Good Tools Handed Down

Dad and me back in the day. Nothing like the grip of a father's arms...Selah.

Originally published October 2016

Yesterday started out like many a Saturday morning around the homestead: Up early because I have farmer's blood in my veins, some rugged coffee, a check of the headlines and a good dose of some good Words, a hearty breakfast where the locals hang out, then off to the recycling center, the hardware store, and a bunch of other chores around the house. I used to think I had to defend this satisfying routine whenever anyone asked "so, what did you do this weekend?" But no more. It's good to rest in the fact that life doesn't have to be complex and busy to be simply good.

But in the midst of the beautiful routine yesterday came an unusual jolt of a beautiful "and to remind you." A gray and damp late fall day, with most of the hardwoods partially naked except for a scattering of yellows and browns, and woodsmoke in the air, somehow brought me back several decades to Saturday mornings with dad. This is where and how he spent his Saturday mornings, too, complete with pipe smoke and the aroma of sawdust from his workshop where he had seemingly endless fix-its and cool projects. Even at that grade school age, I learned many lifetime lessons and habits by watching what dad did, and how he did it. Never really got the hang of being adept at fix-its and projects, but I know the reason I have a clean desk at work at the end of the day is because on dad's workbench, every nail type had its can, and every screw its jar so that he'd know just where to find what he needed the next time.

And to keep the routine and fix-its and projects straight, dad always had a list. Sometimes, there'd be a lengthy list near his workbench, with most of the items crossed off. A few long-range tasks remained. And so, whether on paper, on a laptop doc, or in my head, to this day there is nothing like that universally felt rush of accomplishment whenever I can cross something of "the list."

But amidst the damp fall morning, the routine, the sawdust, and orderly workbench and lists, also came a reminder of how dad followed Jesus in a very practical and meaningful way, and how he modeled being a servant to God and others long before I understood what that meant. Because there are some things in life for which dad made a list that were never meant to be crossed off or erased, but to be walked out over and over again.

Things Jesus said and did.

Things He said and did only because His Father was saying and doing them.

Things His first followers saw Him do in the routine of their days, and wrote down for our benefit for the routine of our days some 2000 years later.

Things dad embraced, just like he felt the arms of his Father around him in the day-to-day.

Things like this:

• "Love others well, and don’t hide behind a mask; love authentically.
• "Despise evil; pursue what is good as if your life depends on it.
• "Live in true devotion to one another, loving each other as sisters and brothers.
• "Be first to honor others by putting them first.
• "Do not slack in your faithfulness and hard work.
• "Let your spirit be on fire, bubbling up and boiling over, as you serve the Lord.
• "Do not forget to rejoice, for hope is always just around the corner.
• "Hold up through the hard times that are coming, and devote yourselves to prayer.
• "Share what you have with the saints, so they lack nothing;
• "Take every opportunity to open your life and home to others."

(Romans 12:9-13, The Voice)

Good tools handed down...and passed along as a baton...

Back Roads Matter

A late fall afternoon on Elm Hill Road.

Sometimes out of necessity, but more often, it seems, by choice, Jesus preferred the back roads to the highways to get from Point A to Point B. Not that there was much structural difference back in the day—all roads were pretty much well-worn foot paths. But as with today's Interstate, some paths got you to your destination faster and more directly. WJDD —What Jesus Didn't Do — most of the time.

This is no throw-away fact. Because one of the more fascinating things about following Jesus in this life is to see over and over again in the Gospels that He was seldom in an Interstate state of mind. And what is that? In the words of journalist Charles Kuralt, "Thanks to the Interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything." Jesus preferred to slow down and take the back roads and see. And if there was a delay in plans, there was a good reason for it. If there was a detour that had to be made, it was seldom a waste of time...

"Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives." —Matthew 9:35, Message

...It takes a lifetime of walking with the One who walked everywhere to begin to embrace all of that. “Git ‘er done” is how we roll in this culture, and that Interstate mindset does not die easily.

But if you live anywhere near a back road that branches off of your local main highway and that meanders along river banks, up and down and around hillsides and fields, and is occasionally interrupted by little clusters of homes, it never fails: you begin to unwind, get perspective, and…breathe. You also begin to notice what you didn’t notice on the main road:

You notice.

