Bridge Builders

Don’t laugh.  I finally saw the movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”  At this time of year, it’s actually fitting to watch a movie about family.  In the film, Toula’s family is one huge, loud, gregarious,  tight-knit  Greek family.  Over the course of the movie, Toula evolves into an independent spirit yet still embarrassed by her Greek heritage.  Her family is taken aback by the change they see in Toula.  She takes charge of her life, choosing a new way of life with a man who is not Greek to the horror of her father.  Her determination to explore the world and allow herself to love someone outside the confines of her culture inspires her brother to begin to think for himself, results in her parents learning to embrace her husband and in the last scene culminates in her father and mother-in-law joining the celebration.  Toula became the catalyst for changing the dynamics of a family. John 7:2-5 2  Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabern...

What can I say?  I am addicted to HGTV’s Love it or List it.  I enjoy watching Hilary and David guide couples through the process of renovating their existing home while at the same time searching for a new family home.  If you are not a viewer, this show presents a couple with a choice, allow Hilary to fix your home to stay put because you love it or list the home because David has shown you a home more to your liking. The person determined to stay in the home has tolerated the one bathroom with six people in the house, has no problem going down three flights of stairs to do laundry and does not mind that there is no dining area.  On top of that, the general contractor invariably fines faulty wiring, mold behind sheet rock or a supporting wall that cannot be moved.  Over time, the homeowner had become comfortable living in an ill-fitting house.   In order to create a new house fit for living, old things must be demolished and rebuilt new. 2 Cor...

My shadow is the most honest thing I know It follows me, whispering by past in my ear It tells me what was truly there What isn't any more My shadow is braver than I when reaching for the stars for it convenes with the sun Telling each other the direction of their opposing pilgrimages One is east, the other north, and me I am their mediator They have so many inside secrets, my shadow and the sun None that they tell me They do not tell me my future My sundown is my past and the sun, my present What was so beautiful and moved swiftly What is cannot be saved as my actions create a constant only to be changed by my interruption of that constant I am the law of motion What will be is another dream and another sunrise Where will I be? I'll meet you on the ridge of what is so that we might see what will be I'll guide you to the next horizon    By Zachary Howelton Shadows are a part of the human experience.   We all have one.   Shadows lurk alongs...

How can something so amazing, with such intricate detail intentionally be designed to entrap and destroy?  The web is sticky and the openings small so as to immobilize insects.  I saw a web intertwined among the tree branches outside my office window.  The web was empty, moving ever so slightly with the blowing wind.  It looked harmless.  What I could not see was the master weaver, the spider who spun the web.  The spider’s intent is to devour its prey.  It may have been out of sight at the time but at just the right moment, the spider would pounce on the entangled insect caught in the web.  You would think by now, insects would beware of webs. Mark 4:18-19 18  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,  19  and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.   T he thorns of ...

It’s a wonderful thing when you turn on the shower first thing in the morning and the water is hot.  My mornings start relatively early.  My friends call it O’dark thirty.  I love the quiet and stillness of the day before sunrise.  What I cannot stand is a lukewarm shower.  Our water does get hot but it depends on what time of day you plan to take a shower.  If it’s after 6:30 am, you are relatively safe, the water will be hot.  You are out of luck before 6 am.  A few weeks ago, one of the water heaters bit the dust and water came pouring down into the kitchen flooding out the vent hood and  cook-top  ignition lighters.  After several attempts to find a reputable service to correct the problem, we finally hired a great couple of plumbers to replace the heater with a more efficient larger one.  I am a happy camper.  At last, I am able to depend on hot water any time of day.  No more lukewarm water for me.  I ...

Rocking horses are fun.  Jared and Zachary had one stationed in the corner of their room as toddlers.  They loved to go back and forth at warp speed, the faster the better.  Initially, they needed help getting on the horse and staying on but over time they mounted the horse on their own.  Thank the Lord, no one was ever injured falling off the horse or entrapped in the springs.  A stationary horse lends itself to fewer accidents.  Eventfully, they moved on to electronic toys.  The rocking horse had served its purpose and was retired to the Salvation Army.  It was time to leave the rocking horse behind. Proverbs 26:11 11  As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly. It is foolish to think you can go forward by rocking back and forth or by repeating the same folly over and over again.  There is a negative side to rocking horses.  No matter how exhilarating or bumpy the ride, when you get off the h...

What does it take for you to praise God?  Is answered prayer enough?  How about a healthy body, godly children or all your material needs met?  We like to believe that if God never did another thing on our behalf we would glorify His name anyway.  Intellectually, we understand that what we already have is enough and even that we did not earn.  But, what if our prayers go unanswered?  Would we still lift our hands in worship?  Could we still adore Him?  Is your praise conditional?  Must God earn your praise? Psalm 34:1-3 34 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2  My soul shall make its boast in the Lord ; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3  Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. Evidently, all times means all times.  In every situation, we are to praise God.  Feelings are irrelevant.  Difficult circumstances do not...