Come to the Table: What do you have to settle?

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

—Isaiah 1:18

“Oh, no! Look what you did!”

“I didn’t do it. You did it!”

I heard my tween-aged daughters bickering below in the kitchen.

“Hold on a minute,” I said to their grandmother, Dottie, who was on the other end of my phone conversation. “What’s going on?” I called down to the two.

“She knocked over the nail polish remover,” one admitted.

“Oh, no! I’ll need to call you back,” I told Dottie, as I rushed down the stairs to settle the matter.

Catching Zzz’s: What do you do when you can’t sleep? Count sheep?

Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.

—Philippians 4:8

A kid on Christmas Eve can hardly sleep. But it wasn’t even close to Christmas and I couldn’t sleep.

“Mom!” I called out.

She came to my bedside. “What’s the matter?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Try thinking of good things,” she suggested.

“Like what?”

“Like Christmas and decorating the tree.”

So I imagined myself hanging the colorful bulbs on the branches, counting them as I went. I doubt that I reached 10 before I drifted off to sleep. After that night, I continued to use the decorating imagery to catch some zzz’s throughout my childhood years.

Later when I became a mom and heard that same plea from my then 3 year-old Emma, I told her what my mother had suggested and how I had thought of decorating the tree.

The next morning I asked her if she had thought of good things.

A Thanksgiving Fire: When you walk through fire

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

—Isaiah 43:2

I was home from college to celebrate Thanksgiving. After a full day with family and a full stomach to boot, it was time for bed. Before we climbed the stairs, Dad put a few more logs on the wood stove. My sister, Mary, heard him talking with Mom. They seemed concerned that the stove was hotter than usual. When Mary reached her bedroom, she felt heat radiating from the wall behind her headboard, which butted up to the interior chimney. She extended her hand and placed it on the wall. It was warm. Now she too was concerned. She set her alarm to go off in a few hours so she could check on it.

A Microwaved Solution: Do you have a need?

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:19

I chatted with my friend, Mary Ann, in the church parking lot after service. With Thanksgiving only a few days away, Mary Ann asked about my plans. I explained that my family was getting together at my home. I also told her that to alleviate some of the stress of cooking I had ordered a meal from Bob Evans.

“All I’ll have to do is heat it up! But guess what,” I continued, “Right after I placed my order, I went to heat some water for tea in my microwave, and the door broke! The microwave still works, but I can’t get it open. Now I don’t know what to do. I can’t afford to buy a new one. I guess I could use my stove top and the oven, but…”