On the back roads, you become less aware of me-myself-and-I and more aware of your surroundings, the changing scenery, the woman walking her dog, the old man shuffling out to his mailbox, the kids jumping with delight off the school bus at the end of the day. You tend to see things you don't see when you're on Interstate mode.

To slow down and see—that just might be the subtle, outrageously beautiful plot behind God’s idea of creating back roads and why Jesus often followed them. To take His followers back to the main thing of seeing and serving and ministering to others and away from the deeply engrained “it’s me and my life and I’m in an Interstate hurry to get wherever that is” mindset.

That outrageously beautiful plot was driven home one bitterly cold winter morning when the usual sounds of guys in pick up trucks going to work on the back road through the woods were greatly amplified. You notice things like that. And things like this: At the same time those trucks on the back road made their presence known, two seemingly random and passionate readings from two generations collided, and rather than chaos, the result was fusion and focus and seeing once more:

• “The person who loves his life and pampers himself will miss this life! But the one who detaches his life from this world and abandons himself to Me will find true life and enjoy it forever!”—John 12:25, Passion Translation

• “Because I was created by God and for His glory, I desire to make knowing and enjoying God the passionate pursuit of my life.”—From the Passion Conference “268 Declaration”

It was seeing that "to everything, there is a season" includes a time and place for the highways and Interstates of life. Because sometimes, we really do have to “Git ‘er done.” But maybe, just maybe, following in the Master’s footsteps looks more like intentionally slowing down on the back roads, and seeing people and things that really matter, and remembering that in the upside down Kingdom, “it’s all about me” is really supposed to be just the opposite...

"We're not where we're going

And we're not lost where we are

Taking the long way Home

Just taking the long way Home

There's beauty on the backroads

Even when this journey's hard

Taking the long way Home"

(From "The Long Way Home," Neon Feather with David Dunn)

(Updated from a previous entry.)

Look Up and Live

Right after sunrise, coast of Maine.

"I see the world in light, I see the world in wonder

I see the world in life, bursting in living color

I see the world Your way, and I'm walking in the Light."

("Wonder," by Joel Houston, Matt Crocker, and Brooke Fraser)

What is it about standing at the ocean’s shore and never being bored by looking out onto the vast expanse and standing in refreshing awe? Is it the crash of the waves, the cleansing aroma?

What is it about looking up at the stars on a clear night and becoming frozen in your tracks with a stiff neck and dropped jaw? Is it the stars? The moon?

What is it about getting to the top of a favorite mountain peak and staring out onto the same view time after time after time and yet feeling your eyes lock in on the wonder? Is it the distant hills, the colorful nearby trees, or the masterpiece that they paint when they are together?

It might be all of that and more, but it might be one thing more that tops them all: The sky. When we look Up, we get the right perspective...

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

    The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;

    night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word;

    their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

    and their words to all the world.

—Psalm 19:1-4, NLT

The skies, the heavens, are forever speaking in expanse, in color, in wonder—all of it reflecting the glory of God on the familiar, on what we see every day or in our favorite places. The lighting, and the time of day of that lighting, the angle through clouds or mist, all send new, jaw-dropping messages that the Creator of the universe loves painting awesome pictures day and night, and no two ever, ever look the same!

And He does so especially to remind us how He lovingly and enthusiastically created each one of us, too, and that like the patterns in the heavens, all are unique and fearfully and wonderfully made: "...we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

And He does so to capture our hearts and attention once again, to “take the world but give me Jesus,” to see all that is good and beautiful and amazing and nothing-is-impossible comes from His Word and hand.

And He does so (in the very same Psalm) to daily remind each of His children that we, too, are created to be reflectors and messengers with pictures of goodness to carry into the store, the backyard barbecue, even the potentially contentious meeting...

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing to You,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

—Psalm 19:14

Maybe not all, but a lot of our life’s mission in this Great Adventure hinges on these prayer words of Psalm 19. Keep looking Up....Selah

[Originally published March 2018]

The Sign by the Lake

Evening walk at Edward MacDowell Lake.

A line from a prayer we taught our kids after we tucked them into their beds at night has stayed with me all these years. It could be at bedtime praying for tomorrow and it could be in the early morning routine of welcoming the day from the porch: “… help me the path of love to take.” If nothing else gets accomplished, there are few things more important than that — the love of God within expressed in words, actions, and (maybe especially) attitudes.

