tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46438014367258680192024-03-13T10:27:37.567-04:00Flourishing TreeCultivating bountiful livesHope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-82131838327133647412012-05-09T16:45:00.000-04:002012-05-09T16:45:21.314-04:00The transplanted treeHi, Readers -- A dear friend recently told me she hadn't been getting updates to my blog. I wanted to make sure all of you who followed my blog here or had subscribed to get email notifications know that my blog has moved: http://theflourishingtree.com.<br />
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Please <a href="http://theflourishingtree.com/">visit my new page</a>, where you can find an easy-to-use email subscription field. (You will need to fill out the new one, as I can't transfer your email subscription for you.) I look forward to seeing you in my new virtual garden!<br />
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If you have this page bookmarked, be sure to update your bookmark to the new page, too. Thanks so much for reading.Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-68011301225196812542012-03-07T16:25:00.000-05:002012-03-07T16:25:35.135-05:00This blog has moved on<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
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It was time to "repot" this blog. You'll find it at <a href="http://theflourishingtree.com/" target="_blank">theflourishingtree.com</a>.</div>
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You've heard the expression, "Bloom where you're planted." While I believe it's a good saying to encourage us to make the best of our circumstances, I also think it's true that sometimes we simply need to move out of particular situations to improve our lives.</div>
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If you're like me, you're already looking around your garden preparing for Spring and planning what plants you might need to repot or move to a different part of the garden. Repotting or transplanting plants can be essential to those plants' survival. Maybe the pots are too small for their roots to thrive. Maybe their spot in the garden has become too shady for them to grow and bloom and flourish the way they should.</div>
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The same may be true of your own life. Sometimes staying put and making the best of a situation is simply not the best strategy. Maybe it's a destructive relationship that we need to leave behind. Or an untenable work environment. Or an addiction to something unhealthy. Or simply a lazy habit.</div>
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In <a data-mce-href="http://theflourishingtree.com/2012/02/29/29-reasons-to-make-the-leap/" href="http://www.flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2012/02/29-reasons-to-make-leap.html" style="color: #1b8be0; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;" target="" title="The Flourishing Tree 29 Reasons post">last week's post</a>, I gave you 29 reasons to stop procrastinating and make whatever leap you've been considering. And I promised a leap of my own: "repotting" this blog from Blogspot to WordPress.</div>
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So <a href="http://theflourishingtree.com/" target="_blank">voila</a>! If you have my blog bookmarked, please take a moment to update your bookmark. You might also like to follow me by email (look for the email subscription link at the top right). Subscribing this way means you get every new post delivered directly to your inbox, so you'll never miss a message from me. For those of you very dear readers who follow me here at blogspot, please feel free to unfollow me here and follow me at the new blog: <a href="http://theflourishingtree.com/">theflourishingtree.com</a>.</div>
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I look forward to seeing you there and hearing what you think of the blog's new "pot."</div>
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<br /></div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-62138632412111759272012-03-02T13:19:00.000-05:002012-03-02T13:25:40.259-05:00Fig season is a long way offFrom the archives ... my very first post on this blog. As I edit to make the big move <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2012/02/29-reasons-to-make-leap.html" target="_blank">mentioned in Wednesday's post</a>, this post somehow decided it wanted to be first in the list again. So here it is. Enjoy, and look for a new post from me next week -- announcing a new home for the blog.<br />
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My minister, Ned Hill, spoke this last Sunday about his love of figs ... and his inability to turn down the offer of some fresh figs from a stranger on a park bench in DC. The two of them conversed for a bit, and then, seemingly out of the blue, the stranger said, "My God, you're a preacher!" Turns out the stranger was a Rabbi, and he could recognize one of his own kind.<br />
<br />
Well, all of this made me crave figs, and we're still dealing with a frigidly cold winter and the forecast for more of the white stuff coming our way. Dried figs aren't really going to satisfy the craving, and so I'll just have to wait patiently and, instead, fill myself up with stories about fig trees from the Bible.<br />
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There are two main reasons I'm talking about craving figs here. One is to tout a great new book by <a href="http://lysaterkeurst.com/">Lysa TerKeurst</a> called <i><a href="http://madetocrave.org/">Made to Crave</a></i>, where she invites women (and men, too) to hold on to the truth that "we were made to crave ... God, not food." So while I'll have to wait a few months to satisfy my craving for fresh figs, I can satisfy my need for fig stories and what they say about God's truth for my life by turning to the Bible.<br />
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That's the second reason I'm writing about figs in the middle of winter. I want to introduce you to this new blog: <i>Flourishing Tree</i>. I hope you'll read along as I share my journey through the Bible to explore the ways trees spring up as metaphors for how we should live our lives. Along with Biblical encounters, I'll share with you some other ways my life is flourishing: through writing, running, reading, art, music and more. And I hope you'll do the same -- the seeds you share here may be just what another reader needs to transform into a flourishing tree, too!<br />
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Blessings,<br />
HopeHope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-28615390076532785242012-02-29T16:50:00.000-05:002012-03-02T13:22:17.510-05:0029 reasons to make the leapUnless you've spent today under a rock, you probably know it's leap day. You've probably heard people urging you to "Seize the day," or do something different today.<br />
<br />
If only we treated every day as leap day, a day to break out of our comfortable routine and shake things up a bit. No matter what day you actually get around to reading this, I've made a list of reasons to make the leap -- into whatever you've been putting off, whatever you have wanted to do but lacked the courage to complete.<br />
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My reason is simple and selfish: I've been putting off migrating this blog over to WordPress, and I figured if I told you, my dear readers, about the move then I'd actually follow through with it. So next week (at least, I hope it'll be ready by next week), visit my blog here to see news about the move and to find the new link. In the meantime, here's the list of 29 reasons to leap.<br />
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The first four are mostly a pep talk for me and a handful of friends who have considered migrating their blogs over, too, but the rest apply to any of you:<br />
<ol>
<li>One-way conversations are simply no fun (I know people who are all talk and no listen, and being around them is annoying, and I don't want my blog to be like that un-fun). Plus, y'all have told me that commenting can be really frustrating or even downright impossible.</li>
<li>WordPress will give the blog a cleaner look for readers using smart phones and tablets.</li>
<li>I'll be able to blog more easily from a tablet (yep -- they make an app for that). So that means I can keep in touch with you more easily while I'm traveling or otherwise not chained to my desk.</li>
<li>I'll have more layout choices for the blog, which means it'll be more fun -- or at least easier -- for you to read and navigate the blog.</li>
