Give What Matters

As we enter the season of gift-giving, it's so easy to get caught up in the material aspect of it all. Here it is: the time of year we celebrate the greatest Gift we've ever been given, freedom from trying to find peace and happiness through acquiring more and more things so that we can find deep joy and healing in Christ--and what do we do? Stampede into stores at 3 a.m., elbowing each other out of the way; cut each other off in parking lots; get depressed because we have gone into debt to get the newest latest things.

George Macdonald had it right when he wrote, "If instead of a gem or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give." The presents and parties are nice, and I hope you have plenty of them, but the greatest gift you have to give your family and friends is the gift of your time. The best present is your presence. Give what matters this year!

Oh, the Roses!

It's Thanksgiving. Our President and his family have a tradition of going around the holiday table and, one by one, sharing the rose and the thorn in the previous year. We all have thorns, and it's important to acknowledge them, yet we can get so wrapped up in our pain that we fail to open our eyes to the roses. Like you, I can list some thorns from the past year, but oh the roses! I am so grateful to God for the roses! How about you?

If I Could Just Understand!

Not understanding what's happening, and why, is one of the hardest challenges we face in life. When something goes wrong, we immediately want to know, "Why?" If we can't figure it out, it can be hard to recover, and it can be hard to let go of pain and sadness.

The thing is, God doesn't always tell us why; in fact, he usually doesn't. His thinking is so different from ours. He says, "Trust in me with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding." (Pr. 3:5)

When we finally manage to relinquish control of our lives, when we relax into him with trust and faith, we can also give up the quest to understand everything. "Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?" (Pr. 20:24)

"What will become of any of us? I mean, tell me honestly, Dora. Did you ever imagine that this would be your life?" (Caroline in The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards.

Have you ever felt like that, shell-shocked by life, wondering how some tornado had been able to swoop down, pick you up and set you stunned and reeling in the Land of Oz? I have.

Look around, even here, for the Tree of Life. Pick its fruit, for from it comes fresh-squeezed Life. There is nothing like it. Sometimes it tastes like lemon juice, I'll admit, but you can trust it, for the One who puts it before you here in this alien land is eminently trustworthy.

This is the One of whom is said, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory; like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John pointed him out and called, "This is the One!" (from John 1, THE MESSAGE)

This is the one I call "As Real As Apples."

New Book: Welcome to the Fresh-Squeezed Life Cafe

If you are looking for the book, Welcome to the Fresh-Squeezed Life Cafe, by Brynn Taylor Ashford, put in the author's name as a search term, and check out the online bookstores listed; you will find the best current price for the book.

If you have read the book and you liked it, please take the time to leave a review on the site where you purchased it!

Fresh-Squeezed Life

Life springs full tilt and joyous; with astonishing speed and verve, the new lambs fly upward.

Life, in all its juicy sweetness, life, full of promises, bursting green and luscious.

You can't have oil without the crushing, the pressing. Out of all that squeezing comes LIFE.

Speak Life. You can never have too much.

(Above quotes taken from As Real As Apples, a book of Brynn Taylor Ashford's poetry due out soon. c. 2010 First Poet Press)