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Like most Americans, my family is schedule and clock-driven. We have a giant whiteboard calendar on prominent display. Everything is color-coordinated and planned to the half hour. We definitely get a lot done, but if we are not careful, we don’t get a lot of time for rest and just plain fun.

Recently, we decided to take a day off and head to the pumpkin patch. The fall weather has been unseasonably warm and it was a great day to indulge in some apple cider slushies. There was no agenda, just meandering from one thing to the next with plenty of downtime in between. We took pictures, recreated some old photos, and created new memories.

As we were getting into the car to head home, my daughter commented, “That was a valuable waste of a day!” The comment struck me as so wise. Sometimes there is great value in not getting anything done. Taking time to stop and smell the roses, or pick a couple sunflowers, can be just as valuable as a day of work.

Of course, God has known this all along. One of the very first things He did for us was to model how to take a day of rest. He created the sabbath rest for us, I wonder why it is so difficult for some of us to receive this gift? I know for myself it has been a struggle my whole life to stop for a day. The rewards are so great whenever I do. Somehow, everything still gets done on time and the world keeps turning!

If this is something you struggle with as well, I would encourage you to try it. Take a day off, play with your family or spend some time with God. Tweaking my daughter’s comment a little, you just might find that it was a valuable use of a day.

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

It is that time of year! There are school graduations from Kindergarten through college. This spring my family and I are celebrating two high school graduations, and I am fulfilling a long time goal of graduating from college. It is an exciting time as diplomas are handed out and students contemplate next steps in their career or educational journeys.

As I was thinking more about graduations, I realized that we experience “graduations” all the time, not just in the spring. Babies graduate from one type of food to another, in fact, a popular baby food brand even labels some of their food as “graduates.” These graduated steps may be most easy to see in babies and young children, but we all experience them.

We go from being children to teenagers to adults. We graduate to living on our own or to marriage. We graduate to working adults. We sometimes become parents and then grandparents. Even in between all of these larger milestones are the smaller, less noticeable ones.

While many of these graduations are happy occasions, there can still be a sense of loss or even trepidation about what comes next. To be honest, sometimes a graduation can feel more like standing on the edge of a precipice trying to find the bridge! Mixed in with the excitement of achievement, there can be some pressure to know what comes next. Well meaning friends and family may inquire about future plans.

It is so comforting to know that no matter what season we are in, or what “graduation” we may be facing, God is with us every step of the way. He holds our yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows in the palm of His hand. Even when we don’t quite know what is happening next, we can trust that He does.

I tend to picture my life path as a narrow, winding path up the side of the cliff. Sometimes I don’t dare breathe too deeply for fear of falling off course. When I take a moment to look up at God, I realize that His intent is to bring me to a spacious place where I can take a deep breath. I don’t have to cling to things so hard and worry so much about what comes next.

So if you too are in a season of graduation, feel free to throw that cap in the air! Celebrate your accomplishment and trust that you can look forward to the next season of life because as God told me awhile back, “You know the steps, let me lead.”

“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though they may stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD upholds them with His hand.” Psalms 37:23-24

Don’t worry, this is not a post about those terrible menaces to our beloved doggy pets! Those are something all pet owners work hard to prevent. The heart worms I am talking about are quite welcome in my life.

I have eight biological children ranging in age from twenty-two to eight. We figured that some day most, if not all, of them would bring home spouses that we would also love and cherish. I didn’t realize that along the way, other children would find their way into our family.

We have not officially adopted any children, but somehow, to date, I have a total of sixteen children! There are eight other children that have wormed their way into my heart and have become my “kids.” They are all amazing young people from all different kinds of backgrounds, but they all have a need for love and a big capacity for love.

When my biological children were still all mostly small, people would say I had my hands full. Now, I realize that at times I may have had my hands full, but my heart wasn’t too full. My heart has been able to expand with each child that has “wormed” its way into it. God has expanded my capacity to love each one.

I am so glad that our Heavenly Father’s heart is the same way. He has the biggest heart of all. He is just waiting to adopt us into his family through what his Son did for us. Just like my house at dinner time, God always has room for one more at his table!

I love what the book of Romans chapter 8 has to say about this, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” It goes on to say, “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” We can even have assurance of our adoption into God’s family, “The Spirit himself testifies that we are God’s children.” (These verses are from Romans 8:14-16.)

This is good news for all of us, no matter what our past or current family may be like. We can be a part of God’s family by accepting what Jesus did for us in his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension!

