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Just Beneath the Surface

Some of you know that David and I got to run away last month. Vacation called our names, and we didn’t turn a deaf ear. Two states showed us their amazing sights. One of my favorite stops was Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.

At first glance it doesn’t look like much.  If you didn’t know it was there (and if fences and tour guides were gone), you might pass by the scene below without a second glance. This was the opening:

But just beneath the surface lies one the most famously photographed slot canyons in the world. David took this. (You can see more from this trip at Reflections of Creation.)

I can’t really describe how beautiful it was to be down there. Even though it was just for a couple of hours, the memories will stay with me forever, I imagine.

Later the thought came to me: how often do I pass by things in my everyday life that deserve a second glance?  What do I miss out on in my busyness?  Heaven forbid if I veer a smidge from my to-do list.

Yet God does give us those chances. A mosaic of people and places fills my mind – mental snapshots reminding me of times God has made me slow down so I wouldn’t miss it. I’m grateful. It could be as simple as stopping to watch a sunset seen from my backyard while I’m hurrying my chores, chatting with a sweet person while waiting forever in line at Walmart, overhearing a little kid telling a joke, or talking with an elderly person only to learn that he’s a Pearl Harbor survivor.

They’re brief, sometimes forgotten moments, but they can form some of the treasured touchstones along the journey of our lives.

I pray that every day I’ll have the eyes to see before I pass up the treasures.

A Tale of Two…er, Three Espresso Machines

This post is dedicated to the person who’s been requesting it for months. You know who you are. In case you don’t, your name is Kerri.

It was the best of espresso making, it was the worst of espresso making. (…Betcha saw that coming.)

Oh, the caffeine highs and post-caffeine-crash lows of being a married couple addicted to specialty coffee drinks. It’ll drive you to feed your addiction in creative ways. It’ll also drive you to Starbucks so often that they’ll mail you a shiny, re-loadable gold card with your name printed on it. Or so I’ve heard.

Yet over the years we’ve been learning from our habit. I share our wisdom now with you.

Lesson Number One: Don’t give away your heart too easily. We told ourselves, We should buy our own espresso machine. We can make them at home and rarely darken the door of a coffee house! Think of the money we’ll save! This is a sound idea in theory. And it worked to some extent.  Yet we didn’t know we’d have our heart broken in the process. After carrying home our on-sale, chrome-and-black pride and joy, we settled happily into our new roles: David morphed into Coffee Drink Creator Extraordinaire, and I the lucky taste tester. Flavored mochas galore! Oh, how the aroma filled our home when he worked his caffeine magic.

But the magic didn’t last (sigh). A year or so later, our first-bought went kaput. We lovingly laid it to rest in the local landfill.

Lesson Two: Beautiful machines make lousy traveling companions. Let’s buy a better-quality machine that’ll last longer, we said. Marvelous plan!  We combed websites and read reviews for weeks. Finally, we laid eyes on it: a sleek, high-quality refurbished model for a decent price. We knew it belonged with us. It arrived, and we made a place for it on our kitchen counter and in our hearts. This beaut had style and could make a mean mocha. Proudly I invited friends over and attempted my own creations, using a page-long list of David’s coaching instructions.

But, alas, it was too good to last. The time came when we couldn’t bear to leave it behind during a camping trip. Yep, you heard me. You see, many of you know that we love camping in our little RV. When talking about it, though, we call it “camping” with air quotes; it’s hard to claim that you’re roughing it if you’re toting along a queen-sized bed, TV/DVD player, and full kitchen  – even a microwave! So when we went “camping” one Thanksgiving, we oooohed over the idea of sipping coffee drinks while watching the Macy’s parade. Into the RV the espresso machine went.  Will it be okay on the kitchen counter while we’re on the road?  Suuuure, it’s heavy enough that it’ll stay put, we reasoned.

What I would give to have had a video camera inside the RV to capture the machine’s maiden voyage when we had to slam on the brakes.  I’m certain it happened in slow motion; the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey could’ve been a fitting soundtrack. Upon arrival, we peered inside to see that it had sailed high enough to knock a chunk out of the counter top then land six feet beyond on the floor, metal arm severed clean. Oops.

Lesson Three: Once an espresso machine owner, always an espresso machine owner. It gets in your blood, this addiction of ours. The forlorn metal arm couldn’t be mended, nor could the rest of the machine. But that didn’t stop us.

