Consider this

                  “Chickadees are very curious.   See if one will come to you.”                 Heeding Sara’s suggestion, I put my hand out, palm up, and waited.   Within a few seconds, a little bird landed on a nearby branch, cocked his head and looked at looked at me.   Then, in a move so quick that you could hardly anticipate it, he jumped off the branch, flew over and landed on my hand.   He was only there for a second or two, but those few seconds have stayed in my mind for weeks.                 Here is the thing that I keep thinking about: I could not have forced that encounter.   Calling that bird in would not have worked.   Chasing it through the trees would have only scared it off.   Once the bird landed on my hand, it was only there as long as it wanted to be.   I could not have caught it or kept it if I had tried.   In

            Have you ever watched two people trying to pass a newborn baby between them?   First, the person trying to take the baby comes in very slowly with their arms extended.   Then other person starts to move the baby away from their body so that there is room enough to make the exchange.   At this point, one or both of the people will usually crouch down just a little bit (I am not sure why we do that).   Then the real fun begins as one person tries to take their hand from under the baby’s head while the other person tries to get theirs in there to support it.   Somehow, someone always ends up caught in the baby blanket and the whole production is accompanied by a conversation that goes something like, “Ok…. I think I have her…. Oops…. Just let me get my arm out”.   For even the most experienced baby holder, it is a production.                 Why do we do that?                 We do it because we realize that this little baby is precious, fragile and really important.   The

                My Dad died last week.                 I wish I could say that I had a close, supportive relationship with him, but that was not the case.   In fact, there was a time when I was so angry that I could not have cared less about him.                 However, in the midst of my anger I kept having to teach passages that said things like, “You must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice and slander… and clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience… forgive as the Lord forgave you!” (Colossians 3:8-13).   Faith does not just apply on Sunday morning, so I knew I had to change my attitude.                 Over time I have come to believe that my Dad probably did the best that he could with the tools he was given.   I even think that we could have patched things up.   Unfortunately, neither one of us knew how to build that bridge.                   Maybe you are in a similar situation.   Maybe you wish that certain

                “Thank you for our homes.   Thank you for safety and that we do not fear persecution.   Thank you for the ability to work and earn a living and for this good land that you give us”.                 I have heard some version of that prayer for as long as I can remember.                 I am all for recognising where our blessings come from and being thankful.   After all, James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above”.   You are not the source of the good things in your life.   I completely agree with that idea.                 However, I have begun to wonder what these words say to someone who is feeling abandoned instead of blessed?   What do they say to those who do not have a job or a happy home?   More importantly, what does this prayer about those situations?                 If you listen to the things that North Americans say, it would be easy to surmise that God’s blessing and “the good life” are the same thing.   “You have a big house, thr