Sometimes, it can be hard to wrap your arms around what that kind of Love will, should or could look like. It can show up in the routine of things, and in unpredictable and in surprising situations and conversations. It can be noisy and sweaty, and it can be so quiet that no one notices except you and God and you don’t even realize it has happened until afterwards. All you know is that...

...the path of Love is right and good, and it is the Word for your life…and it is really deep—deeper than you can ever imagine. Until you see a sign…

The other night, though I wasn’t really looking for it, I was on that path of Love. In the natural, the path was a familiar friend close to home that hugs the shoreline of a large reservoir of water. Many a time, I have launched my kayak here. Most of the time, silence is the soundtrack that's playing gently in the background. The sun sets beautifully here, and when there are puffy clouds in the sky, the mirror image on the glassy lake can be breathtaking. On this night, there was a kayaker’s awareness of what happens when there hasn’t been much rain lately — the lake was low, as it often gets this time of year, still with plenty of water but with shallow water reeds and large boulders emerging. You could almost walk across it in places. Meanwhile, everything else around the lake — the gently blowing grasses, marshes, and woodlands all looked as they should be.

As I reached the end of the path where kayaks, canoes and fishing boats can be launched, a broken tree with a freshly-nailed, hand-written marker told a different story. Last July, when the rains were endless and heavy, this path of Love was so deep that everything around me was covered with five feet of water. A marker on the tree showed what that would have looked like. It was stunning to picture it while standing there, even surrounded by beautiful woodlands, knowing that I’d be standing on tippy toes to get air. An astounding amount of water, and yet the sign noted that the reservoir basin was still only at 35% capacity! What it didn’t say was that the dam at the end of the reservoir, which was erected many years ago after much of the downtown area was devastated by flooding waters during the Hurricane of 1938, gradually released that abundant overflow to the community downstream. It roared in places and quietly meandered in places, but the supply seemed endless even as the reservoir slowly returned to its normal level.

And just when you think it is all very interesting and historical and weather-geeky, along comes this…

“…And may you, having been deeply rooted and securely grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all…God’s people the width and length and height and depth of His love— fully experiencing that amazing, endless love; and that you may come to know practically, through personal experience, the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience; that you may be filled up throughout your being to all the fullness of God so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives—completely filled and flooded with God Himself.”—Ephesians 3:17-19, Amplified

Filled and flooded…and overflowing to the community downstream. It's a sign. “Help me the path of Love to take.”

Simply Dynamite

DAN ANDERSON/CNN.COM

“And now the Word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God.”—1 Thessalonians 1:8

Here is one of those drive-right-past-it, mind-blowing verses....But think about: No email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram cell phone videos, or satellite TV, and yet the life-changing power of God through a bunch of no-name regular folks who chose to daily abide in Christ spread like wildfire to distant places beyond their imagination. It defies logic and all of our techno-modern sensibilities. How could this possibly happen?

All we know from a verse a bit earlier is that these everyday, multi-generational men and women were known not for any of the things we tend to think of that make for an influential church today. For one, they knew that getting friends and neighbors to "come to church!" sounded great but wasn't always practical. Instead, they seemed to follow in these footsteps:

"Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, 'We have found the Messiah!' And he brought Peter to meet Jesus." (John 1:41-42, Living)

They brought the Church with them by simply and obediently and lovingly and regularly lighting three sticks of supernatural dynamite:

• Spirit-empowered, prayer-fueled, everyday works, talents and abilities produced by their faith in Christ
• A steady heartbeat of everyday servanthood, rooted in a deep and abiding love for Christ
• Endurance to stay the course in this crazy world, to swim upstream against all trends and odds, inspired by hope and trust in Christ … and His promised return.

The moral of this story might be that Good News does indeed travel quickly, that a person or group of people who are abandoned to God is an incomparable power, and that we don't have to over-complicate our witness efforts but just be salt and light where people are. But surely, this was just a great story about the early Church. Just a one-shot moment in time. But then there's this...

“Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever He will do next.”—Romans 15:4, The Message

Selah....

(Adapted from journal entry, August 17, 2014)

Beautifully Different

(Photo: depositphotos.com)

Some timely words from the archive…

In spite of the bleakness of the news,

Somewhere this week, lives were miraculously saved.

