Chia Seeds, Anyone?

It's that time of year again, well after the holidays, yet still close enough to the new year that folks still trying to live out resolutions.  Top on the list:  get healthy-lose weight.  I'm not the only one.  I know a healthy diet is important, but it is becoming more and more confusing.  I have one son on the Paleo diet - eating only what a cave man would eat -grain-fed beef, seeds and berries.  Pretty complicated.  I have several family members on the gluten free diet.  Others say eating regular fruits and vegetables are not enough, it needs to be organically raised.  Whew! 

I have heard several different experts suggest drinking a healthy breakfast shake, so I decided to try it.  Here's the recipe: almond milk or coconut milk, protein powder, kale or spinach leaves, fruit and/or berries, and chia seeds.  I have been drinking and even enjoying this concoction for a week without the chia seeds, found only at health food stores! Supposedly chia seeds are one of those super-foods.  Here are the benefits of chia seeds:

• Contain Highest Plant Source Of Omega-3 On The Planet!
• Heart Health ~ Mental Health & Digestive Health
• Proven To Reduce the "Bad" (LDL) Cholesterol
• Great For Diabetics & Effective For Treating Hyperglycemia.
• Contain More Antioxidants Than Blueberries.
• A Complete Protein With All 9 Amino-Acids.
• An Excellent Source Of Calcium, Magnesium & Iron.
• Chia Seeds Are 100% Natural, Raw, Non-GMO & Gluten-Free!

As I drink my shake, which would be healthier with chia seeds, I wonder what one super ingredient we're leaving out of our Christian lives.  Imagine we could put all the ingredients of the Christian life into a blender as a way of beginning the day.  What would that recipe look like?

·         Greens -Word of God - Bible reading (nourishing to the soul)

·         Milk -Prayer Time - will carry you through the day (pray without ceasing)

·         Fruit of the spirit - joy, peace, patience, etc.

·         Protein powder - faith

·         Chia Seeds ?

Chia Seeds -what is the ingredient is the super-food for Christians?  It is Love - love for God, love for others, love from God!  What's a health shake for Christians without the love of God?  Don't leave out any ingredients, but especially don't skip love.  "Love one another."  "These three things abide, but the greatest of these things is love."  "We love because God first loved us."  "They will know we are Christians by our love."

Here's to good health - body and soul!

I Wanna Be a Bluebird!

It has been so hot! Because of the drought, the main attraction for birds in our backyard has been the birdbath instead of the birdfeeder. We have enjoyed watching various birds come for a drink of water. It is always interesting which birds will allow others to drink with them and which ones commandeer the entire bath for themselves. Also, birds don’t all drink alike – some drink in a straightforward manner. I was watching a big woodpecker sitting on the side. He would come up over the side and get a drink and then raise his beak straight in the air to drink the water, and then go down for another sip.

But the real fun is watching them bathe. Some hop into the water and sit, like they just wanted to cool their feet awhile. Other species perch on the side for a time and then wade into the water cautiously, perhaps eventually dipping one wing at a time into the water, then fly off to preen on a nearby branch. What I wait for every evening is the bluebirds – young and old alike come together to bathe. We have had 7 at a time in the water. There is no dilly-dallying around with the bluebirds. They hop right in (or land in the water directly) and flap their wings - splashing with all their might! Water sprays everywhere and they splatter as if their life depends on it. When the first one is good and wet, the others on the side can stand it no longer and they join in with all the gusto they can muster! What fun! The whole bird bath is a blur of wings and water!

When I watch the bluebirds bathe, I am reminded of how we are to live as Christians. We are not to just get our feet wet in God’s love, but to jump right in. The scriptures say, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. We don’t halfway worship the Lord, but with all our hearts! God does not call us to serve just when there is a big push for missions, but all the time; it is how we live our lives – pouring ourselves out for others!

I think God is pleased when God sees us living this abundant life with all our hearts! Maybe even more pleased than I am when I watch bluebirds bathe!!! Don’t you?

Rain!

