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Woman2Woman, a mentoring event for young single women
Books worth reading (or your money back)
Now remember, I said worth
reading, not, you are certain to
love. Maybe you’ll love them; maybe you won’t. But there’s something worth
pondering, worth considering, worth sharing, in each and every one of them. Plus,
reading’s just good for you! Give one or two of them a try, and let me know
what you think by adding your comments below.
Here they are, in no particular order:
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Babies, books and bread
( Wednesday Words )I’ve never had a baby, but I just had a book. Through a series of circumstances so unlikely they could only be God’s handiwork, there’s a box of cream-and-green colored, freshly minted books under my dining room table this morning – and every single one of them has a name on its spine that I’ve been spelling since grade school. My own.
Someone asked this past weekend how long it took me to write this book. I hesitated. Because the answer is either 70 days or 20 years, depending on how you look at it. And although I’m delighted that it’s here…I’m also a little sheepish and shy to say much about it. Like every new parent must realize at some point, although I’m largely responsible for getting it here, I can’t claim ownership, or even take sole credit for the best parts of it. In many ways it’s better than me, and, God willing, it will have a life of its own that’s beyond me.
Death defeated!
( Wednesday Words )The day is dawning cold and wet in my town. It’s supposed to rain all day. And truthfully, the world (or my tiny corner of it) looks just like it did yesterday morning, and the morning before.
But it’s not.
It’s not the same at all because on Monday morning, my best friend’s father died. The weather’s the same, but the world is different, because a good man who lived a good life is now living a shiny new version of it somewhere else.
Well chosen words have already been written and will long be spoken about Bud. They will be true. He was a kind and committed husband for over 50 years. A veteran of World War II. A public servant in our city for decades. He raised two daughters and a son with the beautiful, porcelain-skinned wife of his youth, and cared for her faithfully until she passed through the doorway of death without him.
Can you hear me now?
( Wednesday Words )Remember the phone network commercial where a caller with a cellular pressed to his ear moves from place to obscure place and asks, “Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?” Marketing strategists undoubtedly had survey or focus group data to prove that cellular customers value clear and uninterrupted reception, no matter where they’re calling from.
How about the one that shows various customers screaming in anguish when they receive their (unexpectedly high) bill? Again – bet there’s more data that shows they want reasonable monthly rates with no big surprise surcharges. (And who doesn’t?)
God’s work and good tables
( Wednesday Words )It’s certain that God’s work is not shoddily-produced. He pronounced all that He created good – and it was. Dorothy Sayers once rightly suggested that our own work “must be good work before it can call itself God’s work.”
But good work is often no more than simple work, faithfully and lovingly repeated.
I was reminded of the lasting value of good, simple work last week, when a childhood friend of mine died. His name was Bob Keeshan, but I knew him for years as Captain Kangaroo.
We met each morning through the magic of television – he in a conductor’s coat with deep pockets, a cap set on top of his bowl haircut and mustachioed face – me in my footie pajamas and bed hair, holding a bowl of Fruit Loops and milk in two hands.
Speaking
( Wednesday Words )“Matters of the Heart” women’s luncheon, Daingerfield, TX, Feb. 11, 2006.
Community Bible Study/Memorial Leaders’ Retreat, Houston, TX, January 19, 2006.
First Baptist Church, Crosby TX, annual women’s luncheon, May 14, 2005. “Lessons from the Garden”
“One with God” Christian Singles Conference – Fresno, CA, April 22 -23, 2005. For info: www.onewithgodfresno.com
Second Baptist Church, Houston – Annual Women’s Conference, March 4 – 5, 2005. “Recognize Your Identity in Christ”
Lake Jackson Presbyterian Church, annual women’s conference, Palacios, TX, February 4-6, 2005. “The Next Voice You Hear…”