<li>A leap like this can teach yet another small lesson about how to stop procrastinating. I believe this to be a lesson that will take a lifetime for me too learn, one that I won't get it right until the last possible moment, and even then, I may try to find a way to put things off a bit longer.</li>
<li>Leap year only happens once every four years -- so take advantage of the extra day to try something adventurous.</li>
<li>You won't have to keep wondering, "What if ..."</li>
<li>You'll gain a sense of accomplishment.</li>
<li>You'll gain a sense of peace.</li>
<li>Leaps usually aren't boring.</li>
<li>It's good to take your breath away from time to time.</li>
<li>You can quote Emerson, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Hobgoblin is just a fun word to say. Try saying it out loud to yourself right now. Does it make you smile a bit?</li>
<li>After the leap, you'll free up your mind to think about the next challenge.</li>
<li>Leaps give you an interesting topic of conversation.</li>
<li>They're also a great reason to pray.</li>
<li>And they're an even better reason to ask others to pray along with you.</li>
<li>Leaps can re-energize your mind.</li>
<li>Impress your kids and set a good example for them. A friend posted the words to one of my favorite Avett Brothers songs on Facebook today, and I thought it fit perfectly with this: And I want to stand up and I want to stand tall/If I ever have a son, if I ever have a daughter/I don't want to tell them that I didn't give my all./ And I just want my life to be true/I just want my heart to be true/I just want my words to be true/I want my soul to feel brand, brand new.</li>
<li>Impress your dog.</li>
<li>Leaps give you something to crow -- or tweet -- about.</li>
<li>Leaps can make your life better/easier/more exciting/richer (I don't necessarily mean material wealth, here).</li>
<li>A leap could make you a better friend/neighbor/expert.</li>
<li>You'll have a story to tell your grandkids one day.</li>
<li>Your leap may bring a blessing to someone else.</li>
<li>You might just learn something new.</li>
<li>You'll expand your options.</li>
<li>You may discover a new calling.</li>
<li>A leap could be the most exhilarating part of today.</li>
<li>A leap may be God's way of preparing you for an even greater leap -- and maybe each subsequent leap will be less and less scary to you.</li>
</ol>
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Whether the next few days find you trying to decide to move your blog, quit your job, jump across a stream during a 50-mile trail race, start a new church, start a new hobby, or start a big new chapter in your life ... make the leap.</div>
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Legal disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to try anything stupid, death-defying or death-enducing, but if you do something and don't manage to defy death, your family and friends can't sue me because of this list. However, if you follow my encouragement and moments of joy, freedom or even hilarity result, I hope you'll share them by commenting below.</div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-22094257386833812262012-02-22T16:33:00.002-05:002012-02-22T16:33:31.710-05:00The ashes of our celebrationsToday is <a href="http://www.orlutheran.com/html/ash.html" target="_blank">Ash Wednesday</a>, the beginning of Lent that will be a time of penitence and preparation for Easter.<br />
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As you know from <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2012/02/will-i-ever-learn-to-shut-up-and-obey.html">last week's post on obedience</a>, I'm struggling to obey God's call. Being sorry for that struggle comes easily to me. Being ashamed of it does, too. However, Lent isn't about shame. It's about repenting -- turning back around toward God. And that's exactly what I intend to do during this Lenten season: turn to face God and to learn to hear His voice and obey His call in my life.<br />
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To mark that intention, I'll go to my church's Ash Wednesday service tonight and have a minister place ashes on my forehead as a reminder of my desire to repent and of the promise of God's gracious forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice for us.<br />
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Even as far back as the old testament, people repented by wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. While I'm glad the church doesn't require us to wear sackcloth until Easter, I'm also glad for the blessing of wearing ashes, even for such a short time, as a reminder to focus on God's work in this season.<br />
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May I tell you a bit about the ashes at my church?<br />
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Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday mark the most joyous celebrations in our church. Palm Sunday is less raucous than our Easter services, but it offers a glimmer of joy at the beginning of Holy Week, the week we mark Christ's arrest, torture and crucifixion. On Palm Sunday, to commemorate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the children's choirs and adult choir process in waving palms. The children crowd in to the front of the church, happily waving their palms and sometimes batting each other with them. They know it's a time of celebration, and hey, if you can torture your little sister standing in the row in front of you by hitting her with a palm branch, that's just a bonus, right?<br />
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Our choir director retired this past summer, but for many years, he has taken those palms from Palm Sunday and burned them down into ash. That's right: the ash we use to mark the beginning of Lent comes from the palms we wave at the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.<br />
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There's something I find comforting in that completed circle from one year to the next. Our celebrations in life come and go. Some are more joyous than others, but they never last. Think of what was left of your last party: probably a stack of dishes by the sink, a full trash can and recycle bin, and good memories of time with family and friends.<br />
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Sometimes, all that's left of a good celebration is ash. We generally think of ash as something to be disposed of, something useless and even mournful. But even in the ashes, we find blessing. Ashes are reminders of something past, but the ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of the hope we have for our future. In the ashes, we find a closeness to God, a reminder that He desires our coming nearer to Him, and a promise of Easter on the horizon.<br />
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Today's ashes mark us for God, a mark worth of celebrating. Not in arrogance, but in humility. Are you willing to carry His mark?<br />
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I'd love to hear about your Ash Wednesday traditions. Have you attended an Ash Wednesday service already? Or will you go to one later this evening? Even if your church doesn't have a service of ashes, I hope you'll see this day -- and the season of Lent -- as a blessing and not a burden.<br />
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<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-33613217056334997482012-02-15T16:53:00.001-05:002012-02-15T16:53:11.584-05:00Will I ever learn to shut up and obey God?This week, as I've continued work on the book I'm writing about trees in the Bible, I've turned to the book of Exodus to look at Moses. When you think of him, what pops in your mind first? The ten commandments? Moses proclaiming to Pharaoh, "Let my people go"? Or maybe it's a Moses that looks remarkably like Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea? Those are all images of a strong, confident Moses, but he wasn't always that way.<br />
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One day, he was leading his flocks near Mount Horeb (known as the Mountain of God), when he saw something peculiar:<br />
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The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush;<br />
and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not<br />
consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight,<br />
why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look,<br />
God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he<br />
said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals<br />
from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said<br />
also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the<br />
God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.<br />
-- Exodus 3:2-6 (NASB)<br />