It is raining! It has been mighty dry around here… we are getting used to burn bans, and watering plants to keep them alive. At our house, Chris is the one who actually waters the plants outside. He does a great job, but when it is as dry as it has been, it is not easy to water enough to prevent the grass from turning brown. Last night, we noticed that although the big flower bed is still looking good and the herb garden is flourishing (both obviously getting enough water), the Ginger Lily planted way over in the corner is wilting. Even trying to get everything watered, it is easy to miss the one way in the corner!

And then this morning … RAIN!!! I stood out under the patio to watch the rain and smell the rain. I couldn’t help but think that all the plants are happy – the birds seem to be out playing in the rain, too! I noticed that all the grass was getting watered at the same time… ALL the grass, front and back, and the Ginger Lily was getting the same amount as the flowers and herbs! All at the same time – what a great watering system!

The bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God’s love rains down on all of us, those close in and those way off in the corner – no one can hide from God and no one is outside of the love of God! What a great loving distributing system!

Here’s how the system works: God sent Jesus to show us God’s love! and now Jesus sent us… to shower God’s love on all people – ALL people! In the Great Commission from Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

So that’s the mission – a mission of love for ALL people!

Let it rain!

Four Eggs

A little bird built a nest in the wreath on our front door. We, the owners of the house, were relegated to the garage door entrance out of respect for our serendipitous guests. We peeked to see four perfect little eggs nestled, oh so securely, in the carefully woven home. A sign of new life – that’s what I love about Spring. The next time we peeked, the eggs had hatched and the mother bird was busy with the feeding schedule of newborns. Just a few days later, we found the wreath, the nest, and a multitude of feathers and debris sprawled on the cement doorstop. I don’t know if it was the wind, or the cat we’ve seen lurking around, but now there is no sign of that life. It is a reminder of how fragile life can be. We have had so many reminders of sadness, destruction, and death in the midst of Spring green and new growth this year – earthquakes, tsunamis’, nuclear threat, wars, and tornadoes. Life is always a balancing act.

Even while dealing with tragic loss, we as Easter people can claim a sober joy! The resurrection reminds us that death does not have the last word – God wins! Thanks be to God. The ever-present signs of darkness and death are reminders that life is a gift and we should not take it for granted. How we live this one life we are given matters.

“Only one life, twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

“Faith, hope, love abide… but the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

Back to School!

It’s September – Back to School time!

That means slowing down for School Zones. When those yellow lights are flashing in front of the North Highlands Elementary, we are to go no faster than 15 miles an hour and that is S.L.O.W.! - by anyone’s standards. It can be an inconvenience, especially when I am in a hurry (which is too much of the time!)

I’ve decided to let the slow down at the school zone be a call to prayer. I pray for the children and teachers, for the office workers, lunch room workers, janitors, bus drivers. I pray for the families of the children… for everyone who is learning and growing.

I wonder how our lives would change if every inconvenience and irritation were turned into something good in our lives … a call to prayer. The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing”… maybe this is one way to do that!

On Packing

I love to travel on occasion, but I hate to pack. When I went to Annual Conference last month, I began packing the day before I left. I made lists; I pictured each outfit that I’d need; I had a big suitcase and hanging clothes. I loaded everything into the car. On the way there, I thought, “What have I forgotten?”

I remembered that I needed a few things at the store, so made a stop along the way. I wracked my brain again, going through imaginary checklists… “What have I forgotten?” I have a long history of forgetting things, because I HATE TO PACK!… “I have my cosmetic/toiletries bag.” (I remember the time I went to my sister’s without that bag and had to borrow everything from her.) “I have my shoes” … (On one trip, I had to wear the same shoes all week whether they matched or not.) “I have my hanging clothes.” (Once, at an overnight retreat at the Conference Center, I forgot my hanging clothes and had to put on the same clothes for the second day – ugh!) “I have my book bag.” (Yes, I’ve even been known to forget the books and files necessary for business meetings!) “I have my directions to locate the hotel.” “Okay, I have everything I need.” ……………….WRONG!

It wasn’t until I checked into the hotel and had changed for the Board of Ordained Ministry Meeting and Memorial Service for that evening before I realized that I was missing 3 jackets, 1 top, and a pair of slacks. Surely it’s in the car…………WRONG! – I checked twice. I had left one handful of hanging clothes still in the closet at home. I should have made one more trip! As it turned out, I didn’t really need those extra clothes – I managed just fine without them. Whew! No wonder my mother used to tell me that it was a good thing my head was screwed on tight, or I would forget that, too! Ha!

