Bookkeeping

Since you now know (thanks to my last post) that our family is a bunch of competitive game-playing crazies, I might as well tell you about what we simply refer to as "the book". It's not enough that we thrive on beating each other, but we have to keep track of it :) We don't keep a record of every game we play -- just those we feel most competitive about :)

I am the keeper of the book, and I make the marks. (Could that be a clue as to who is the most competitive?) The idea for keeping a book actually had its roots in our early card-playing days (30 years ago now!) with our long-time friends Matt and Ruth. Ruth kept that book -- also a little spiral notebook. I guess you could say I learned my bookkeeping skills from her :)

To me, keeping a record of wins and losses is just part of the fun of playing games with family. We played Blokus for the first time with Kristin and Shawn during spring break, and when I wanted to start a page in the book for that game, Shawn thought I had lost my mind. After all, you don't even play on teams in Blokus. He said we didn't need to keep track of everything, but Kristin seemed to agree with me. Guess it's easy to see who the blood relative is :) As it turned out, we caved in and didn't keep records for Blokus. Good thing, too -- I didn't do that well on that game :)

Shawn's right, though. There are some things we shouldn't keep track of. You know, things like mistakes and offenses. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love "keeps no record of wrongs." None of us would probably be so blatant as to keep a book and mark down the times that someone offends or hurts us, but if we're not careful to forgive, before we know it, we may be keeping a book in our hearts.

God shows us a better way. When we ask Him for forgiveness for our wrongs, our sins, He freely gives it and washes them away. Scripture tells us that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 KJV) In fact, in Jeremiah 31:34b the Lord says, "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." When God forgives, He graciously forgets. What a blessing!

Are we keeping track of some things we shouldn't? Let's be careful about the books we keep. Someone might even be learning bookkeeping skills from us...

Good Medicine

I did my best to avoid it. I took mega-doses of C and sucked on zinc lozenges for well over a week, but the crud finally got me. It started wrapping its fingers around my throat while we were at Kristin and Shawn's last week, and by Easter Sunday morning I had to croak my way through our choir's cantata. On Monday I pushed through the day's activities, but by yesterday I had to give up and collapse. Funny how a little fever makes the body demand some rest, huh?

Since I'm still feeling puny today, I'll keep this brief but did want to pass along a home remedy guaranteed to at least put a smile on your face when you're feeling under the weather. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that "A cheerful heart is good medicine...", and thanks to some fun memories from our recent visit with Kristin and Shawn, I've had some good medicine to help me through these days of feeling bad.

You see, when we get together with our kids, we play games like crazy. In fact, as shown in the picture above, we had to move the table in by the tv so we could continue our games while the guys watched basketball :) As you can imagine, over the course of a couple of days, many hilarious moments transpired.

The one that makes me laugh out loud each time I think about it happened when we were playing Blokus. At one point while Kristin was out of the room, Shawn announced that we are the most competitive family he's ever known and then went on to refer to us as "you three loonies" :) Maybe you had to be there, but that funny moment has provided me with some really "good medicine" the past couple of days. Thanks, Shawn :)

Ah, fun memories -- now there's a medicine I don't mind taking!

Happy Easter!

May this beautiful sunrise remind you of the "Sonrise" that can change our lives:

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'" (Matthew 28:5-6) "...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved...'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:9,13)

May the hope that comes with trusting Christ as Savior be yours today. Have a blessed Easter!

*Flickr photo by notsogoodphotography

Take A Break

Spring break has sprung at the Barker house. Since that means it's time to take a break from some of our normal routines, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Short so it's easy for me, and sweet so it's a treat for you.

To fellow spring breakers -- try to squeeze some relaxation time into your week "off" when you try to get everything under the sun done :) And to those of you who don't get an official spring break, I encourage you to try to create one somehow (not at work -- at home!).

Think of a couple of your normal responsibilities and simply take a break from them for a few days. That's right. Get take-out or go out to eat instead of cooking. Ask someone to fill in for you on your volunteer commitments. Give yourself a break. Put your feet up. You'll be glad you did. (Sweet, huh?)

"[Jesus] said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'" Mark 6:31b

*Flickr photo by idea ablaze

First Signs

Yippee! Let's hear it for the first signs of green poking through the dull canvas of winter! Just when we feel like our cold season is never going to end, we begin to spot little glimmers of hope. Patches of green start appearing on our lawns, tiny buds can be seen on some of the trees, and we begin enjoying warmer days here and there. Yes, spring is on the way.

Not only is spring a season of hope as new life becomes visible all around us, it is also a season of excitement. Everyone and everything seems to be inspired and invigorated by spring. Give us a warmer day and just watch us come to life. Birds start singing their little hearts out. People really do get a "spring" in their step (how coincidental!), and everyone seems friendlier. Conversation flows more easily with everyone greeting each other with things like, "Don't you just love this warmer weather?" and "Isn't it a gorgeous day?" Energy seems to abound.

You know what else is great about spring? It always comes. I've never seen a year when winter did not give way to spring. The season of new life faithfully arrives. We can count on it. The barrenness of winter finally takes its leave, and life starts fresh again.

Our lives seem to cycle like the seasons, too. Even though we may face a dark or barren time, we can count on spring to arrive. If you find yourself in a winter stage right now, be encouraged. New life will come. Hope and excitement are on the way. Be on the lookout. The first signs might be just around the corner.

"There is surely a future hope for you..." Proverbs 23:18a

**What are you most looking forward to about spring? I love the warmer, no-jacket temperatures and the color that comes back to our world. How about you? What are you looking forward to? Tell me about it in comments :)

Daredevil

As I opened the blinds and looked out into the backyard this morning, a neighborhood daredevil unknowingly treated me to his early morning leap of faith. With the trees still leafless (though some are budding -- yea!), a darting movement in the branches quickly caught my eye.