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Moses' curiosity stopped him in his tracks, and his encounter with God that day would change him forever. Notice that God didn't call out to him until Moses had turned aside from his flock. God was waiting until Moses was quiet and fully paying attention.<br />
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You see, God had a plan for Moses that He knew would be difficult for him. He wanted Moses to leave his life of hiding and return to Egypt to speak for the Israelites and lead them out of Egypt. But Moses had a lot of reservations.<br />
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During their conversation, Moses whined and asked God to choose another messenger to free the Israelites. Take a look at Exodus 3 and 4 to read about this encounter, and you'll see Moses offer excuse after excuse about not being able to fulfill God's call. Here's my take on Moses' side of their conversation:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I'm nobody. Shouldn't You send someone more capable and important? (Exodus 3:11)</li>
<li>Who are You? Are You really *that* God? (3:13)</li>
<li>Um, I don't really think the Israelites are going to believe me. (4:1)</li>
<li>Besides, You know I'm terrible at public speaking. (4:10)</li>
<li>Okay, God, it's a good message to send to Egypt, and so I ask You to send it (just maybe could You pretty please pick someone other than me?). (4:13)</li>
</ul>
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Up until that last comment from Moses, God had been patient, but the last comment finally pushed God over the edge: "Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses" (4:14).</div>
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Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to face an angry God. And yet, I can definitely relate to Moses' reluctance to obey God. Did any of his comments sound familiar to you because you've said them yourself?</div>
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I've been putting off writing this book, starting and stopping and getting sidetracked with life and other writing projects for the last seven years. I'm ashamed and embarrassed that it has taken me so long to be obedient to God's call for me to write a book. Even now, I struggle to keep the book on the front burner as other project ideas inspire me. But this is the season for me to write this book, and so I keep putting other projects out of my mind to stay focused on accomplishing this one task.</div>
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Moses' encounter at the burning bush provides us with two key lessons about our relationship with God, two disciplines we must learn: being quiet and still before God, and obeying His call.</div>
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My problem is that I'm crummy at both of those disciplines. I mean really, really crummy. However, because I don't ever want to read, "Then the anger of the Lord burned against Hope," I'm working on developing both. Each morning, I take time to be quiet and still before God. Not easy, but I'm trying. I'm also refusing to take on other projects while I finish writing the book.</div>
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It's a daily struggle, though. So -- my friends and readers -- do you have insights or successes or stories of your own struggles in these two areas that could help all of us learn these disciplines? If so, please share them by writing a comment below. </div>
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You don't even have to sign in or include your name -- simply choose to share your story as "anonymous," if that's more comfortable for you. (After you click on the word "Comments" below this post, you'll find a screen with a box where you can type your comment and then a drop-down menu to choose "Comment as." Anonymous is the last choice in the drop-down menu). I'd love to hear how you're meeting the challenges of quiet and obedience.</div>
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<br /></div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-88452871134866591802012-02-08T16:59:00.001-05:002012-02-08T16:59:38.720-05:00A Valentine's ode to treesValentine's day is just around the corner, and I've been reminded in the last few days of a few of the reasons why I love trees.<br />
<br />
One reminder came yesterday in <a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-02-07/environmental-outlook-saving-chocolate" target="_blank">The Diane Rehm Show</a>. Rehm invited a panel of experts to discuss the state of the cacao tree -- which provides us those lovely pods filled with beans that, when fermented and roasted, are transformed into a favorite Valentine's gift: chocolate.<br />
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<b>Save the chocolate trees</b><br />
Scientists are hard at work trying to learn more about cacao trees so they can help farmers around the world produce stronger, healthier cacao trees -- ones more resistant to climate change, drought, pests and disease. They're doing this in part by mapping the genome of known varieties of cacao trees, and by exploring the Amazon to find wild, uncultivated strands that may be able to infuse greater genetic diversity to the current pool of cultivated chocolate trees.<br />
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Blights have taken out swaths of cacao trees, and changes in climate are currently threatening to shift some of the prime growing regions in Africa. Why is this a big deal? Because 60-70% of the world's chocolate comes from a relatively small region in the African countries of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Liberia and Cameroon. The cacao trees there are not all that genetically diverse and are therefore more vulnerable to the same diseases and pests.<br />
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According to the show's panel, 95 percent of the world's cacao farms are small operations, and many of those are family-based. Because cacao trees love shade and thrive well mixed in with other crops, these small farms often grow and sell a variety of fruit, not just cocoa. Their livelihood depends on healthy cacao trees, as well as educational systems in place to help them sustain and improve their trees. If these trees get wiped out, it's not just major farming operations and corporations that will be in trouble.<br />
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I don't usually give much thought to where my chocolate comes from, but this show made me stop and think more about trees that I take for granted to give me the chocolate I so adore.<br />
<br />
I'm admittedly picky about the kinds of chocolate I'll buy: the darker the better if it's in a bar, and if it's chocolate milk, it has to be Silk brand regular chocolate soy milk. No other brand (I've tried several and been disappointed), no light chocolate Silk (ugh, not worth it) and no dark chocolate almond milk (too sweet and thick). How about you? Do you love chocolate? Do you have a favorite? Or does it simply need to have the word chocolate in it for you to be happy?<br />
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<b>Saving lives</b><br />
Besides being a fan of chocolate, I'm also a fan of <a href="http://www.worldvision.org/?lpos=top_img_wvLogo" target="_blank">World Vision</a>, a relief organization that focuses its efforts on child sponsorship in the most impoverished areas of the world. Its latest magazine arrived this past weekend, with a story that held the other reminder of why I love trees so much. (I had hoped to point you to the <a href="http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/mag-archive?Open&lpos=lft_txt_Past-Issues" target="_blank">issue online</a>, but the latest one doesn't appear to be on the site yet.)<br />
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World Vision's president, Rich Stearns, kicked off the magazine with an article called "The Famine That Never Happened," about the ongoing famine in the Horn of Africa. What amazed me was his statement that not one of World Vision's sponsored children in that region has died because of the drought and famine ravaging other parts of that region.<br />
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Stearns credits that to lessons learned in the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s, when World Vision came in to help local families recover then from the devastation caused by deforestation and drought. His description of the Antsokia Valley in Ethiopia really caught my attention:<br />
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Orange groves, maize, sorghum, and grazing farm animals blanket the valley today.<br />
