Category Archives: a quick word

one so blessed…

one so blessed…

My precious friend, Joanne, sent me an e-mail this morning to remind me of the book give-away she is hosting over at her blog. The book? Peace for the journey: in the pleasure of his company. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I have a particular fondness for the work; it strikes pretty close to home, and I’d love for one of my readers to win a copy. Please stop over at Joanne’s place to sign-up, and bring your lawn chair with you as you go. Her blog is like sitting beneath the shade of a favorite tree on a hot, June afternoon. She makes me laugh; she makes me think; she gives me permission to pause from the busyness of my life in order to partake in the loveliness of hers.

Thank you, Joanne, for your interest in me and for the bucket loads of kindness you’ve extended in my direction. You are one of the best evidences of God’s grace and love toward me in the blogging community. I count it a privilege to be walking alongside you in this season of life and to call you my sister and friend.

Peace for the journey,

PS: I’m closing comments on this post so that you can head over to Joanne’s place and start enjoying the fellowship beneath her shade tree! Shalom.

on holding the suitcase…

on holding the suitcase…

“You hold the flowers, Elaine, I’ll handle the suitcase.”

This is what God wants me to know this day, nearly a year after he impressed it into my soul. It was the statement that led to this…


Most everything about the front cover of my book was intentionally planned.

The ripe wheat.
The evening sky.
The path with a bend in the road.
Trees in the distance, framing the scene.
Enough blue heaven to hold the title.
The kids… my kids.
The similar nature of their clothing.
The shadows they cast.
The holding of hands.
The look between them.
The beat-up suitcase.
My son carrying that suitcase.
The Gerber daisies.
My daughter carrying those daisies.

What I didn’t plan on back then was the outcome… the completed look… the finished product… the culminating portrait that paints a message all its own. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this cover releases the witness of at least a million or so; not because I had anything to do with it, but rather because God did. Long before the fifty-two reflections made their way into the interior, God had been working on the exterior. Only God can paint the eternal witness of a single moment. From his vantage point, he sees the bigger picture—the end result—and without hesitation, he picks up the paintbrush and works his truth into the mix.

I have no idea what God intends to do with this cover or with the written contents that reside within. I only know that the impression he put into my soul a year ago, is one that remains this day. It will remain for my children and their children, on down the line for generations to come. A worthy word for them and for all of us who are treading this earthly sod with a healthy respect for the temporal nature of the soil beneath our feet and for the season that lies ahead… the one just beyond the bend in our “down the road.”

“You hold the flowers, child, I’ll handle the suitcase.”

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt. 11:28-20).

I’ll handle the suitcase; you take charge of the flowers.

It’s all that God has assigned to us this day… the picking and the holding of his generous grace.

He can handle the wholly… holy… rest of it.


You’ve got a bigger picture, friends, and our Father can be trusted with the paintbrush. Believe him for it today, and thanks, Sheri, for the prompt. I needed it. As always…

peace for the journey,

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one thing

one thing

{photo compliments of Shirley}

I asked God to reveal to me one thing about himself this morning during our quiet time. One thing that, perhaps, I’ve missed up to this point, or one thing that I needed brought to my remembrance… again.

Just one thing, for one thing was all that I needed to buoy me along through another day’s living and another day’s weariness. He gave me that one thing via a few verses I’ve read before. Perhaps they are familiar to you as well:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.” (John 14:1-3).

Prepare. The word “hetoimazo” in Greek meaning “to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready.” Further still… “drawn from the oriental custom of sending on before kings on their journeys persons to level the roads and make them passable.” (www.studylight.org)

Oriental custom or not, I think Jesus Christ set the standard in this matter. My God sent his Son ahead of me—heiress to a royal throne—to make level the road in front of me so that I might find my way home to him in order to receive the crown of righteousness that awaits my retrieval. I have royal blood running through my veins, and I have a King who has made the most extraordinary sacrifice on my behalf to insure that I be granted a room and a robe in his kingdom.

One thing.

And my heart is less troubled… my trust more secure.

How I love my Jesus more for giving me his “one thing” today.

It is enough.

He is enough.

Knowing God, and then out of that knowing, leading others to know the same. May you know him more today. As always…

peace for the journey,
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PS: Winners for my book will be drawn with the next post. See details with the previous post.

Who’s in charge… Who knows best

Who’s in charge… Who knows best

Tonight I have a clearer picture of importunate persuasion. The artist behind the portrait painted in my honor today?

My nine-year-old son.

He’s worn me down with his relentless persistence—a troublesomely, urgent determination that has brought me to my breaking point, to my tears and my surrender. This is not unfamiliar ground between us. Jadon is a single-minded boy who holds onto a thought until said thought is hammered duly into the consciousness of those within earshot. His ADHD diagnosis is partly to blame. Him being nine also shares some responsibility. And the rest of it?

