summer

Refreshing Reminder

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I was cutting the grass earlier than normal today in hopes of escaping the heat. Thankfully, it wasn’t super hot yet but the air was already heavy with humidity. Thankfully, there was a refreshing breeze that cooled me down periodically to keep me going.

That reminded me of something I learned about a particular Hebrew word used for the Holy Spirit. Ruach is translated as spirit, but it can also mean wind or breath. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about being born again, He probably used that word ruach to convey how the Spirit moves in mysterious ways.

Usually in western thinking, we typically assign one meaning to a word. Even words that can have different meanings usually have one based on context. But in Hebrew thinking, a word can have multiple meanings all at once.

As I have learned, it’s possible when Jesus used the word He was thinking spirit, breath, and wind all at once. The Holy Spirit is of course the third person in the trinity, the three-in-one consisting of three distinct persons yet also one God.

When Jesus later promised the Holy Spirit to the Church, He said that the Spirit’s job would be to remind them of all He had taught them. The Spirit would also give us the words to say at the right moment of a gospel conversation or where we’re defending what we believe.

I like to think of what the Holy Spirit does (at least in part) as a refreshing reminder of all the promise God has ever made. When life gets hard and the world becomes overbearing, the Spirit is like that gentle breeze that reminds us that God is present with us in the trials. He will bring to mind a verse or something a friend said that reflected God’s heart or even a song lyric that speaks God’s truth.

All that is to point us to Jesus and keep our eyes fixed on Him who is the founder of our faith and the goal of our journey. As long as we’re on this side of heaven with all our struggles and trials, He’s with Him. One day, we’ll have our faith made sight and reach the end of those struggles and trials, and then we’ll be with Him.

Summer Already?

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Even though it doesn’t officially start for three weeks, I think summer has arrived. That makes a lot of people very happy. That makes a few people sad. That makes me want to stay inside where the air conditioning lives.

I do like summer, but it’s not the same as when I was a kid. Back then, summer meant freedom. It meant no more teachers, no more books, and definitely no dirty teacher looks for three months. That was the best part of the season for me.

Now it just gets super hot for a long time. I still have to go to work every morning. Nothing much changes for me except that traffic gets a little more bearable with schools being out and so many people on vacation.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate all the seasons. Each plays a part in the cycle of life that God designed so long ago. Each has its own value and also helps us appreciate the other seasons a little more.

My favorite is still fall, but I want to learn how to savor summer. I don’t want to waste it by waiting for the next season and not fully appreciating the present one. These days, I try to look at it like I don’t have to go to work but I get to. I understand that each new day is a gift, not an obligation.

Will I still complain about the heat and humidity? Absolutely. That’s what I do in the summer. I sweat and whine and talk about how I can’t wait for fall, but secretly I’m a fan of summer because of the long days and the beautiful sunsets and all the smells of fresh cut grass and growing life that come with the season.

Bring on summer! I’m ready for it!

A Wedding and a Feast

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I confess that I haven’t always loved the idea of heaven. Back in the day, I somehow got the idea that heaven was an eternity-long church service. Now, that doesn’t sound so bad, but back in the day, church meant singing lots of hymns with words like “thou” and “thee” and “verily.” It also meant a lot of standing up and sitting down and listening to a preacher who yelled a lot. And also it meant wearing stiff uncomfortable clothes including dress shoes, a suit, and a clip-on tie. I may have ben stylin’ but I sure wasn’t lovin’ it.

I love the idea that heaven is a wedding. I’ve been to a few weddings, and the best ones were always a kind of celebration that left me feeling joyous. I still wore churchy clothes, but at least I was having a good time.

And I can definitely relate to a feast. As a self-diagnosed foodie, I love going to any kind of a celebration or party where there is food. Any time there was a church potluck or a family reunion, my favorite part (besides seeing the people, of course) was the food. Especially when it was the good kind with eight different varieties of fried chicken and enough casseroles to feed Custer’s army.

What made me fall in love with the idea of heaven was reading C. S. Lewis’ The Last Battle. Lewis describes heaven as waking up on the first day of summer after the school term has ended or the first day of vacation has begun. It’s that feeling of freedom and joy multiplied by infinity and stretched across eternity.