Somewhere this week, many lives of hopelessness and addiction were turned inside out.

Somewhere this week, weary hearts were revived.

Somewhere this week, a prayer drought turned into a prayer flood.

Somewhere this week, those who hated became those who Loved and were Loved.

All by the power of the name of Jesus.

And somewhere this week, and in too many other weeks in the past, people went public to find fault and nitpick.

Christian people.

What is the matter with us?

Have we not heard?…

"John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your Name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.” Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use My Name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut Me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally.”—Mark 9:38-41, Message

Suit-and-tie...blue jeans and t-shirts...(or, somewhere in between)…guitars, drums and multimedia...musty but much-loved hymnal and bulletin...make it mega-sized or even multi-sited...keep it intimate, in a living room, even. There is no right way to do Church other than this: let the Gospel and no other gospel be proclaimed, let its Subject and Author be worshiped deeply, and let the overflow be Life-giving. The rest is just packaging meant to connect with and help bring someone else Home that you or I couldn’t reach... 

 

                                           (Photo:denverpost.com)                                                                                                                              

...We're all prone to be taste-testers of anything not in "our group." How much better to cheer on the Kingdom’s advance in all its flavors. 

"You may find hundreds of faultfinders among professed Christians; but all their criticism will not lead one solitary soul to Christ." 

- Dwight L. Moody

Inside Out

 “The time is coming when we will no longer be concerned about whether to worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. For it’s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship—is our worship spiritual and real?”—John 4:21, Living Bible 

Something wonderful happened Friday night. People were gathered to worship and we had come to the conclusion and “good night” of it all, or so we thought. There was one last and unplanned song. And when it was over, there was a holy hush in the place. No one was rushing to the door even though it was getting late. The only other time I remember that happening was at a worship conference several years ago when at the conclusion and “good night,” the leader remembered that some worship dancers had been forgotten, and so he invited them up. And when it was over, there was unrehearsed, spontaneous clapping for nearly eight minutes as in a declaration smashing of granite, from every generation in the room. No one was rushing to the door even though it was late.

Mysterious! And yet in both settings, the call seemed to be the same: “Be the Church. Worship Me deeply here, and by all means, worship Me deeply as you head out those doors.” We like to put God and God things in boxes. Jesus says, as He did to the woman at the well in John 4, worship is not confined to a building but is meant to be carried with us wherever we go. Worship is inside and it is outside. It is inside-out. And for a purpose beyond “just singing”, as the video clip at the end illustrates.

Not coincidentally this week, I came across this awakening, re-orienting journal entry from four summers ago..

…“My church, like any church, is far from perfect, because my church, like any church is not a building at all but a bunch of people. And every one of us, saved by Grace or still seeking, walks with a limp of one kind or another. We can’t help but bring it with us every time we walk through the doors, and inevitably the pain from the limp comes out from time to time…words are said which come out wrong and are received even worse, the spirit of offense rolls in, and so the people get distracted from the vision and purpose for being the Church.

It’s why many on the outside looking in often say, “the church is just a bunch of hypocrites.” No, just as it has been from the beginning, the church is filled with real and very imperfect humans seeking to follow a real and very perfect Savior. The adversary tries to use the distractions and offenses to sidetrack and destroy. Jesus uses them to strengthen as iron sharpens iron, to become stronger salt and light people of individual personalities and differences of opinions and likes because that is what the world is like and where the Church is sent—and distractions and all, He still says “…I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

Because even as iron is sharpening iron, and everyone is desperately looking to Jesus as their example to press through and love and show grace, grace, grace, the adversary is getting kicked in the teeth: There is continual new Life—someone desperately seeking finally says “yes, Lord!,” and several someones of every generation are immersed in a lake baptism. And there are miraculous testimonies of God’s goodness through thick and thin that only God could do and that encourage us to hold on to our faith. And just about every day, scattered in several locations, fervent prayer and tireless service are going on—often, where no one sees and applauds but where Jesus smiles and empowers and answers.

I suppose it is this way in many imperfect Christ-one churches. And truth be told, none of them are as amazing and perfect as their social media hype would like you to believe. We are all a beautiful mess. But the Kingdom is advancing in stealth fashion nevertheless! And through all the messiness, I have found that other than the Gospel being preached and walked out, one thing really matters, something I experienced the first day I walked into our building that is called church—an overwhelming, can’t really put your finger on it sense of peace where your only words are: “Jesus is worshiped here, and His presence is welcome here. I feel like I’m home.” You know it in strange ways, like feeling the tension in your shoulders suddenly go limp.

