This is a quiet place to sit in on some of my thoughts.  Grab a cup of coffee, find something you like here, and rest. It's designed to just take a few minutes here, a few there.  Which is all many of you have available.  I may even later introduce a response forum for any questions or corrections.   But one or two things at a time.

Here is my growing collection of the visits Bushra and I have about God and His people,that we want to share with you.  The most recent will be linked here.  Older ones can be found to the left. The most recent is the story of Noah . This true ancient story shows us how far we can be from God and not even know it. 

Some serious, some silly.  I tried to aid you in your quest to avoid one or the other. Let's start with Young Mothers and The Toad Not Taken  :-)  

I'll just do that here. Sometimes I just like to hear myself ....write.  If there gets to be an abundance, I'll archive them.
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March 16, 2010 Deference
There are times when there seems to be no peace. I'm not talking about peace among nations, but rather peace within our families, friends, small groups, clubs. It is at those times that we stop our own selves (since we can stop no other) and humbly defer to another. Now I'm not talking about doing wrong. But here is a simplistic pretend example: Let us suppose that there is a lack of peace because a person in a given group believes everyone needs to have a stripe on their left sock. Maybe you have a good reason to put the stripe on your right sock, or you simply like it better that way. Can you defer to another and just put the stripe on your left sock to keep peace? Or equally important - can you defer to the right sock people and stop demanding it be on the left sock (even if you sincerely believe it will cause a sequence of downward event leading to things much worse)? Can you humble yourself enough to be able to change things in your life in order to keep peace? Can you humble yourself enough to be able to see things a different way than you have always thought? Let us live peacefully.

January 30, 2010  Interruptions and Irritations.

Often when we are trying to think through something, such as I am with this website right now, we have many interruptions and many background sounds if we have children at home.  I've listened to many perspectives on this and can't possibly address them all or be understood by all.  But one thing I've noticed is the tendency for us to feel completely at the mercy of them, and to become overwhelmed and unable to think.  While we sometimes can feel at the mercy of them or annoyed and overwhelmed, that must not be our response.
 
Proverbs says that a man that has no rule over his spirit is like a city without walls, all broken down.  Jesus' response to each "interruption",  was to keep dealing with the next issue at hand, lovingly but with purpose.  He did not allow the disciples to throw temper tantrums nor did he let demoniacs trouble him or anyone.  He dealt with it appropriately.  (now I don't mean to take us into a discussion on demoniacs, etc.. nor to compare that with children running around the house at the top of their lungs. It was merely an example).    You may look way around and see all of the needs around you, but you cannot deal with all needs at one time.  You can only deal one at a time..  

The point is that more often than not, those things we call interruptions and distractions, are quite likely God's will for us right then.  So just as Jesus was doing God's will by helping one after the other, dealing with one need after the other, that is all we can do.  Humbly, without complaint in our spirit.  Keep rule over your spirit as you teach your children to do the same.  No need to allow them to scream uncontrollably, or whine, or fuss.  But at the same time, help them with their real needs.  One after the other.  The "interruptions" are our calling.