I had to be put under for a dental procedure. My single wisdom tooth needed to be pulled, and I can say I was honestly more worried about going under anesthesia than I was having the procedure done. Would I be fully asleep? How would it feel? What really happens as my body slips into unconsciousness? I laid on the dental bed, surrounded by bright lights and white walls. The dental staff buzzed around me in their normal routine, wearing their little surgical masks. I prayed for them in my slurred speech affected by the laughing gas, and the nurse next to me whispered, "Amen." The real ... Read the Post
Archives for October 2014
In Case of Emergency
The three numbers rolled off their tongues like water off a duck's back. "9-1-1," my kiddos chorused together after being asked what number to call if something happened to me while we were out on our morning walk. Of course my goal isn't to scare them or talk doom and gloom, but to prepare them for what to do just in case. Family emergency preparedness speeches-- you know how they go. At strategic (and even random) times they hear little safety tidbits like "Don't talk to strangers," "If you are lost look for…," "If someone tries to…," "Stop, drop, and roll," and so on. Now that the kids ... Read the Post
The Secret Hiding Place
When the bank is overdrawn and bills pile up… When kids are sick and doctors’ visits are out of the question… When relationships fall apart and bring heartache… …know where I run to hide when all these trials and hurts enter my life with a vengeance? As a child running to the security of its father’s lap, I run right into the shelter of God’s presence, His secret hiding place. David knew this hiding place so well and wrote of it many times. In the Psalms, he said to God, “Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,” (Ps. 17:8 NKJV). “I shall live forever in Your tabernacle; oh, to be safe ... Read the Post
Killer Kudzu
“Is that a vine?” My older son inquired. We were in our backyard on a muggy summer evening. Our two boys were jumping on the trampoline and I had just tugged another handful of unwelcome weeds from the yard when I heard Cole’s question. I knew the exact plant he was asking about. It reached like long green arms through the top of the medium-sized oak trees behind our home. I had recently noticed that particular vine invader all over the place - not just in our backyard - its relentless green fingers growing through the tops of the trees, peeking above even the tallest of the tall. If ... Read the Post