Category Archives: Musings

Musings, Project 365

Pruned Branches

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This morning I was reading from the gospel of John, chapter 15, in which Jesus teaches His disciples about their foundational purpose in life: to bear spiritual fruit. I was struck by the fact that, as a branch, there is no easy path available to me that avoids hardship:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” — John 15:1-8

Notice that the branch that bears no fruit is cut off and thrown away, and even the branch that does grow fruit is pruned. From a branch’s perspective, it might be preferable to grow lots of leaves and shoots, but from the vineyard owner’s perspective, high-quality fruit is desired. As I continue to live my life for God, I am becoming more open to the idea that God may prune me to make me more fruitful for him.

My Sweetie
I think Kathy makes those steps at the end of the Sunken Gardens look quite pretty.

One classic example of pruning in my life was when I squandered my ROTC scholarship, and served three years as an enlisted soldier to earn money to go back to school. The Lord pruned away some of my irresponsibility and wimpy selfishness, and built in me a sense of honor and faithfulness that He knew I would need to glorify Him.

College of Knowledge
How gracious our Lord is, to let me return to the College and finish school after the Army!

Pruning can take different forms, I think, but I suspect a lot of pruning has to do with subordinating our desires and plans, and instead serving God’s purposes. As we’ve walked (quite literally, today) down memory lane, we’ve had many opportunities to think about the actions and reactions that we (and our classmates) have made over the last 15 years, that brought us to the place we are today. It has been fun to laugh and remember and catch-up with some old friends, and to see what God has done in their lives since we were in college together. Some of the pruning has been uncomfortable, but as I look at the fruit in my own life, and in the life of our friends, I begin to understand God’s purpose and plan: to give glory to the Father.

Jodi and Alan's Great Kids
Of course, some are more fruitful than others.

It was truly a delight to visit with Jodi and Alan and to renew our acquaintance with their delightful children. Thanks, beloved friends, for sharing your family with us and for glorifying our Lord by raising your kids so well!

Alan and Jodi
Good friends, beloved by the Gardener

Tim, Project 365

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Events, People-Watching, Project 365

Duracell or Energizer

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When you set out on a trip, you just never know who the Lord is going to place in your path. I’ve flown next to silent businessmen, focused on their newspapers or laptops, elderly women who chat about their grandchildren, college students heading home on break, moms with little ones, and everything in between.

I have never, and I mean, NEVER sat beside a fellow traveller who stores his AA batteries IN his ear!!

smile, you're on candid camera

Duracell in one ear and Energizer in the other.Yikes!

This young man celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday and was flying home to visit friends and family in New Hampshire. He slept most of the flight (Tim said I couldn’t sneak up and take pictures without his permission) but we had a lovely chat during the landing. He had suffered from a collapsed lung six months ago and still had a bad cough. I told him I had five children and they would NOT believe me if I didn’t have a picture of his ear, um, shall we call it, art.

Do not look at this picture if you are squeamish.
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I’m serious. It kind of freaks me out a bit.
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Okay, but I warned you.
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pinkie action

“What will your Mom say?” I had to ask my body pierced companion. “Has she seen your ears yet?”

“No,” he laughed. “She’ll be surprised.”

Ah, yes indeed. A very interesting young man, far more intriguing than the beautiful young woman sitting across the aisle on the next flight. I found it amusing to pair them up in my mind; what a couple they would make, I fancied briefly.

My next thought was sobering. God looks at our heart and not on our outside appearance. He cares about our soul, not our adornments. We look at a person’s hair, clothing, and accessories and we arrive at judgments and conclusions. If she does not know the Lord, the woman in expensive boots, cream sweater and gold jewelry is just as lost as the lip, nose and ear pierced, “residentially challenged” traveler from the first flight.

Jesus was born in the rudest of accommodations, and died while men gambled for his clothes (which were, apparently, His only possessions). Yet He is the Prince of Peace, the King of Glory. Surely we must learn to see like God with the eyes of our hearts, rather than looking on outward appearances as the world does.