Are you a list maker? We have some important lists in the Bible…lists of the Patriarchs, genealogy lists, lists of spiritual gifts, and a list of fruit of the spirit. When I see a list, I think, “Ah, someone didn’t want to forget this!” The list of the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us of all the ways we are growing in the Spirit… “Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control”. The good news is that the Spirit is keeping this list in mind, for it is a description of the Spirit. As we simply open ourselves to God, the Spirit will grow these fruit in us! This is the ongoing work of the Spirit. The Spirit does the packing! … in us, for us, for the world! Praise the Lord!

My First Trip to New York City

I recently went on a week's vacation to visit my son and daughter-in-law, Josh & Megan, in Rhode Island. They asked what I would like to see while I was there. Besides their apartment and work places, I wanted to see New York City - I had never been! And I always wanted to go. We saved the money for my oldest son to go with his art club in high school, but now, at last, it was my turn!

We spent 2 days in NYC - we walked, rode the subway, walked some more, rode on top of a tour bus, took the boat tour around the city (that's where I snapped the picture of the Statue of Liberty - my own photo, mind you!) We saved what I most wanted to see for last - the Metropolitan Museum of Art - wow!!! I loved every minute of the trip.

What surprised me most was how much of the city I already knew...we would be walking and I would see a building and I'd stop - "Wait a minute ... I know that building... it's the Plaza Hotel...THE PLAZA HOTEL!" and of course the even more well known Empire State Building, Rockefellow Plaza, etc, etc, etc. So many movies came to mind and books I'd read set in NYC. It didn't feel like my first trip at all - that was weird - I'd been there before - seen so much of it before. Only now I was emersed in it.

I wander if this is how heaven will be - "oh, yeah, I know this place - been here so many times - this Love is very familiar - I've been living in this Love for most of my life! this Love has been in me and now I'm emersed in Love!"

Mystery Solved

Mystery Solved!  

The bulbs were Spider Lily bulbs.  Someone told me they are sometimes called "Hurricane Lilies" - I can believe that!  

The bulbs sprouted right after Hurricane Gustav and then the blooms opened the day after Hurricane Ike came through!  How about that?  Look at that design - how intricate and symmetrical and beautiful.  

My art professor in college said that the best design is simply a copy of nature.  God is the great designer, the Creator!  We simply copy his art!  I've heard that copying is the best form of flattery.  Perhaps our 'creations' are praises of the Great Designer - I hope so.  

Would you believe I have more mystery bulbs? - around the same tree!  They have sprouted - looking very different from the lily sprouts.  mmm!  Stay posted for more discoveries!  So fun to have a new backyard to explore!

Mystery Bulbs

During the good soaking rain that we got from Hurricane Gustav last week, a circle of little white bulbs popped out of the ground circling the tree close to my back door. I thought that maybe the dirt had washed away with so much rain and I probably should cover them again – just a passing thought that did not lead to any action. To my surprise, yesterday when I woke up those bulbs had sprouted and shot up 4 inches overnight! Each sprout is a single stalk rising toward the sky with a bulge at the top.

What could it be? I thought most bulbs bloomed in the spring – were these bulbs confused, misguided? – Whatever they were, they were growing and about to bloom. They seemed to know what they were doing even if I didn’t have a clue! I asked others, hoping that someone could tell me what they are, but no one has given me an answer. Someone said, “You’ll just have to wait and see!”

I sent the photo of the sprouts out to my family. One daughter-in-law suggested spider-lilies, but my brother said that spider lilies have red stalks – these are green. At any rate, I should have an answer in another day at the rate they are growing.

In pondering my serendipitous sprouting bulbs, I am reminded of New Beginnings, not the Sunday School Class I visited Sunday, but the new beginnings we all have at different times at our lives – sometimes by choice and sometimes by a turn of events out of our control. I am at one of those times, beginning a new ministry in a new place - a new beginning – a sprouting bulb! I am captivated by the hope of new possibilities – what will it look like? What color will the final bloom be? – and most importantly, will God be pleased with what we do together?

