Hi Friends,

Today I had lunch with a friend. We went to a “tea room” after Bible study. It’s a charming little place with yummy food and an attentive staff. We were sitting near a woman talking on the phone. I heard her say, “It was the camel that broke the straw…or whatever the expression is.” I didn’t acknowledge that I’d heard it or anything, but I found that so amusing. The tiny incremental burden of another piece of straw is such a funny contrast to a camel breaking the straw!

Yet I can easily see myself saying something like that. Not long ago I was observing a pair of Danish boys climb out of the car for school.

“See you later,” one called out to his mother.

I found this so interesting that I couldn’t resist. “Do you always speak English at home?” I asked.

“Yes,” the handsome teenager confirmed.

I was so confused. “Why?” I prodded.

“English is the only language we know,” he answered.

Yep! Turns out these boys look like the boys from Denmark, but they were American. I asked Caucasian American boys why they speak English at home! They probably thought, “That tall lady has issues.”

I’m sure the woman on the phone in the tea room was probably humbled by how she mangled the expression. I was certainly humbled by my little inquiry of the non-Danish boys.

Do you have something that has humbled you recently? How have you had an opportunity to extend grace to someone who messed up? Even small embarrassments are opportunities to acknowledge we are imperfect. And overlooking slight offenses also trains us to be forgiving.

Proverbs warns that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (16:18). May we heed the warning.

Ponder these words from The Valley of Vision: “Destroy in me every lofty thought, Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds, Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness, Implant in me true lowliness of spirit.”

The Puritans knew how to bang out some strong verbs for lasting effect! Yes, Lord destroy, break, annihilate and scatter what is impure in me, and instead implant your Spirit.

Blessings,

Kristie

(pictured above my pumpkin chai latte at the tea room)

Hi Friends,

I cannot believe it has been more than a month since I last posted. I have a few excuses. For one, my computer died. It is still in the shop but the technician told me he’s pretty sure it is “toast.” Since I am a hopelessly disorganized person and start writing projects on a whim, I actually do not know what all I’m losing. Fortunately, much of my writing is in the cloud. And I’m pretty sure all my pictures are recoverable.

After the last month though it is hard to even think this qualifies as a problem. Given what others are facing, a computer is an infinitesimal blip on the screen. So many people have had their lives ravaged by disaster. Someone I love is dealing with a tremendous loss due to cancer. Everywhere you look people are hurting and lonely. And the storms just keep coming. Wars and rumors of wars just keep coming. It’s almost like we can’t solve any of our problems. It’s almost like we need a Savior.

Fortunately, God loves us so much — despite all our shortcomings —that He sent His Son to save us. Jesus solves our ultimate problem. Jesus bridges the gap between us and God by paying for our sins. He gives us peace that passes all understanding. He is the loving Shepherd who makes a way through all the destruction and pain. I am praying for revival in our country. I am praying that all this pain will amplify the Still Small Voice which says:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

I hope your soul knows His rest.

With Love,

Kristie

P.S. Thank you to the many friends who have checked up on us. The tornadoes which formed in the outer bands of Hurricane Milton have caused devastation near us, but we did not sustain any damage. In fact, yesterday morning I walked on a peaceful beach with a cup of coffee and ended up finding many of my favorite shells — a whole overflowing cup. A picture of grace upon grace.

Friends,

I heard a snippet of a podcast the other day that talked about how the inaugural addresses of U.S. presidents have consistently been aimed at audiences that are less and less sophisticated. This isn’t a surprise. The dumbing down is inarguable.

President Washington began his first inaugural speech with these words: “Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month.”

President Biden began his inaugural with these words: “This is America’s day.”

Schools are not going to play any role in restoring the public’s ability to communicate at Washington’s level. Schools played no role in the public’s abilities in Washington’s day either. It wasn’t education — it was just reading. Still though, it feels sad, doesn’t it? I don’t like the idea of being dumber — a lot dumber — than people hundreds of years ago. Do you?

This is one reason why I think we should be reading the Puritans. Many of the ideas are complex and worthy of contemplation. Consider this excerpt from the Valley of Vision:

“Let me learn by paradox…that the way down is the way up…that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit…that to have nothing is to possess all.”

