Category Archives: Living Well

Posted on

Protecting What Matters Most

by

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.  Proverbs 4:23

This week we began the process of packing up our house.  I started with a hutch that we are planning to sell.  It took all day as I was vigilant to wrap things carefully…especially the important items.  Nothing we have is worth much.  However, many of the items have significant sentimental value.  Some are gifts while others are dishes that my parents used which evoke emotional responses as well as fond memories.  As I carefully packed each item and placed the most treasured items in boxes that we will personally handle, I was challenged with the thought that I might possibly be putting more energy into protecting mere household goods than I do in protecting my mind, my soul, and the gospel.  That experience has had me pondering this topic all week and challenged my thoughts and behaviors.

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Graceful Perseverance

by

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.”  Matthew 25:23

This past weekend, my daughter and I performed the father daughter dance at her wedding reception.  It was not flawless, but it was fun and was, by the accounts of others, beautiful and well done.  However, those three minutes and thirty-one seconds of dancing were the end result of hours of instruction and practice.  Throughout the last few months there was a fair amount of perseverance for both of us.  My daughter was juggling work, moving, wedding planning, dance lessons with her husband, and at the end a sinus infection in addition to lessons with me.  For my part, the normal responsibilities of life, the extra activity necessary for the wedding preparations as well as getting our home ready for company and the frequent dance lessons caused by body to get too run down.  On one occasion my wife and our dance instructor ended a dance lesson shortly after we began because I was too fatigued to function well.  The Monday and Tuesday prior to the wedding, I was also struggling to do anything of value.  In short, the celebratory dance that was enjoyed was culmination of a fair amount of graceful perseverance.  It was a series of choices to take risks and rise above adversity to live well.  It was choosing perseverance.

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Dancing With the Father is a Matter of Trust

by

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

As we make final preparations for our daughter Adrienne’s wedding this weekend, one of my main concerns is the father daughter dance.  As much as I love to dance, I prefer to avoid the spotlight as I struggle to remember all of the steps and provide the proper leads while also trying to maintain the proper form.  It is not just a matter of looking good, but also, in some cases, a matter of personal safety.  The picture above is of Christine and me at her wedding nine years ago.  By the grace of God, Marie and I have had the privilege of parenting our two daughters who have grown into lovely women.  As such, these two dances signify transition in that my role as their father takes a back seat to their new life with their respective husbands.  That said, as their father, they still trust that they can come to me with anything knowing that I will do my best to help them.  In that regard they place much trust in me.  However, as much as I desire to help them, I cannot provide the assurance that their Heavenly Father can. Most of what follows has been published before but is a favorite of mine and has much to do with the title of this blog site.

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Wholly Committed or Halfhearted?

by

Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.  1 Kings 8:61

Roughly twenty years ago, I was in the hospital for observation to see if they could determine why I was having seizures.  It was a one week stay in a unit that had four rooms with glass fronts; each patient was hooked to 80 electrodes and under both physical and video observation all of the time.  The situation created an environment that lent itself to intimacy.  In order to provoke seizures, the first tactic was to discontinue seizure meds.  This was a concern to one young man in the room directly across from mine.  He had not been married long and with the help of his medication, his wife had never seen him have a seizure.  He had several violent ones that week, however, she showed up every day to visit and help him as best she could.  In contrast, the man in the room next to him came to my room one night upset.  He was a successful businessman who, from his own account, had an active and fun life with lots of assets and parties.  As his seizures threatened his ability to work and therefore, his lifestyle, his wife had decided to leave him.  She told him that it wasn’t what she “signed up for” and had no intention of being his nurse.  These are the two sides of commitment. 

