Nancy

Time to Spring Forward

March 8, 2023 by Nancy 10 Comments

Twice a year the discussion comes up about Daylight Saving Time and whether it’s time to do away with it. However, as of now it’s still in effect so most of us spring forward as requested. Sunday, March 12, is the designated day this year.

Newspapers, TV reporters and church bulletins all remind us to “spring forward” and set our clocks an hour ahead as we go into Daylight Saving Time, but you may wonder why we go to the trouble. If setting clocks, sleep disruptions or forgetting the change altogether and showing up at church an hour late seem like unnecessary irritations, consider these little known facts.

First proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, Daylight Saving Time (the officially correct name, not Savings) is adopted in all states except Hawaii, parts of Indiana, and Arizona (except for the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe DST). Over the years studies have proven that we save thousands of barrels of oil per day during DST due to decreased use of electricity. More evening daylight also decreases traffic accidents and exposure to the types of crime usually committed after dark.

So although the counter arguments and debates continue, we have to admit there may be some real benefits besides those lazy, summer outdoor evenings we all look forward to enjoying.

Still, if Daylight Saving Time annoys you, think of other ways you might spring forward that you actually enjoy!

Maybe this year you’d like to spring forward down the sidewalk as you take up a new exercise routine. Once around the block is a good start, and by the end of summer you may find out you enjoy walking so much you’re going several miles.

Spring forward into a new hobby. Preferably one you’ve been thinking about for a long time but never made it a priority. Good advice with any new venture is to dip your toe in the water before diving in. Is your new hobby watercolor painting? Take a class at a local community center before investing in a lifetime supply of paints and canvases. You can always invest later once you know you love it.

Getting a start on gardening will help you spring forward toward summer. Even in colder climates seeds or bulbs can be started in windowsill containers and as the tiny shoots begin to grow our hopes for the warmer season to come grow with them. However you spring forward this year, don’t dismay about that lost hour. We get it back in the fall.

First published in The Country Register, March-April 2023.

The Love Passage

February 14, 2023 by Nancy 8 Comments

Of all the places in the Bible that talk about love, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians is known as the “love passage.” In it, Paul describes love as patient, kind, not envious or boastful, not proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered. He says love keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Moreover love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Paul was writing to believers in Corinth, but the Word is speaking to us about loving in this way today.

Young couples getting married often choose this passage to be read at their weddings—even those who may not have studied the Bible at all—just because they know the content is appropriate for the occasion. We should pray they will go back and read it again, paying close attention to Paul’s instruction, so his description of love can become the basis for a long-lasting marriage.

Yet who of us can live up to Paul’s standard of loving, as described in this passage? Truly no one can unless he or she first draws from the unending source of God’s love, unless the Holy Spirit supplies all the love needed for any and every situation.

Once we understand the nature of God’s love, we will understand how calling on His love to fill us up will make it so much easier to love others, even seniors we know who may be having a bad day. God’s love is unconditional, meaning there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less and nothing we can do to make Him love us more. God demonstrated His love for us by sending Christ to die for our sins so we may dwell with Him forever.

God’s love is trustworthy. It will never fail us. God will never say, “I can’t help you love that difficult person, you’re on your own.” Rather He will say, once we ask Him for help, “Sure, take some of My love, and give it generously.”

1 Corinthians 13 ends with verse 13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. What a sad world this would be without love. Let’s celebrate it on Valentine’s Day and every day, and praise God for giving it to us in abundance.

Hope to Go

December 17, 2022 by Nancy 16 Comments

I was standing by the pickup counter at Panera Bread while the man behind the counter got the next order ready. “HOPE to go!” he shouted. A young woman named Hope stepped forward to claim her bagged food. As she walked past me I said, “Wow. We could all use some hope to go this time of year!” She smiled kindly at the weird older woman in the Christmas sweater and went merrily on her way. But an idea for a blog post was born.

Hope to go. Certainly hope goes with me every day of my life, but what does it mean to focus on hope at Christmas time? Doing so takes us back to the beginning of the story.

The prophet Isaiah planted seeds of hope in the hearts of the Israelites when he said as recorded in Isaiah 9:6 (KJV): For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Over 700 years before the Messiah entered the world, Isaiah’s prophecy gave the people hope to go.