Some of you may be at one of those ‘new beginnings’ times in your lives – what will the end result be? When there are more questions than answers, we turn to our faith – for we walk by faith and not by sight! Keep the faith! Keep the hope alive – the best is yet to be!

The first verse of the “Hymn of Promise” goes like this: “In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” That is so true of our lives, as we trust in God, we know that the outcome of the new beginnings is truly, “something God alone can see”.

Hummingbird Lessons

I hung a string of paper lanterns on the edge of the roof of the patio. They were in festive colors of yellow, orange, and green. Then I sat down to enjoy the backyard from the air-conditioned room inside. Almost immediately, a hummingbird flew in and commenced to pecking every one of those lanterns. Of course, he must have been looking for supper and finding only paper, flew away disappointed. Naturally, I was left with a sad feeling, like I had tricked him. So I quickly got a hummingbird feeder, filled it with good red juice, and hung it out. Again, I sat down to watch and within minutes, the hummingbird dashed in to give me one more chance. Finally, he got what he was looking for. Instead of flying back to his perch in the tree when he had drunk his fill, he flew directly at me and pecked once on the window separating us – as if to say, “Thanks, friend! That was good!”

Now before you get any ideas, I am not a bird-whisperer and I know I really don’t know what he was thinking! Still, the entire episode reminded me of how many times I am blessed by what someone does and I forget to say thanks. That happened in New Testament times as well. Remember the time Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to say thanks?

The hummingbird incident also illustrates the idea of “seek and you will find”! I think people who need the Lord and need a church family, are often pecking at other things that yield as much long-term satisfaction as paper lanterns. The question is, how do we Christians hang the feeder out where they will find it? How do we attract them so they will come and find what they so desperately need? If you have thoughts on this subject, I want to hear them!

My dog, Finny, and I love this view into the backyard. There's nothing like a new house to give you a new perspective on the world. I like watching the birds in the backyard. So far, I've seen cardinals, bluejays, blackbirds, wrens, and hummingbirds. This view will feed my soul!

The River Waits

The Mississippi River -
long, with lots of twists and turns.
Here in New Orleans, she is on her last leg of the journey.
Does she have regrets that she carries along like sludge -
the faster the current, the slower it takes
for the mud to settle and be left behind.
What about sorrows deeply held
and weighing down the water flow?

She's quiet, this river,
but she has stories to tell, treasures of wisdom.
The bushes, wild flowers, and grasses
crowd down to the bank to listen
and be watered from her wealth.
The birds and gulls hover and swoop down close
to be nourished for their own journey.
The river waits for them to come to her -
-for them to ask.
She waits silently.
Waiting, but moving, slowly and deliberately along . . .

You are the river.
I am the river.

New Shoes

Remember getting a new pair of shoes when you were a kid? I remember my mother taking all five of us to Boudoin’s Shoe Store on Main Street in Jennings. The tinkle of the little bell on the door announced our presence. We all got a turn to sit in the chair for Mr. Boudoin himself to measure our foot. Then we tried on shoes until we found the best pair. We always put our old shoes in the shoe box to carry home and wore our new shoes out of the store. We walked a little different, a little straighter, stood a little taller. When I took my five sons to buy new shoes, it was a completely different experience. No smell of leather when we entered the discount shoe store and no one to give us personal attention. While I tried shoes on one boy, the others ran the aisles. I left with a headache, but the boys felt the same way my siblings and I used to feel. They claimed they could jump higher and run faster with those new sneakers!

The apostle Paul must have been thinking of getting new sandals when he told the Ephesians, “As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” (It is in the passage of putting on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6.) How we need to hear the gospel of peace proclaimed in our world! In Isaiah 52:7 we read, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!”

Go out and share the good news of peace and salvation. As we were reminded at Easter, “Our God reigns!”

Which Way?

