’cause we know that all things work together for good to those who love God

Labor Day weekend is here, with an opportunity to spend Monday sleeping late for a change. What better way to celebrate than with a special breakfast—served at noon? This would also be a great breakfast to prepare for your sweetie, served in bed and garnished with a kiss.

While I never encountered French toast in France, it is traditionally made with French bread. Perhaps that’s where the name comes from.

As with so many delicious recipes, this is really not very good for you. But hey, you’re not making a habit of it, are you?

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Among the approximately 200,000 words in the English language (give or take a few), “Dord” is unique.

Oh, it’s in the dictionary, or at least it used to be, right there between Dorcopsis (a genus of small kangaroo) and doré (meaning gold). But it doesn’t mean anything. In fact, it was there by accident. Dord isn’t really a word.

Turns out that for five years, from 1934 through 1939 , Webster’s New International Dictionary mistakenly included dord as a real word, defining it as a noun meaning density.

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Central to every couple is the issue of communication… and central to the ability to connect is the issue of disclosure. I’ve learned a lot about God’s view of secrets this summer. He hates them.

The Bible is full of examples of God having secrets, ranging from the mystery of his plan for mankind to the timing of the Second Coming. There are even cases of God telling people to keep secrets. Those aren’t the kind of secrets I’m talking about here.

The secrets that God hates are those we think we are keeping from Him—or sins we are hiding from one another. God assures us that nothing can be hidden from His sight. Jeremiah 23:24 reads, “’Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” If we think we’re keeping secrets from God, we are only fooling ourselves.

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The theme for this summer has been “relationships.” Several dear friends are joyfully falling in love, while another close couple is at risk of falling out of it. Those who are unmarried are contemplating marriage. The two who are married are in danger of separation.

Maybe it’s the gray hairs, maybe it’s our 31 years of marriage (and we still like one another!), but Pete and I are being asked for wise counsel in all these relationships. I count this a huge responsibility, and I’ve spent a lot of time begging God to direct my words. (I’m especially asking for godly wisdom, the courage to pass on what He tells me, and a lot of love for everyone involved.)

In the middle of all this relating, I’ve come to realize that there are some commonalities. I would like to address two critical issues in particular: submission and secrets. Today I focus on submission.

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“We’re broke!”
“Our credit cards are maxed out, and I don’t know what to do!”
“I can’t sleep at night—I just lie there and worry about our finances.”

I’ve been hearing a lot of comments like these lately. Many of our close friends are at the end of their financial ropes, and the cords are fraying. While my husband and I are doing all right—we’re paying all our bills, at least—we too are feeling the effects of a challenging economy and several years of missing income.

I knew when Pete made the switch from commercial consulting to full-time ministry that our financial situation would change. We were used to being somewhat frugal—at least we thought of ourselves that way—but this would be on a whole new level. Sensing God telling me we needed to simplify our finances and learn to live with less, I sought counsel from older (and hopefully more mature) members of our church. And I was astonished that no one had any advice for me. All I heard was, “You’re doing fine!” Really?

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NEWS FLASH: I held a tarantula!

(The photo is actually of Pete’s hand, from several months ago, but the tarantula is the same individual that I held recently.)

If you have been following my other blog, Mountain Plover, you know that I am generally terrified of spiders. In an effort to overcome this phobia, I have been intentionally learning more about them. Last February I wrote about tarantulas, illustrating my post with photos I took through the glass walls of a terrarium. It was a beginning.

In July, I wrote about how spiders are beneficial to us gardeners. Again, photos accompanied that post. This time, there were no glass barriers between my camera lens and my subjects.

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One and a half weeks ago I wrote about the idea of memorial stones—tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness. Last time I posted the first part of a story from 1992. Today I’d like to share the second and third of three related events that happened quite a while ago, but which still feed my faith today. Be sure to especially notice God’s sense of timing.

If you remember, it was October, 1992. Pete had been invited to a mission conference to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, that included representatives from every Latin American nation….

Having finally made it to Costa Rica, we were proceeding smoothly through customs when the inspector decided that Pete’s large box full of used, donated floppy diskettes looked too valuable to allow in without paying duty (and going through the attendant red tape.) Our limited Spanish was simply not up to explaining that the materials were used, had no commercial value, and were vital for providing computer backups during the international conference we were about to attend.

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Last week I wrote about the idea of memorial stones—tangible reminders of God’s faithfulness. Today I’d like to share the first of three related events that happened quite a while ago, but which still feed my faith today.

It was October, 1992. Pete had been invited to a major mission conference to be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, to provide technical training for the attending missionaries….

Our whole family [Pete, myself, and our two elementary school-aged daughters] got up at about 4 a.m. for the hour-long shuttle ride to the airport. We arrived at 5:30 for the 6:45 flight. As we collected our luggage, we suddenly realized that Pete’s black computer bag was not among the suitcases. That computer was rather critical to the success of a trip that was mainly technical! Yet, there was simply no time to go back home and get it.

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It’s August, summer produce is at its peak—and the veggie most in abundance is zucchini!

Since I garden, I usually have plenty of zucchini to use and to share. As a result, I’m always searching for new recipes to put this profusion to good use. My standard zucchini recipe is to sauté it with caramelized onions and garlic, then top it all with Parmesan cheese. While that’s definitely delicious, a little variety helps keep everyone enthusiastic.

At the same time, we love to eat Mexican food. While rice and beans are great, most Mexican menus are very short in the veggie department. We all need to eat more veggies.

This recipe for sautéed corn and zucchini solves both problems. It uses up plenty of squash, and pairs beautifully with enchiladas and other Mexican main dishes.

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They say that our memories are the first thing to go… and apparently God agrees.

The third chapter of Joshua relates the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River into the promised land. In order to get all those people across from one side to the other, God stopped the flow of water. Instead of rushing by in torrent, the river piled up into a wall far upstream while the tribes walked across on dry land.

While the Jordan miracle was perhaps not quite of the same magnitude as the parting of the Red Sea, it was still an extremely significant milestone in the history of Israel. Moses led the people out of slavery; here Joshua is leading them into the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Such an important event needed to be remembered, so God instructed Joshua to have twelve men, one from each tribe, collect twelve stones from the middle of the river bed (See chapter 4). They carried these stones to their camp and set them up as a memorial. Joshua 4:24 explains, “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

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