For the first time in a long while, I completed a Radnor Lake State Park triathlon. Basically, I hiked the Ganier Ridge, South Cove, and Lake Trails all in one afternoon.

All in all, I hiked for right at 3 hours. No wonder my feet hurt.

But it was completely worth it. At times when I’m by myself and I can hear my own thoughts — as well as the sounds of nature all around me– I feel like Thoreau must have felt at Walden Pond.

There’s something about being out in nature that’s very restorative and relaxing. For me, it feels like profaning the silence to speak, so I keep my mouth shut and looks and listen.

In a culture that’s addicted to constant noise, we forget how peaceful the quiet can be. Maybe it’s time we started to indulge in a little peace and quiet every now and then.

It’s true. Monday is tomorrow. That dreaded first day of the week draweth nigh. No one is happy about it.

Here’s the deal. You will survive. You’ll get through.

You are just as much secure in your salvation on Monday as you were Sunday. You are just as much loved by Jesus and covered by His grace as you were the previous six days.

No matter what happens, you’re good. God’s got you. It’s not that He won’t give you more than you can handle but more than He can handle. He will give you the strength to handle what you’ve been given.

Oh, and Monday is just another day on the calendar. Spoiler alert. There’s nothing especially bad about it except for what we bring with a sometimes self-defeating, self-fulfilling mentality. What you get out of a day depends on what you bring into it, how you look at it, and your attitude toward it.

In Christ, the worst that can ever happen to you is already handled. Nothing will get thrown at you tomorrow that God didn’t see coming.

You are surrounded, secure, and certain to be just fine.

Sometimes, that’s all you need to do.

Be silent. Be still. Cease striving.

Quit trying to micromanage your life, your marriage, your kids, your job, your everything.

Surrender the illusion of control and let God be God.

Know that even if that rare worst-case scenario happens, God is still in control. He will work all things, even absolute worst-case scenarios, for your good and His glory.

So chill.

As I write these words, my little Peanut is lounging on my bed, something that she doesn’t do all that often.

Not to say that she isn’t friendly or cuddly. She’s both. She certainly has a lot of kittenish energy.

She still loves her morning belly rubs. She gets that look of ecstasy and pure joy whenever she rolls over and I commence to pet her little chest. She’s in a state of catly bliss.

It’s weird that at times I can be so very fond of Peanut and at the same time still miss my first cat Lucy fiercely. I wonder how the two would have gotten along.

I also saw where the cat famous for all the Grumpy Cat memes passed away. Her real name was Tardar Sauce (no lie), but she made a lot of people, including me, smile.

I guess the my best response is to cherish my little cat Peanut for as long as I have her. She may not be famous or grumpy, but she sure is cute.

“And I raised my voice to the air
And we were blessed
It’s hard to give
It’s hard to get
It’s hard to live still I think it’s the best bet
It’s hard to give and I’m never gonna forget
But everybody needs a little forgiveness
Everybody needs a little forgiveness”

I’m a stickler for quality music when it comes to my daily afternoon commute. I’m not one to turn on the radio and let some random DJ pick my songs for me. I’d rather put a little bit of thought into it to make the long trek less taxing.

Lately, I’ve been on a Patty Griffin kick. Starting with her debut album, I’m working my way through her musical catalogue. There have been some heavenly days lately, I can tell you.

She’s the real deal as an artist. Not many can sing well and write great songs. That’s a rare combination. She does both fantasically.

I love songs that paint pictures in my mind, and her songs do that. So the Patty Griffin-a-thon will continue in my Jeep for the foreseeable future. I think that’s a very good thing.

I’ve been learning about a Hebrew word, hesed (or chesed, as it’s also spelled). It’s translated 169 different ways in the Bible, most often as “steadfast love” and “lovingkindness.” Basically, the definition that I like the best is “when someone from whom you deserve and expect nothing gives you everything.”

I’ve also been seeing a lot of professing believers lately talking about karma, always in the context of other people who really deserve it. No one ever speaks of getting it for themselves.

I’m with Bono on this one. I don’t want karma for anybody else because I know I wouldn’t want it for myself. I’d be in deep doo doo if I got karma for all the dumb mistakes and poor choices I’ve made. I’d be up a certain creek without any paddles if I got my so-called just desserts over all the crap I’ve said and done.