On second glance, I could see that it was just a squirrel -- though he quickly proved he was not just any squirrel. He must have thought he was Wonder Squirrel or something. He skillfully zoomed higher and higher and then boldly ventured out on the tiniest limb. Before I could finish thinking, "Where is he going? I bet he's going to jump...", he had done it, hesitating only ever so slightly before his leap.

After sailing through the air to the closest limb of a nearby tree, he landed his leap with the sure-footedness of...well, a squirrel :) He completely trusted that limb. He seemed to know it
would hold his weight, that it would catch him. And he was right. It bent, but it didn't break. It seemed to bounce back at just the right speed, allowing him to keep his balance and continue on his frenzied little journey.

Watching this little daredevil's leap of faith, I immediately thought of the times we are called upon to jump into our Father's arms. You know, the times when God wants us to trust Him. The times when He wants us to go where He's calling us to go or do what He's asking us to do, even when it means stepping out into the unknown. He wants us to know that He will catch us and help us maintain our balance as we journey on with Him. He wants us to trust Him completely.

I want to be ready to do just that. How about you? Any other daredevils out there?

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Feeling Homesick

Have you ever found yourself feeling homesick even though you're at home? Yes, it's possible. Think about it a minute. If you live some distance away from your childhood home or from many of your loved ones, you might have a longing to be with them. Or maybe someone who makes home feel like home is away right now. If that's the case, sooner or later you're bound to feel homesick.

Me? I've had a case of homesickness for the past several weeks. Even though I've been sleeping in my own bed and enjoying the comforts of my own familiar surroundings, I've been feeling homesick. Homesick for my kids. I haven't seen them since Christmas, and by golly, it's time to see them again. (By the way, the picture above wasn't taken at Christmas, but it's the most recent with all three looking "unsilly" enough to post on the blog :) And yes, our son-in-law is one of our kids now!)

I don't know what it is, but after several weeks of separation, I seem to develop a just-under-the-surface ache to get my kids within hugging distance again. And it doesn't necessarily have to be at home. My case of homesickness can be treated anywhere we can manage to get together. In fact, we're all planning a little spring break get-together at Kristin and Shawn's if I can just hold on until then :)

Can anyone out there identify? Are you homesick for anyone? Or maybe you're actually away from home and longing to get back. When will you get to "treat" your homesickness? Tell me about it with a comment. Remember, it's a common condition. You're in good company :)

"...I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy." 2 Timothy 1:4

Moving Forward

"Wanna take a drive over to the east side and see where they've torn down all the damaged structures?" we asked Don's mom after our outing to Pizza Hut the other day. We had heard that 90% of the homes and buildings destroyed by the summer flood had finally been bulldozed, and we were curious to see how things looked in that part of town now.

As we drove through the area, the tragedy of the loss struck us again. The devastation we witnessed months earlier in the aftermath of the flood had certainly shocked us, but this proved to be shocking as well. The home where Don's cousin had raised his family was gone. A historic hall on the fairgrounds was gone. A landmark barbecue joint was gone. Home after home was gone. These buildings that have always been there were simply gone.

Everything looked so empty, so ragged. No nice grassy lots, but instead soil still torn, still fresh from demolition. Of course, the barrenness of winter's end didn't help. "Maybe it will look better when things start to green up, when we get some leaves back on the trees," I said, trying to sound hopeful.

It's hard to watch your town go through this kind of ordeal. We wonder if things will ever truly bounce back. But we've got to trust that they will. Some things are already moving forward.We just need to try to keep a hopeful view of the future and the new things that will come about to fill the gaps left by the disaster nature dealt us.

Right now some of us may be faced with personal disasters of some sort. Our lives may look pretty empty or ragged. We may be hurting from fresh wounds of demolition or loss. We may wonder if we'll ever be able to bounce back. We may be trying to cling to the hope that things will surely start to look brighter.

If that's you today, hang on to your hope and trust that things will get better. God is the Master of giving beauty for ashes, of being able to bring good out of any situation. Run to Him -- He's waiting for you.

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes..." Isaiah 61: 1, 3

*Flickr photo by mikebaird

More Than Meets The Eye

Are you up for an intense movie experience? If so, run out and see Vantage Point. I can't remember ever seeing another movie quite like it -- and that's one reason it's worth seeing. It's different.

The same event (an assassination attempt/terrorist plot) is told from the perspective of first one character and then another...and another...and so on. You might think it would get boring, but it doesn't. So many new details come to light with each version that it becomes more and more interesting, more suspenseful, as the full story unfolds. Yes, there is violence. But the subject matter requires it. And the sad but true fact is that it could easily be tomorrow's headlines. It's our present day reality.

So much would have been missed if we had seen this story from the vantage point of only one character. Our first assumptions would have proved wrong. None of us could have made an accurate judgement based on the information gleaned from just one or two of the people involved. The story was more complex than that.

This unique movie concept -- this Vantage Point theme -- made me think about the judgements we make in our everyday lives. How many times do we witness or even play a role in an event or conversation and then immediately pass judgement based only on what we ourselves can see? Just like the storyline in the movie, life is more complex than that. There's usually more than meets the eye involved.

Let's be alert to looking at situations from different vantage points. Let's give the benefit of the doubt the next time someone seems especially demanding or harsh. Maybe heavy demands or extreme stress has been placed on that person. When we feel like someone has snubbed us, perhaps she was distracted by worry or heartache instead.

Let's look beyond the surface. After all, "Jesus said...'Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgement.'" John 7:21a, 24

*Flickr photo by Piutus

*P.S. Has anyone else seen Vantage Point? What did you think? Can you think of another movie ever being made like it? I couldn't...