Surprised by God & Eggnog Latte

I look forward to the season all year long—the time of the eggnog latte! I don’t particularly like eggnog alone but paired with coffee it makes a delicious combination. This morning I woke up and found one left by my husband for me to enjoy. A great surprise treat!

There are days when God brings great surprises into my life as well, things never requested or anticipated. When such blessings come out of the blue, I am overcome by His goodness and delighted by His overwhelming love. However, there are times when the positives come through trials as God combines them to achieve His purposes and His best for me. In those cases, I don’t always identify the good immediately; that often takes the perspective of time. However, sometimes I can sense the direction of God’s sovereign redeeming hand when the hardship first breaks into my life.

Recently, I have faced some difficult circumstances, as we all do.

Stormy Days

Yesterday storms raced across the skies of North Texas, bringing damage to buildings in various places. Often I soak in such days, sensing the nearness of God in the power and majesty of the tempest. However, day after day of clouds makes me long for the warmth and peace that comes from the sun.

What are we to do when we encounter the storms of life?

Christian Interrupted

Yesterday didn’t go as planned.

When the mowers entered the back yard, my dog Maggie ran into the bedroom and bounded onto my chair to get a better view, knocking my coffee onto my laptop. No immediate problem, but in time there were certain letters that refused to work, and others ejected me from the document entirely. My work on my book was quite interrupted and basically, gone. Thankfully, the book is fine; I just can’t edit it.

I usually accept the big interruptions of life better than the small ones. However, aren’t they the same in reality?

Learning from “Little Ron”

Last night at the World Series the Rangers had a special guest, Liam Roybal, the seven-year-old kid who impersonated Ron Washington for Halloween. He mirrored the appearance of the Texas Rangers’ skipper, even shaving the top of his head! He looked like a Mini Me Wash. The team invited him to be their special guest at the game and to take the microphone for the ceremonial “play ball” call.

So what do I learn from him? 

Little Ron’s great likeness to Big Ron was deliberate. It reminded me of Acts 11:26: “It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” Apparently, the city recognized this group as followers Jesus. In contrast, today’s Christians are often known as unloving church-goers rather than Jesus look-alikes. How do we become intentional about looking like Jesus?