“I wish that we might get back to worship again. Then when people come into the church, they will instantly sense that they have come among holy people—God’s people. They can testify, ‘of a truth, God is in this place!’”—A.W. Tozer

Sure, some gatherings are more engaged than others, but I can think of no better place to be, because in that environment of united worship by us bunch of individuals walking with limps, whether in hymns from a hymnal or new songs projected on a screen, Jesus is made huge again in our squinty eyes and heavy hearts, and faith is stirred, and you are reminded once more that with God all things are possible, and that this is why the Church is God’s wonderfully messy idea, and that a people who worship together and especially with no one else around throughout the week can make all the difference in the world, from the inside out…”

“…Sing loud when you can; stop and let the words and joy wash over you when you can't. Take the long drive. Those who do return to meeting with God again in worship, choosing to fill homes and cars and lives with worship music that lifts them in orientation to Jesus for a good, sustained long while, even if it's just running in the background, have told me they feel like someone who's just received a cool drink of water when they didn't realize how thirsty they had become. Don't lose this; it's life and help and strength because the Spirit meets us in it.”—Dan Wilt, "Engage in Worship Again"

One in a Million, Million...

“…Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple." (Colossians 1:27, Message)

Sometimes, we try to make this Walk more complicated than it really is. But for anyone who truly internalizes “Jesus is just Who He says He is,” the simple, rather outrageous truths are these because He "is in you":

We are built for Eternity, not just the here and now

We have the heart of and for God, not to keep it to ourselves

We have His hands and feet to serve, and lift, and heal, with all of Heaven's goodness

We have the mind of Christ, to think, act, and live in extraordinary, supernatural ways

We have the joy of the Lord as our strength

We have the wisdom of God whenever we ask

We have the peace of God that passes all our understanding

We have the love of God as our fuel for all things

We have the authority of God from the unshakeable Word of God

We are built to rule and reign, to love and live fully, on earth as it is in heaven

And no matter what condition our body parts may be in

Or how old or young

There is no expiration date on our spiritual tools and weapons

We have each been hand-crafted for His pleasure and His glory

To bring hope where there isn’t much at the moment

To bring Light where darkness and fear are suffocating

Wherever that “bring” may be, and however it may look and flow through each one

And all that is missing is …

An activation button, a switch, a step forward in faith

On our part

Because the choice is always ours

Because we have been built with free will to follow Him... or not

To obey Him ...or not,

To live for eternal and Kingdom purposes...or not,

To be an activated “in you” person...or not

"You made me; You created me.

    Now give me the sense to follow Your commands." (Psalm 119:73)

Yes, what the psalmist said.

To simply choose daily to take the “or not” option off the table

To put on my true identity of being built by Him from head to toe, inside and out,

Through and through

For entirely wonderful, eternal purposes

For sharing in God's glory, even in the most surprising, natural settings

And circumstances and conversations

It’s really that simple…

“God put a million, million doors in the world
For His love to walk through
One of those doors is you.” — Jason Gray

The Power of a Three-letter Word

"Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am?'"—John 14:9, Amplified

The more I read the gospels the more I realize I’m a lot like Philip—I think I get Jesus, but I don’t really get Jesus. It's not unlike walking a favorite woodland trail and seeing the sun through the maze of obstacles and yet not really seeing the sun.

If I had been Philip or one of the 12, I’m sure I would have been as clueless, blind, fearful, thick-skulled, and puzzled at times as they were by Jesus’ parables on life, His way of life... His life, period. Yet like them, even though never totally getting it, you realize there is something extraordinary about Jesus that keeps drawing you in closer and closer and with greater resolve, sometimes against all odds, pulling you along to see what’s next on this crazy Journey.

I like how God made sure Philip got included in the gospels. I think He wanted to let us know that He gets us.

Philip's honest, "I-can't-believe-I'm-saying-this-but-I'm-going-to-say-it-anyway" question is hope for us all— that this Walk is a lifetime of knowing and being with Jesus more than ever and yet never fully knowing Him; of being at times surprisingly filled with Heaven-sent discernment and yet at times being earthbound clueless; of walking through seasons of unshakable belief as well as ones of dizzying doubt. 

