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Teeter Totter Like You Ought

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  Romans 12:3

teeter totterTo better understand Romans 12:3, I imagine a teeter totter. If we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, we hit ground hard on one end. If we lack self-respect and don’t think of ourselves as highly as we ought, we hit ground just as hard on the other end.

With God’s help, as we find our correct balance, whatever is in our lives that applied weight to either end shows up like never before. If those weights won’t allow us to obey God and assume our rightful new balance, they will have to go.

At the very least, they must keep a respectful…

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Coached to Excel

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

Consider God’s influence on people’s lives. Consider his influence on YOUR life. Imagine him as a great coach, teacher, or parent. He knows what you’re capable of. He knows what is still uncovered or undeveloped within you. He knows how to coach that potential to excellence and success.

Young Baseball Player Waiting on SidelinesWhat coach, teacher, or parent wants his capable child or player to aspire to something minimal?  What kind of coach of a gifted athlete says, “Well kid, I’m dreaming big for you. I hope you can get off the bench for at least ten minutes during this season.”?

Great coaches, teachers, and parents are adept at assessing our potential and nurturing it to fullness. God, of course, is perfect at it. He knows our potential; he’s the one who put it in us. He never dreams small for us. He is satisfied when we develop all that we were meant to be. He wants us to succeed in a big way. He’s…

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Light of Life

The storm drain on the perimeter of our corner lot wasn’t up to code — its opening was large enough for a small child or animal to fall through — so it was repaired last week. The first crew arrived two weeks ago to lift the cement cover and set it aside on the lawn. I’m sure the grass underneath perished quickly — a neighbor told me theirs turned yellow in mere hours from a forgotten tarp. After two weeks denied of light, our little rectangle of grass is emphatically lifeless.

DSCN1281

Grass needs light.

We need light.

We may not require literal sunlight, as plants do, but we do require an intangible thing still aptly called light:  a reason to live; hope for a future; certainty that there is goodness on this planet, love on this planet; assurance that some of that love is meant for us, that we are loved.

And we are, always. If no human on Earth deems us worthy of love, still, God loves us. And his love is enough. It is life giving, life sustaining, life altering.

He is life. He is love. He is light.

1 John 1:5  This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.

John 1:4  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

 John 8:12  Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:5  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 11:25  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.

John 12:46  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

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Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16 New International Version (NIV)

Salt and Light, the Words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. 

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Music and video credit:  “Salt & Light” by Lauren Daigle, Paul Mabury, & Leslie Jordan.
From Lauren’s debut album, “How Can It Be” (2015 – Centricity Music). Video and captioning by Neil Harrington 2015.

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A Time To Mourn And A Time To Dance

A year later, he’s stronger and healthier than ever. Our gratitude to God is quiet but immense.

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

It started July 21st with one of those phone calls everyone fears.

“Get here now.” I’d never heard her sound like that before.

I knew who it was about without being told, and said only, “What? Where?”

“Get here now. The hospital,” and then a disconnect.

I was on the road within seconds, a drive that took under an hour. Entering the ER, without introduction I was spotted by receptionists and waved through double doors. There was only one room where activity spilled into the hall: at the end, on the left.

When I reached it, I saw the room was crowded with doctors and nurses at work. I still noticed details then (later, I wouldn’t, as shock set in): they were a perfect team, wasting no words, each adept in their role. When someone stepped aside, my first sight of him prepared me for his death like no explanation could — he…

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Knock, and the Door Will Be Opened

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

DSCN2255, for blog knock

Since the USA recently legalized gay marriage, social media has been abuzz with opinions on the topic. I intended to defer to greater minds, and to those it affects directly, but the following Facebook post by an acquaintance pulled me into the fray:

There seems to be some confusion brought into the Church about whether Gay people will go to heaven. Apparently, God Himself has something to weigh in on this subject (for those with ears to hear what the Spirit says to the Church).

“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like…

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I See Your Courage

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

So many of you exhibit courage. It has not gone unnoticed. While the effect on others is invisible to you, you have empowered, emboldened, and strengthened others by your bravery. I am just one person impacted.

I’ve watched you pick yourself up after great tragedies and put one foot in front of the other again, resuming a life forever altered. I’ve observed you endure the small but relentless blows of life, too, determined to not let them beat you, or define you, or deny you.

I’ve marveled at your courage to begin new careers and ventures and fields of study, often not by choice but born of necessity. Some of you did that because your first choice, your preferred life, dissolved before your eyes. Still, you found Plan B, or C, or D…

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She Loves Him

My favorite part of “The Chronicles of Narnia” series is the love between Lucy and Aslan.

He is the depiction of Jesus. And of God. He is massive. Powerful. Immutable. His ferocity is frightening to others.

But not to Lucy. She loves him. She buries her face in the beautiful silkiness of his mane, riding high over the mountains of Narnia. Death is certain should she fall, but she is undaunted. Settled on his broad shoulders, her fists clutch that golden mane. Because it is Aslan that carries her, Lucy is carefree.

Aslan, riding Aslan, for blog

His frame is strong. Unwavering. Secure. Unassailable. He never falters. Never misleads. Never abandons her. He never lowers her to earth anywhere short of stable, sheltered ground.

Aslan and Lucy face to face

He is insulating. He speaks to her softly, words rich in wisdom. All at once, his heart a blend of tenderness, intensity, and protectiveness. In there also, his own pain.

And so she loves him.

An excerpt of their reunion, from “Prince Caspian”: The Return to Narnia …

And then—oh joy! For he was there: the huge Lion, shining white in the moonlight, with his huge black shadow underneath him.

But for the movement of his tail he might have been a stone lion, but Lucy never thought of that. She never stopped to think whether he was a friendly lion or not. She rushed to him. She felt her heart would burst if she lost a moment. And the next thing she knew was that she was kissing him and putting her arms as far round his neck as she could and burying her face in the beautiful rich silkiness of his mane.

Aslan and Lucy reunion cropped

“Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan,” sobbed Lucy. “At last.”

The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into the large wise face.

“Welcome, child,” he said.

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia The Chronicles of Narnia (1951, this edition Harper Collins, 1994) 141.

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Freedom Of Choice

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

We’re all familiar with disappointment. Some disappointments in life are mild, some are severe. The greater our investments of time, resources, and emotions into specific areas of our lives, the more devastated we are when we find ourselves halted on our roads of choice.

The more we care, the more it hurts.

If we’re making big emotional deposits into a person at the exact time that person decides to withdraw from our shared lives, the abrupt end is shocking. We are devastated. We’re traumatized.

The one left holding an abandoned partnership or thwarted interest wonders, What about what I want? What happened to my freedom of choice? Why am I suddenly powerless? How did I miss the signs of this happening? Is it too late to force us back on track? Are my options exhausted? Should I grovel? Should I relent? Why is it that the time I most need…

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Beyond Expectations

cindigale's avatarCindi Gale

I call it my “geranium on steroids”. It was just a wee little thing when I planted it, and if I’d thought about it at all (which I didn’t), I would have predicted the plant to reach twelve inches or so in height, and produce a few flowers at once. That’s what “normal” geraniums do. I didn’t do anything special to it. I simply watered it a couple times per week, as I do all my outdoor potted plants.

DSCN2232Yet, that wee little geranium quickly grew oversized leaves, shot up to a height of thirty-six inches, burst forth a plethora of extravagant blooms, and is loaded with buds still to flower.

That’s the kind of abundance God wants to provide for us. We hope, we pray, and we envision His response within the confines of “normalcy” … and yet He is infinitely more than we ask or imagine.

We are…

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