Well, it happened again. I was in Monroe, at an intersection trying to get on I-20 to drive back to Tallulah. I knew a left turn would get me moving in the direction I needed to go. The sign said, “I-20 East” and the arrow pointed right. I knew I needed to go East, but I did not want to go right. Everything in me wanted to turn left. At the last minute (learning by my past mistakes), I followed the sign, “I-20 East” and turned right in order to go left. Sure enough the pathway finally curved around, took me in a circular way and got me pointed left – back toward Tallulah. Whew! Sometimes you have to trust the signs, even when it doesn’t feel good at first.

In the Bible, we have directions for life. Sometimes, everything in us wants to go the opposite way from those sign posts. Sometimes, it seems that everyone else is turning the other way. Even when we follow the Bible directions, it sometimes does not feel good at first and we have to trust that it will eventually get us going the right way.

In Proverbs 14:12, we read, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.” And in Proverbs 19:1, “Those who keep the commandment will live; those who are heedless of their ways will die.” The commandments of God are for our good, to show us the way home.

Anticipation

Anticipation . . . hope . . . There is nothing like it! I recently had a birthday – ‘double nickels”, as my sister kept reminding me. A week before the big day, I was told that my sister from Lake Charles would be bringing my parents from Jennings up to Monroe (my other sister’s parsonage) for my birthday. My niece from Bastrop and my son & his wife and my granddaughter from Marion, as well as two other sons and their wives from Ruston were all coming to my birthday party. What happy news! I so looked forward to seeing my family – from old to young. Wow! Every time I thought about it throughout the week, I smiled and it lifted my spirits. Anticipation of something happy brings happiness ahead of time.

That’s the way our future with God in eternity is. Just thinking of being in God’s presence forever makes each day sweeter here. We rest in the promise and have hope for tomorrow – hope that affects the way we live today. It is like knowing the end to a movie – we can enjoy what happens, knowing that it will end well. It is not just ‘pie in the sky’wishes, but secure hope and promise!

Paul expressed this very thing in Acts 24:15-16, when in his defense before Felix, he said, "I have a hope in God-- a hope that they themselves also accept-- that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people."

May we all allow our hope in God to sweeten our life now and affect the way we live each day!

You can't judge a book by its cover!

I remember a conversation I had with my grandmother (Grandma Harris) on the occasion of her 60th birthday. I heard how old she was and was appalled, feeling that she surely would not be with us long - how can anyone live much longer than 60 years!!??!! Not wanting to break out crying at the thought of her imminent death, I asked her, "What does it feel like to be old?" (Only a loved grandchild could get away with such a question, and even at my young age, I knew to ask it when we were alone!) She honored my question with a thoughtful and serious response - one that I will always treasure. She said that on the inside of all those wrinkles, gray hair, false teeth, etc. she felt the same that she did when she was a child and when she was a young woman. Even though her body is very different, the essence of who she is on the inside is still the same. I treasure her response because it has changed the way I feel about old people and handicapped people - "you can't judge a book by its cover". Same message as this wonderful poem.

Someone sent me the following story & poem in email today and made me think of my conversation with Grandma so long ago.

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Tampa, Florida, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Missouri . The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has
also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem. And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet.

Crabby Old Man
What do you see nurses? .....What do you see?
What are you thinking......when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .....with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food........and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice....."I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice ..the things that you do.
And forever is losing ........... A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding .... The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse......you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am ..... As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, ....as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten......with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters ....who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen ..........with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now. ........a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty, .......my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows........that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now ....... I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide ...... And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty ....... My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other ....... With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .........have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me........to see ! I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, ....... Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children ...... My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me ........ My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ...................I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing ......young of their own.
And I think of the years....... And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man.........and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age ..........look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles..........grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone........where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass ..... A young guy still dwells,
And now and again ......my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys.............. I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living.............life over again.
I think of the years ....all too few......gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact........that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people open and see........
Not a crabby old man. Look closer....see........ME!! (anonymous)

Why am I pondering such thoughts today? Perhaps because I will soon turn 55! (not far away from that ancient 60!) At least I will have my answer ready for my darling grandchildren!

Birdsong Tea

I know there is no such thng as 'birdsong tea', but if we could make a cup of tea out of birdsong, I'd love it, I'm sure. Wouldn't you? So welcome to my first blog ... and join me for a cup of Birdsong Tea!