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to who you belong? James 2:5-7

Lord, help me to recognize the lost and be bold in bringing Your light into their lives. Give me wisdom to know how to reach out in love and truth.

Kathy
Project 365 – Day 298

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Work Party Slacker

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Today I had the privilege of attending a work day and board meeting for The Refuge, a Christian Retreat and Conference Center being constructed on the Olympic Peninsula, along the Hood Canal. For the last seven years or more, this project has been under development, and is finally coming to fruition, as the main lodge rises majestically from the ground.

The Main Lodge
My parents have waited a long time for this dream to become a reality.

When I was a boy, I perfected the knack of walking into the kitchen as the last dish was dried, or rounding the corner of the garage as the last leaves were stuffed into bags. Mastery of this work-avoidance skill took a lot of practice and stealth, but I was able to spare the time, having hoarded many hours by the clever expedient of not doing my homework.

In 1999, we moved to Western Washington, and almost immediately my parents began hosting ‘work parties’ as they attempted to transform the grounds of the Refuge from a swamp to an elk pasture (they thought they were building a retreat center, but the resident elk knew better). A crowd of hard-working folks would drive out from Fort Lewis at crack o’ dawn and be industriously clearing trails or hauling brush while I was still slouching around in my boxers, sipping on my first Diet Coke of the day. With our house less than 200 yards from the Refuge grounds, it was hard to pretend we had other pressing engagements. We would keep the blinds drawn, pretending to be out of town, but sooner or later one of the workers would count our cars or spot one of the kids, and the jig would be up. We felt vaguely guilty about our half-hearted support of The Refuge, and so I would emerge from the house and join the busy crowd, making a big show of looking for my work gloves.

Wiry Workers

Many of the volunteers that attend these gala events are retirees, so you might think that I could impress them all with my physical strength and endurance. Nothing could be further from the truth. These wiry, tireless folk apparently train for weeks before coming out for a work day, and they routinely work me to exhaustion without seeming to break a sweat. One hot morning, gasping for breath as I hauled a load of brush, my childhood skills came to mind, and saved the day.

I realized that a major challenge for many non-profit organizations is publicity, and I was in possession of a serviceable digital camera. I promptly decided that the Refuge would be better served (and my skills better utilized) if I appointed myself official photographer and Media Relations Officer. Grabbing my camera, I now drifted slowly from work site to work site, snapping happily away while others slaved. If challenged by a sweating worker, I need only show my camera and shrug, made exempt from all actual work by this magical talisman in silver and black. I imagine there was probably a guy like me standing by, when they built the pyramids, sketching happily in a shady spot, sipping on a cucumber smoothie, while slaves hauled ten-ton stone blocks to the crack of a whip.

Boat Races
Even the grown-ups got to participate in the boat races. I carefully didn’t snap a picture of the lady who fell in the creek, while trying to retrieve an escaping boat.

Today, I decided to try some actual work, if only for the novelty of it … but I found I built my work-exempt role too well. No sooner was I loading some wood into a truck, than my Dad was asking me to take a few ‘candid’ shots of the other workers. When I tried to help move some picnic tables, I was again pressed into service as photographer. Slipping away to rake a few leaves, I was summoned by my Mom to shoot the boat races down at the creek.

Rake Thief
She looks innocent, but that’s my rake she’s holding.

We did eventually hold the board meeting, and I collapsed into a comfy couch, nursing the blister on my right index finger. You’d think they would make those shutter release buttons easier to push! I suffered through the meeting and managed to choke down three helpings of baked salmon and a piece of pecan pie — I’m just a martyr among men.

Turning the Tables
We decided to table this issue.

Arriving home, I walked into the kitchen as the last dish from dinner was put into the dishwasher … it is nice to see I haven’t lost my touch.

Tim, Project 365, Day 293

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Addicted to Blogging?

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Last night Tim and I went to a meeting at church. We met upstairs in the middle school room where we spread out in comfy couches and overstuffed chairs. That’s the way to run a meeting – recliners and couches and plenty of chocolate.

