Yes! My first pumpkin spice sighting!

It’s not so much that I’m the biggest fan of the pumpkin spice flavor (although I do like it from time to time). I equate pumpkin spice with the arrival of Autumn, so this sighting means that fall is drawing nigh.

I’m ready for all things fall. I’m ready to wear flannel and roast s’mores on bonfires. I’m ready to see some leaves changing colors.

I’m not naive. I understand that here in Tennessee, fall is usually a bit late in arriving. Just because the calendar says it’s the Autumnal Equinox doesn’t mean that the weather will cooperate.

In all likelihood, there will be more days of hot muggy sweaty stinky humidity to come. But for me I know that the end of all that is in sight. I can hold out for cooler temperatures and crisp breezes.

Until then, I drink pumpkin spice and dream of fall.

“Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused? When we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace–a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, ‘Let not your heart be troubled’ (John 14:27)” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, New Living Translation).

I had the privilege tonight of celebrating a friend going to the mission field. She’s leaving in a few days for Honduras for almost three months. Me and some others were able to hear her story and pray over her as she prepares to step out in faith in a big way.

I didn’t voice my prayer out loud, but I prayed something like this:

God, go before her to all the places her feet will land and to all the people she will meet. Even now, may You be already at work in the hearts and the lives of the women she will encounter.

Jesus, you promised that we shouldn’t worry about what we should say at any given moment, because you promised that your Holy Spirit would give us the right words at just the right moment.

Be with my friend and anoint her words so that not one falls to the ground but that every one accomplishes the purpose for which you sent it forth.

May your anointing and protection be over her from the moment her plane takes off on day one to the moment it lands on coming home.

Give her mother a peace that passes all understanding during this time and be with her in a tangible and real way to know that you will take care of her daughter.

As always, be glorified, and may Your will be done in Honduras as it is in heaven.

Amen.

One of my favorite groups that probably few people know about is Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. They are a kind of retro-soul band, a throwback to the late 60’s and early 70’s Stax and Motown era.

Sharon Jones, the lead singer, served at one point as a corrections officer at Rikers Island before getting her big break in music. Sadly, she passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 60 in 2016.

This kind of music is as far from the cafeteria-style bland pop music of modern radio as you can get. It almost feels like stepping into a time machine (or a Tardis) and being transported back 50 or so years into the past.

I honestly can’t remember where I first heard about this group, but I suspect it was back when Starbucks used to have music as well as coffee and scones. Hearing that soulful voice backed up by a tight rhythm section and horns, I was hooked.

Whenever I hear good music, I like to share the wealth, so here’s a link to one of their albums.

https://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B01I6PY2EK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1535081378&sr=8-10&keywords=sharon+jones+and+the+dap+kings

It makes for good driving in the car after work (or anytime) music. I recommend it and give it two enthusiastic thumbs way up!

I think we all struggle to some degree with fear and anxiety. There’s some area of life for each of us that gives concern and causes us to worry.

I’ve learned that every time that I let fear and anxiety rule, I end up imagining a future with no God in it. I picture a world where all the solutions to all my problems must all depend on me. That’s a scary place.

But God never ends. His love never runs out. His mercies never come to an end but are new every single morning. Every day that I wake up I see how great is the faithfulness of God.

So fear ends when faith begins and worry runs out where God’s love never does.

I heard something tonight that may have changed the way I view the calling of God. Basically, the speaker said that God’s call isn’t so much about a profession as it is about a person.

Jesus’ call to the disciples was to come and follow Him. That’s the primary call He gives to us today. We may have gifts and talents, but the primary call is to follow Jesus.

As the speaker put it, if my calling is to be a football player and I blow out my knee, then my calling becomes null and void. If my calling is to be a singer and I lose my voice, then my calling no longer applies.

But if my calling is to follow Jesus, that will last forever. Everything else that I do will be as a result of my obedience to Jesus’ first command to all of us– follow Me.

As I write these words, I’m still processing this in my head. It means that I’m no longer what I do (or don’t do) for a living, or how much I earn or how many titles and degrees I have, but I’m who Jesus calls me to be. I’m a follower of Jesus.

Mind. Blown.

Tonight, I went with my mother to see the long-awaited sequel to 2008’s Mamma Mia, starring the ever-amazing Meryl Streep and the songs of that stalwart 70’s group Abba.

Let’s just say the plot for that first film was flimsy and full of holes. The second one was nearly nonexistent. But who goes to see a musical for the plot?

Musicals are all about the spectacle, the songs, the scenery. They’re truly about feel good moments. Musicals exist in a world where people spontaneously break into song and dance without any warning and where apparently everyone knows the words and dance steps even if they’ve never heard the song before.

But Mamma Mia 2 was worth it. I promise to keep this spoiler-free, so I’ll just mention that there are a couple of moments where the joy is overwhelming and palpable and a moment or two where a bit of sadness prevails.

I think we need more musicals. We don’t need more reality TV and crime procedurals based on true events. We need something to escape to, a world where anything’s possible and where people end up mostly living happily ever after.

I’ll probably pick up Mamma Mia when it hits the shelves at Target on some future Tuesday. Now all of you go see it in your nearest movie theater. You will thank me later.

I think the title says it all.

I ended up not getting to sleep in any this weekend, but it was worth it. From a fantastic concert Friday night to Belmont Move-In Day early on Saturday to doing my volunteering thing at church this morning to my company’s fantasy football draft this afternoon, it was a jam packed weekend.

So I vote that tomorrow and possibly the next day should be a national holiday of some kind, so I can sleep in those days. That’d be nice.

I did get a nap in on Saturday, so I’m not completely zapped.

I suppose on Monday morning I can survive with a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. But then again, that’s every single day of my life.

After a year hiatus, I was able again to participate in helping with Belmont Move-in Day for incoming freshmen. I missed it last year and so getting the opportunity to lug boxes up and down stairs and down dorm hallways wasn’t something I was going to miss out on this year.

I’ve never seen a system like this that was so well-organized. Something that would have taken the students and their parents all day to do takes 5 minutes, leaving more time for the parents to spend with the child they’re leaving behind.

I did see one mom who was doing her best to hold it together emotionally while she was moving her daughter in to Belmont. She’d dab away a tear occasionally, but I know she was trying not to lose it until she got back in her car on the way home.

I know for me starting college was a big exciting adventure but also one of the biggest adjustments I’d ever had to make. It was thrilling and frightening at the same time. I know I probably needed some friendly and assuring faces to remind me that everything would be okay.

It was hot, sweaty, strenuous, and worth every bit of the time and effort I put into it. Hopefully, God willing, I’ll be back next year for another round of freshmen students and boxes.