – self-centeredness. But he also did what all great artists do. He channeled his pain, expressing it through his medium, so that we feel it with him. In doing so, he turns his pain into a gift, helping us realize that we aren’t alone. Everyone has probably felt something like this: lonely, haunted and almost begging for someone on the outside to notice and sit with us for a while.

Sometimes it’s good to be unsettled in that it prompts our thoughts and conversations to go places we never would have considered otherwise.

For instance…Am I really looking at the faces of those in my relational circles? Am I really seeing what is underneath the surface and behind the eyes? Am I observant enough to catch the subtle signals that everyone gives off, revealing something of the condition of their heart? And, am I brave enough to enter into it with them by asking how they are doing?

A Season of Joy

(Part 2 of the Season series)

Eccl. 2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
Eccl. 3:13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil–this is the gift of God.
Eccl. 5:18-20 18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat anddrink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him–for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work–this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

It is ok to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Our lives follow a seasonality to them. The weather changes and animals and plants adapt depending on where they are on the calendar. I’ve found that God plots our lives on calendar of His making too.

Do I recognize where I am on God’s calendar for my life?

Summer is a time to enjoy – the warm weather, rest from the work of planting, vacation, dreaming about the things coming up later in the year. It is an optimistic time when smiles come easy, things move slower and joy is in the moment. Every summer we hang out in the back yard, stay up late, make ice cream and cook out with friends. It is wonderful!

Sometimes, there are seasons of our lives like this. It feels warm. Things are going well and good things are happening. But I’ve found that Christians (by Christians, I mostly mean me) often don’t know what to do with these times. We (read “I”) can be wound a bit tight, always thinking, “What does God want me to do now?” If I’m not busy (by busy, I actually mean over-scheduled and stressed), I think something must be wrong. I am work-focused. That is the example that has been set before me and it is ingrained in my very wiring. I’ve been trying to earn elements of my salvation since I became a Christ-follower.

Summer time in Georgia - warm, green and a time to look around at how beautiful things are.

The older I get though, the more I realize that sometimes, God just wants me to stop and enjoy what He’s blessed me with. It is ok to lift my nose from the grindstone and move slow, build fond memories with those I love and take long walks through pretty places just because I can and I want to.

Often there is something inside of us that says, “If I like this, it can’t be from God.” We tend to think that to please Him means pain for us. No doubt, we need to love Him more than our comfort and certain seasons of our lives are more difficult than others. But some seasons can just be about joy.  About sitting, being and not so much about doing. It can point us to Him just as much as our trials. This type A needs to learn this lesson.

Why I Love Art – it unites

(The Why I Love Art series, pt. 1)

Bridal Voyage in Hardanger by Tiedeman/Gude

Recently I traveled to Oslo and got to visit the amazing National Gallery there. The collection they have is breathtaking, and this painting is one of its prized pieces. Never seen it? It’s called The Bridal Voyage In Hardanger.

This painting affects Norwegians the way a Norman Rockwell affects Americans.  For a Norwegian, it’s more than just a pretty painting, but an embodiment of what it means to be Norwegian and the pride their nationality evokes. They are a rugged outdoorsy kind of people and the visual of that has a uniting effect. I’ve read that some people even re-enact the scene for their weddings!

How does an artist create a picture that becomes more than just something one looks at, but touches the soul?

Here’s one of Rockwell’s Freedom series entitled Freedom From Fear. I look at this and have a similar reaction. It’s obviously from a different time than what I live in, painted during WWII. I’m sure it spoke particularly to the generation in which it was created, but what parent doesn’t want to tuck their kids in at night, knowing they are happy, healthy and all is safe? I can totally relate. This visual unites me in a special way with other Americans and other parents.

Freedom From Fear by Norman Rockwell

This painting is one in a series of four that all capture something of the American spirit. Freedom From Want, Freedom Of Speech and Freedom To Worship are the other three and if you are interested, you should google them.

Americans are wired for freedom. I think Norwegians are wired for nature. Those are big truths with big implications if I want to communicate with people from those places. Knowing what people are wired for and united by is something artists seem to have a knack for, and I admit, I’m fascinated.

A Season of Sowing

There just isn't much prettier than Georgia in the spring time.

(Pt. 1 of the Season series)

Pr. 20:4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

Gal. 6:7b A man reaps what he sows

After reading this Sunday’s blog, my eye was drawn back to Pr. 20:4, which I put at the top of this page. The idea I wanted to discuss in that previous entry had to do with slothfulness – when we let our flesh or our laziness dictate how we live our lives. Upon this reading however, I was drawn to the idea of seasons.

I’m pretty sure the author wasn’t only addressing farming technique with this verse. He was saying something about how our lives work. Just like the earth moves through different seasons, with very different things happening at different times of the year, so my life works also. Spring is about planting for what we want to harvest in the fall. And there are times and seasons in my life that are very spring-like, where I need to be about sowing things that I want to reap in the future. What do I want to see and experience in the coming years?

I want my marriage to grow in trust, intimacy and joy as Jeff and I age together. What do I need to do sow into our relationship now in order to see that outcome in the future? (I need to be at home, spending time with him face to face, actually talking about the things that build trust, intimacy and joy.)

I want my children to love Jesus and have lives that bear the fruit of walking well with Him. What can I sow into their lives right now in order to set them up for success later? (Deut. 6:5-8 Live it out myself in front of them, talk about scripture and the things of God throughout all of our life experiences. Teach them what this looks like in their own lives. )

Aaahh...azaleas. A sure sign that it is springtime around here. Time to plant for the fall.

I want to do and accomplish great things for the kingdom of God, being a part of working with Him to push back the darkness in people’s lives and across the globe. What are some things I need to sow into my own life to prepare and to become more useable so that when God looks at me, He has lots of options in how He chooses to use me? (Read and ingest scripture in such a way that it becomes a part of my very being. Gain skills, experiences, strategic relationships and godly character, becoming an effective tool in His hands.)

Every person goes through seasons where there is intentional sowing and preparation for what is coming. Sometimes, it is spring. What is the future I want to see happen in my life? What is one thing that needs to happen today in order to make that future possible?