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.'” Galatians 4:4-6

It is no secret that we live in a consumer society. Our national motto could be, “More is always more!” Because of this, we encounter admonitions to be content with what we have and ways to save money in places from Facebook to the self-help section of Barnes and Noble. (Yes, there are still brick-and-mortar bookstores these days!) We will also be encouraged to practice gratitude through sermons and through other Bible teachers. With all of that, it may come as a surprise that I am going to encourage you to pursue more.

Don’t misunderstand though, I am not saying you should go out and buy the latest, greatest that the marketers are pushing on you. What I am advocating more of is something quite different. Which one of us wouldn’t want more time, more peace, more security, more rest, more comfort?

Going back to the self-help shelf, there are many, many books that promise to deliver a method or formula to find these things. Some of these are helpful, but only as far as we can do them in our own strength. However, there is a way that we can pursue that does deliver all of those things and even more!

The early pursuers of more identified themselves simply as “The Way.” They knew they were on a journey towards not an ideal, but a person. Jesus was the one who had told them that He Himself was this way, and the truth, and the life. These sold-out followers believed Him and set out after more–more life, more truth.

This Christmas season, I encourage you to also pursue more of Jesus. As you do, let the “more” that He gives you spill over into the other people in your life. I pray that together you can enjoy the peace, love, and joy of Christmas.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Almost every summer for the past seventeen years, my family has descended on the berry bushes that grow abundantly in our area to gather the delicious fruit they offer. From the time they have been old enough, my children learn to help pick blackberries.

Usually, when they first begin, they eat more than they put in their baskets, their little faces showing the telltale purple streaks. As they get older though, they begin to realize that the more berries they bring home, the more jars of delicious blackberry jam end up in the cupboard to be enjoyed throughout the year. They also know they will be tasting the fruits of their labors in Thanksgiving pies and in cobblers.

I have realized that there are other benefits to this activity than just yummy berries. If you have ever tried to pick blackberries growing wild, you will know it is not easy. They tend to ripen in the hottest part of summer. This means that unless you want to pick in the heat, you have to get up early. Not only do the bushes have thorns, but they grow long “guard branches” over the main part of the bush which produces the berries. You have to either stomp this down, or cut it back. No matter how cautious you try to be while picking, inevitably a thorn will prick your hand. The benefits from all these hardships come in the form of learned tenacity.

Jesus never promised us an easy life, in fact, He promised us that we would have troubles. In the Bible, Paul even described his trouble as a “thorn in his side.” When my kids learn how to overcome the discomfort of blackberry picking, it can empower them to overcome the other “thorns” they encounter in life.

Picking berries also teaches persistence. Like most things in life that happen a step at a time, we fill our baskets one berry at a time. There is simply no way to grab handfuls of berries, no short cuts. This helps them learn skills that translate into areas such as learning to save money a little at a time or how to keep at a large task until it is completed.

The children also learned how to motivate themselves each year by setting goals of how many baskets they want to pick. My family is extremely competitive so goals are a huge motivator for us. I have watched my children use this skill of goal-setting in so many other areas of life.

I am so thankful that God has allowed these plants to grow and provide my children with not only delicious fruit, but fruit of character which will last far longer than the jars of jam on our shelves!

“Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Generations of us are now acquainted with James Bond’s familiar quote about wanting his martini “shaken, not stirred.” I am sure those more knowledgeable in the art of martini-making have argued the finer points of his request since he first uttered it. I find that in life, I would prefer to be the opposite, I want to be stirred, but not shaken.

There are many things, good and bad, that come into our lives that can stir us. These things can stir us emotionally, bringing feelings to the surface. They can stir us to action, whether that action is based on love or maybe something else. The ESV Bible says we should, ” consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Stirring can be a good thing, it can get us moving and energize us for work in God’s kingdom.

On the other hand, being shaken is not always a good thing. We sometimes use the phrase, “my faith was shaken.” What we are really saying is that our belief in a good God was shaken. This can be a difficult thing to go through. The reality is that we live in a fallen world where sometimes, in fact oftentimes, bad things happen to good people.

It is during these “shaking” times that it is so important to stay connected with other followers. This is when we can comfort one another and just be there for each other. When the time is right, we can encourage with truth from God’s word. This truth is that God knows all the terrible things that shake us, it is not His ideal for us, but there is an end in sight when once again all will be put right and we will no longer be shaken in that way.

If we follow Jesus’ teaching about building our lives on the firm foundation of His word, we can be more prepared for when the shaking times come. Just as the wise man who built his house upon the rock withstood the storm when it came, we will be more able to withstand the events of this world when they come against us with earthquake-like force.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25a