In the shadow of the surrounding hills, 20 million trees nourish the soil and bring<br />
income as farmers sell their fruit. More than 90 percent of the valley's children are in<br />
school. God has turned the parched ground into flowing springs.<br />
<br />
During a more recent drought in 2000, farmers in Antsokia provided food for other<br />
regions in Ethiopia. The formerly dry valley became an oasis amid drought. This<br />
year World vision will phase out its work in the valley. We're no longer needed, as<br />
the farmers there are reaping "a fruitful harvest." ...<br />
<br />
In World Vision communities, farmers are learning how to conserve water and<br />
promote rain by planting trees. ... This work is changing the future. Years from<br />
now, we'll be talking again about <i>the famine that never happened</i>.<br />
(<i>World Vision Spring 2012</i>: 4.)<br />
<br />
I'm heartened by his mention of trees, and the crucial role they play in keeping an environment safe (or at least safer) from drought that leads to famine. His organization is encouraging a life-giving cycle: plant trees to strengthen the environment and use the fruit of those trees for a better livelihood and for protection from drought and famine.<br />
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So maybe this Valentine's Day, you'll consider <a href="http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2DoChildSearch_B.jsp?" target="_blank">sponsoring a child</a> through World Vision. It costs $35 a month to give a child the gift of hope, a gift lasts a whole lot longer than flowers, or dinner out, or even your favorite chocolates.<br />
<br />
I'd love to hear from you if you decide to sponsor a child. But I'd also love to hear about your favorite chocolate treat, too. Happy Valentine's Day a little early!<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-75372185868268219662012-02-01T17:10:00.003-05:002012-02-01T17:10:39.453-05:00Running rootsI've mentioned my love of running before, but these days, it takes up a lot of my thoughts. Just a few short weeks ago, I registered to run my first marathon and sat down with my husband (who also happens to make a great unofficial running coach) and mapped out my long runs from now until mid-June, when I'll run the marathon.<br />
<br />
I wish I could say I feel completely confident about reaching this new goal, but overly tight muscles and memories of old injuries keep threatening to drag me down. Anyone who has run a marathon will tell you that overcoming the mental hurdles is half (or more) of the battle. And so I know I need to win the mental race before I'll be able to endure the physical one.<br />
<br />
That's where patience and discipline come in. Let me be the first to admit that neither of these two virtues is a strength of mine, but I know I'll need to cultivate both to toe the line at that June marathon with a firm hope of finishing.<br />
<br />
Running the marathon is a bit like enjoying a fully grown and thriving tree planted in your yard. Trees don't just spring up fully grown overnight, just as humans don't typically wake up one morning and find themselves magically able to run 26.2 miles.<br />
<br />
As I look out at three young trees in my own yard and wish for them to grow healthy and tall and strong, I can see parallel lessons for completing the marathon. You may not run, but I share these lessons with you because achieving your own dream may also feel like running a marathon, and some of the insights here may help you achieve that dream.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Strong roots = healthy tree.</b><br />
The three young trees in my yard have been growing underground in ways that I can't see, but their roots are what will sustain them in wind and drought and storms. Similarly, you haven't seen my running log probably haven't seen me out on a training run, but my running roots are getting established. Over the last seven years, I've logged miles and miles that are all part of the preparation to get me to the point where I am now -- optimistic about possibly completing a marathon, despite the rocks and storms that may lie ahead.<br />
<br />
You know what else gives my running stronger roots? Lots and lots of prayer. I don't listen to music when I'm out running, and that gives me a lot of time alone to think and pray -- lifting up pleas and praise to God, depending on what's happening in my life on any given day I head out for a run. I like to think of these prayers as an emotional taproot that I've been establishing, one that will sustain me on race day.<br />
<br />
What roots are you establishing to achieve your dream? And do you see prayer as an integral part of a healthy root system?<br />
<br />
<b>2. Don't underestimate the power of water.</b><br />
Quite simply, just as trees need water to thrive, so do humans. Runners, especially. I temporarily forgot that essential lesson this past weekend. I was running a half marathon in considerably warmer, more humid conditions than my winter training has provided. Though I carried a bottle of gatorade with me, it was too sugary sweet for me during the race, but because I had it in hand, I skipped past a few too many water stops along the course.<br />
<br />
That's when I got cold. No -- it wasn't because a lovely breeze had picked up across the water as I ran over a bridge. No -- it wasn't because of the cloud cover (a blessing from God that kept me from getting into serious trouble and needing an ambulance). I got cold because I wasn't drinking enough water, an early warning sign of heat exhaustion. And because of it, I had to slow down and walk more and drink a lot of water simply to cross the finish line.<br />
<br />
For you, actual thirst quenching may not be an integral part of achieving your dream, but I've written before of <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/06/lady-baltimore.html#more" target="_blank">waterers</a> who can help you quench an emotional or mental thirst through their encouragement of your dream. My husband and other running friends are waterers whose counsel will sustain and encourage me when marathon training gets really tough (which I expect will happen in approximately 10 days when I run farther than I ever have before).<br />
<br />
<b>3. Grow a little at a time.</b><br />
This is where those pesky areas of patience and discipline come in. Those three trees in the yard aren't bogged down by fear. They're doing exactly what they're supposed to -- growing a little bit at a time, not trying to over-reach but simply taking in water and sunlight and good soil nutrients to reach up a little taller each passing season.<br />
<br />
I'd love to be able to go run a marathon next weekend and cross it off my bucket list, but I know that's not practical, and I'm pretty sure that would skip past the lessons of patience and discipline that God wants to teach me over the next few months as I build up my mileage each week. Every long run will be just a little longer than the previous one, training my body in a gentler way that will strengthen me and keep me less likely to get injured by expecting too much from my body.<br />
<br />
Are you writing a book? You simply cannot write it all in one go. Are you trying to raise great children? That'll take 18+ years to see to fruition. Are you moving into a scary but exciting new role at work? You will not be perfect at it from the moment you begin (you may never be perfect at it). All dreams come with challenges, and they're going to require daily growth -- sometimes frustratingly slow -- before you can look back and see what you have accomplished.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Take rest days.</b><br />
This is also where those pesky areas of patience and discipline come in. Trees have seasons of rest, seasons when they do not bear fruit or flower or hold green leaves, but even during those seasons of rest, they are still living and strengthening.<br />
<br />
When you have set goals, expect some setbacks. Maybe your whole family came down with the flu during a week you had planned to finish a special project. Or maybe you ran a half marathon without drinking enough water and now your quads hurt so much you can barely walk without pain, much less go for a short run (ahem).<br />
<br />
Rest days are important, even though you may chafe at them. God rested. And He insisted that His people rest, too. Don't try to outdo God by ignoring the essential need for rest. Rest, renew and recharge -- ready for the next effort.<br />
<br />
