Looking back, I think I’ve tended to pour my heart into singing; music is a huge part of my mind and heart. I pray that I have had something like this kind of impact on my own kids!
http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2012/03/dads-sing-like-you-mean-it-because-your-kids-are-watching.html
I think about this parable from time to time, and came across it in my reading this morning:
Matthew 25:1 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
Scripture goes on to talk about what each of the servants actually do with their gifts, but three things caught my mind today. First, these gifts were given specifically, according to who each person was and what they could actually do with the gift. The second thought comes at the end:
Matthew 25:25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.
So, the guy with the smallest to work with and the least to lose, so to speak, was afraid, and this prevented him from doing anything of value. And the third point here that linked with the other two is mentioned twice, in v21 and again in v23:
Matthew 25:23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. ’
The thing that stood out here was that the gift was deemed to be smallish, as in “a few things”. Didn’t matter how many talents were in the gift. So in the master’s eyes, he gave them each something small, knowing what could be done. Small, as in, not a lot to lose, not a lot to be afraid of, not a lot to risk. And yet, fear could still sneak in and rob the value.
Something for me to continue pondering in my own life.
Last Sunday morning, thousands of people from everywhere participated in the Livestrong Marathon in Austin. The interesting thing about this particular marathon is that is passes right in front of Hope Chapel, which is where we go to church on Sunday mornings… In the past, this has always been a bit of a problem as it makes it difficult to get to and from the church on race day. So this year the church decided to do something completely different and participate in the water stop right across the street and move our regular worship time from Sunday morning to Saturday evening. The main idea was to get out and serve the city by helping out and participating in what has become a very important event in the Austin culture. Lots of people from Hope handed out water to runners as they came by, while others set up a series of worship teams to just sing them by, giving out a little musical encouragement in the process.
I participated by singing on one of the worship teams, leading another and by taking a few photographs and videos.
From that I put together an animated slide show / video:
The worship leader at our church pointed some of us over to a pretty good article on why older songs matter. I really like it; you can read it here.
We shared communion in church this past Sunday, and at the moment I partook I was struck by the smallness of the portions. Just a taste, something to reflect on and pause over. I wanted more. Obviously, they’re small for practical purposes, but at the time I really felt hungry for more of that great tasting bread and juice. I think this is a good thing; it made me realize that no matter how much nourishment I get from Jesus, the Bread of Life, I can always want more. And it’s good to be hungry so I am inclined to turn towards Him for my life.
This week I crossed over 500 miles on my bike in the year. Pretty good for me! Last year I made it to a little over 1000 miles, and still hope to do that again this year. I had a rough patch with all the cold wind (hard to remember that!) early on in the year. Just a couple of days ago I was riding along Sam Bass Road and remembering again how wonderfully secluded that path is. It’s almost buried in the trees at points and is a total pleasure to ride. At several points, Brushy Creek passes right next to the road and at one point the path goes across the creek.
Further up the road, right near Parmer Lane, there is a bunch of construction. It’s kinda sad, even though I know it will bring a better traffic flow at peak times for the neighborhood, because it means that there will be a lot more traffic and the road will not longer have that secluded feel to it.
I’m hoping that they’ll be able to retain some semblance of natural beauty in the midst of urbanization. I love it that I can ride out from my home in several directions and enjoy the earth that God gave us!
I was reading today and came across this blog post about walking in God’s provision as a small business owner. I can say without question that my journey hasn’t been easy and it certainly isn’t done, but I am encouraged once again to lean into Him.
Dodie in the Navy
Tomorrow is Dodie’s 90th birthday. Pretty amazing, right? I first met my mother-in-law back in 1974; my wife-to-be still lived at home with her parents and I must say, I spent a lot of time over there. As I moved out from under my parents’ wings and into life on my own, I grew even more “dependent” on Dodie and her care. From the very beginning, it was obvious to me that Dodie was a Godly mom; she not only managed her home, but she worked full time and helped raise me. At an early point, even before I had obtained my driver’s license, she allowed me to drive her car, with Papa and Donna too, all the way to West Texas and back which gave me a lot of real-life experience driving.
There was a period where Donna and I, along with our growing family, would visit Dodie and Papa every few weekends as we moved to Austin. And of course, whenever one of our children was born, Dodie would come and spend the second week or two with us, helping Donna after I went back to work. She was wonderful like that, allowing us to have our time first, then jumping in to help as we needed it most. Then, after our first 20 years in the Austin area, Dodie and Papa came to live on our property and for the past 10 years we’ve been blessed to see them almost daily again.
So, I’ve seen her living life on a regular basis now off and on for 37 years (if I’m doing that math right). She has been and continues to be a fountain of blessing to everyone she comes in contact with.
Some other things I think of and love about Dodie:
I’m absolutely certain about this; she made it to her 90th in part by walking down to get the mail, every day, at the end of our long joint driveway to and from the street. The house she and Papa live in is way back on our 2 acres, so it’s quite a walk, especially in the Texas Summer heat of 2011. Of course, she has been known to drive down the driveway and back on occasion if it’s too hot 
It’s interesting to see in my own heart how much I value family and connections to the heritage I have now; this was certainly not there when I was younger but as I look back it has grown in me. I am grateful for what I have been given in my own life, including the gift of Dodie. God has blessed me beyond understanding with a mother-in-law that loves Him and loves me. Pretty cool!
I ran across this article and really liked it. I have pretty much always felt like the things I create are not “good enough” for my expectations, and this article gives a voice to that and encourages me to keep creating!
I read this today; I had never noticed the implications before:
Luke 5:17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
I just assumed that Jesus always had that power while he was here on earth. As i was reading right before this verse I was pondering something similar; Satan is offering things to Jesus that I figured he already had the power on his own to do. So, I thought, that’s not much of a temptation.