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Love is an Action

by

To convey Christ's command to love

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

For us, this is wedding month.  Lord willing, on August 17th our older daughter Adrienne will wed her fiancé Tom.  That leaves us in a whirlwind of finalizing arrangements, finishing decorations, polishing dance steps and of course making the final payments for everything.  It’s a busy time with the expectation of a joyous celebration which makes the effort worthwhile.  In that light, my plan for the next few posts is to focus on topics related to marriage and weddings.  However, I will do my best to applicable whether one is single or married.  That said, this first post of the series takes a look at love. 

Continue Reading »
Posted on

One God and Father

by

Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.  1 Corinthians 8:6

Yesterday was another rough day.  I had a dentist appointment, met with my trainer briefly and went to the doctor.  Prior to illness taking over my life, working these in around my job and responsibilities at home would have been nothing exceptional.   They were minor adjustments to my normal routine.  However, yesterday, they wiped me out and left me pretty useless.  Some days, the thought of getting out of bed and simple routine tasks such as taking a shower can be daunting and insurmountable.  While chronic illness seems to bring with it a regular cycle of pain and fatigue leaving one feeling alone, defeated, and useless, other trials in life like the death of a loved one or a job loss can do the same until they are resolved or the critical stage has passed.  In an effort to combat those feelings consider the following passages about God and His perspective. 

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Encouraging Counsel

by

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.  For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.  But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.   Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

A few weeks ago, I took my wife’s car in for service.  While working on it, they found that three of the light bulbs were out and asked if I wanted them to replace them.  After a brief discussion, I decided to try to save some money and do it myself.  While simple enough for many, it was not that for me.  As is the case with many of us with chronic illness, I had to mentally gear up for something new, get the parts and then have the energy to attack the project.  Knowing my limitations, I searched for and reviewed a few “how to” videos.  The light bulb over the license plate didn’t go quite as instructed or planned but I managed to get it replaced after a fair amount of effort.  However, the rear side marker lights didn’t fare so well.  There were two clips holding the trunk liner in place that I could not get out.  Thankfully, the next day our son-in-law Corey figured it out and showed me the error of my ways allowing me to complete the task.  Without his counsel, I was failing, but with his counsel I succeeded.  In this case, the situation was rather benign; however, often times counsel is needed in more difficult circumstances.  If we are to be a helpful and encouraging companion, we need to be discerning in our approach to counsel. 

Continue Reading »
Posted on

The Love of our Father

by

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  1 John 3:1

As the father of two, I have a greater understanding of God’s love for us than prior to parenthood.  My wife and I have very different personalities and our daughters have followed suit.  In most ways our older daughter’s personality is more like mine while our younger daughter’s is more like her mother’s.   My relationship with my daughters is equally different.  Adrienne and I think alike, understand each other more readily and both enjoy music and dancing.  Christine and I have to work harder to understand each other, but make the effort.  I’m not sure either of us enjoys painting our homes, but we enjoy doing it together and make a great team.  We also share a love of gardening…allowing us to go to a plant store together is financially risky.  I love and am truly grateful for both of our daughters and could not imagine my life without either of them.  The same is true of our Heavenly Father’s relationship with each of us.  We each have different personalities, talents and character flaws.  We are at different places in our lives as well as at different places in our faith and spiritual maturity.  Further, our Father has different plans for us.  As a result, we have different needs; therefore, His provisions for us and the life experiences that He has ordained for us will be as varied as the structure of snowflakes…no two are alike. As a result, his children often struggle to understand His love for them.

Continue Reading »
Posted on

Thankful Heart

by

Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.   Psalm 30:4

Life with an invisible illness can be tricky.  There are limitations which others cannot see that become frustrating.  They are vexing because one cannot do the things that they used to do or would like to do.  They may be annoying to others as they expect more than the illness allows one to deliver.  It’s a balance to be maintained as well as managing the illness itself.  But then, all trials present limitations and hurdles that must be managed or overcome.  In the fray, it’s easy to lose sight of the blessings of life and to be thankful for them.  This holiday week, my illness has been pushed to the background to focus on better things as I truly have a thankful heart. 

Continue Reading »