Reservations for Guilt Trips
By Karen Friday
Trips. A planned or spontaneous travel schedule. Most-liked vacation spots. Places familiar or unknown. Traveling abroad. A voyage by sea. Guided tours. Historical landmarks. The mountains. A natural wonder. The beach. Tropical climates. Soaring altitudes. Resorts for sight seekers, adventure junkies, and tourists of all shapes and sizes.
Perhaps…crossing out a bucket list item—going somewhere you’ve never visited. Even people are labeled trips.
Whatever the mode of transportation. Whether a one-way-trip or round-trip. Short or extended stay. It’s movement toward a point of destination. A journey for recreation, relaxation, and getaways—a means to escape.
There are times we go on trips and end up somewhere we don’t want to be. Guilt trips qualify.
Guilt trips make us painfully aware of being stuck in an unwanted place. We feel it deep inside. A restless, unsettled state of wishing we were home—back to familiar surroundings. A safe place.
January 15, 2015 at 9:12 am | Uncategorized
Look Before You Blame
© 2015 by Karen Friday
Sometimes no one is to blame but me.
Our tendency to cast blame on other men or women started with the first man and woman.
When the first humans disobeyed God, it triggered a finger-pointing cycle still in motion today. Adam told God it was the woman’s fault. When Eve was questioned, she immediately blamed the serpent.
You see the pattern here? “It was her!” or “He’s to blame!” (Not me!)
Let’s take a closer look. Pull the cameras in for a tight shot in the Garden. Someone on the film crew get a microphone on Adam. A headset mic will do. Fig leaf shirts are not in style.
In Genesis 3:11, the Lord God asked Adam straight up, “Did you eat of the tree I commanded you not to eat?” Before we pause for a commercial break (glad there are no real commercials in Bible stories), listen carefully to Adam’s response, “The woman you gave me…she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (verse 12.)
January 8, 2015 at 8:35 am | Uncategorized
Standing Room Only in 2015
By Karen Friday
“Once you start listening to people in the stands, you will soon be sitting with them.” ~Joe Kuharich, college/pro football player and coach.
As we embark on a new year, we have a choice to sit in the stands of life or take a stand for something. Something that matters.
Four ways to make 2015 a standing room only year:
1. Listen to The Lord to continue in his playbook.
“But my people did not listen to my voice….” Psalm 81:11 (ESV)
- Listening for positioning (the mission field God has given you).
- There’s a difference between hearing and listening.
Hearing is the physiological mechanics of our ear. Listening is attentive: processing what we hear through our mind.
January 1, 2015 at 9:28 am | Uncategorized
The First Breath of Grace
Unto Us A Child Is Born
By Karen Friday
He took his first breath.
Wrapped in swaddling cloths, though adorned with royal titles.
Wonderful. Counselor. Prince of Peace. Holy King. Immanuel (God with us). The Ancient of Days.
The Lamb of God who created the star that was lit and placed in the heavens to announce his arrival. He is the light of the world.
I held him in my arms. Overjoyed. This is my child. My baby. My boy.
Barely minutes old and seemingly fragile. But this baby embodied the fullness of the Godhead. Such power was later demonstrated when he cast out evil spirits and raised the dead to life again!
December 18, 2014 at 9:47 am | Uncategorized
Silent Night. Holy Knight.
© 2014 by Karen Friday
“S-i-l-e-n-t night . . . all is calm . . . .” (Calm? No. But very quiet.)
I sipped on herbal tea with honey and fresh lemon. Under the canopy of a bath towel, my face hovered over steam rising up from the sink.
Unable to squeak out a single word. Laryngitis had set up residence in my vocal cords. Late into the silent night, I was trying every known home remedy. On my umpteen cup of tea, I knew I could not outwit this condition. I was at its mercy.
My voice went on a short vacation and didn’t ask me for permission to leave. The nerve! Why the uneasiness? I had a job interview the next morning. How could I possibly introduce myself?
It’s no secret. I’m fond of talking. Me and words are BFFS (best friends forever). ‘Verbose’ should be inscribed on my forehead or near my mouth. (Rest assured of my family’s reaction to the period of silence: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!”)
December 11, 2014 at 9:09 am | Uncategorized
You Go First
By Karen Friday
My bare feet made their way up the ladder, mortified to back out now.
A jump from the high diving board. Could I pull it off? With this quiet, secret fear of heights? A ‘public’ embarrassment to turn around and go the same way I had arrived—down the ladder. Past the people waiting in line. As pool-siders gawked behind sunglasses, I would look like a scaredy cat.
Me and my sister, along with friends, hung out at the local pool several summer days a week. We were middle school age (yes, younger kids jump off high dives). I had conjured up enough courage to make jumps (oodles of them) off the low dive. It was low.
Mind you, I wasn’t planning a crowd-pleasing, eyebrow-raising dive or backwards flip. I wasn’t a good diver. I kind of fell into the water from the sidelines with hands in proper position to go in first and head following after. My body wasn’t perfectly straight, bent legs gave me away. (Judges score cards read 3.0.)
December 4, 2014 at 9:15 am | Uncategorized
Ways to Make Sure Our Gobble is Not Ungrateful
© 2014 by Karen Friday
The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday you know where.
A fourth grader’s report on the first Thanksgiving when the classroom teacher requested students make no reference to God. (While I have a copy of this Thanksgiving poem, I cannot confirm the citation.)
We are disturbed about Christmas devoid of God. What about the holiday before the birth of Christ? Finding and keeping God in Thanksgiving?
Are we celebrating more than pilgrims and turkey?
November 25, 2014 at 9:01 am | Uncategorized
You’ll Never Find This in “Lost and Found”
By Karen Friday
The ding of an alarm ring. The tick-tock of a clock. The swing of a pendulum. A second. A minute. A moment in time.
Time is the one thing we have equal amounts of (in a day). You may have more money, square footage, education, good-looks, and possessions. Time is the same.
The difference is seen in how we manage, use, and spend 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds.
“Just killing time,” is losing something we can never get back. Time wasted, thrown away or squandered can in no way be recovered. Lost forever. There has never been a lost and found for time. Maybe a lost watch. Not lost time.
November 20, 2014 at 9:22 am | Uncategorized
The Epic Power of Blood
© 2014 by Karen Friday
It was a double-stick kind of day. I’m not talking about double-sided sticky tape.
A needle stick to draw blood in each arm. Right arm in the morning, left arm in the afternoon.
Yes, me. The one they have difficulty getting veins to ‘show up’ for the procedure. “Itty bitty veins” (that’s a direct quote from the lab tech). Normally, it’s an epic fail to get to a vein the first try or two.
A visit to the doctor for a yearly exam and blood panel—three vials full. I’m not sure on the amount because I am looking the other way or have my eyes closed.
November 13, 2014 at 9:22 am | Uncategorized
Outrageous Inspiration for a Country Song
By Karen Friday
“Sadie is howling, and whining, and acting like a crazy female.”
Autumn colors reflected in a fishing pond beside the quaint cabin. A family get-away for four in the mountains of Tennessee.
In trip planning, paw marks indicated a pet-friendly rental. The foursome included me and my husband along with Sadie, a female dachshund and Big-T, a male pug. Pets we refer to as our “kids.” The little furry ones. Our real offspring are people who are grown adults and not too furry.
Sadie does not like new adventures or riding in a vehicle. She is a homebody (home dog). Traveling in a Chevy truck, she paced in the back seat whining with displeasure. Going from window to window, fidgety and antsy. After arriving, she nervously investigated the temporary abode and anxiously refused to eat for hours.
November 6, 2014 at 9:00 am | Uncategorized