Perhaps it is akin to the real-life parable of the new contact prescription: A man with two new lenses on his eyeballs was driving down the highway one day, and while he could see everything right in front of him as plain as day, peering into the depths was another story because only one lens brought clarity. The other lens was fuzzy and needed correcting.

Maybe, just maybe, this is what knowing Jesus more and more in both a cognitive and experiential way is supposed to look like. The thing that needs correcting is that never really knowing and seeing Jesus clearly every day is not only normal or OK, it's all part of The Plan of faith and trust. It means staying steady in all our Philip moments, and maybe not always running as we'd like but rather simply putting one foot in front of the other. It means to keep drawing near even in the fog and, like those first disciples, keep being pulled along like a magnet by Someone more powerful and profound and wonderful and all-consumingly attractive, and eternally satisfying than anything or anyone this world has ever seen...

“For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God.”

—1 Corinthians 13:12, Voice

And all along the woodland paths and the highway of holiness, even with one-eyed clarity at times, it's a reminder in a lot of areas of life that faith is both “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”…and therefore, to keep praying for what you don't see clearly now: the impossible when that seems like a nutty thing to do, “Thy kingdom come” in friends, loved ones, and messy situations of life when you wonder how on earth that’s all going to work, and staying faithful and steadfast when you wonder what’s the point of it all.

And most of all, to turn “I’m not seeing it” on its head by adding one simple three-letter word at the end…

“Yet.”

“I give You back today the prayers I’ve prayed that are not answered—yet.  

The seeds I’ve sown that haven’t borne harvest—yet.

Restore the years, the prayers, the trust that the locusts have eaten. Remember me, Lord, redeem my life, and answer my oldest, truest, prayers. Amen.”

—Pete Greig, from “Dirty Glory—Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You”

Buckets of Life

(Photo: diapicard@pixabay.com)

Faith, it says in the Gospels, is like a mustard seed.

Trust is like the beautifully-clothed lilies of the field and God's accounting of every hair of a sparrow.

Integrity and Christ-likeness are like the healthy fruit borne of a fig tree.

Those who are in right standing with God will shine like the sun.

The glory of the Lord is like lightning.

Jesus often taught deep, unshakeable truths about God and living well by using simple illustrations from nature. Everyday things all around us. Reach-out-and-touch examples of all that God has created that can turn sometimes hard-to-grasp concepts into something eye-opening practical and fuel for life.

In fact, of a world in great need of a people who will lovingly live out such truths, Jesus told His first followers:

“I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you.”

—John 4:35, Message

In New England, the welcoming "right in front of you" evidence of turning that long, seemingly-endless corner from late winter into early spring looks like the sun rising earlier and staying up longer, brave crocus shoots beginning to emerge from retreating south-facing snow packs, the early birds of spring beginning their familiar songs even on see-your-breath mornings, and — perhaps most symbolic and iconic of all — milder days and cold nights signaling the time to tap maple trees to make syrup (the real thing, not that wannabe brown substance in tall plastic bottles).

It all seems so "right in front of you" obvious. And yet what we take for granted with our natural eyes — things like mustard seeds, lilies, sparrows, lightning, even maple sugaring season — God has created to continually reveal a greater glimpse of Himself, if only we will choose to look beyond "right in front of you" and into the buckets of Life that know no season. About those iconic sap buckets, for example...

…“Filled with nutrients and minerals, sap is the blood of a tree. It carries energy out into the branches…as much-needed food during the growth period.” It is sweet and with natural antioxidants…

...“I am the sprouting vine and you’re My branches. As you live in union with Me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you — but, when you live separated from Me. you are powerless…when your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are My mature disciples who glorify My Father!” — John 15: 5, 8, Passion 

Sometimes, where we are and where we want to be in this Walk can feel like turning that long, seemingly-endless corner from late winter to early spring. Not much seems to be happening, or at least not as fast as we'd like. The sap bucket is a "right in front of you" reminder that God is still powerfully at work in all who stay in His grip in every growth-period season, one sweet and beautiful drop at a time...

“There are periods that we forget that in the pursuit of fruit, that if we just abide in Him, then fruitfulness is a guarantee.”

—Francis Chan