Grappling with these ideas requires time and concentration. May we take our faith seriously, knowing that God intended us to use the intellect we’ve been given.

Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:19

With Love,

Kristie

Friends,

Do you have enemies? Most of my life I would have considered such a question absurd. I mean sure there have probably been a few people who hate my laugh, or find my personality grating. But that would have been the extent of it for the majority of my life. The last decade has been different though.

Thomas Aquinas defined loving someone as to will their good. Sadly, a whole group of people actively did just the opposite. I am not being dramatic, and honestly having enemies requires an odd season of adjustment — it takes a minute for it to sink in. Fortunately, in many ways the experience has made me a better person. I can testify to how profoundly important it is to pray for your enemies. I can also praise God for His protection in the last decade like never before. He has hid me and mine in the cleft of the rock. He has gone before and behind in such loving ways, unexpectedly turning what others meant for evil into blessing beyond what I would ask or think.

In Psalm 23 we read that God prepared a table for David in the presence of his enemies. But wasn’t David a man after God’s own heart? Why would a man after God’s own heart have enemies? Of course, David was a sinner, but Jesus wasn’t. Yet Jesus had enemies despite there being no one on earth He wronged in any way.

You may be someone who has never had an enemy. Or maybe you have taken a bold stand that has earned you a plethora of enemies. Or maybe you are like me, and having enemies at all has come as a surprise. No matter where you stand, I hope it’s a comfort to know that God often sets a table of blessing right there in front of your enemies.

The most important thing — whether you are in green pastures or feeling the heat from haters — is to know your Shepherd. May we cling to Him through the joys of life and not wait until we find ourselves in need. May we consistently recognize the truth each and every day: The Lord is my shepherd.

Blessings,

Kristie

Friends,

My blog relaunch has been a bust. I said I would start posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the theme of Psalms and Puritans, respectively, but somehow I haven’t quite hit my stride.

This summer we’ve been sharing cars. Part of the time it was four drivers for three cars, then four drivers for two cars, then three drivers for two cars. It actually worked pretty well. I do not take for granted the extra time I spent with my husband and college son this summer, riding together and dropping off, and many days just staying home. Still, the last few weeks I have been looking for a car, test driving quite a few, and looking for a low-mileage, good deal. On Tuesday I brought home a white Pathfinder which I have oddly wanted since my days as a Stetson Hatter. My friend Maria had one then, and I thought she was the coolest and that her wheels were the gold standard. I had another friend Jenn who got an Explorer a couple of years later. I could not stop calling her car the Pathfinder.

“Do you want to take the Pathfinder?” I’d say.

“It’s an Explorer,” she’d say.

But the point is, at the advent of the SUV era, only Pathfinders made the cut in my mind, and now I have one, a white one like Maria’s to boot.

Will was rounding at the hospital this morning and met Sam and me at church. My Pathfinder has ApplePlay, which I have had before, but not in my most recent car. It’s such a fabulous feature for many reasons, but my favorite thing is to use Siri to text and drive. Will had sent me a message that I laughed uproariously at — he’s a very funny guy, but I don’t know why this particular line struck me as so funny.

Then Siri, unbeknownst to me, recorded my response. She said, “Your message says, ‘HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.’ Ready to send it?”

I don’t know if I’ve written enough Ha Ha’s above. It went on and on and on and on. I wish I could have her read me that message to kick off every Sunday. Because Sunday should be a day full of joy, celebrating again that the tomb could not hold Our Savior, acknowledging that we are loved beyond measure, that God is Sovereign over all things, that He has never and will never leave His throne. The world may feel out of control and discouraging, but not the tiniest aspect of it has surprised Our God. He holds you in the palm of His hand and loves you with a patient devotion beyond comprehension.

As the exiles who returned were told in Nehemiah, “Eat the fat and drink the sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10b). I hope you recognize today — and every Sabbath — as a feast day to be celebrated. After all, the joy of the Lord is our strength!

With Love,

Kristie

P.S. I am hoping to be more faithful about posting in the coming weeks!

