Do Roses Have Thorns, or Do Thorns Have Roses?
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.” Alphonse Karr
Thankfulness is very much in vogue these days. Much has been made of the positive affects of gratitude. Not a day goes by on these various social media platforms that I do not see someone espousing the benefits of a thankful outlook.
A friend of mine has even started a hashtag on Twitter, #gratefuldaily, and it seems to be catching on: he simply says one thing that he’s thankful for and follows it up with #gratefuldaily. I think this is a wonderful kind of routine to have in a world where so much seems to go so wrong. There is something life-giving about this constant turning from disappointment towards thankfulness.
But I’ve noticed that much of the thankfulness in the world resembles the prayers of my children. “And thank you God that Mommy made my favorite food tonight,” or “Thank you God that I got to play Wii today.” Not that there’s anything wrong with the prayers of a child – more of us should pray with the fervor and sincerity with which little ones naturally overflow.
But there is another level to giving thanks, an even more powerful stage of gratefulness that we often fall short of. Read more 
God’s Renovations Involve Wrecking Balls, Not Paint Brushes
The house sits mostly empty on this cold Sunday afternoon. The chickens walk up on to the deck and peck at the glass patio doors, their heads twitching from side to side, trying to figure out why a wall of plastic containers obscures their view of the living room. Cardboard boxes stand by the front door – they will carry away the final remnants of this time in our lives.
An unexpected peace fell over the house this week as we packed up our stuff and wedged it into storage. In my experience, all great adventures begin and end with a storage unit. Boxes of books, clothes, and dishes never touched in the two years we lived here have vanished. There is something refreshing about empty space. There is something about simplicity that makes it easier to breathe.
The house even seems bigger now, without the chairs and table and wardrobes, the carpets and end tables and piles of things we never used but only moved from spot to spot. It’s been a good reminder to me, about how our life can expand if we’re willing to throw some of our stuff on to the altar. Read more
Another Example of How God Doesn’t Play Low-Stakes Poker
I got the call on the way to Virginia.
First I should tell you that when we approached our wonderful landlords about our upcoming trip, we told them we would be moving out. We couldn’t afford to pay rent AND be on the road, so we planned to put our stuff in storage and then find a new house to live in when we got back this summer.
Our landlords surprised us by telling us not to move out. We could keep our stuff in the house, stop paying rent while we were away, and then pick up where we left off as soon as we got back. That was a shocker. Amazing news.
But there is a small chance we may sell the house before you leave, they said. If we do, you’ll need to move out before the trip.
Then came the phone call the other night, 21 days before our scheduled departure in the big blue bus. Read more
Bobby McFerrin, Broccoli, and a Question Jesus Asked
Stop smoking. Start exercising. Stop eating fast food. Start eating broccoli. Stop crossing without looking both ways. Start walking instead of driving. Stop adding salt. Start adding vitamins. Stop drinking alcohol. Start drinking red wine.
The list of advice regarding how to live a longer life is endless and often contradictory. Yet we absorb these recommendations and then regurgitate them with amazing confidence, certain that whatever tidbit heard last is the surefire guarantor of a long life.
But adding a day, or a month, or a year, or even a decade…is that the point? Is that really all that we’re concerned with? Read more
The Forgotten Commandment
It’s so easy for us Christians to go on and on about the same old things. The sanctity of marriage. The unique importance of unborn life. The evils of evolution.
We like to remain rooted in the big picture issues because, for most of us, they have little impact on our day-to-day lives. Our lists of dos and do nots conveniently line up with the natural trajectory of our own lives, requiring little in the way of personal change. We can comfortably spend the day fighting “the issues,” then go back to homes where those things will leave most of us alone. Read more
