Lightning Without Thunder in a week of Turbulent Change

Coffee cups dried in the dishwasher as I collapsed in bed. Tired from another day of vacation, I almost forgot to take out my contacts, use my inhaler, brush my teeth, and insert my dental night guard. If I'd ignored part of my nightly ritual, I would have stayed in bed. But I'd forgotten the whole thing. 

So I walked to the bathroom and glimpsed lightning through the window.



Intrigued, I finished my routine and opened the sliding glass door in our room that led to the porch balcony. As ocean waves beckoned me to savor the night sky, a storm raged near the horizon. 



Clouds lit up like giant marshmallows. Lightning bolts streaked through the darkness and straight into the water, connecting the heavens to earth. 


The display went on for quite a while and in time I realized I hadn't heard one thunderous response. Not. One. My intrigue grew since I couldn't remember ever enjoying a God sponsored fireworks display without a ground shaking soundtrack. 

Rationale knew I was simply too far from the storm to hear nature's sound effects. But it just didn't seem that far away. So I leaned on the metal porch rails a little longer and relished the lightning show, lulled by ocean waves.

While I ignored national news more than normal this week, I saw  images of people like you and me stretched across the Ravenal Bridge outside Charleston, SC. Their display of holy unity defied logic. Even Rudy Giuliani couldn't explain it.

After months of national riots in response to lost lives, offers of forgiveness took the thunder out of a sick young man's murderous lightning strike that was intended to spiral a community into dissent. Hate bred love. The unforgivable was forgiven. And believe me, it took far more courage for the grieving to speak that forgiveness than for the broken, depraved man to take nine lives. 

Love. Forgiveness. Courage. Together, they quieted any thought of a violent response and spoke volumes across the world about what true faith in Jesus Christ is all about.

So I have to ask: Do you need to forgive someone today? Is it time? Can you write a note? Speak it out loud? Ask God to help you take a step towards letting go of a long held offense? Can you stop an internal thunderous response from reverberating one more second?

There's a lot of change going on in our world right now. And I don't agree with it all. Not even close. Which is why living the gospel in the most challenging of circumstances is more imperative now than ever. 

So go make a difference for Jesus today. Sow redemptive love in the confines of your home, your work place, and your circle of influence. If you want to honor the nine who died, and make the Gospel look alive, purpose to reach one person every day with the love Jesus died for us to know.

Reverberate with that love; reach out with forgiveness; and live with the courage to speak up for what you believe.

None of that easy. In fact, it's much harder than replacing flags and rewriting the constitution. But the impact of living out the Gospel will make the changes the government continues to try to regulate but that can only come from a divine touch of Jesus in our souls. 

It matters now more than ever. Look someone you disagree with in the eye and smile. Stand for what you believe with the love that set you free.





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Music Magic for a Sunday Surprise

Coffee sat on my night stand as a song played on my computer. Over. And. Over. Snuggled in my PJ's, comfy in bed, I listened to the results of a recent musical collaboration. 

 I spent a few hours at Reveal Audio Studios last night with my producer friend David Leonard, my oldest son, Nathan, and my nephew, Josh. Josh happened to be in our home last Saturday when I finished writing a song for my parent's surprise 50th wedding anniversary party. So Nathan, Josh, and I put our musical talents together and arranged the composition. Their harmonies brought life to the music in a way I could never have imagined on my own.

Our efforts paid off when we shared it at the get together the following day. And after singing it several more times in an attempt to capture it on cell phones after the sun went down, I hardly slept. The sound played in my subconscious and woke me in the wee hours, creating an emotional buzz I couldn't calm

Ironically, as I soaked in a similar feeling as it replayed for the fourth or fifth time this morning, I clicked on a news site only to learn about the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting. While I read the article, a video clip inadvertently started. So for a short time, both the song and the news account played through my computer. 

The juxtaposition jarred me. The celebration of love contrasted sharply with the epitome of hate. So I turned off the news and enjoyed the harmonies. Just for a time.  

For as our party came to a close Sunday afternoon, several caterers commented that their hearts were so full they wanted to be a part of our family. I laughed and assured them we're not a perfect family. Cause we're not. We've shared a lot of struggles along the way.

But faith and music have held us like glue. Our shared faith would have be enough. But singing in harmony has connected us in the intangible way only music can. So we keep singing. 

Because love does last 50 years. Hate will not have the last word. And sometimes singing is just a good thing to do.

Here's to Mom and Dad who married on June 19th, 1965. 

Happy 50 years, indeed.

[PS: I wrote the song. Josh accompanied us on guitar, and Nathan and Josh added back up vocals.]



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Cannonballs in the Baptistry

Flat on my back hidden behind the sound booth, I sank into the hard floor, grateful to not be upright in church (Sanctuary Church!). Neither coffee or power juice had been able to wake my mitochondria. Days of recital preparation had paid off. But after our show Saturday night, I felt like a wet noodle in church Sunday morning.

Regardless, I'm glad I went. It's not every day two rising sophomores do cannonballs in the baptistry. 

Before you judge, you need to know one of those girls, Maddie, spent her freshman year in high school battling cancer. Yet she stayed so close to Jesus through the ordeal that she helped her friend, Sarah, grow in her faith. Neither knew the other was even thinking about being baptized until they spoke with our pastors. 

So if there ever were two girl excited about entering the swirling, holy waters together, it was Maddie and Sarah. When they entered from opposite sides, they definitely made a splash.

Baptistry Features
 A fiberglass baptistry like ours!



Their exuberance, from proclaiming to the world they are bonafide Christ followers, stirred my tired soul. While Maddie has been declared cancer free, the fact she faced what most of us fear and came through with her faith in tact is no small victory.

