The Journey

I did the oddest thing the other day leaving my house to get my girls from school. We have a little laundry room that leads out to our garage. In my hurried state, I closed the door from the living room to the laundry room on one end before opening the door that leads to the garage on the other end or at the very least turning on the light. So, I found myself standing in pitch-black darkness. My reaction was to close my eyes. Only a few steps from the light switch, I stood there with eyes closed a slight feeling of panic creeping into my gut. Then, I laughed at myself. Out loud, for real. What an odd thing to do. "I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness..." ~John 8:12   En route to the school still amused by my reaction, it occurred to me that though I closed my eyes I was still very much in darkness. Eureka! Talk about a light bulb moment! You see, I stood there in my circumstance not wanting to see that I was alone in the dark,...

Photo by Casey Horner Every morning on our way to school, the girls and I take advantage of the time to pray. Our morning prayers differ somewhat from bedtime prayers in that we are preparing for the day ahead of us. Scripture tells us our steps are ordered by God. So, I like to start each day with our hearts and minds open to His instruction so we may hear Him as He gently guides us throughout the day. The long days are not as daunting when you know God is with you every step of the way and that his favor and protection go with you wherever you go. Lately, the resounding phrase "to be a light shining in the darkness" has taken up residence in my mind and has stirred my heart so much so that we are sure to pray that over our lives before ending our prayers. On the way to school this morning, I was reminded of the very first words of the Bible in Genesis 1:1-4. I learned to recite these verses in the King James version when I was a young child. The passage reads: "In t...

Photo by Kyle Sudu For 7 years, I lived in Atlanta, Georgia, with a population of 416,474 (as per the 2000 census population posted by the Mayor's office.) For the first couple of years, I lived right in the heart of Buckhead, sometimes referred to as the Beverly Hills of the East.  We used to say our front door was a revolving one because there were people coming and going all the time. Late-night bar-closers would stumble in at 8 a.m. for a beer and pregame bantering until the bars and restaurants could legally sell booze again around 12:30 in the afternoon.  Our very non-traditional Sunday mornings would involve the early service at one of the most prestigious churches in Buckhead where the pastor told humorous stories about his weekend adventures including one account of the Willie Nelson concert, he attended the night before. Then, we would walk to the trendy eatery around the corner from our house. Finally, after splitting a $12 burger and paying a tab which was usually ...