PSALM 84

 Last year I found myself in an isolated area in the mountains, alone. As the seasons changed and the beautiful mountain colors of fall transformed the region, I realized how alone I was in the sense of the limited number of people who looked like me. My normal go to, church, wasn’t a weekly reality. Work wasn’t allowing us to take the kids to church, and I was often working on Sundays. But my thirst for community was real, especially in the midst of a turbulent separation.    God answered my unvoiced need with not 1, but 8 different people. 5 were coworkers and 3 were in the community. People who know me well, know I like mailmen. I enjoy the weekly check in, the wave, the chit chat. (I say weekly because I don’t intend to catch them daily.) Missing this exchange with the mailman is what motivated me to purchase my first house. In the mountains the mailman wasn’t strolling around the block BUT he was right down the street. He was like a big brother to me. He gave me inst...

 Have you ever heard that? This idea that your preparation for the answer to your prayer coincides with your faith? I have heard it as direction to women to make space for the husband they say they want. I have heard it as start dressing for the position you expect. I have heard it as bring an umbrella to the prayer meeting if you are praying for rain. Sometimes I do because I am a planner. I expect a certain thing, and I do not want to be caught off guard. So I prepare. Other times, I do it as a move of faith.  Right after I saw Hamilton in the spring, I knew I wanted to see it again. This time I wanted to share it with some specific people who I felt would enjoy it. One of these people was a minor, so it would take special permissions and coordination. As far as I knew, there was no precedent for it. I bought the tickets anyway. Months passed and I just waited and waited. I would not say this was something I was actively praying about, it was more a desire. I have found that...