The Hey You Lady

Tonight is the Christmas party at the Bible college where I am taking classes. I have volunteered to get the ham for the dinner. Yes, me - the only person I know who can have a toaster oven catch fire without even trying to cook something; she whose insurance company requires a fire hydrant in the front yard before underwriting a homeowner's policy - is cooking. I have the day off, and am happy to do so. I've planned my strategy, have the timing set in my mind, even canceled a lunch date with my mom to cook this hunk of pig. No problem. Until last night. The kitchen sink wouldn't drain. Mr. from-the-Prairie tries Drain-O. Doesn't do anything (duh). OK, I'll get up early to take care of it - as if I know what I'm doing. So, this morning I end up taking the drain apart. The sink drains - all over the floor. Well, at least there's no standing water in the basin ... it's now all over the floor ... "Daddeeeee ... can you come over and fix my sink?...

When I received my copy of PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson, I felt like a child on Christmas morning! I had read his previous book Wild Goose Chase and remember hanging on every word he wrote. Primal did not disappoint.  In his newest book, Batterson takes a fresh look at the Greatest Commandment that Jesus gives us --  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength -- and dares you and me to start a 21st century reformation by becoming great at living out the Greatest Commandment. What did I like about this book? Batterson breaks down the four parts of the Greatest Commandment - heart, soul, mind, and strength - and challenges us to take action when our hearts break for the same things that God's heart breaks for, to rediscover the wonder of the intricacies of creation and the world around us, to be life-long learners, and to break a sweat for our God-given visions...

Every Sunday morning at our church we have a custom of spending a couple of minutes at a particular point in the service to get out of our pews and greet each other, to shake hands or hug (depending on your level of familiarity). For the most part, everyone you encounter has a smile on their face, is glad to see you this morning, and may even take a moment to give a word of blessing or encouragement.  This morning the custom went not much differently than most weeks. Except ... I lied to almost everyone there.  I only pretended to be "fine."  Probably only one or two people could tell something was amiss.  The rest of the people I encountered probably didn't have a clue. And I'm sure I wasn't the only liar in God's house this morning either. Church isn't the only place where we blindly ask the "How are you?" question. We use that greeting literally everywhere we go. But when people answer, it seems no one really likes to admit to others that...