Dear Carrie,
Sorry you weren’t here for your birthday (hope things are going well in Kenya).
But we wanted you to know we celebrated anyway.
We got this cake, exchanged presents and gave festive cards in honor of the occasion.
The family got together for a wonderful meal, and there was a picture of you somewhere, just to remember the REAL reason for the season.
I know it must feel really odd for people to celebrate your birthday and hardly mention your name.
So I took care of that. I put it on the cake!
Season’s Greetings! YO HO HO!
We live in a broken world, but we don’t have to accept brokenness as the final answer.
We are broken people, but our lives don’t have to be defined by the irreparable messes we’ve made or the grave wounds we carry.
In the hands of a Healer,
And the heart of an Artist,
We are more than a pile of useless pieces.
We are His work of art.
And in a stunning act of clarity and focus,
He chose…
Only…
To work…
With broken pieces.
But He insists that you entrust all the broken pieces of your life to Him.
(This beautiful glass mosaic is the art of Kelly Aloha, of Caloma, California.
Visit her studio on the river the next time you visit the Caloma Valley.)
Laura Kate getting a kiss from Laverne. Shirley, Mary, and Martha are close by.
When play is a full-time occupation – a sign of health and strength…
When laughter and tears, courage and fears trade places in a matter of seconds…
When growth is expected,
Learning is an hourly occurrence,
Desires are unmasked and transparent,
And trust is as natural as breathing…
When love is the only commodity worth sharing,
And forgiveness is spoken in hugs and pats…
When holding – or resting in those stronger arms – are the universal symbols of peace and oneness…
When wonder and anticipation drive us toward new discoveries with abandon and imagination…
Of such, Jesus said, is the Kingdom.
If you’re in church leadership, you know the challenge of weekly developing an experience that’s creative, energetic, uplifting, anointed (gotta be anointed), and most important of all – as cool as the church down the street.
It’s a daunting task.
Fortunately, the folks at Northpoint in Atlanta have produced a resource that will change your life and revolutionize your church.
Or at least give you a laugh, as they spoof themselves.
Check out the video below, follow the easy-to-understand template, and you’ll be renting your city auditorium in no-time, just to keep up with the masses who are flooding in.
Dear Nurse Ratched,
I just thought I should let you know that in the event I’m having symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, I probably won’t be signing in.
I’ll be more concerned about checking out.
Of course, the whole stroke thingy is a bit dicey anyway, ‘cause I have a 50/50 chance of being unable to use my left (writing) hand.
And if I think I’m having a heart attack, I’ll assure you, you won’t be able to read my writing.
You’ll just have to open the door and say,
“Mr. AAAAAAHHHHHHHH, the doctor will see you now.”
(Photo by Mike Tekula)
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t walk through “the fire” alone?
Isn’t it interesting that we nevertheless must walk through the fire?
God doesn’t seem to need our advice for how hot the flames should be,
or even where in the natural they come from.
He only asks that, when the pathway leads through them, we keep moving.
And when the flames taunt, we keep trusting.
(Lyrics from “How Firm a Foundation.” Photo credit: AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
(For more stunning photography from the San Bartolome de Pinares in Spain, click here)
To celebrate in another that which makes him gloriously unique…
To raise her to a position of influence or respect – even if in your heart alone…
To turn to him in need, confident that he’s faithful and capable of meeting it…
To admit your failings, trusting that her grace is greater…
To forgive his offenses of motive or action…
To find in her the safety that only the strong arms of love can deliver…
To remind them of who they are and what they possess…
This is the gift of honor… the finest offering and most God-like language you have.
Oh, the breathtaking joy of living hands-free!
Of living without seizing control – of my life or yours.
Of dropping my guard and relaxing my fist and my grip…
And trusting that He is my shield and healer, my righteousness and guide.
Oh, what these hands can do if Someone else is at the controls of my life!
Raised to Him in worship…
Extended to you to serve…
Opened to you to touch and support…
Holding the hands of those we cherish most…
Ready to hold you or that which is precious to you…
Pointing the way for others to follow.
When you’re wounded in the battle, knocked down and winded, get up.
When you’re shamed and blamed, defenseless and without excuses, get up.
When your “friends” abandon you in the darkness or point out the obvious by accusing you in the light, get up.
When the enemy comes in like a flood to kick you when you’re down or to rejoice over your wounds, get up.
When the easiest thing in the world to do is just to lie there and bleed, get up!
“A righteous man will fall seven times.” But he will rise again. Get up!
Get up!
by Andy Wood on November 11, 2009
in 100 Words
For every mother who saw her son off to something benignly called, “deployment,”
For every pharmacist, plumber, or school teacher who learned the true meaning of “citizen soldier,”
For every sailor who remembers Pearl Harbor, or Marine who stormed Normandy,
For every soldier who remembers Fort Hood, Saigon, or Baghdad,
For every mechanic who ever rebuilt a helicopter engine, or pilot who left a vapor trail in the name of freedom,
For every broken heart, haunted in a cemetery by the last fading notes of “Taps,”
For every tri-cornered flag, decorated grave, or salute rendered on this day…
Thank you.
Dear Carrie, 