At last, the time was near. When Joseph lifted the very pregnant Mary up on to the donkey for the long and arduous trip to Bethlehem, she needed hope to go, so hope went with her. Hope that what the angel revealed to her was true—that she really was carrying the Son of God in her womb. No doubt she also hoped for a smooth delivery, and that they would be able to find a safe place for the birth.

Did her hope temporarily wane as they were turned away by one innkeeper after another? Perhaps. But it came to fruition when one kind innkeeper offered a place in his stable. The babe was born as promised. As she cradled the newborn infant in her arms, she knew her hope had not been in vain. The bright star above them confirmed it. The appearance of the shepherds informed by angels confirmed it. Later the king-sized gifts brought by the wise men confirmed it. Her baby was the long-awaited Messiah.

When the jealous and hateful King Herod ordered all the baby boys under two years old to be killed, surely Mary hoped that Jesus would be spared. Warned by a dream, Joseph packed up his little family and they escaped. More hope to go.

What of us? As we journey toward Christmas we have temporal hope that families will travel safely, that promised gifts will be delivered on time or family conflicts will be resolved. But our hope to go is also eternal hope, an anchor for the soul (Hebrews 6:19).

The familiar Christmas carol O Holy Night! includes the line, “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” In a world that can feel so extremely hopeless, let’s be thrilled by the eternal hope we have in Jesus. That’s hope to go.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

‘Tis the Tweason!

November 28, 2022 by Nancy 4 Comments

Here we are in the in between. Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is still a few weeks away. So how are we to spend this tweason if you’ll indulge my coining of that word? How can we hold on to the best of the last holiday while eagerly anticipating the next?

Holding on to the gratitude we felt at Thanksgiving is certainly a start. Sure, we are to be grateful at all times. But gratitude is more top of heart when everything we read or ponder has a thankfulness theme. I Thessalonians 5:18 encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances. Not necessarily for all circumstances but finding something to be thankful for in the midst of our situation no matter what it is. Perhaps writing with this verse in mind, Sarah Young wrote in the November 28 entry in Jesus Listens: “I give You thanks, regardless of my feelings, and You give me Joy, regardless of my circumstances.”

So give thanks. When we are able to purchase a gift for everyone on our Christmas lists, let’s give thanks for the resources that make those purchases possible. If a harried shopper cuts us off in traffic or takes the parking spot we were aiming for, let’s give thanks we aren’t going home with a dented fender. Give thanks.

I love that Sarah Young reminds us of the promise of joy because that’s something else that spans the seasons. As we move into the first week of Advent, the time we anticipate celebrating the coming of Christ to the world, we begin a four-week journey that helps us focus on hope, love, joy and peace. All four should fill our hearts and minds during this tweason, but joy can be a part of every week, every celebration, and every memory. I have four friends who have lost their soulmates, their life partners, their husbands this past year. In the midst of their grief, may the memories they have bring joy. Or so I earnestly pray.

Before we know it this tweason will have passed away and it will be Christmas! Christmas, a time for remembering that out of His great love for us God sent His son to dwell among us. Emmanuel. God with us. May the anticipation we feel now be centered more on Him and less on the harried hustle and bustle to come. During this in between time, let’s set our hearts on the true meaning of Christmas and let the rest be just the colorful trappings of the holiday.

So Happy Thanksgiving, Joyous Tweason, and Merry Christmas! God bless us one and all.

October Surprise?

October 24, 2022 by Nancy 21 Comments

News outlets have been speculating about the October surprise for weeks now. I suppose that traditionally politicians and parties save up their most damning information against their opponents for the weeks before an election in order to sway the vote in their favor. Releasing this too soon and people will forget. Release it too late and many will have already made up their minds or voted early. Thus, the October surprise.

So I waited. But unless it happens soon I don’t think we’ll have such an October surprise this year from any side. Candidates spending millions to create ads criticizing their opponents without regard to facts? No surprise. Billionaires pouring millions into races in states in which they have no vested interest other than pushing their personal agendas and causes? No surprise. Suppression of news by cable and social media providers? No surprise. Time-released attacks on influential individuals? No surprise.

