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Something about the light...

Ezri spends a lot of time looking at lights.  If she is lying on her back, she looks up at the ceiling light, gets excited and kicks, sometimes even appears to talk animatedly to it.  If she is “reclining” in someone’s arms, she looks at the nearby floor lamp, staring endlessly at the light.  I do wonder if it is the light itself, or if it may be the bright brass fixtures themselves, or the textures of the various parts of the lamps that are, of course, accentuated by the shining light.  Maybe it’s all of these things, but I’ll stick to the light itself for a moment.

She’s attracted to the light.  That’s what I think.  And aren’t we often, sometimes necessarily, attracted to light.  I am often the last person up in our house at night.  Age has diminished my ability to see in a darkened room; after turning out the living room light, it’s a little difficult to get moving in the right direction.  After I stand still for just a few seconds, though, I see the little slice of light sliding under the bedroom door where a light is still on, and I know immediately how to get there.  I am attracted to the light.

Darkness can be frightening, distressing.  Darkness is the place and time for bad things to happen.  Violent crime occurs less in the daytime than at night; darkness is a cloak for uninhibited activity.  In the light, evil and selfishness have to slink in the corners lest they be seen for what they are.  They are attracted to the dark.

On a character level, people are usually either light or dark.  Some people are attracted to the light, maybe because they have nothing to hide and only want to do and be good.  Others are attracted to the dark, seeking the place in which they can do and be whatever their sensual selves desire; it has nothing to do with goodness, because the desire is only to please self.

It should be no surprise, then, that God himself is described as “light,” that his presence, as it is described in the Bible, is always a matter of “brightness” and “glory.”  Jesus, John told us, is "light," and the business of Christians is to "walk in the light."
I don’t know about you, but I want to always be attracted by the Light.

Slow Down and Listen

I teach a regular Bible study each week at a nursing home here in Winfield.  I told the group (all older ladies) that this study is the high point of my week - and it really is.  Some of these ladies are over 80 years of age, several of them have been Christians longer than I have been alive - and they still come to the study with fresh desire to learn and to be encouraged by some time spent with the best Book of all.
We spent over a year working our way through the Psalms, a study requested by one of the ladies in the group.  Every week, I expected to hear, "Okay, Bobby, we've had enough Psalms; let's move on to something else."  But it never happened.  So we covered every single Psalm, and we spent about 6 weeks on Psalm 119.  They enjoyed it, I relished it - I probably read more deeply in this wonderful section of scripture than ever before.
Now, we are studying Proverbs (logical, isn't it?), and I am once again in awe of God's powerful communication with us.  This study won't take as long, obviously, as the Psalms study, but I'm still not in a hurry.  And neither are they. 
Maybe that's a lesson for me to take away from this.  Most of those in this group have been through the Bible dozens, maybe hundreds of times, but they are still eager to go through it again.  They know personally what I am only just beginning to understand - every time we study a passage, if hearts are open and minds are willing, something yet unseen may be found, and it will probably be the very thing I need to hear from God today.

The Wednesday morning class at Winfield Resthaven (we had a few special guests that day).

Lord, help me to slow down and listen to your word over and over until I can hear what you are really telling me today.

Writer's Block

Nancy and I went to the "Writer's Workshop" at the FHU Lectures.  It was an appropriate choice - after all, each of us has written articles and other things.  We listened to Aubrey Johnson talk about "why" and "how", and Neil Anderson talked to the group about many things from the publisher's point of view.  One thing that came up over and over was the importance of just making oneself write "something".  So, here I am, just writing "something".  I suppose that was the reason for reviving the blog - I need to write, and I need someone "looking over my shoulder, so to speak, pushing me on.
I don't know what causes writer's block, but I know it is real.  A few years ago, there was always something bouncing around in my head that I needed to write down; lately, there seems to be very little.  Is it "life" that gets in the way?  Have difficult experiences whittled down the confidence I once felt that what I wanted to say was worth saying and worth someone's time to read?  Or did I just get tired?
No answers surfaced when I posed those questions.  So, I'll go back to the workshop suggestions -- I'll just write, and trust that something sensible will arise from the jumble of thoughts that trickle out.
Oh, and thanks to all who "blog" and don't seem to mind letting other people look into their heads and hearts.  I appreciate the example!

Important People

Nancy and I will attend a graveside service later today.  Bessie Hardin Chenault is an important person in our history.  She was an encourager to dozens of college students in Abilene, often inviting large groups into her home for lucious curry suppers and other get-togethers.  After her first husband, John, died, she made a trip to Southern Africa to visit the places she and John had worked.  We were so honored that she took several days out of her time in South Africa to travel up and visit us in Zimbabwe - our first visitor from "home" (and, incidentally, the only visitor from our sponsoring congregation...!).  Bessie and John together helped influence us to go to the mission field in the first place, and I know their example challenged and encouraged many others in our "circle" to do the same.  Thank you, Lord, for giving us Bessie!  Please comfort her sons and their families today as they tell her, "good bye."

Proof for the previous post

The Charmer

The Handsome Boy