Timed Rhythm

There are horrible things that happen in this world: s mall things, g iant things, u nseen things, sneaky things, p ublicized  things, politically twisted things, emotionally traumatic things... There is some gruesome stuff out there... In fact, it seems that there are always new, sad and horrifying stories to find if we look into our own lives, or the lives of those around us, or the lives of those far from us, or just turn on the news...  If we look for it, it's really easy to find and see the brokenness of this world.  The same is true of good things too, (let us not forget this!) but these are much more palatable, and much easier to attribute positively to a loving God.  The presence of good seems to be what we subconsciously long for (this is a great concept to dig further into later!).  When we see something that goes against goodness (hurt/brokenness/pain), we look for someone to blame. It is easy to throw this blame on God, because He...

When we are younger, we often dream of being married, what it will be like, who it will be with. If you were a child in the 80s and 90s you probably grew up dreaming of your Disney-style prince charming, or beautiful princess. There is a whimsical magic in those dreams that makes finding the "right" one seem beautiful and easy...as if that "right" person just falls out of the sky/tower/coffin/forest/castle right into our arms.  Many children of the late 1900's have dreamed of this "love-at-first-sight" for years of our growing up lives.  But is that really how true, lasting love works?   Should we keep keeping our options open until we find this "instantaneous love?"   What does science say about it?   The science here is interesting to say the least.  For all those FOMO people out there who are afraid that choosing one person will keep them from finding the "perfect" person (their Disney love), prepare to be let down. Research show...

 Love is strange word. It means different concepts to different people.  Other languages have captured the concept of "love" to a much deeper extent than American English.  Greek and Latin, for example, both have over 5 different words to explain the feelings associated with "love."   American English uses one word: LOVE.   I LOVE tacos, my grandmother, my fiancé, my dog, and the sunshine. Perhaps in American English the concept of "love" has been simplified into meaning: something that gives our heart warmth and pleasure?  "So," my friend asks, "what does it mean to fall in love then, in this world where "love" seems so fickle?"  I am not an expert at this. Friend:  "So, how do you fall in love?" Wise Human Nearby: " Oh, deary, you CHOOSE to love someone. You just let yourself trust them completely with you.  You choose to jump in." Friend:  "...uh...that sounds super scary!" Wise Human Nearby:  ...

The Zombie apocalypse has been a recent and deep concern for the future of all humankind ... perhaps ever since Y2K or the end of the Mayan calendar... or perhaps since the world began?  Although the general views of zombies are of humans who are mad and cannibalistic, perhaps there is a more present danger among us: the not-so-cannibalistic zombie in hiding. Zombies in hiding do not eat other humans, but they do suck up the positive energy in the room and replace it with a general feeling of despair and sorrow.  They are usually hard to get together with because they are afraid of inflicting another person with their personal raincloud, and so often go quiet to the world until they turn back into a normal human.  This may take days or weeks or months or years.  Zombies in hiding are very good at hiding, and it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with their fears of bringing you down.  They are staying away because they want to protect you from them...

High school is a time when teenagers slowly turn into young adults.  It is a time that many hate with a passion, but I LOVED high school.  Perhaps it is because my high school days were carefree?  Perhaps it is because I was so active and engaged?  Perhaps it was because high school was when I finally had the bravery to step into myself and slowly climb out of the shell I hid within. " How did you become brave ?" one might ask.    " Well, " I would answer, " I decided to join drama. " -----------     -----------     ----------- 1.  If you can't motivate yourself to change, put yourself in a place that you must.  Talking in front of people was always HARD for me because I hated being looked at, felt like I was always judged, and had ZERO desire to be on stage for everyone to criticize.  This is why I joined drama.  When you run out of tools to grow, you must move to a location where new tools and responsibil...

It has been said that the most important things learned in school were not learned in the classroom.  That doesn't mean that classes aren't important, but rather that there is much beyond reading, writing and arithmetic to learn.  Here are a few of the lessons I learned from my school years OUTSIDE of the school day: If you are afraid to jump in, just because you can't guarantee comfort, jump anyway!   In life there are many opportunities that are there for only a moment, a year, a space, and then gone.  Fear of the unknown can keep us from experiencing these opportunities.  It can keep us from experiencing life.  When we take a risk and jump, we not only learn and grow, but we inevitably find more of ourselves.   Be careful not to injure your teammates.  If you do, everyone will be mad at you.  You are stronger than you look.  Except for professional body builders, this is probably true for everyone.  We can handle m...