While I want to see my grandparents and all the other people that I loved and lost, the absolute best part will be seeing Jesus there. It will be the place where my faith finally becomes sight, where the best of my dreams finally come true.

More and more, I’m ready to go. The more I see of this world and the chaos and insanity in it, the more I long for the next. I long for the people I love to be there. All of them. That’s why I’m telling you again that the best decision you will ever make is to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You will never regret it.

False Fall/Second Summer

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I got my hopes up when it got cooler for a bit a few weeks ago. I actually thought for a second that we might be getting an early fall. Then it got hot again, and I sweated to death. I should know better by now.

Every year toward the end of summer, we get a tease of Autumn, a kind of sneak preview of fall that lasts long enough to tempt the weak and feint of heart that fall might actually be here. But those who are old enough and have lived in Tennessee long enough know what’s up.

Inevitably, the first actual day of fall will be hot. People will wear sweaters and flannel anyway. I will see them in their sweaters and flannel and sweat even more in a vicarious “I’m sweating on your behalf” way.

The worst is seeing all the pumpkin spice everywhere. All good people know that pumpkin spice doesn’t taste right when it’s over 90 degrees. Pumpkins are for sweater weather, not sweaty weather. And definitely not for swear weather when it’s so hot outside you want to yell swear words at the sky, but then there are probably little kids hunting for pumpkins.

Fall is still my favorite. No humidity, no bugs, and all those wonderful Autumn scents that float in the air. Plus all my favorite holidays live there (and yes, I count Christmas in with fall because it’s not really winter in Tennessee until January).

At least we’re in the ‘ber months. Those are my favorites.

Sneak Preview

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These last two or so days have been glorious. They’ve almost felt like fall, even though autumn doesn’t officially start for two weeks.

Some call it false fall, one of the nine seasons we have here in Tennessee. It gets your hopes up for an early autumn but dashes them again with the return of hot weather.

I prefer to think of days like this as a sort of sneak preview of coming attractions — in this case, fall. It’s not a harbinger of fall’s arrival, but a kind of glimpse of what it will feel like in a month or so.

I’ve lived here long enough to know how it works. The season of fall may start in two weeks, but the fall weather comes later. There’s that ol’ false fall, then Indian Summer, then another false start for autumn, then more warm, then actual fall.

The lone bad news is that I will have to put away my Hawaiian shirts for a bit. The good news is that I can finally dig the flannel out of my closet and actually think about wearing it and not sweating to death. Plus, there are all the smells and sounds and sights that come with autumn — provided all the leaves don’t fall off first from it being so dry lately.

Last but not least is Halloween. Spooky season is coming and I can’t wait!

Thursday Funnies (and Other Randomness)

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Yesterday was a hot one. Today was also a hot one. Tomorrow will most likely be a hot one. Are you sensing a trend yet?

It’s called summer. It’s like stepping out the front door into an oven. Except in my case living in Tennessee, it’s like an exceptionally moist oven. That’s because it’s very humid.

If it were 100 degrees with no humidity, I could adjust. I could learn to live with heat. But humidity is just not fair. It’s especially unfair to people (like me) with curly hair who just want to look normal and not like an alpaca who stuck its finger in an electrical socket.

But there is still a lot of summer to go. Officially, we have until September 21, but as everyone in Tennessee knows, hot weather is here until at least October. Maybe longer.

So my advice is to drink lots of water, wear sunscreen, and stay inside from 2 pm until November 2 (or maybe longer depending on the outcome of the election).

I see people in the heat wearing hoodies and jackets and long sleeves. I’m not judging, but why? It’s already heat stroke weather. There’s a heat advisory. If it’s me, I’m not adding to the risk. I mean you can wear all the layers and polyester you want. It’s a free country, but just know I will be sweating all the more when I see you bundled up in 95 degree heat.

But fall is coming. My favorite season because it’s not too hot, not too cold. Plus, you can legitimately wear hoodies and flannel and not die.

By the way, I get equally annoyed when I see people in t-shirts and gym shorts in the middle of winter. That’s just as dumb in my humble opinion.