We allowed ourselves time to heal…about a year. Then one day – tears long dried – we found its successor. Another gorgeous, capable maker. The space on our kitchen counter sits filled once again, along with our coffee cups.

And so it continues…

Hitherto, Take Two

I posted this first on this day two years ago. In my morning devotion time today I came across this Spurgeon entry again. The thought struck me how quickly the last two years have added themselves to the long line of “hitherto.”  I hope you enjoy this a second time as we charge into 2011. Happy New Year!  -Alison

Today I’m sharing something from my morning prayer time.  Have you read any of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening?  I’ve found it to be a treasure.  No, he doesn’t talk like we do today…using words like “hitherto,” but like any great spiritual writing, it’s timeless. His writing proves lyrical and beautiful.

I don’t have to tell you that this has been a hard year for many people everywhere.  Savoring Spurgeon’s thoughts brought encouragement.  I hope it does for you, too.

“Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” 1Samuel 7:12

The word “hitherto” seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, “hitherto the Lord hath helped!” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!” We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves; even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “hitherto.”

But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes “hitherto,” he is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet-awakening in Jesus’s likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fulness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. O be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy “Ebenezer,” for–

He who hath helped thee hitherto

Will help thee all thy journey through.

When read in heaven’s light how glorious and marvellous a prospect will thy “hitherto” unfold to thy grateful eye!

– Charles Spurgeon

“The Princess Bride” and the Manger

Do you ever feel like you’ve learned everything there is to know about the Christmas story, the very night he was born?  Well, at least everything that we can know this side of heaven?

So many of the characters and scenes breed sweet familiarity: You have your shepherds, angels, Joseph and Mary, serene little Baby Jesus of course, and you might even catch a glimpse of a little boy drumming near the manger.

We know and love them all.

I remember several years ago, though, when the wife of my pastor made a statement about Christmas. “Each year I pray that God will show me some new aspect of the Christmas story,” she said. That stuck with me. And now each year I do the same.

So I wasn’t too surprised when God brought a new thought to my mind a couple of Christmases ago. It was the thought itself, however, that gave me pause.

I was gazing at tiny little Jesus in my nativity scene on the mantle. “You see a fragile, passive child when you look at Him here,” He whispered to my soul. “I see my warrior Son charging from heaven down to earth – passionate fire in His eyes – to save everyone. Including you.”

…Wow. That got my attention.

I thought about that as I looked at Him there, letting it marinate in my heart and mind. And sure enough, over time I’ve come to see Christmas in that way. Jesus, sent by His Father, took earth by storm…for us. Our knight in shining armor, if you will. We just didn’t see the storm coming quite like this.

Kinda reminds me of – stay with me here – Westley from the movie “The Princess Bride.”  Before he leaves to make his way in the world and be worthy of her love, he solemnly promises his beloved that they will be together forever.  “I will always come for you,” he insists.  Yet as time goes on she collects plenty of reasons to doubt: his reported death, an inconceivable kidnapping, screaming carnivorous eels, etc. Every reason to despair.

But, in time, valiant Westley proves faithful as he fights to reunite with Buttercup.  Love is triumphant. He proves his oath true, even when all hope is gone.

And so it is with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. On an infinitely larger scale, of course. He has and will always come for us! We need only receive Him and trust His promise.

Even in those peaceful moments of this Christmas with Jesus resting in the manger, I pray that we catch glimpses of the brave hero who rescued us before we knew we needed saving. Merry Christmas.

I’m reminded of this passage…

In my distress I called to the LORD;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

My cry came before him, into His ears.

He parted the heavens and came down;

Dark clouds were under his feet.

He mounted the cherubim and flew;

He soared on the wings of the wind.

The LORD thundered from heaven;

The voice of the Most High resounded.

He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,

With great bolts of lightning he routed them.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

He brought me out into a spacious place;

He rescued me because he delighted in me.

Psalm 18:6,9-10, 13-14, 16,19

Shutterbug Shindig

I love fall.  We shake off our summer heat-induced lethargy, the air turns crisp, trees shower natural confetti, and the smell of scrumptiousness fills our kitchens.

So when my sister-in-law Christi ran an idea past David for a fall family photography website, I thought, “Hmm…” for only a split second before taking the leap. Come see what’s going on!  Autumn Challenge 2010