Soul Sister 3:16

Burt Bacharach once wrote a song called "The World is a Circle" and I remember singing it ias a kid in church.  The lyrics talked about perspective and how - while we might see ourselves a certain way, our perspective is not a definitive truth.  For example: "And just because you think you're weak, that doesn't mean you've a weak physique - and even if it's partly right, at least it's partially wrong - to someone else you are strong!" I am thinking about this today because a few days ago my friend Donna sent me a picture of the two of us - taken nearly 30 years ago.  I remember when the picture was taken, thinking "My God, I am fat!" and picking a big - no-waist dress to wear to the wedding we attended.  Now I look at that picture of me - weigning in at about 135 pounds, and think, "I WISH!" This morning I am also thinking about perspective as it relates to my dad.  If you asked him, he'd tell you that the worst day of his...

The book of Samuel tells the story of David and Goliath, and if you've ever been to Sunday school, chances are you've heard it - but for a minute let me recap. Goliath was a Philistine, and a mountain of a man.  The Bible says "6 cubits and a span" - which means he was about 9 feet tall.  Each day (for over 40 days) he would go out and face the Israelite army and taunt them saying, "Why do you come out and line up for battle?  Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul?  Choose a man and have him come down to me.  If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects, but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.  This day I defy the armies of Israel!  Give me a man and let us fight eachother!" Now while this particular method of deciding a winner would certainly ensure the loss of life on both sides was minimal, seeing this giant who wanted to fight just one man to determine which side had t...

I saw this bit of wisdom today and it seemed pretty appropriate… "Today was a Difficult Day,” said Pooh. There was a pause. 'Do you want to talk about it? asked Piglet. “No," said Pooh after a bit. “No. I don't think I do." "That's okay,” said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend. “What are you doing?” asked Pooh. “Nothing. really”, said Piglet. “Only I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't  feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.” "But goodness,” continued Piglet, “Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got  someone there for you. And I’ll always be here for you Pooh" And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly. swinging his little legs he thought that his best friend had never been more right. —— 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says,  “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of me...

Over the past few days I find I have been thinking a lot about friends. I suppose part of it is because my son Max will soon be heading back to school. And when you are 19, and learning how to “adult”, your friends and their influence can be very impactful.  1 Corinthians 15;33 puts it this way, “ Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Max is a wonderful kid - but he is easily distracted.  Getting good grades will require that he forego fun to focus on studies.  That will be difficult.  I pray that he recognize the truth of the verse and surround himself with people who will challenge him with their focus and drive.   Proverbs 27:17 reminds us that good friends will do that for us.  “ As iron sharpens iron,  so one person sharpens another.” Another reason I’ve been thinking about friends this morning is because of all of the texts I have received over the last few days.  Not just the happy birthday ones - but the words of concern...

It is funny to me… how often I am “the hero in my own story”.   I recognize that It is hard for me to see myself through the same critical lens I use to view the world around me, and how - when people frustrate me - I seldom wonder if I am frustrating them as well. Grace is a term that means “courteous goodwill” and “free and unmerited favor”.   Ephesians 2:8 tells me “ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The fact of the matter is I haven’t earned God’s grace, nor could I….no matter how many ditches I dug, kindnesses I offered, or prayers I said.  Because every day that I’m alive I do things or say things or think things that are sinful in their nature. God knows it - and yet He loves me anyway.  And since the penalty for sin is death, God offered himself as a holy and living sacrifice to pay the penalty for my sins.  His grace is a gift, and beca...

Yesterday my mom sent a text that said dad wasn’t doing well and that he’d been in bed all day.    Now, dad is nearly 87 and since he broke his neck about 24 years ago, sometimes the pain gets bad, and being in bed all day becomes the best option. However mom’s text made me feel like there might be more too it.   Then, last night when I was out for a birthday dinner with some of my friends, I got another text that said Dad had asked to go to the hospital.  Mindy and I urged mom to take him, and Mindy headed to Kalamazoo.  However, because I had already had a few drinks - I did not.   The Bible tells us to pray expectant prayers and I believe those are certainly needed right now.  As of this morning he is in room 416E in the cardiac wing of the hospital.  I will be there in just a few hours. I love my dad and have been blessed with nearly 60 years of his wonderful guidance, leadership and love.  For ME, I would like God to heal him...

I think I need to spend a little time today processing the last 7 weeks.    And since that is the case - maybe we could do it together?… When I told the Amigos organization I had felt “called” to spend time in Nicaragua this summer, I didn’t know what that would look like.  I said that I could dig ditches, help build bathrooms, work with the kitchen ladies cutting up fruits and vegetables, or changing sheets and doing laundry.  It didn’t matter to me, I just knew He wanted me to serve.  And if I look through the Bible I can find lots of examples of God calling people, and them saying “yes”, without really knowing what that meant.  So I think the important thing is the YES. My second lesson had to do with need.  While I was in Nicaragua I saw lots of it.    In the community of San Benito the need was for clean water.    And now in just a few weeks the 500 or so people living there will be able to turn on a faucet ...

  In 1970, the book  Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret   was published.    The book was extremely relatable because it was about a 12 year old girl.  Since I was a young 12 year old myself - I loved it. Now in all honesty I haven’t thought about that book in over 45 years, but yesterday, on my Managua to Miami flight, I saw the book had recently been made into a movie - and I chose it for my in-flight entertainment.   In film form, the story was just as sweet and poignant as the one I loved so long ago.   W atching it brought back memories of experiences shared with Margaret: Asking my mom for a training bra and being embarrassed when she told my dad she’d gotten me one. Wishing, nay PRAYING for puberty, and doing “we must” exercises in order to develop a chest Practicing a kiss on the back of my hand Watching a movie about "our changing bodies" and being both horrified and fascinated Playing spin the bottle at a co-ed party, and e...

