Earmarked for Him

He has put his brand upon us—his mark of ownership—and given us his Holy Spirit in our hearts as guarantee that we belong to him, and as the first installment of all that he is going to give us.

—2 Corinthians 1:22 TLB

I was planting a begonia in the container at the end of my lane when my cousin, Shorty, stopped his truck in front of me. Leaning out the window, he tried to persuade me to do some yard work at his house, just up the hill from mine, next to the barnyard.

“This is about all I can handle. Too hot out here for me!” I returned.

“Well, we got started early this morning to beat the heat—marked 38 calves—and then fixed the boys.”

#brokenlivesmatter

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:4

If you follow me on social media, you might have read these recent posts:

6/20 – “A broken down car, a clogged drain, and a TV that won't turn on. Not a good combination when I have my 3-year-old granddaughter for a week.”

7/5 – “When you're sick and your TV is broken, what do you do?”

7/11 – “First a broken car, then a broken TV, and now a broken phone. If any of you have been trying to reach me without success, that's why. Try email. For now, my computer is working. Lol.”

I tried to infuse a little humor, but truthfully I didn’t think it was funny at all. Why was everything breaking down?

O Say, Can You See...Can You Feel, Do You Know What It Means?

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

—Psalm 33:12

I was 13 years old when I was selected to raise and lower the flag every day at the private school I attended.

Jane was my partner. She and I learned flag etiquette and the proper way to fold the U. S. flag, twice length-wise, followed by triangular folds, starting with the striped edge and ending with the stars.

I remember how I felt when I held the flag, careful not to let it drop, and when I folded it, trying to perfectly align the ends as neatly as I could. Privileged. Special. But more than that. It was something I felt with my heart. Reverence and respect. For my flag. My country. A holy moment.

But after 40+ years, there are some things I don’t remember, like the meaning behind each of the thirteen folds.

Plugged In, Charging?

Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! Revive me with your word!

—Psalm 119:37

My laptop is temperamental these days. At times it does not charge even when plugged in. I discovered the problem a few months ago when I couldn’t get the laptop to turn on. I took it to a techie, and after some troubleshooting, he diagnosed the issue and suggested that I regularly check the icon in the lower right of my screen to make sure that it says “plugged in, charging.” If it says, “plugged in, not charging,” I need to fiddle with the cord a bit until it makes the connection.

Sometimes I exhibit the same symptoms as my laptop. I appear to be plugged in, but I am not charging. I seem to be doing all the things a Christian should, yet I don’t feel energized. What is happening?