Well, he’s human and being human carries with it a bent toward carnality. Each one of us is born with that tendency. Regardless of a doctor’s diagnosis or a hormonal stage of growth, when we cut through the peripheral rest of it, what we’re left with is our humanity. And sometimes, humanity is a tough pill to swallow, especially if you’re on the receiving end of its poke and prod.

Today, I’ve been poked, prodded, and needled by my child. And while we’ve ended on the upswing (bedside prayers do wonders for a troubled spirit), my heart’s desire is that we could live this day over and do it better. There were things about it that weren’t in keeping with my pursuit of personal holiness. I don’t much linger in those regrets, but I do allow myself a good pondering along those lines. And as I flesh out my contemplation this night before God, I am reminded that for the many ways that my child has “gotten under my skin” today, there is grace enough to cover it all. For you see…

There have been times in my life when I’ve “gotten under the skin” of my Father. Deeply under. So much so that my relentless persistence of my humanity brought him to his breaking point—a moment of tears and blood and the surrender of his will upon a tree.

Love led him there. Love kept him there. Love still speaks from there. He speaks to me tonight, reminding me that the parent/child relationship will always be filled with moments of tension… moments of figuring out who’s in charge and who knows best. Moments when boundaries are pushed, questions are asked, and wills are forged. Without the strain, further maturity is at risk. In testing the waters, children hope to find the security of a parent’s answer. Kids need to understand that some borders are certain, are fixed and unwavering… not to punish them, but rather to protect them.

My son has pushed for those borders today; in turn, I’ve given them to him. Getting there wasn’t “picture perfect” but resting within their certainty tonight is a comfortable closing for two weary soldiers who’ve fought determinedly for the high ground.

Importunate persuasion. Keeping at something until something is gained. And while my son didn’t recevie the “gain” that he was initially after, his relentless persistence has earned him something far greater.

Understanding about who’s in charge and who knows best. Something tells me this will serve him better in the long run. Something tells me this will serve me better as well—remembering Who’s in charge and Who knows best. Even so, keep me to understanding this night, precious Lord. As always…

peace for the journey,

PS: On a lighter note, Jadon doesn’t fall too far from the family tree. His eldest brother sent me to my knees and my tears time and again in his younger years. I called him today (he’s now a junior in college), just to remind myself that strong-willed children can and do, in fact, grow up to be productive members of society. Thanks, Nick, for making my heart smile.

a quick word from the mountains…

a quick word from the mountains…

Hey blogging friends! Just a quick word for you this beautiful Friday afternoon.

Preacher Billy and I are currently en route to Mount Airy, North Carolina, to meet our dear friends, Bill and Beth. A blogging friendship that began over two years ago culminated into a meet and greet last November between Beth and me and our two Billy’s. Guess what, we’re doing it again and are thankful for the thread that binds our hearts as one—Jesus Christ. Even more so, we’re grateful that we happen to really like them and don’t get on each others’ nerves too badly!

God is good; his timing is perfect. He knew, long before we did, that we would need this weekend. To say that this has been an exceedingly difficult week for me and my man is to say too little (as evidenced in my last post). Thankfully, and only by God’s grace and mighty intervention on behalf of his children’s many prayers, we’re on the other side of our “difficult.” I imagine I’ll be sharing about all of this more fully in days to come, but for right now, I wanted to tell you, my faithful friends, how very much your prayers and support have meant to our family this week. You stormed the gates of heaven and stood in the gap for us, and God has moved.

Not in the way we expected. But, rather, in a way that he expected, anticipated, and planned for behind the scene that unraveled before us this week. It took many twists and turns to get us to the place that we’ve arrived at today, but faith has won out over fear, and come June, our family will take to the streets of Fayetteville, NC, to live out the calling of the New Testament Gospel. To break free from the “church” walls that will surround us to be the church that is within us and that compels us to sow kingdom seed.

And so, for those of you who might be visiting me today from Fayetteville, your new pastor and his wife are exceedingly grateful and overwhelmed with the privilege of being able to come to the fertile soil of God’s sacred ground in Fayetteville and to join hands with you and him to interject his light into that darkened place. You are not alone; you are not forgotten. We love you already, and we are praying for you this day.

You’ve brought a fresh wind of hope to our spirits, and we are rejoicing over a God who would so creatively craft this crazy, wild adventure we’re about to take together. Only he could think it up; only he can make it happen. Let’s lean into God’s strength and take hold of all of that for which he has taken hold of us. And just in case you don’t know what that “all” includes…

It includes everything. With God we get it all. How thankful I am to him for giving us you. Until we get there, and as always, my blogging friends…

peace for the journey,

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