The teenager has a school dance on Friday, and apparently, the theme is “Retro.” That little booger had the gall to come up to me and say: “So, Mom, you’re ‘retro’ — what do you think I should wear? I was thinking something ‘hippie’ like.'”
Then again, bell-bottoms and Hammer pants were both horrible, so what’s the use in quibbling over a couple of decades?
Jump up as high as you can, and when you land back on your feet, thank God for pulling our hearts close to him, just like gravity pulls us.
Watch the moon rise in the sky tonight. What phase is it in? Thank God for never forsaking us, no matter what phases of life we go through.
Rivalries are part of the fun of college sports. Spectators root for their alma maters and other favorite teams, and those loyalties tend to last a while. Even though I finished my undergraduate degree a long time ago, I still enjoy watching our old arch rivals lose. With that in mind, I wanted to write/vent about something I witnessed at the football game last weekend, but I want to be careful not to come across as too negative.
First, a bit of background: I attended a community college because I had a scholarship and wanted to save money by living at home. I actually began my studies in a dual-credit economics course the summer before my senior year of high school. I did exceptionally well and obtained a few more scholarships to help offset tuition at the state university where I transferred as a junior. It wasn’t an Ivy League school or a Tier I research institution, but I received a solid foundation in my chosen major and earned a bachelor’s degree.
A decade-plus went by, and then I had the opportunity to return to school for a master’s degree with tuition remission assistance through my employer (a private university). One thing led to another, and here I am a few years later — just a handful of courses and one gigantic research paper away from being called “Dr.” (And this degree is through another state school, by the way.)
Ok, back to the football game …
Some fans from the opposing team (the aforementioned arch rivals from undergrad) were smack-talking and being typical, enthusiastic college kids. They weren’t being obnoxious (at that point), and besides — their team was beating ours soundly throughout the first half.
As the competition wore on, the crowd got more boisterous on both sides. Our guys finally turned the game around, and the opposing team started packing up to leave in the 4th quarter. As a few of the rivals walked past us to exit, I heard someone on the other side of the aisle rib them: “Go get a real degree!”
I took personal offense to that comment. If I could have seen who said it, then I might have confronted them about it. The sad fact is, that smart-aleck comment embodies all of the negative connotations of a private school. It reminded me of the pretentious snobs I knew in high school who looked down their noses at me for going to a community college instead of an elite school. It made me think of the people in the city around us, even today, who still feel alienated by the bubble of the rich kids’ school. (<<Granted, I know full well that many, many students receive financial assistance, but there is still a perception that private schools are for the wealthy.)
Mostly, it made me sad that people stoop to the level of insulting one another over a game. That comment wasn’t about football. It was a personal affront to the quality of their education. As much as I jab and tease about my arch rival, it is still a fine institution of higher education. My first degree came from a school of equal caliber, and I felt truly insulted on Saturday by my “own kind.”
Glance at the Sun today and thank our Creator God for blessing us with its warmth & light. Ask him to help you be his light to others today.
Have you ever felt like you were too far away from God for him to care about you, much less hear your prayers? Good news: He does care!
Something remarkable is going to happen within the next year. In 1977, NASA launched two probes named Voyager 1 & 2 to explore our solar system, and – eventually – beyond it. Well, eventually has arrived. These two spacecraft are about to enter interstellar space.
Voyager 1 & 2, whose computers pack a miniscule 80 kilobytes of memory (80 kB is smaller than a typical digital photo), have provided scientists here on Earth with invaluable data about our outer planets. Even after all these years, the spacecraft still send daily information back to Earth.
Pause a moment and wrap your head around this: For the first time ever, something that human beings made will exit the solar system.
It is an extraordinary accomplishment, and something for which the scientists should be rightfully proud. And yet, we still know so little about our universe. Earth is just a speck of dust when compared to even our own Milky Way (where our Sun is one of roughly 400 billion stars), much less the farthest reaches of space.
Here at Crossroads, we are launching a sermon series today on finding balance in life. It seemed fitting to begin our prayer devotional for this topic with a candid reminder of just how insignificant we really are, in the grand scheme of the universe. So, when it seems like the whole world is coming to a stand-still because the drive-thru barista got your complicated latte order incorrect, a client yelled at you, your boss blamed you, only a few folks “liked” your weekly negative Monday morning Facebook post and you just don’t know how you can make it through another week, reflect on the psalmist’s words:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NIV)
As much as we may wish that the world revolved around us, it simply doesn’t. We may feel like Voyager 1 & 2, whose outdated software pales in comparison to today’s technological gizmos, and yet look at what they are accomplishing! It may have taken 35 years, but these spacecraft are hurtling out of the Sun’s gravitational grasp. When it feels like your own journey is off-kilter, remember the One who will never, ever let you out of his grasp. “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:4-5, NIV).
Pray for wisdom, and then write down a destiny for the rest of your life. What would you like to accomplish for the Lord?
It’s uncanny, the things that cause grief to bubble up in my heart. In a split-second, I can feel the familiar lump filling my throat and the watery blur creeping out from behind my eyelids. Sometimes I catch my breath and force myself to close my eyes and just breathe. Slowly inhale, slowly exhale. It helps, a little.
A few months ago, a colleague friend had exploratory surgery to rule out thyroid cancer. Thankfully, it was good news. Good news and cancer don’t seem to go together in the same sentence very often. That jerk named Cancer has pestered people I care about for years, and every new diagnosis, every update on chemo treatment, feels like slowly ripping off a Band-Aid — it’s agonizing.
See how everything centers around before & after he died? It reminds me of the way we chart time by kids’ ages, only more morbid. But, I digress.
I struggle with praying for healing. I know with all my heart that our gracious God is a God of miracles, that he still heals in mind-blowing ways that boggle doctors’ understanding. And yet, I don’t understand why sometimes healing comes through death. It is hard to serve in a leadership role for others looking for spiritual guidance when you have such heavy questions, yourself. I can’t give answers. My own earnest prayers for healing have not moved mountains, much less eradicated tumors and brought the dying back to life.
I can only point people to the One who listens, even when our questions don’t have clear and concise solutions. This life sometimes feels like a Shakespearean tragedy, but have heart, friends, because the final chapter reminds us that redemption is near:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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 21:3-4, NIV).
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Do you tend to play a protagonist (helper) or antagonist (combatant)? We are part of each other’s destinies; what is your role contributing?
faith, sweat & tears 