But because we all made it through another week of living in a sauna, I brought you a joke to enjoy. Hope you like it.

Summer Solstice

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“And with the spring comes the thaw
Melting my heart reviving all
It comes full circle and then
It’s summer solstice again” (Wayne Kirkpatrick).

I could have sworn that summer started tomorrow. It seems like June 21 is always the longest day of the year and the official start to summer (although the weather has been jumping the gun a bit lately with the heat and the humidity).

It’s always interesting to me that this particular summer equinox falls almost but not quite at the halfway point of the year. I’ve mentioned it before, but summer used to be my favorite season as a kid. Mainly that was because there was no school and basically no responsibilities for two months.

Now that I’m a fully mature adult (mostly), summer is basically just like every other season but with more sweating. I tend to be less and less a fan of super hot weather as I get older. I’m growing to love fall more and more.

But I appreciate that each season has its place. God made winter, spring, summer, and fall each with a purpose in the cycle of life. Each season has its own set of holidays (though fall has the best, even if you don’t count Christmas that technically falls in winter). After all, most of Advent season is in the fall.

Seasons remind us of the faithfulness of God. Just as summer follows spring, so will the promises of God come to pass. It will not always be summer or fall or winter, and you and I will not always be stuck in our own current season, whatever that may be. One season prepares us for the next.

So long as my air conditioning stays strong, I can survive this summer. Hopefully, I can take a few lessons with me into the fall season.

Is Winter Over Yet?

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Some of you know that I am not a fan of winter. I like the part in December where we get Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I even like the first few weeks into January and February, but after that I’m over being cold and having to scrape my car’s windshield in the morning.

I’m the same way with summer. I like summer through the 4th of July and a few weeks past that, but at a point I start longing for fall. Fall is still my absolute favorite, with spring falling behind into second place.

One annoying aspect of Winter is how it pretends to go away, but doesn’t really. Already, there have been a couple of sneak previews of spring, but then in a day or two it gets rainy and cold again. Typically when I take the lining out of my rain jacket, I can predict that the temperatures will plummet again.

I know the groundhog didn’t see his shadow, so theoretically that means spring comes early. But winter isn’t ready to let go. Winter really wants to have the last word. But I think we’d all agree at this point that the song from Frozen applies — winter just needs to “let it go.”

The reason spring isn’t my favorite season is that along with warmer weather come all forms of pollen, mold, and dust that don’t like my sinuses. Or my sinuses don’t like them. I think the feeling is mutual.

Also, all those bugs that have been napping all winter wake up and want to get all up in your business right away. Plus, this year two different kinds of cicadas will be invading the land. I get that insects are an important part of the circle of life, but I wish they could be important somewhere away from me rather than constantly flying in my face all the time.

But every season serves a purpose, as it says in Ecclesiastes. Winter, spring, summer, and fall all have a part in God’s creation. I may not like them all equally, but I can appreciate each one and find the good in each season. Then I can really celebrate fall and bust out all my flannel all over again . . . in about seven months or so.

Simple Pleasures

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It’s easy to let life overwhelm you and get you distracted by all that you didn’t get done today or how much awaits you tomorrow. You can get so focused on the big picture and what will happen five years from now that you forget to find joy in the simple pleasures.

Right now, my geriatric feline is sleeping on the pillow next to mine. Occasionally, she snores. I suppose when you’re an 18 year old cat, you’re allowed. Still, it never ceases to amuse me.

I still love the feeling of driving at night with the windows rolled down and the breezes blowing. It works best in spring and fall, but there are the occasional summer nights where the air is slightly less hot and humid.

In case you forgot, the very act of breathing in and out and being alive is itself a miracle and one of the greatest joys for those who are able to appreciate it. None of us are entitled to the next day, so when it comes, it comes as a gift.

Your assignment is to take time out in your busy day to find the simple pleasures and say a quick prayer of thanks for each one. You might be surprised how it changes your perspective.

 

A Narnia Moment Brought to You By WordPress

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I’m sharing one of my favorite Narnia moments with you from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

“‘They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps has already landed.’

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning— either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer” (C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe).