Month: November 2009

Not to keep you from shopping, because we all need to save some money this year. But to help you breathe slower and easier if you have to make sacrifices in your shopping list because Black Friday deals are spread across a city and you can’t shop everywhere at once:

Matthew 6:19-21 ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “

Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.”

Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Remember to smile, and love others gracefully while you shop. Be thankful you’ve been set free from the chains many of them are walking under. And cross something off your list without buying it….just for fun. 🙂

I’d have to say, one of the first things that caught my eye about my wife = her eyes. I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence that the eyes are often referred to as “windows to the soul”. Her eyes still have the power to communicate wildly to my heart….whether to motivate me to help with a crying baby, or to send the message that I’m loved. 🙂 Both are pretty effective.

But a new realm of optical appreciation has hit me lately. The power of my daughters eyes. It’s ridiculous, and illustrates well the “Weak Force of God” as Caputo would put it. My daughters cannot force me to do anything, physically. Okay, so Sophie can sometimes grab my soul patch with a death grip…and yes, I would have to give in to her demands.

But with one look of their eyes, our older two girls have learned they can send a vice grip deep into daddy’s heart, and twist it whatever direction they want. Okay, maybe that’s not true. They’re still pretty innocent in this area. But it suuuure seems like it sometimes. Happens on a daily basis….sometime between 5 and 7am…..we wake to the words “I’m huuuuuungry.” We look over to see Addie standing there. As long as I keep my eyes closed….I can respond “get back to bed”. But one look into her eyes, even in the half-lit room…and I’m toast.

So am I saying the “Weak Force of God” occurs magically when we “look into His eyes”? Nope. But I think it’s a related kinda power sometimes. Jesus didn’t come into town with trumpets blasting, blazing crown on his head, and a list of “how things were gonna’ change” (said with a thick western sheriff accent).

He came as a baby. He lived towards the lowly. He loved unconditionally. He called “freedom” into the lives of humans who desperately needed it. He stood in the half-lit room, calling out to people who were hungry/sleeping, offering nourishment beyond the imaginable. Infinitely compelling.

We serve a powerful…powerful God….