Category: Love

Posted on

Harmony + Melody = Heavenly Music

It all started a few days before our church’s annual Christmas cantata when a good friend shared a humorous post on my Facebook timeline poking fun at altos. The post was just a short video of a woman singing the alto part all by herself. It wasn’t pretty, but not because she couldn’t sing. The problem—-the melody was missing. A melody can stand alone and create a simple song, but harmony alone is just not appealing to the ear. However, if you add harmony to the melody, a stronger and more beautiful sound is created. The song is made complete. The friend that shared the video with me summed it up well in the commentary that followed that post. She said, “Without an alto it’s just a melody. How boring.”

Earlier this month I spent a large part of one weekend at my church singing alto in the annual Christmas cantata. We performed it once on Saturday and twice on Sunday. In the midst of it all, God delivered a very timely and special message through my current reading plan in YouVersion. It’s called “The Magic of Christmas” and that Sunday’s devotion was written by Cory Draper. He says, “A melody is what gives a song its body. A harmony is what gives that body a soul.” When I read those words, I had to pause a moment and let them sink in.

Think of each of us as individual songs, a collection of notes strung together one after another. We were created by God, but without Jesus we are incomplete. Sin entered this world when Eve bit into the forbidden fruit and has run rampant ever since. Sin separates us from God. Because of His unparalleled love for us, God the Father put His redemption plan in motion by sending God the Son, Jesus, to earth. Through Jesus’ birth, sacrifice, and resurrection, we are brought into harmony with God. This (re)union of notes makes for a more full and beautiful sound. Our songs are made complete through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room….

 

Are you singing it yet?

May Jesus bring joy to your world as you make room to receive Him in your heart this Christmas!

(adapted from my Christmas letter)

Posted on

Where’s Mary?

Facebook reminded me just yesterday that I had written a post about Mary on December 7, 2013. Hmmm…could it have anything to do with this time of year?  I think it just might! I bring her story to you again, but with a little different perspective in 2017.

Just a little background information for anyone not familiar with the story—Jesus came to see Mary and Martha at their house. It was a big deal! Martha got all caught up in the preparations—cooking, cleaning, etc., only to find her sister Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus taking in His every word. Martha was a little miffed with Mary’s lack of help and brought it to Jesus’ attention…

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.””                      Luke 10:41-42 NIV

Are you more like Mary or Martha? Chime in by leaving a comment below if you don’t mind. I would estimate that I’m about 90% Martha and 10% Mary. That’s not something for which I’m proud. My imbalance tends to rear its ugly head most in December. I am a taskmaster. Though I generally don’t have a written “to do” list, I can assure you that when my feet hit the ground in the morning, I have a pretty good idea of what I hope to accomplish that day. It brings me great pleasure to check things off, even if only in my head! The combination of introvert and taskmaster only magnifies the Martha in me.

It takes a concerted effort on my part to turn off Martha and reach for my inner Mary. There have been countless times that I have gotten caught up in my own agenda and failed to do what was better all because I was more concerned about checking something off my list. Those times I actually get it right tend to stand out. There were three such occasions in the past week and God blessed me incredibly for choosing people over tasks. I came away with a joy-filled heart that energized me to complete my tasks!!

When questioned by a Pharisee about the greatest commandment—-

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  Matthew 22:37-39 NLT

It seems loving others trumps getting things done. Does that verse cause you to take a closer look at your priorities? It does me. There are plenty of things to do that are good, important, and even necessary. In fact, completing many of those tasks is a demonstration of love for those God has put before us. Let’s not be too hard on Martha. Her preparations were an expression of love for Jesus too. BUT, Jesus says Mary chose what was better.

Let’s commit to filtering our “to do” lists through the great commandment so that loving others well is a recurring theme. May we each follow Mary’s example and choose that which is better.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go and revise my list….

Posted on

YOLO

I’m a slow learner when it comes to “text speak”—it’s hard to keep all those acronyms straight! I learned a new one from my daughter while standing in line for the tallest rollercoaster at Hersheypark recently: YOLO—You Only Live Once! I had a choice to make—I could shake things up a bit (literally), stay in line, and experience the thrill that was intended or I could play it safe, as I often do, get out of line, and miss out. Though my sweaty palms had me second-guessing my choice, the decision had already been made before we stepped foot into the park that day. As my daughter’s riding buddy, I had vowed to ride whatever she wanted…ONCE anyhow! Why?? Because You Only Live Once. Though I had made my decision before being introduced to this acronym, YOLO was essentially what drove me to venture beyond the safety of my comfort zone.

There are quite a few life experiences that have led me to this place, one of which was standing in line next to me that day at Hersheypark. I tend to get very reflective this time of year as my daughter celebrates her birthday. She faced an uphill battle from the time she was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia in the womb and that battle continues to this day. Roughly 50% don’t survive it, but here we are, riding rollercoasters at Hersheypark 21 years later. Though I’m still a planner by nature and relish those times when my ducks are in a row, the truth is, life is unpredictable…and precious. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed for any of us, so don’t miss out on the opportunities that present themselves today.

Jesus went to great lengths to give us life—the greatest, in fact. He gave His very own life to save us from our sins and restore us to a right relationship with the Father. Out of love and compassion, He did that for you and for me. Jesus went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins so we could have life—not just ordinary life, but abundant life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.”

John 10:10 NIRV

May we be as passionate about living life as Jesus was about giving it!

Thanking God for the lessons I’ve learned through and from my precious daughter. Happy 21st Birthday, Hillary Jayne!

Posted on

In a Ditch?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When my niece was out on her own and my sister hadn’t heard from her in a while, she would call and ask her daughter if she was in a ditch. I can just hear her saying it! Thankfully we can laugh about it now because my niece was always found to be safe and well.

I’ve posed that same question to my students in the classroom many times over the years since. It seems each concept builds on the one before it. By missing class or not asking questions when they don’t understand, my students put themselves at risk of falling behind or getting lost. When that happens, they find themselves in a proverbial ditch! The more time that passes before they get the help they need, the deeper the ditch becomes. Without help, they find they can’t claw their way out. And so it is with life.

God has good plans for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). If we stay close, He’ll show us the way. (I can just hear Pastor Dave saying “it’s simple, but it ain’t easy!” after writing that sentence.) God has no trouble keeping His end of the bargain. The problem is on my end. Perhaps you can relate.  Life is full of distractions and temptations that take my focus off Him. When I look down, I veer off the path. Without intervention, it isn’t long before I find myself in a ditch. The longer my focus is on the things of this world, the further I sink.

Are you in a ditch? I have good news to share from the Apostle Paul—I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)

I have this picture etched in my mind—I look up from the ditch and have to shield my eyes from the light radiating from Jesus. He’s standing at the edge of the ditch with an outstretched, loving hand, just longing to pull me out and put me back on the path to the hope and future that He has planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11). I just need to look up, fix my gaze on Him and reach for His hand. Can you see it too? He wants to do the same for you! If you, like me, are struggling to stay on the path, just look up. And then reach for Him.  NOTHING can separate us from His love.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. (Ephesians 3:18 NLT)

Amen.