The couple coordinating the meeting looked so dear sitting together, I just had to take a picture. Someone laughed and wondered aloud why I was taking a picture in the middle of our meeting. Come on, the meeting hadn’t even started yet. Before I could say anything the subject of my photography spoke up quickly and said, “She has to, she’s doing that Project 365 thing and she has to blog every day.”

randy and beckie

See how Beckie is poised to defend me.

Whoa! I guess that is how things get distorted. I am indeed committed to taking a picture every day as part of Project 365 but I never said I was going to blog every day. That implies a high level of creativity and some sort of original thought being generated daily. Not to mention the time involved in such a commitment.

It seems easy, however, even reasonable, to take a picture every day. My goodness, with five children, there is always something going on which is photo-worthy.

david, adam and daniel

For example, someone has to capture this moment of Daniel and David with Adam, enjoying some birthday Jello & whip cream (a bit heavy on the whip cream but hey, he’s the birthday boy).

I never, however, said I was going to blog every day. The fact that it has morphed into something so regular is beyond me. A mystery. The first one was free.

These thoughts were racing through my mind as I slipped the camera away in my purse. Did anyone really want to hear my thoughts on photography and blogging and my prayers for how God can use this blog for His glory? Suddenly another woman turned to me and said, “Oh, that’s right. I heard you were Addicted to Blogging.”

Addicted to Blogging???
Addicted?
Hey, last I checked blogging was legal in all 50 states.
Plus, I can quit any time I want.

elise and sarah

Sarah is sleeping over at Elise’s house tonight. Would these moments be captured if I weren’t blogging? I shudder to contemplate such a thing.

Just when I was beginning to feel a wee bit defensive, the woman asked for the address to the blog. “I want to check it out,” she smiled. It’s hard to be upset with that type of response. I can forgive a lot for a potential reader.

Do they make blogging business cards with your blog address on it? Wouldn’t that be just the thing to have on hand for these kinds of moments.

“Hi, my name’s Kathy. I blog, do you? Here’s my card. Leave a comment.” Snap. Wink.

Then again maybe a visit to Blogger’s Anonymous wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Anyone have the number? Do they have a blog?

Kathy (Blogging Addict)
Project 365 – Days 218 & 219

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Musings, Project 365

Aslan’s Country

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As we straggled home at 8:45 pm, I think we all agreed that it was OK for our church’s Vacation Bible School program to be over. The kids had fun, but it has been difficult to snatch a bite to eat and rush off each evening — we’re really not used to having to meet a particular schedule, day after day. Joshua and I served the snacks each evening to about 75 kids and leaders — I actually found it rather stressful, trying to ensure that we purchased enough ingredients to supply all the kids with a tasty snack. Some of the kids (and leaders) didn’t find time to eat supper, which made it difficult for them and for us (we hadn’t bought a lot of extra food for seconds).

Avalanche Ranch
I actually know very little about this VBS program, since I was in the snack room each day — I didn’t even take any pictures!

The kids and I’ve been reading The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis lately — the final book of seven in the all-time favorite, Chronicles of Narnia series. Although we’ve been through all the books several times, the story seems new to Daniel and David, which makes it come alive for me again. I had to read quickly, because the story goes downhill for the first ten chapters or so, and I don’t like to linger during that part of the book. Now, finally, our characters have made it into Aslan’s Country, and we can relax and enjoy a less frenetic pace.

Bedtime after a long week
Joshua didn’t seem to mind being an auxiliary couch, but I probably should have sent Sarah to bed.

Of all the Narnia stories, The Last Battle is my favorite, although (or perhaps because?) it is gloomy for such a long while. I enjoy the thrill as Tirian slowly wakes to the realization that he is in Aslan’s Country to stay, and I love thinking about how Heaven will be so much better than anything we could ever imagine.

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then cried: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.”

The End of Narnia?

It seems that God, when he breathed life into our souls, placed a hunger for Heaven in each of us, and our hearts yearn for it, unsatisfied, all our lives. As Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Even those simple words: True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely — they resonate in the deep wells of my soul and send chills down my spine. More and more I find that I can recognize the shadows of these words as I see God working in the people around me, and my ears strain to hear the voice of my Beloved.

Project 365 – Day 215

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