I'd love to know what dreams you have and whether you see them as the growing tree or the marathon training. What roots have you established? What or who will water your dream and wait with you while it grows? Do you have tips for learning patience and discipline? I'd love to hear from you and run alongside of you as your dream grows toward harvest.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-53189284853730062152012-01-25T15:50:00.000-05:002012-01-25T15:50:06.959-05:00When the devil hijacks your hashtagShow of hands: How many of you know what a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag#Promotion" target="_blank">hashtag</a> is? Need a hint? A little bird told me it looks like this: #<br />
<br />
For those of you who don't use <a href="http://twitter.com/about" target="_blank">Twitter</a> (I don't either), a message sent through Twitter is called a tweet.<br />
<br />
Basically, tweets are short messages about what's on your mind. They're limited to 140 characters, and so you can't ramble on about a topic. (The last two sentences were exactly 140 characters, to give you an idea of how short that is.)<br />
<br />
A hashtag helps you identify keywords in tweets, and hashtags can help you find communities discussing the same topic. For instance, you'll often see Webcast producers provide a hashtag so viewers can tweet live with each other and submit questions to the speaker during the event. If I were to present a webcast based on my blog, I might create this hashtag for my blog readers to use: #flourishingtree.<br />
<br />
There -- now you know what I know about Twitter.<br />
<br />
<b>A hijacked hashtag</b><br />
The whole topic of hashtags came up Monday night at the first meeting of a small study group I'm a part of. One of my friends in the group is involved with Elevation Church and was telling us about Elevation's recent 12-day <a href="http://www.elevationchurch.org/sermons/codeorangerevival" target="_blank">Code Orange Revival</a>. The revival was webcast live each night, and participants were encouraged to tweet their thoughts in real time.<br />
<br />
What concerned my friend -- and lots of others -- was the explosion of criticism and negative comments that showed up using the hashtag during the revival. And that led to our conversation about the devil hijacking hashtags.<br />
<br />
You see, my friends, spiritual warfare is real. And you'll encounter it most clearly at a time of intense spiritual transformation, such as Elevation's revival. The devil never wants to lose any souls to the other side and will therefore battle with whatever tools are available, even the twitter feed on a church's revival webcast screen. Perhaps <i>especially</i> there, because that's where lives were being transformed. That's where new Christians were giving their lives to Christ -- the devil's worst-case scenario as he lost the souls gained for God's kingdom.<br />
<br />
<b>Protecting the hashtags in your head</b><br />
Whether or not you tweet, I bet your mind is a lot like a twitter feed. Short thoughts one right after another, sometimes transitioning from one to the next but often jumping around among lots of different, unrelated topics. Mine is. I joke with my husband that it's like a pinball game in my brain, with thoughts bouncing around everywhere, rarely stopping in any one spot for very long.<br />
<br />
And sometimes, whether I like it or not, the devil tries to hijack the hashtags in my head. These can be tiny little moments I might miss: a whisper of doubt, a choice to be lazy for a couple of hours when I should be working, a friend's behavior that makes room for distance to creep in between us. Other times, the attempts can be louder.<br />
<br />
Take Elijah, who went from the confidence of triumphing over the false prophets of Baal in a fiery demonstration of God's existence and power to immediately running in fear from a queen -- a human -- because she had threatened to kill him. It took more than 40 days in the desert and another encounter with God before Elijah would clear his mind and return to work (1 Kings 18, 19).<br />
<br />
Remember Judas. He was a disciple of Christ, witnessing the miracles and lives transformed in Christ's presence. At the last supper -- a most holy moment -- the devil enters Judas and convinces him to betray Jesus (John 13:2, 27). Judas went mad after the betrayal.<br />
<br />
Let's not forget about Peter, either. The rock of the early Christian church, Peter had sworn unbreakable loyalty to Jesus, but then some men recognized him and questioned him. Fear gripped him. He lied. The rooster crowed three times. And Peter wept (Matthew 26, Mark 14, John 18). He had to wait until after Jesus' resurrection to be reinstated to his earlier call.<br />
<br />
Perhaps that is why Peter is so quick to remind us of the danger we all face:<br />
<br />
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a<br />
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing<br />
that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren<br />
who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace,<br />
who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen<br />
and establish you.<br />
<br />
-- 1 Peter 5:8-10 (NASB)<br />
<br />
It's understandable that we don't want to think about the devil. Some of you may have even been reluctant to read this post because of its title. But we do better to be on guard, as Peter admonishes us, than to ignore the threat lurking. As Peter promises, God rewards our resistance and struggle.<br />
<br />
C.S. Lewis' novel <i>The Screwtape Letters</i> is an enduring account of how the devil weaves his way into our thoughts (thanks to <a href="http://www.enumaokoro.com/iWeb/Site/The%20Author%20Upclose.html" target="_blank">Enuma Okoro</a> for reminding me of this wonderful book just this past weekend). Told in letters from a senior demon instructing a junior one just learning the ropes of winning souls, the book will make you laugh, but in the laughter, may also indict your heart in places where you need to be especially vigilant.<br />
<br />
If you have read <i>The Screwtape Letters</i>, I'd love to hear your reactions and your favorite lines from the book and hear how they may have helped you in navigating your own path in life.<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-8512161298538947862012-01-18T17:41:00.000-05:002012-01-18T17:41:25.908-05:00Two lives imitating treesIn last week's post <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-trees-imitating-life.html">Two trees imitating life?</a>, I wrote about two tree sculptures imitating life, or death, or maybe even tennis balls, depending on how you view the art. I promised to follow up this week with more about the blessed life being like a tree planted by water, and here's a picture of some pretty cool tree roots to get you thinking of what the tree planted by water may look like:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_IAXdIJpVw/Txcb64kAjDI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/O3O22AMaJ4I/s1600/treerootsbycreek2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_IAXdIJpVw/Txcb64kAjDI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/O3O22AMaJ4I/s640/treerootsbycreek2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trees and their roots growing by a creek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The passage I shared with you last week actually describes two lives that are like trees, just very different kinds. One life is blessed, but the other is cursed.<br />
<br />
Thus says the Lord,<br />
"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind<br />
And makes flesh his strength,<br />
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.<br />
For he will be like a bush in the desert<br />
And will not see when prosperity comes,<br />
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,<br />
A land of salt without inhabitant.<br />
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord<br />
And whose trust is the Lord.<br />
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,<br />
That extends its roots by a stream<br />
And will not fear when the heat comes;<br />
But its leaves will be green,<br />
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought<br />
Nor cease to yield fruit."<br />
<br />
-- Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NASB)<br />
<br />
The cursed life imitates a bush in the desert -- relying on entirely wrong things to keep it alive. While the desert bush may fight and scrap and somehow stay alive, it's unlikely to ever thrive. Likewise, when we trust only in our own strength, or the strength of our family, friends, posse or gang, we're going to struggle instead of thriving. And our lives will ultimately become desolate.<br />
<br />
The second life Jeremiah mentions is the blessed life, the one compared to a tree living by the water. In the photo, you can see how large the roots have grown as they reach out over and down into the creek. It may be hard in this winter season to imagine drought and heat, but these trees have sent down their roots so that even in the heat of summer, they can continue getting the water they need to thrive.<br />
