The Right Tools for the Job: Using your tools to conquer everyday problems

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

—Ephesians 6:13-17

With my toddler grandson, Javier, coming to visit, I decided it was time to add to my toy collection. At the thrift store, my eye caught glimpse of a posable brown-eyed repairman figure wearing a red and white cap and a pencil behind his ear. I picked him up and turned him over to check the price. Marked on the sole of his work boot was $1. What a deal!

Placing him in my cart, I discovered something more magical than the price.

“Let’s get to work!” he said.

Huh?

As I pushed my cart toward the check-out line, he said, “Abuelito needs our help. Let’s bring the tools!”

Abuelito? Isn’t that Spanish for grandfather? What a perfect find for my bicultural grandson!

Make the Switch

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

—2 Corinthians 5:17

It was 1:35—for years. The hands of that old clock were stuck. It was time for a change. And Easter was the perfect season to make the switch.

I removed the clock from my living room wall and replaced it with a beautiful hand-crafted cross. I received the cross in exchange for a donation to Teen Challenge, a program which “provides successful recovery for women, children, young men and families with destructive, abusive and addictive lifestyles through mentoring, education, training and spiritual direction.”

The wood for these crosses is handpicked from old, discarded horse fencing from the Teen Challenge Northern Virginia farm. Cut and stained by the students, the crosses are a reflection of what happens in their lives. They come into the program broken, but as a result of Christ’s work in their lives, they become new.

The Mezuzah and the Palm

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

—John 12:13

I glanced at the corner of the door frame where I had tucked my palm branch under the edge of a mezuzah. I smiled at the juxtaposition of the two objects of faith, seemingly diametrically opposed to one another, the mezuzah of Jewish origin and the palm branch a symbol of Christianity.

My friend Stan brought the mezuzah back from his trip to the Holy Lands. As I unwrapped the souvenir and turned it over in my hands, Stan explained its significance.

Found in most Jewish homes, the mezuzah is a parchment scroll, contained in a decorative case, inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21.

Stan didn’t need to recite those verses to me, because I was already quite familiar with them. In fact, I had just returned from a writers’ conference in Atlanta where I pitched a children’s book built on the premise of teachable moments. I had included those same verses in the book’s Note to Parents.

Don't Be Afraid of the Rain

In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

—Psalm 57:1b

The Weather Channel reports severe weather along the east coast.

Severe thunderstorm warnings scrolled across my TV screen. Meteorologists pointed out the makings of tornadoes. They directed viewers to the safest places to ride out the storms. My church canceled its regular Wednesday night activities.

I called my daughter Emma to make sure she was safe. She answered on speaker phone, and I could hear my two-year-old granddaughter Layla in the background, “It’s storming, Grandma.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Grandma, you’re driving your car?”

“No, I’m home.”

She must not have heard me.