We arrived at the Best Westen in Mangua last night at around 7:20pm.  We had left Chinandega and the Amigos property around 7am, and our day was a full one. After boarding the bus, we traveled approximately 3 hours south east to a crater lake called Laguna De Apoyo so that the folks from Northridge could enjoy a little R&R.   The area where we "set up camp" for the day was called La Abuela (or the grandmother).  It is a lovely little place that is nestled high above a crater lake which is both crystal clear, and warm.  There are rooms which people can rent, and a very nice restaurant.   To get into the water you can use one of three ways - there is a steep water slide, two decks from which you can run - and then jump off into the lake, or you could climb down a ladder.  While most of our group opted to run and jump, I chose the slide! Our lunch was an ENORMOUS combo plate that included beans and rice, chicken, steak, pork and chorizo, salad, a...

Today's post will be a short one because our bus will be leaving shortly - and I still have so much to do.  Apparently I slept fhrough my alarm for the first time in 7 weeks.   My plan had been to wake up at 4:30 (as per usual), write my post - and go see one final sunrise on the terrace.  Watching the sun rise over the volcanoes is an amazing thing... However, since I woke up late - I missed that opportunity. And as I was lamenting that I realized that I also missed many opportunites to talk to people, really TALK to them about God. Within the community I don't think I could have done that yet,  because the lack of a common language would have made it difficult.  So, to them I tried to DEMONSTRATE the love of God, and I think I did a pretty good job. But with the group after group of American folks who came here to serve - I feel like those were the opportunites that were missed.  I'm not sure whether I just didn't think about it - or whether it was b...

Wow! Today is Friday, July 21st and I am writing at 5:00am.  The property is pretty quiet right now - just me and the kitchen ladies (who seem to be ALWAYS up and working at this hour),  and a s I look back on my time I can hardly believe that 7 weeks have gone by.   They say, "time flies when you're having fun".  And though I'm not sure that my days were always "fun", I can say that EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of them was rewarding. There is a wise man who works for Amigos who often says, "We are blessed so that we may bless", and I think that is what this whole adventure has been about.  I have been blessed in so many incredible ways: For sure - I won the "look where I was born" lottery.   I was fortunate enough to have parents who stayed married, and who poured love out onto me and my sister.   As a family, we didn't have a lot of money - but we always seemed to have "enough".   I grew up surrounded by wonderful neighbors and peo...

  In a few days i will be turning 60.    That fact is hitting me hard….   At 50 I was a lot thinner, a lot fitter, and in my mind, a lot better looking.   I pass by a mirror now and wonder, “who is that old lady with the extra pounds, the gray hair, the errant whiskers, and the wrinkles?  Surely that cannot be me!”   A poet named Dylan Thomas once wrote - “Do not go gentle into that good night,  Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”     I wonder if perhaps I should not rage a little harder…   However, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 has something to say about getting old.    It says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.    So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but...

It is interesting to me - that in talking to the people who have come to Nicaragua each week you learn something...many of them came in spite of difficulties they encountered. Rarely do we lead lives that are wrapped up with pretty paper and tied with a nice bow.  Life is messy.  And sometimes, doing the thing that God is calling you to do - means trusting that He has your back. This week - the stories I've heard from the people I've talked to provided example after example of folks having to overcome difficulties in order to be here.   I'll give you a few examples.   There is a boy here this week who is a senior in high school.  Months and months ago his family planned to take this trip to Nicaragua to help provide water for families who do not have easy access to it.  The young man is a very talented baseball player, and some time after his family had planned and booked their trip, he learned that this week is also the one in which one in which ...

I'm not sure when I realized that tattoos were such a big thing (maybe it was when Max was young and we visited Great Wolf Lodge for a weekend and everyone there seemed to have at least one...), but these days they are everywhere.  I think when I was young, sailors and those "on the fringe" were the only ones that had tattoos, but now people use the ink on their bodies to express their thoughts, emotions, and hearts. And while I can appreciate a good tattoo - I heard someone ask a question the other day that I thought was interesting..."If the words that came out of your mouth were tattooed on your body, would people know you are a Christian?" Ooops!...In my case, sadly, I am not sure that they would.   You see I am often quick to mutter a curse when things aren't going my way, or when someone does something that I am not a fan of.  In fact, as I sit here writing this morning the flies are thick and incredibly annoying.  And when one just landed on my face a...

Yesterday I climbed Cerro Negro (that cursed black volcano that challenges me every time I go up it), for the last time this summer. Once you get to the top, if you continue walking to the right you will get to the crater.    As you get closer I am always surprised by the additional heat I feel rising from the core.   Standing at the edge of the crater, if you were to dig down in the soil 2” or so, the additional heat would be enough to cook an egg.  And yet, looking down in the crater there is a singular tree that has managed to defy all odds and grow.   No doubt the conditions there are not ideal.    The soil is rocky.    And, because the lava is flowing, the roots must be fighting some extremely hot temperatures.    But beyond all of that - while right now we’re in the rainy season (which for the six weeks I’ve been here means we might get a hard hour-long rain once every week or so), most of the time the land is extrem...