Crazy Life

When your children were toddlers they probably were very active. They were exploring, touching, putting things in their mouths. As a parent you probably said "No, no" thousands of times, perhaps a light smack on a chubby little hand or even a short time out. You wanted to keep them safe from breaking glass, electrical outlets, pans on a stove, and germs. Once I lost power in my house and happened to notice a tweezer sticking out of an outlet, tripping a breaker. Courtesy of a little blond angel. As your children grew they may have grumbled under their breath about you, complained to their friends or even outright defied you. You probably let it go up to a point. But at some point you had to remind them that you were the parent - the authority of the household. During the 40 years I have been wandering through the desert with the children of Israel I have seen them disobey many times. They made an idol. I thought it particularly teen like when Aaron more or less shrugs h...

As I continue reading my soap opera - the Old Testament- I am in Leviticus. The Hebrews are wandering around in the desert, still complaining, arguing and so on. Probably much like my neighborhood today. Not much is going on, well except God smiting a couple of Aaron's sons who messed up the temple ritual. I was struggling through the beginning but then I realized what I was reading was the equivalent of today's Merck Manual - a guide for diagnosis and treatment of the common ills of the time. The priests were the appointed "doctors". If someone had a skin ailment they were to go to the priest. He would decide if they were "unclean" and needed to be isolated from the rest of the community. If they improved during this quarantine then they were to shave off all their hair, take a bath and wear clean clothes. I imagine they dealt with some of the same hygiene issues we have today such as lice and fleas. I also imagine there wasn't a lot of bathing an...

What if I asked you to put your hand under my thigh? Or in my personal area? Would you thing I had lost my mind? In ancient biblical times this was an action taken to swear an oath. Abraham requires it of his servant as he goes to seek Isaac a wife, and Jacob requires it of Joseph concerning returning his bones to their homeland. How do we swear an oath today? Perhaps in a courtroom or at an inauguration with a hand on the Bible? Have you ever made an unkept promise? When my children were small they would often ask me to promise them something, and mostly I refused. I explained that whatever it was it was my intention to do if I possibly could but that I would never make them a promise I could not keep. The word PROMISE was taken very seriously at our house. I have too often heard children wailing to parents, "but you promised!" They learned that they could not trust their parents word. In the marriage ceremony we make a promise before God. Many times (including by me...

UA-132360761-1 Many times since middle school - which we called junior high- I have tried to read the Bible in order. I would start with Genesis and either get bored or lose my commitment to the project. I would hit the begats and give up. I thought the Old Testament was pretty boring. Most of what I knew were the sanitized Sunday School versions of stories. Then I would say, since Jesus is the New Law, why bother reading the Old Testament? So what has changed? Perhaps it is timing. I am retired and not rushing to work and activities. Perhaps it is just my age or my spiritual growth.  This time, I am already into Exodus. Reading the Old Testament is like reading an epic adventure. The people seem so real. The yielding to temptation (Adam and Eve) jealousy (Cain and Abel), favoritism (Rebekah and Jacob), rape and revenge (Dinah and her brothers), more jealously (Joseph and his brothers) enslavement, plagues, escape, flooding, food that falls from the sky, burning bushes, rods t...

I live next to a cemetery and I like to walk the dogs there. Today I was looking at the baby section and I noticed there were two sets of twins. I cannot imagine the pain of parents who bury a child who lived one hour or one day, sometimes a couple of months or even a year. But to bury two at the same time must make a heart as heavy as it could ever be. I also noticed two tiny graves about a row apart  with exactly the same name. I went back and forth comparing. They were exact in every way, except that they were three years apart. I try to imagine those parents. Their loss, their hopefulness and then a second tragedy. Of course we don't know the rest of the story. I like to think that they went on to have healthy children. I saw this on a tombstone:   Jeremiah 29:11 I knew I wouldn't remember by the time I got home so I pulled out my phone to Look it up, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, pl...

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({ google_ad_client: "ca-pub-2360701609150243", enable_page_level_ads: true }); </script> For many years I have pondered on Mary and her life. Could I sacrifice a child to save others?  Mary was a young woman brought up in a faithful Jewish home. She was betrothed to the older Joseph, a man already established in his business. Like many young girls I can picture her chattering to her mother about wedding plans, guests to invite, wine to serve.  Perhaps she was smitten with Joseph like a teen girl today might be.  Then, SOMETHING happened. When Joseph found out, he could have divorced her. A betrothal was a serious commitment and required an official dissolving. God had a different idea and sent an angel to Joseph in his sleep. Joseph was obedient and proceeded with ...

<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({ google_ad_client: "ca-pub-2360701609150243", enable_page_level_ads: true }); </script> My brother Steve and I were talking the other day about how much we miss Mom. We had the same mother, and we didn't. She used to say we were both only children. I was born when my mother was 18 years old. My brother was born when she was 31. We were not raised by the same woman because of the time lapse.  I had a young playful mother, he had a mature responsible mother. He had more material things, I had hand drawn paper dolls.  I told him that I really wouldn't mind dying because I would see her and my grandmothers again. He gave me what I call the "Athiest Eye Roll." I told him that without the Hope of Heaven I could see no point to our lives here. He said the...