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Part of Something
The week ahead looms. After all these months of planning and preparing, after a multitude of meetings and conversations, after hours and hours of reading manuals and puzzling solutions, the testing and validating of parameters and mapped data will begin. Having climbed the mountain to get to this point, this next bit is steeper than any terrain traversed thus far. As a group, my co-workers and I are mostly excited to see how it will go, but there’s quite a bit of nervousness, too. So much is riding on this part going well. Converting core data systems is not for the faint of heart. In addition to customizing the parameters…
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Stillness in the Storm
The wind sounded like a freight train as it roared through the valleys on either side of the mountain. We had already lived through three days of torrential rain, and the backside of the storms had brought 40 mph winds. As I lay next to my husband in our shivering tent, I wondered what it would be like not to hear either the rain pounding or the wind howling. It seemed an age since a time of quiet. I pondered our relative equanimity in the face of these mighty elements and gave up a prayer of thanksgiving for the Lord’s care and protection. We both believed He had sheltered us,…
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Camping Buddies
We’ve got some dear friends. Dear enough and brave enough to go camping with us. So here we are, the four of us pretty far into our golden years, sleeping in tents, cooking over an open fire, and carrying around upon our persons that unique fragrance, eau de campfire. It is a precious gift to have such friends, with whom you can share the mundane and frivolous as well as the hardships of life and the deep and rich things of God. And being confined to a small campsite, we find there are good number of hours in which to pursue many and varied topics. As we relax together and…
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The Good Shepherd
My family had been invited to stay at a sheep farm in the northern island of New Zealand. My father’s pastoral duties had brought us to the country a year or so before, and this brief holiday was the result of friendship that had sparked between him and the owner of the farm. My sister and I had been given a small room set under the eaves of the old house, complete with hand-crafted twin beds and stacks and stacks of home-made quilts in brilliant jewel tones. We each sat on a bed, pulled our knees up under our chins and grinned. Without saying a word, we were already sharing…
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Rivers of Life
We’ve had a weekend of friends and fellowship. Brunch with two other couples yesterday, Church this morning, and lunch with another couple in their lovely home today. It was a delight to share about the things of God and speak to one another in “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19) that never fail to energize and encourage. Like a dancing waterfall, surging through the mountains from one plateau to the next, full of life and sound and destiny, so is the Spirit-inspired conversation of the children of God. The stories of these friends we love and care for are rife with trials and suffering of all kinds, and yet…
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Care Giving
The cherry trees are in full bloom. They are early bloomers of the flora in this area and herald the coming of Spring. They have opened their beautiful flowers in praise of the Creator, and I am grateful to add my praise to theirs. As I witness the glory of His creation in this season of new beginnings, I am mindful of His care and the capacity that He forms in us to care. I remember countless times when others have cared for me. Tender moments of shared experience, practical help in times of need, and understanding of what a circumstance has cost me. Those precious ones who have stood…
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Let Us Run Together
We were barreling down the highway doing close to eighty, and there were still cars zipping by as they weaved in and out of lanes avoiding other cars that appeared to be loping along. There were about 20 semis in the far-right lanes also jostling for position. It should have been terrifying, but it hardly registered with me. What we take as the normal state of things today is vastly different than what it was a hundred years ago. And it occurred to me that we humans have had an amazing ability to grow accustomed to managing an ever-increasing speed of transportation. It takes constant situational awareness, judgment, and flexibility…
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Fragrant
We sat at a high top in the corner of our favorite little French crepe shop. The room was noisy with patrons of all shapes and sizes, and it was filled with the aromas of coffee, toasted sugar and spices. We smiled across the table at each other, sharing without words our delight in this small eddying pool of human expression. As my eyes wandered the room, I saw in the far corner a young family of four. They were also obviously enjoying themselves. The youthful mother sat next to an infant carrier, soaking in the wonder of her baby. The burly father sat opposite them with a toddler who…
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Grateful Service
I spent the drive to church this morning telling my husband all the things I was carrying in my head about my upcoming work week. It was kind of him to listen (he is a patient man), and it actually did help me process a strategy of approaching the somewhat daunting tasks ahead. Being on a project team in the defining stages of a product build for a new core processor is not for the faint of heart. Not only does it require a certain nerdiness, it also requires courage, endurance and flexibility. As we were approaching the church property, however, I was slightly chagrined that I had by-passed our…
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Shared Life
We had come to the last destination, before home, of a seven-day road trip. Our mode of transportation was a Harley Davidson Dyna-Super Glide, replete with backpack and side saddles. That day we’d traveled more than 150 miles in near 100-degree weather, and we were more than ready to peel off our leather chaps, riding gloves and helmets. The inside of the lodge of the small lake resort was blessedly cool as we trudged to our room. It might seem that we’d want nothing more than to stretch out on cool sheets and not move a muscle until sun-up, but it was our last evening before the final homeward stretch,…