If I get the choice, I choose hesed. My only hope in this life is not getting what I deserve but getting what I don’t deserve instead. I covet God’s lovingkindness and mercy because I daily and increasingly see my need of it.

So, karma is that you get what you deserve. Hesed says you get what you never in a million years could hope to deserve (and is the opposite of what you should probably get if you had karma coming to you) and you get what God delights in Jesus to give you.

I’m praying for hesed for me and for you.

“After breakfast, Yeshua said to Shim‘on Kefa, “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan, do you love me more than these?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I’m your friend.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan, do you love me?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I’m your friend.” He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan, are you my friend?” Shim‘on was hurt that he questioned him a third time: “Are you my friend?” So he replied, “Lord, you know everything! You know I’m your friend!” Yeshua said to him, “Feed my sheep! Yes, indeed! I tell you, when you were younger, you put on your clothes and went where you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” He said this to indicate the kind of death by which Kefa would bring glory to God. Then Yeshua said to him, “Follow me!”” (Yochanan (Jhn)‬ ‭21:15-19‬ ‭CJB‬‬)

From time to time, I like to try out different Bible translations. My phone has a Bible app called YouVersion, which has several, including one called the Complete Jewish Bible. It definitely gives a different nuance to the familiar passages, like the one above.

I really like how it distinguishes between the two different Greek words for love in the passage. Jesus asks, “Peter, do you AGAPE me?” and Peter replies, “Lord, you know I PHILEO you.”

Here, Peter’s response is rendered as “you know I’m your friend.”

What I love most about this take on these verses is how Jesus meets Peter where he is. The third time, Jesus asks Peter, “Are you my friend?”

That’s what I love about Jesus. He meets you where you are. He doesn’t demand that your love be pure and your faith be faultless. He simply wants you as you are, faults and blemishes and shameful past included.

His command to us is the same as it was to Peter: “Follow me.” It’s in the obedience and in the following that we learn to move from phileo love to agape love.

The basis of all human love starts with God’s love. We only love at all because God in Jesus first loved us and demonstrated that love fully for us.

I started out with good intentions. My aim was to browse my facebook memories and find inspiration for a good post.

Instead I find myself laughing out loud at a picture of a cat dressed in a sock.

It’s like when you go to youtube to watch ONE video and end up TWO hours later watching tutorials on how to potty train your hedgehog.

Yep. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten very far.

I did find something useful that might or might not speak to you today.

Here it is, just in case.

“The True God who inhabits sacred space
    is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.
He makes a home for those who are alone.
    He frees the prisoners and leads them to prosper” (Psalm 68:5-6, The Voice).

It is Mother’s Day, so I salute all of the mothers and grandmothers out there reading this right now.

I also want to acknowledge that this isn’t an easy time for many women out there.

Some women have lost their mothers and are still grieving their memories.

Some women have lost children and to them this is a day filled with sadness.

Some women have tried and tried unsuccessfully to have children and are unable and sit with a silent but overwhelming despair.

Some have complicated and difficult relationships with their mothers or children, and today of all days may be the day they feel as though they are a failure for not having done enough.

The church should be a safe haven for all of the above, for all women in all walks of life. We should never make anyone feel “less than” for not having checked off the prerequisite boxes for getting married and having a carload of children.

Most of all, today should be a reminder that God is not only a Father but also loves us with a tender motherly kind of love, like a hen gathering her little chicks under her wings. You, whoever you are and wherever you are and in whatever stage of life you’re in, have intrinsic value as a daughter or son of God.

That above all else– husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister– is our core identity in Christ and purpose in this world.

I saw this today. It’s true. Most of the time you won’t have time for what matters unless you make time for it. And you will always make time for what (and who) really matters to you.

I also like another related saying I heard. “Stop the glorification of busy.” That’s true. You don’t need to be overwhelmed all the time if you quit bowing to the tyranny of the urgent, find out what is most important, and go do that.

Maybe this is a wakeup call for most of us (including me) to reach out to the people we’ve been “too busy” to contact lately. Now’s as good a time as any to start.