The Undistracted Palm
I recently delved into the fascinating world of Leonardo Da Vinci's mind. Did you know he had hundreds of notebooks bursting with ideas for inventions, studies, paintings, and sculptures? The remarkable thing about Da Vinci wasn't just his genius but his peculiar habit of rarely finishing one project before jumping to another. His brilliant mind constantly churned with new concepts, leaving a trail of half-completed masterpieces.
Oh, how I feel a kinship with Leonardo! My desk drawer contains a notebook that's practically bursting with ideas for devotions, children's picture books, stories, and other literary ventures. Some mornings I wake with such clarity about a new book or story concept that I can hardly wait to scribble it down before it evaporates like morning dew.
"I'll finish my current project first," I tell myself firmly. Yet two hours later, I'm sketching outlines for the new idea while my half-edited manuscript sits neglected on my computer.
Finding Hope in Our Weakness
One of my favorite parts of the story of David is the cave of Adullam. I don't know why, but I've always been drawn to a place that became a refuge for the broken and distraught. So, naturally, I found a way to work it into my newest novel, Hope Reset. Here's a short excerpt from that chapter:
The merchant's arrival was just the beginning. More came in the following days. A farmer, his calloused hands empty of the crops Saul's men had seized. Three brothers, their eyes hollow with shame, fleeing debts they couldn't pay. Each carried a story of desperation, of having nowhere else to turn. Some had heard rumors in taverns, others from travelers on the road. All spoke of David's reputation for justice and mercy.
"In distress," Jesus spoke softly to Merlin. "In debt. In bitterness of soul. Watch how they come to him."
Making Our Story Count
For we spend our years as a tale that is told. - Psalm 90:9
As we wrap up our series on "Once Upon a Time," we've discovered that real life has both similarities and differences to fairy tales. We've explored how God writes better stories than the Grimm Brothers and how our struggles aren't always resolved with a wave of a magic wand. But today, let's focus on making our life story worth telling. After all, according to our verse, we spend our years as a tale that is told. The question is, what kind of tale are we telling?
Like any good story, our lives have a beginning, middle, and end. But unlike fictional tales, we're writing ours in real time, and we don't get to edit the previous chapters. So, how do we ensure our story is worth telling?
Reshaped, Not Replaced
My husband is quite the handyman. Give him a problem to solve or something to build, and he'll figure out a way to make it happen. So, when he decided to build his own sound system a few months ago, I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me was how much time and effort went into the planning stages.
For weeks, Jason pored over diagrams, measurements, and parts lists. He watched countless YouTube videos about speaker building and sound quality. When he finally had all his supplies, he commandeered the dining room and a portion of the living room (much to my dismay) and began the painstaking process of putting everything together.
At first, he was thrilled with his accomplishment. The speakers looked professional, and they worked—sort of. But it didn't take long before his excitement waned.
Avoiding Spiritual Nose Dives
You'll never believe the silly bird antics I witnessed at our backyard feeder yesterday. I'm still chuckling over this one!
So there I was, heading outside to check if spring had finally sprung, when I spotted this large starling stuck head-first inside the birdfeeder. Somehow, he had wedged his plump body through the tiny opening at the top and gotten stuck. Yup, rather than just pecking at the food from the sides like the other birds, old chunky cheeks got the brilliant idea to nose-dive straight in after a snack!
I did a double take at the bird standing on its head as the poor thing flailed around, feathers flying, trying in vain to work himself back out. His scrawny tail feathers kept getting caught on the feeder’s lip every time he backed up. You could tell the foolish bird had absolutely no plan for extracting himself from that self-imposed trap.