I looked up today after having my head 'down'... (for 7 months!!!) ...quietly escaping into the natural wilderness, or staring at my computer screen and living on Zoom, Google Meets, Skype, and FaceTime.  Inside my mind the word has felt halted, like a really long snow day: an unexpected pause in time.  Unfortunately, time doesn't actually pause.  When we put our heads down to focus, to hide ourselves, to survive, etc., time continues.  Life continues.  We may pause, but the rest of the universe is still in motion.  Even our atoms are ageing (or, rather, decaying).   It's strange, though, to think about HOW the world is changing around us when we really can't see it moving.  After COVID, things can't go back to 'normal' because life doesn't pause, and 'normal' only exists in the expected.  We have no way to prepare our minds for all the changes that will have taken place in these 7 or 10 or 14 months we live in isolation.   Mar...

Oftentimes I find myself wondering... I wonder why certain things scare some people and not others. I wonder why the world was created in the way it is (for beauty, for purpose, for desire, etc.). I wonder why death claims one and not the other. I wonder why we bottle things up instead of releasing them, talking about them, and letting them heal. I wonder why we're afraid to step outside our comfort zones...when we know growth is beautiful. I wonder why people repeat what they know instead of exploring the new. I wonder why it's so challenging to admit our hardest struggles, when we all struggle deeply. I wonder why people give-up and let go so easily. I wonder why cheddar cheese is dyed orange, why music sinks so deeply into the soul, why flying cars haven't yet been built (it is, after all, 2020, and I seem to remember a writing prompt from middle school... "Write about how the world will look in the year 2025, when scientists predict there will...

50 practical pieces of wisdom and encouragement I woke up this morning thinking about perfectionism, how it has impacted my life and the lives of those around me, and how many I know struggle as they strive to be perfect.  I couldn't sleep. So, I wrote down these simple encouragements and words of wisdom that were dancing around in my mind: You are perfectly imperfect. Fail on purpose sometimes, just to prove to yourself that you can. Those who stand with ‘perfect faith,’ but never risk a step, don’t have perfect faith. Asking for help means that you trust someone, and are willing to allow them to bless you.  You cannot be successful at deep relationships until you can do this. If you move the ‘wrong’ way, can you mess up God’s plans?  Nope! You are not that powerful. I don’t want to be friends with a perfect person.  (I’m not perfect enough for that). Prove to me that you aren’t perfect. If you never fail, then you haven't been trying as hard as y...

I was surprised this morning to see the death toll from yesterday in the UK was over 180 people taken by COVID-19.  That's a lot of people.  That is a lot of families who have lost someone they love.  That is a lot of death. I imagine for a moment if even 100 of the people I loved disappeared, forever. I would be crushed. Tears start to well up in my eyelids.  It's okay to cry when we feel pain, or empathize with the pain of others.  If no one told you this before, they should have.  Cry away.  Those are healing tears.  They are letting go rather than burying. Grieve out the pain.  Grieve away. This year I lost my grandmother.  She was a woman whose loss was most definitely worth grieving.  Ironically, she was also a woman who could find the silver lining to any situation.  As I think of her, I remember that there are usually two sides to every story.  In the case of COVID-19, there is (and this is not bad to have)...

...an allegorical tale of a Beast, a King and a Bella Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a young man who was the son of a very powerful king.  Now the king was gentle and kind, loving and patient, but also very wise.  The son knew how awesome and powerful his father was.  He trusted the king and understood that whatever the king did was best.  As a child, before making any decision the son would lovingly go and ask his father for advice and direction so as to be sure his pursuits would be successful.  The king adored his son for his trust, and ordered beautiful items to be placed at his feet. As the boy grew older the king lavished his son with riches, the best company, and experiences that others marveled at.  And through it all, the king diligently protected his son, whom he loved.   Decidedly sure that the King’s love and protection knew no bounds, the young man set out to prove his trust and loyalty ...

Junior high is a tumultuous time full of weird people, weird feelings, weird hormones, chaos and confusion.  It's also an epic time to learn and grow! What you wear says a lot about who you are.   Take care of yourself.  Mix up your wardrobe and above all else don't wear the same sweater everyday, as this isn't socially appropriate and might embarrass your sister. Don't push people away when you are struggling.  Communicate your hurt and your needs. Good friends and family truly do care.  The battles you face you don't have to face alone. You are loved by the God of the universe.   Even if the world crumbles around you, the most important person in the universe desires to wrap arms around you and snuggle you close in a tender and gentle hug.  Nothing can beat that love, and NOTHING can break it.  Amazing! Speak with grace.   Even if you think a person is making a huge mistake, there are better ways of confronting them then saying, "tha...