But as they rejoiced, my friend Bonnie lay in a hospital bed across town, facing end of life decisions. ALS has slowly taken her independence and ability to move. An infection forced a hospital stay and more unwanted needle pokes. When they prepped her for a small surgical procedure Friday, it took 20 attempts to insert her IV.

She's tired. Very tired. And so is her caregiver, Lu.

But just a few weeks ago, Bonnie led our Monday night Bible study with Lu's help. Lu copied the pages, highlighted important parts, and taped them to a pole so Bonnie could lead our discussion.





So as I lay on the floor in church on Sunday and heard our pastor, Craig, say something like, "If anyone ever writes a story about our church it should be titled, 'Cannonballs in the Baptistry,'" I not only thought of Maddie and Sarah, I pictured Bonnie making a splash when she enters heaven. 

Talk about exuberance! 

Young girls declared their hope in Christ for all of us to see. They declared it with utter joy, enthralled by His love. Soon, Bonnie's journey will come to an end and she will be walking and leaping and praising God in the gates of glory.

Sarah and Maddie's faith journey is just beginning. Bonnie's is coming to an end. The juxtaposition of the two journeys made me simmer in my happy place.

Oh how I want to end my journey with the same elation those girls began theirs on Sunday. We're achieving an eternal glory that far outweighs it all, you know. It's hard to fathom in a world of sin. So I'll link to a story I heard about today.

A Christian, knowing he would lose his life to an ISIS fighter, gave his executioner his Bible. The militant soldier read it and began to have dreams about a man in white saying, "You're killing my people."

You can hear more on the link below. 

But in the mean time, just think about it. Right before a man lost is life in a brutal, horrific way, he looked the scary man in the face and said, "I know you will kill me but I give you my Bible."

Cannonballs in the baptistry, indeed! 

Keep believing people. Keep your hope alive. Feed it with His word. His love is bigger, shining through His believers in the darkest place.  




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His Outstretched Arm and the Rabies Vaccines

I dangled my feet from my favorite table perch Sunday morning and let coffee bring me into the light of day. Don had gone to church without me so I relived the night's events alone. At 10:03pm, a text arrived from Courtney
stating, "Sam's battling a bat. I'll let you know the result." 

A real live bat?

As I stared out our picture window at tall, glistening oaks, my lips turned up in a slight smile. The surge of caffeine helped since "I'd slept but my heart was awake." (Song of Songs 5:2) The long night over, memories continued.

Puzzled, knowing they were spending their first night in their home away from homes in the suburbs of Washington D.C, I   immediately replied, "Indoors or out?"

"In a room. He got it out. Call you soon."


Really? Sam's been battling a bat inside the affluent home you're staying in all summer??





Don and I were watching Persuasion so I let myself sink back into the rhythm of Jane Austin and English accents. But when the movie ended and I hadn't heard from her, I called.

"Sorry I never called," Courtney began, "But after I read about bats and rabies, I realized Sam probably needs a rabies shot."

"Was he bit?" my voice raised in obvious alarm.

"No," she explained, "but after Sam shepherded the bat towards a window with a broom, it landed on a book shelf. So he threw a towel over it and then had to figure out how to get it out the window. It was hard to get a grip on it because the towel was so thick so Sam pulled parts of the towel out slowly till he could grab hold of it. Once he held it, though, it gnawed at Sam's fingers through the towel."

"Did it break the skin?" 

"No, but everything I've read says you have to be careful if you've been near the saliva. And the saliva was all over the towel.So he's calling Kaiser (our health insurance carrier) to see what they say."


When I'd told them to have an adventure as they walked out the door Thursday morning, I never expected it to involve a bat and rabies shots. 

By midnight they had a plan. Since the bat had been in the other interns room for an unknown amount of time (having entered through a slit in a screen window that housed an air condition unit) Sam and Michelle both chose the conservative path, opting for the rabies vaccine. Actually, I should say Sam agreed to the vaccine to calm his wife's fears. He didn't think he'd been exposed to the deadly virus, but since there's no cure if he was wrong, he agreed to the safe route. 

So off they went. In one car. To two hospitals, since Sam and Michelle are covered by two different insurance carriers. My phone buzzed at 4:49 am, "Just got six shots. I have to get one more on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th of June. Now to go get some sleep."

As I said, "I slept but my heart was awake..." (Song of Songs 5: 2)

Sam and I share a mitochondrial disease diagnosis, yet he's training to run an Ironman in the fall. A one time thing. So knowing he'd received a round of painful shots his first night away made me toss and turn, wondering what the lingering effects might be. 

So far, he's good. Albeit a little sore.

Somewhat unsettled the following day, this verse stuck out as I did my Beth Moore Bible Study home work: "With a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever." (Psalm 136: 12)

I've heard those words a thousand times. I've sung them even more. But they took on new meaning this week since I can't get to my kids quickly if they're in need.

I can't. But His mighty hand can. His o-u-t-s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d arm can reach them wherever they go.  Can you see it? An arm that reaches down from the skies, penetrates the darkness, and holds us with strength and might? And more than seeing it, can you believe it?

I have to. It keeps me sane. Because while this may be the last time Sam fights bats in the belfry (or the bedroom next door) it's not the last time life will surprise us and stir fear of the unknown.

With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm that can wrap itself around the globe and more; His love endures forever!

Don't let the news convince you otherwise. It will try. Don't let the sin in this world or the fear of what's to come keep you from anchoring your soul in this truth. Grab hold of it. Picture it in your mind. Trust the ones you love to His constant, abiding care.  

Don't worry about bats or even rabies vaccinations.


"With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; His love endures forever."



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