Yet I was surprised in other ways this October. On my way home one day I decided to take a shortcut through the neighborhood just down the street from mine. I turned the corner to be overcome by sunlight illuminating the most beautiful row of red maples I’d ever seen. So spectacular was this October afternoon sight that I coerced my husband into going back with me a few days later so I could get a photo before the leaves fell. Still a wow.

Watering my small front gardens one morning, my watering pot and my gaze both pointing down, I saw a bit of pink out of the corner of my eye. Looking more closely I realized it was a rosebud. Then I saw more rosebuds. It was October, yet my rose bush was optimistically planning to bloom again—and within a week it did! What a lovely surprise.

My spirit was surprised this month too. My pastor recommended a book by author Brant Hansen titled Unoffendable. So strongly did he recommend it that he developed a whole sermon series based on it. Hmmph, I thought. What if I want to be offended? After all, there are so many things in the world right now that I find offensive! Don’t I deserve to be offended? To be hurt and angry even? Hmmph. Then I read the book. Chapter by chapter I felt a shift in my spirit. A shift from blame to forgiveness, from discouragement to hope, from anxiety to peace, from anger to love. I hope this October surprise outlives the month.

And so we trust. We pray. We vote. Will we be surprised in bad ways as well as good? No doubt. But through it all we lean on the One who is never surprised by anything. You remember singing about Him, don’t you? He has the whole world in His hands.

A Tale of Two Queens

September 21, 2022 by Nancy 14 Comments

The world paused to honor a queen whose passing leaves us all a bit bereft. After 70 years of ruling her monarchy with honor, grace, and dedication she has gone in her words to “lay my crown at the feet of Jesus Christ.” Queen Elizabeth II was a worthy queen indeed, the likes of which we are unlikely to see again. She was born into royalty, and she assumed the crown with dignity and wore it well.

But as history records her amazing reign, it long ago recorded the reign of a queen who was not born into royalty but had it thrust upon her in a most unusual way. Like Queen Elizabeth, she showed courage in the face of danger and refused to shirk her duty, realizing that with royal power came great responsibility for her people. Her name was Esther, or Hadassah in Hebrew.

Esther’s reign is recorded in the book of Esther in the Holy Bible. The author is unknown and this is the only book of the Bible that does not mention God, although as scholars note His providence and mercy are evident throughout. It details events leading up to the creation of the Jewish feast of Purim, a celebration observed to this day to remind the Jewish people of how a brave queen stepped up at risk of her own life to ask her husband, King Xerxes, not to annihilate the Jewish people.

But I’m getting ahead of the story. Unlike Elizabeth who was born with a royal silver spoon in her mouth, Esther was an orphan who was brought up by a kind uncle named Mordecai. When King Xerxes banished Queen Vashti for disobeying his request to appear before his guests, the word went out throughout the kingdom that all beautiful young virgins should present themselves to the king so he could choose a new queen. Esther is described as “lovely in form and features” so wanting the best for her, Mordecai presented her for consideration.

The “bachelorette” process was long and involved but in the end Esther got the rose. She was now Queen Esther, married to King Xerxes of Susa. Yet every good story has a villain, and this one has Haman. One of the royal officials, Haman noticed that Mordecai, a man of God, failed to bow to the king as ordered. He set about to destroy not only Mordecai but all the Jewish people throughout the kingdom.

Following Mordecai’s advice, Esther had not revealed her Jewish heritage to the king. When Mordecai asked her to now do so and to appeal to the king to save her people, she was understandably reticent at first. But Mordecai said, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape… and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13,14).

So what happens? I encourage you to put down whatever novel you’re reading and read the Book of Esther instead because this true account has all the elements of a fascinating novel. I will tell you that Esther plays a role in Haman getting what’s coming to him, armed with her faith, wisdom, and the feminine arts. (You’ll love the details!)

Two queens, one mission: to use the position granted them in service to their people. At the age of 21, a few years before her coronation, Elizabeth said, “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” Before approaching the king to make her request that her people be spared, and knowing that to appear before him unsummoned could mean losing her life, Esther said, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

We can learn so much about honor, strength of character and loyalty from these two queens. May they both rest in peace knowing they ruled their kingdoms and served their people well.