Upper elementary school was a time of settling into a new home, new city and new culture.  I moved from a big (relatively large) city to a very small country town with a one pump gas station and a single blinking yellow light.  There was, and still is, much to be learned from this small town and these youth-filled ages. 4:20 is not the right time to meet friends to go to the movies (or to do anything else for that matter).  And yes, the fact that it is written everywhere around school should give you a clue that it doesn't have the finest connotation.  Pay attention to your surroundings . The wind will hold you up if you wait for the strongest gusts and throw your jacket open to catch it's strength.   It will also drop you after the gust has passed, but if you are standing on top of a grassy hill, you can roll down and live large twice in one moment.  Embrace the wind . There may be a bully who hoards the swings, but that means you will get reall...

You'll not be young forever my darling You will grow old and grey. When your years have peaked and the mountaintops become your place may you look at the stars and seas and say "I have missed nothing. I've lived my dreams!"

We moved from my childhood home the summer after my 3rd grade year.  It was like leaving a good friend, and standing out in a field with wild animals.  You know no one, you are completely uncomfortable, AND you don't feel safe.... Looking back now, I realize that the wild animal eyes I saw were all small harmless critters (like turtles and chipmunks) and there was nothing but adventure to be had in the field.  Perhaps the greatest lesson learned is that old is never lost, new is opportunity, and home is where you plant it .  However, there were many more... In life there are people who love you, and never say it.  Sometimes separation makes the love finally spills out, but sometimes it remains silently held and cherished forever.  Never shared, but never forgotten.  Trust that you are loved in secret. Never be afraid to share your appreciation of someone.   It might seem small to you, but for them it may mean the world.   S...

Sometimes in life I get these pictures in my head that carry a massive amount of meaning.  They are similar to compressed dreams while awake.  It is as if the picture in my head explains a whole complete picture of what is happening that is contrary to what I have been seeing. Usually these pictures come at moments when I reflect, seek understanding or am simply telling God that I don't understand.  I see them as God's gracious way of dropping truth in front of me, a gentle way of opening my eyes to a bigger picture, and a kind way of communicating that He cares, He hears and He sees. So, what was my picture this morning?  It was a little girl asking God, "Where did you go?" however, God was right beside her.  Picture a giant of a being, with a little girl who can't find the giant beside her because of a cardboard box she had taped on her head to form a tunnel in front of her face.  The girl was stuck on narrow focuses and completely missed the f...

Yup, it's that time of year again when everyone starts anew.  Students graduate, upgrade their class options, reach for goals far into the future, plan for what is to come, go wedding dress shopping, write their vows, change jobs, move houses, start making baby plans...   IT's SPRING afterall!

The truth is that ALL people are priceless.  They cannot be ranked in value because each falls into its own category: you!  The uniqueness of each individual promises that there will never be another who is equipped with the same values, weaknesses, strengths, learnings, experiences, etc. There are not two yous.  There are not two mes.  We are unique and this... is beautiful! However, the unfortunate truth is that we often forget that there is value which is invisible.  Most people are, to us, invisible.  We have never met them, we have never had the chance to get to know them, and we never will.  We live on islands in this life.  We let in whoever we choose.  Everyone else is an outsider. Although I want to now write about the importance of letting others in, I will refrain, for that isn’t my purpose in sitting here in the airport with my keyboard.  My purpose is to write about the Jackies of life. Do you remember that best friend...

Elementary school started for me at Abernathy Elementary in Portland, Oregon.  A school surrounded by rose bush round-a-bouts, a large covered play area, a fairly busy road in the distance and a play ground with an epic tire swing and bark dust where Clark once peed during recess.  Which brings me to the learnings of this age of life... Boys are gross.  Sometimes they try to be sweet by attending the school carnival and using all the tickets they earn to buy you a small hello kitty pencil set.  This IS sweet.  Boys are gross, but super sweet. Boys make the heart flutter.  I've had crushes since AT LEAST first grade.  Usually the flutter of the heart made me run away and hide.    I am an excellent hider.  This is not actually good.  I need to remember to 'unhide' myself too. Problems are not only an adult thing.  On the playground I used to solve all the problems of the world.  My role was to brainstorm solutions for ...

There isn't much that I remember from preschool years and below, but there are a couple that stand out.  Some are solid life-long learnings, others true but not exactly wise... When you want to join the Puddle Splashing preschool class, but you choose the other class because they go on a field trip to pick berries and you love berries, but the class itself is not that fun...you will survive.  The berries will be delicious and you can go puddle splashing any day.  After all you live in Portland, the land of rain.  Choose to enjoy! Always ask 'why?'  Ask yourself, and if you don't know the answer, ask others. Asking is how you learn.  Ask, reflect and grow! Be confident as you encounter challenges.  When you embrace fear instead, you will fall. (But, maybe don't ride your bike down the basement stairs) Ask the neighbor for fruit when your parents say, "no."  He will be impressed that you are asking for a healthy treat, feel bad fo...