<br />
<b>When the heat comes</b><br />
Just as roots save a tree and keep it alive, we can cultivate faithful, obedient practices in our walk with God that will prepare us for times of distress and keep us from setting up camp in the desert places we sometimes find ourselves.<br />
<br />
Notice that Jeremiah doesn't say the tree planted by the stream will not fear <i>if</i> the heat comes. He says the tree "will not fear <i>when</i> the heat comes" (v. 8, emphasis mine). When.<br />
<br />
No one wants that word, "when." When a man comes home and tells his family he has lost his job. When the doctor speaks the word "cancer." When a car accident changes lives. When a spouse of several decades walks out. When a young son dies. When, when, when.<br />
<br />
Droughts come into our lives in varied ways -- even to those of us who are Christians. Our faith does not provide a genie in a bottle, ready to grant our every wish and give us perfect lives.<br />
<br />
No, instead of waiting for a genie to show up, we Christians have a greater gift, a greater promise to cling to: God is with us and sustains us when the heat comes, and our faith means that we will continue to grow and bear fruit, even after the droughts have done their worst. He has planted us where we will grow best and will always provide for our needs.<br />
<br />
Let that truth of God's protection seep into your heart and mind: You have been planted by the water. Be confident that your roots are strong and that He will sustain you and help you bear fruit.<br />
<br />
What are some of the ways you feel sustained? For me, it's writing and sharing a weekly message with you, but it's also spending time with family and friends, going for a challenging run, listening to music, or going to a museum.<br />
<br />
I'd love to hear your stories of how your life is imitating the green tree and what God has put into your life to sustain you. Or maybe you'd like to share about a time that your life was more like that desert bush and God rescued from that desolate, desperate place. Either way, I'd love to hear your stories. So please share them in the comments below.<br />
<br />
<b>A small soap-box moment</b><br />
Now, I hope you'll forgive me a sudden topic shift and a brief moment on the soap box. But I'd like to tell you about an issue that's important to me as a writer of a blog and as someone who relies on the internet for research, social networking and so much more.<br />
<br />
You may have noticed that <a href="http://www.google.com/" target="_blank">Google</a> has a black swath across its logo today on its home page. If you click on the black swath, you'll go to <a href="https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/" target="_blank">this story</a> about proposed legislation that would limit freedom of expression on the Internet.<br />
<br />
We hear all the time about oppressive regimes that shut down Google and other sites, but I've always thought I lived in a country that was not one of those regimes. However, there's a vote next Tuesday -- January 24 -- that could considerably weaken our country's ability to get information from sites many of us frequent (Wikipedia, Google, Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, ...). Who's behind this bill? Big media and the entertainment industry. Here's a <a href="http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/" target="_blank">video</a> that gives a better summary than I've given.<br />
<br />
I was really frustrated this weekend that NBC was able to have a stranglehold on Olympic trials marathon coverage -- reducing those of us who didn't travel to Houston for the event to getting text updates from sites other than NBC. NBC didn't broadcast the event live (I guess Babar cartoons are sacrosanct for them). And they refused to allow video coverage on other sites. It wasn't the most fun way to follow an <a href="http://usatf.org/News/Keflezighi;-Flanagan-win-U-S--Olympic-Team-Trials-.aspx" target="_blank">exceptionally exciting set of races</a>, but for most of us who cared, it was the only way.<br />
<br />
This small example points to a greater problem with the monopoly big media would like to have on content. And it simply doesn't sit well with me. If it doesn't sit well with you either, please consider <a href="http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/" target="_blank">signing the petition</a> against SOPA/PIPA legislation.<br />
<br />
Thanks. I'll just go put my box away now.Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-38145987599100070552012-01-11T13:46:00.001-05:002012-01-11T14:01:47.042-05:00Two trees imitating life?I've been working on a book chapter about Jeremiah 17:5-8, in which Jeremiah compares a cursed man to a bush in the desert who will live "in a land of salt without inhabitant" (v. 6).<br />
<br />
Well, I had never heard of a land of salt and really couldn't picture what that might look like, and so I googled the phrase just to see what would come up. <a href="http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/bonneville_salt.htm" target="_blank">The Bonneville Salt Flats</a> just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, showed up in the list of hits.<br />
<br />
If you read through the Google hits for the Bonneville Salt Flats, you'll see words like "nothing for miles," "desolate," and "barren." Famous races happen there, by car and on foot, but -- and this is mainly for my sweet husband -- please don't feel like you have to go run the 100-mile race there ... ever. (Even if you could leave your salt tablets at home and still be okay.) Despite the attraction for speed junkies, there's a whole lot of nothing to this desert land.<br />
<br />
Now, even if you have never been to such a desolate place, you probably know or can guess how the human mind reacts to nothingness, to vast desert stretches, to a land of salt with no inhabitants.<br />
<br />
As artist Karl Momen drove through the salt flats, his mind filled with a vision of a tree -- perhaps out of a desperate need to see something, anything, growing and green out in the salt flats. Momen created an 87' tall sculpture along Highway 80, called "The Tree of Utah (Metaphor)." (Here's a fun blog with <a href="http://lakesaltknit.blogspot.com/2011/11/tree-of-utah-metaphor.html" target="_blank">photos</a> of the sculpture, and the blogger has been so inspired by it that she's <a href="http://lakesaltknit.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html" target="_blank">knitting socks</a> to resemble the sculpture.) Other bloggers have less kind things to say about the sculpture.<br />
<br />
Yep -- you know me. I can stumble across a tree anywhere, even in the middle of research about miles of nothingness.<br />
<br />
As I looked through the images for this sculpture, I thought about art imitating life. I don't particularly like Momen's sculpture, though I do understand the urge to fill up nothingness with something. But his sculpture definitely attempts to suggest flourishing life in the most unlikely of terrains. Near the main sculpture, Momen <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2230" target="_blank">added pods</a> of concrete, as if the tree has flowered and shed seed pods or leaves.<br />
<br />
There's another tree sculpture that I prefer by comparison, though I wouldn't say it suggests flourishing life:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sM_TvbglQQg/Tw3RjsCYgrI/AAAAAAAAAPE/2dYfI9CF7mM/s1600/artmuseumtree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sM_TvbglQQg/Tw3RjsCYgrI/AAAAAAAAAPE/2dYfI9CF7mM/s640/artmuseumtree.jpg" width="459" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This "tree" greets visitors to the NC Museum of Art: "Askew," by Roxy Paine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I've seen actual birds perch on this stainless steel sculpture of a tree, and so it's a real enough imitation of life for them to accept as a good place to rest, but there's nothing about it to suggest thriving, growing life. And I doubt birds would choose to nest there (certainly not in summer, anyway, when the eggs would be hard-boiled by noon.)<br />
<br />
Like them or hate them, both sculptures are art and, in their own ways, attempt to imitate some aspect of living or dying. I guess I simply prefer a different sort of art imitating life.<br />
<br />
So tell me, which of the two sculptures do you prefer?<br />
<br />
<b>The tree planted by water</b><br />
By the way, you may be curious about why I'm writing about that passage in Jeremiah. While the cursed man is like the desert bush living in an uninhabited land, there's a blessed man who trusts in the Lord. And I absolutely love and cling to Jeremiah's description of this man:<br />