Hi Friends,

The Covid lockdowns have had such widespread disastrous effects. From learning loss, to recklessly devaluing hard work, to creating and validating neurotic fears, sadly these harms are not going away anytime soon. Given all this, I guess it’s not the end of the world that movie theaters are on the brink of failure, but I used to love going to the movies. In fact, I enjoy them now, even though they feel a little cavernous when most of the time there are only a handful of other moviegoers. This week, I finally saw Inside Out 2. It was extremely well done. If you’ve seen it, you know how artistically it portrays our emotions, and in particular the concept of dying of embarrassment! So funny.

From a theological perspective it is not exactly accurate, but I always find it interesting that when a storyline even hints at the truth, it invariably feels emotionally weighty. The simple tune of the Inside Out theme contrasts in a profound way with the depth of what is being acknowledged: People are complicated. People are sinful. Life can be hard. But Love is powerful.

The main character in Inside Out, Riley, demonstrates a recognition, even a horror, of her own sin. She wants to flee it. She wants to be a good person. Meanwhile, the “Joy” component of her emotions wants to boot every bad experience she’s ever had to the fringes of her subconscious. It is a fair representation of what society teaches us to do. In fact, our culture encourages us to blame others when we are forced to acknowledge any defect in our character.

The movie almost feels to me like pre-evangelism. It so aptly portrays the problem. We have many experiences that we have difficulty sorting into a cohesive picture of who we are. We are hurt and need to extend forgiveness, and we have our own shortcomings that also need to be dealt with. A lovely ending would have been for Riley to comprehend for the first time that Jesus is the answer!

I can envision the Joy character just elated to realize that Jesus provides power to forgive others and ensures a clean inner slate every morning! It could have flowed beautifully.

As an aside there is a scene where teenage angst and pressure are eating at Riley. Physically she is rocking and back and forth, gasping for air. Meanwhile, the visual at the control desk of emotions is that Anxiety has created a tempest, swirling and swirling, forcefully pushing everything else to the fringes. This too paints a true-to-life experience and is an invitation for the Gospel. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…Look at the birds of the air…Consider the lilies of the field…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6: 25a, 26a, 28b, 33.

“You could do nothing more important than to wake up every morning of your life and remind yourself that the One who created and controls everything that exists has been made, by grace, to be your Father…He is always with you. His hand is always upon you. He never stops watching you. His heart is always for you.” — Paul David Tripp.

The movies of our lives always point to the hole in our hearts. Any light shown in the darkness points to the hole. Any tiny glimpse of truth lets in a beam of light. I hope you know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that His heart is always for you.

With Love,

Kristie

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In The Valley of Vision, one Puritan writer said: “O Lord, Help me never to expect any happiness from the world, but only in thee. Let me not think that I shall be more happy by living to myself, for I can only be happy if employed for thee…Teach me that if I do not live a life that satisfies thee, I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.”

Do we expect happiness from the world? Are we guilty of living for ourselves? Do we believe that living for God is the only truly satisfying way to live?

We know our culture is hostile to Christianity, but it almost seems the brevity of the Puritans is the basis of the 21st Century playbook. You can almost picture a gathering of demons, Screwtape style: “Listen up, the key is convincing them to live for themselves. Tell them it’s about them. Tell them they deserve to be happy, to expect it, to believe that if they are true to themselves, they will be. This is low hanging fruit. It’s a sure road to misery. Now, get after it.”

Thankfully, we know the truth: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

With Love,

Kristie

Hi Friends,

Do you make a point of taking in sunrises and sunsets? Some places are better than others to do so. When we lived on Lookout we used to see the sunrise at the gym — sometimes the clouds would be beneath us. Other times we’d take the golf cart to a place where the rock formations jetted out into the valley with a perfect view of the sun setting. Beholding sunrises and sunsets require less effort where I am now. And as much as I love mountains, I also just marvel at colorful skies framed by swaying palms.

The Psalmist said:

The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV 1984).

Who would deny that starting the day, or closing it out, with majestic beauty is good for the soul? But more than just soaking up glory, it can provide spiritual renewal. All you need to do is acknowledge that the heaven’s declare the glory of God. It’s a simple but ever-needful reminder: It’s about Him, not us.

With Love,

Kristie