(Photo: Sonoma Coast near Bodega Bay, CA)
Let’s see. In the weeks since my last post, my husband and I have:
- been to Lithuania to oversee a wonderful multinational church while our pastor friends made a trip to the U.S. (check out my Facebook page for photos and travel notes, and Life Church Vilnius),
- celebrated our 48th anniversary (if my math is correct, we’re two years from 50 years married—what??),
- and started planting grapevines (no, not a vineyard, but five vines of table grapes; there really is no “we” in this—it’s my husband’s project which he has been, with formidable energy and determination, carrying out in 90 degree heat).
I have also finished my portion of the work in editing the Inspire Christian Writers annual anthology–this year’s theme being Inspire Honor. It is a huge time investment, but a great pleasure for me as I work with my team of proofreaders, and encourage writers in their projects. (Check out inspirewriters.com.)
There are the six grandbabes, aged thirteen to four, and hours in the backyard pool, family dinners, hiking, beach trips, and just the pleasure of being with my loved ones—and in the fellowship of our church family.
Speaking of church, if you attended ours on any given Sunday, you would any likely be greeted by a family member on the Hospitality Team, see one of us taking photos for the church’s social media platforms, have your child(ren) checked in by one of us in the Kid Zone, recognize the drummer, have one or more of your children taught by one or more of us, and hear the Word preached by the pastor–all various members of our clan serving in various capacities on any number of teams.
I mention this for two reasons. The first is to give God the glory–it is all His. The second is to remind myself of the scale and scope of God’s blessing and the great responsibility inherent in that blessing. For everyone to whom much is given, Jesus said, from him much will be required.
One of the challenges of that charge is to carry it out with an elevated perspective. Recently I was cleaning up my computer files in preparation for moving to my rad new laptop with its rad 15″ screen, (“rad” being a holdover from junior high). I came across a prose poem written some years ago. I share it here as a reminder and an encouragement throughout your summertime–and anytime—days:
My Life as Worship
Here in this life,
as I am on this earth a breath, a breeze to ruffle the grasses,
let my life be worship.
Daily tasks, the very dailiness of living,
the care and mindfulness of detail and mundane list,
let it all be worship.
Dear affections of those I love,
bonds and history, tragedy, and hope of a blessed future,
let me in all these things worship.
And on that day before Your great throne
with angels and clouds of witnesses,
when the knees of men bow,
and the tongues of men confess You as Lord,
when I, too, gladly kneel,
it will be familiar and long-awaited worship. ~ Debra