<br />
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,<br />
That extends its roots by a stream<br />
And will not fear when the heat comes;<br />
But its leaves will be green,<br />
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought<br />
Nor cease to yield fruit.<br />
-- Jeremiah 17:8 (NASB)<br />
<br />
It's pouring a cold rain where I am today, and so it's hard to consider heat and drought, but fear and anxiety can be with us in any season of the year. So join me here next week, as I talk about this tree planted by the water ... and how we can cling to the promise of its yield.Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-4579693075856329622012-01-04T18:51:00.001-05:002012-01-04T18:51:51.374-05:00The power of hopeWill you bear with me for one last post this season about Christmas trees? I promise it's about more than just the tree that's sitting out on our lawn waiting for the yard pickup tomorrow. It's about the power of hope.<br />
<br />
I had a hard time undecorating from Christmas this past weekend. I mean a pouting, near tears, really surprisingly difficult time. Only reluctantly did I take off the ornaments and pack them away, knowing that the tree couldn't stay up much longer without starting to shed its needles. But for some reason, I didn't want to let go.<br />
<br />
There were actually several reasons. One -- this tree was the quite simply the best tree we've ever had. We picked it out at a Christmas tree farm in the North Carolina mountains, where signs were plastered everywhere thanking us for participating in NC's agritourism business. That was a new term for us, but we embraced it as a suitable description for marching around a hillside full of trees trying to pick the perfect one. Once we picked this one and the guys brought it down the hill for us, they called it a "fat boy." It was really, really fat. I worried it would swallow up the room we were putting it in.<br />
<br />
When we finally got it in the stand (mostly through sheer will and ingenuity on my husband's part), we knew we'd have to put more lights and more ornaments on than usual:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3fkdL9hO1_U/TwTZ7Xcad5I/AAAAAAAAAOk/hiJfTZSbBPY/s1600/Christmas+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3fkdL9hO1_U/TwTZ7Xcad5I/AAAAAAAAAOk/hiJfTZSbBPY/s400/Christmas+tree.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In all its glory</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The second reason I had a hard time taking down the tree was the pang of guilt I felt about having it cut in the first place. It's one thing to go to a farmer's market or roadside stand selling trees that have already been cut, but another entirely different matter to go have one cut from the spot where it has stood growing for years. This is only the second year we have picked a tree from a tree farm, and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to participate in this sort of agritourism again. I really think our tree had plans to grow up to grace the governor's mansion or maybe even the White House. But it gave its life to cheer our house instead.<br />
<br />
The guilt only intensified when we dragged it out to the curb Monday night, where I cannot ignore it:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WRbLRq5m2Cg/TwTbSZIyH3I/AAAAAAAAAOw/MurRp19ks5E/s1600/Christmas+tree+on+curb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WRbLRq5m2Cg/TwTbSZIyH3I/AAAAAAAAAOw/MurRp19ks5E/s400/Christmas+tree+on+curb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cast away</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My desire to keep the tree couldn't trump the practicality of needing to get it out of the house, though, and thinking through the struggle made me realize the third reason I was struggling with letting it go: it had symbolized my hopes for the season.<br />
<br />
This was the first year we hosted my brother and his family for Christmas, instead of us driving over to visit with them while they stayed at my parents' house. I wanted everything about this Christmas and their stay with us to be wonderful, including the tree. Its fragrance inviting family into Christmas celebrations, its lights twinkling a warm welcome and its decorations helping to recall fond memories of Christmases past.<br />
<br />
Once I recognized that it was about hope, I could let the tree itself go more easily. . . because <a href="http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/hope.html">hope is a thing with feathers</a>, and it cannot be tamed. It cannot be kept tied to a dying Christmas tree. It does not look back at the past. It faces the future with an uncageable freedom, and perches on any ready branch and sings to those who will hear it.<br />
<br />
That's what many of us celebrate most about the coming of a new year: an uncageable hope. Hope that -- no matter how fabulous or miserable our past year has been -- our year ahead is filled with promise and wonderful moments and goals achieved. Even my tree sitting on the curb offered a small bit of hope today, as I noticed that nature was already redecorating it:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GbqSKbRyH4U/TwTjnhZds7I/AAAAAAAAAO8/WYSdNE3lkQs/s1600/Naturesornaments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="279" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GbqSKbRyH4U/TwTjnhZds7I/AAAAAAAAAO8/WYSdNE3lkQs/s320/Naturesornaments.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature decorates with sweetgum ornaments</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I met hope in two other, especially beautiful places today that I want to leave you with:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>My friend Jerel Law <a href="http://www.jerellaw.com/family/14/" target="_blank">writes of the power of hope</a> after a year of grieving his wife's death.</li>
<li>I heard <a href="http://cdn.themoth.prx.org/moth-podcast-202-andrew-solomon.mp3" target="_blank">this podcast</a> of author Andrew Solomon describing his journey to find artists in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. (It's long, but I hope you'll take the time to listen.) One of the men he met there said he was glad Solomon would bring this story back to share, because of "the moment of hope when ... we were all so joyful and had such belief in what we thought was going to come" (Andrew Solomon, <a href="http://cdn.themoth.prx.org/moth-podcast-202-andrew-solomon.mp3" target="_blank"><i>The Moth</i> podcast</a>).</li>
</ul>
<br />
I think that statement perfectly captures the power of hope: the moment when we're joyful and have such a belief about what is coming. What do you hope is coming for you in the year ahead?<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-48277719171988372302011-12-28T18:27:00.001-05:002011-12-28T18:33:45.256-05:00Holiday wishesI hope you won't mind a shorter post this week, as I'm still catching up on rest after many blessings this Christmas: presents to wrap and open, many good things to eat, and a house filled to the brim with loved ones. Most especially -- I found the blessing of forgiveness at our Christmas Eve service in offering a communion cup to someone who had deeply hurt me. The moment was the best gift for me this Christmas.<br />
<br />
I wish these same things for you in the coming year -- blessings that fill your home and heart to the brim, forgiveness for those who need it, and, most of all, the comfort of loved ones near you. Thank you for reading through the year. You -- my blog readers -- are a treasure to me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5MeZ-oahEJk/TvulmgfxjII/AAAAAAAAAOY/E8UMyBcEUXs/s1600/LeafOrnament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5MeZ-oahEJk/TvulmgfxjII/AAAAAAAAAOY/E8UMyBcEUXs/s400/LeafOrnament.jpg" width="326" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gift from a dear friend, a favorite "treasure" on this year's tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-62917260968167516182011-12-21T00:53:00.000-05:002011-12-28T18:28:07.057-05:00A psalm to light dark daysSince Monday, I've had three friends tell me they're battling the blues, despite the joy they're *supposed* to feel during this holiday season.<br />
<br />
This can be a tough season. Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year (and by that, I mean the number of hours of sunlight, though for those of you with Christmas errands left to run, it may feel like a day with fewer than our usual 24 hours, too). For many of us, the lack of sunlight creeps into our bones and seeps into our hearts and our minds, and the dark tries to set up shop for the winter. Christmas is also a difficult time for those who have lost a loved one or become estranged from a family member or a close friend. For those sitting next to a hospital bed, or otherwise waiting with an ill loved one, the merriment and twinkling lights of the season can seem empty and even annoying.<br />
<br />
If you find yourself sitting in a dark place, might I offer you a psalm of light and hope? It's a psalm a pastor friend of mine, Matt Ashburn, preached about a couple of weeks ago in a sermon titled "Needing <i>Son</i>shine." This psalm is not one you normally think of as a Christmas psalm. But I think it's perfect for those struggling with the dark, perfect for looking toward the Light promised at Christmas.<br />
<br />
<b>Psalm 80</b><br />
O give ear, Shepherd of Israel,<br />
You who lead Joseph like a flock;<br />
You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!<br />
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power<br />
And come to save us!<br />
O God, restore us<br />
And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.<br />
<br />
O Lord God of hosts,<br />
How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people?<br />
You have fed them with the bread of tears,<br />
And You have made them to drink tears in large measure.<br />
You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,<br />
And our enemies laugh among themselves.<br />
O God of hosts, restore us<br />
And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.<br />
<br />
You removed a vine from Egypt;<br />
You drove out the nations and planted it.<br />
You cleared the ground before it,<br />
And it took deep root and filled the land.<br />
The mountains were covered with its shadow,<br />
And the cedars of God with its boughs.<br />
It was sending out its branches to the sea<br />
And its shoots to the River.<br />
Why have You broken down its hedges,<br />
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?<br />
A boar from the forest eats it away<br />
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.<br />
<br />
O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You;<br />
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,<br />
Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted,<br />
And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.<br />
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;<br />
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance,<br />
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,<br />
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.<br />
Then we shall not turn back from You;<br />
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.<br />
O Lord God of hosts, restore us;<br />
Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.<br />
<br />
(NASB)<br />
<br />
In Matt's sermon, he spoke of the psalmist's call to God to repent. You read that right. The psalmist is begging God to turn back toward His people, not because of any sin He has committed -- after all, as God, He is without sin -- but because His people feel like He has hidden from them. Likened to a vine tended carefully by a gardner, these people are starving for light. They are hungry for more, thirsty for more than the tears that have been their fill (v. 5).<br />
<br />
Notice the psalmist pleading for the light of God's face to shine on them again. Three times: "Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved." Through the light, we will be saved. The psalmist had a profound faith and an audacious hope -- one that freed him to plead with God to turn back to these desperate people. And by turning back to them, God and His light would restore them, heal them, and cause them to flourish again.<br />
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Friends, as you approach this Christmas, may you feel the warmth and the nourishing light from the face of God looking upon you. May you be reminded of His unfailing love for you, proven through the gift of Jesus. And may His love fill you with peace and brilliant light that overcomes whatever darkness you face.<br />
<br />
I wish you a Christmas filled with peace and blessings and joy and laughter, but most of all, filled with His presence and His light.<br />
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Merry Christmas.<br />
<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-32087169151311125652011-12-13T20:02:00.000-05:002011-12-13T20:02:52.982-05:00The Christmas tree psalm <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ^</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> < * ></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> v </span><br />
The<br />
LORD is<br />
my shepherd,<br />
I shall not want.<br />
He makes me lie down<br />
in green pastures; He leads<br />
me beside still waters. He restores<br />
my soul; He guides me in the paths<br />
of righteousness for His name's sake.<br />
Even though I walk through the valley of<br />
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for<br />
You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they<br />
comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the<br />
presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head<br />
with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy<br />
will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the<br />
house<br />
of the<br />
LORD<br />
forever.<br />
Psalm 23<br />
<br />
'Tis the season to feel stressed out, to feel that Time cares little whether we have crossed off our to-do items for the day and definitely won't slow down to let us catch up. We can't tackle Time and make him give us more hours in each day. So instead, what if we focus on what we can change: our mindset.<br />
<br />
I've shaped Psalm 23 into a Christmas tree here to help you think of it in a new way this season. The psalm tells me that because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In this season of so much want (both real and fabricated), the promise is true and bears repeating again until it sinks in: I shall not want. I shall not want. As we hurry about our Christmas preparations, let's cling to this Christmas tree psalm in the coming days. It promises much.<br />
<br />
Because of His promise to give me rest in green pastures and beside quiet waters, I shall not want.<br />
<br />
Because He is with me always, whether I am in the valley or in the presence of enemies, I shall not want.<br />
<br />
There's a feast prepared and a dazzling home promised, and, therefore, I shall not want.<br />
<br />
Remember these promises, my friends. Repeat the truth of this psalm to yourself during the long wait at the traffic signal that you always seem to catch as it's turning red, or the security line at the airport when the elderly couple in front of you has clearly not traveled since 9/11, or the line at the cash register that doesn't budge as fast lines around you disappear quickly.<br />
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Repeat the truth of this psalm during the shark-circling tactics looking for a place to park at the mall and while the screaming baby (yours or someone else's) distracts you from your shopping list.<br />
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Repeat the truth of this psalm while you visit the hospital or the graveside, a visit that leaves you feeling cold about celebrations and bells ringing and carols and laughter and merriment.<br />
<br />
Repeat the truth, as often as it takes, until it transforms your thinking. And then, perhaps, you will find yourself wanting to repeat the sounding joy.Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-71956580312252958742011-12-07T15:33:00.001-05:002011-12-07T21:29:41.105-05:00The power of paperBack in March, I wrote about <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-cant-do-this-with-your-e-reader.html">why I love paper and real books</a> more than e-readers. In that post, I shared some of the artwork of a book artist, Brian Dettmer, who takes a scalpel to books and transforms them into works of art.<br />
<br />
This past weekend, I got to see Dettmer's work in person at <a href="http://www.pulse-art.com/miami/">Pulse Miami</a>, just one of many art festivals that took place in the Miami area as part of a larger celebration of art, Art Week Miami.<br />
<br />
Now, I love art, and experiencing art is one of the ways my life flourishes. But I don't generally love ultra contemporary art, and since Pulse Miami is billed as a contemporary festival, I wasn't sure what to expect. As my husband and I walked through the expo halls, we were wowed by <br />
<a name='more'></a>some of what we saw, unimpressed with other works and horrified by others that seemed nightmarish or vulgar only for the sake of being nightmarish or vulgar.<br />
<br />
Some of the art I liked least was photographs presented on LCD panels, some clearly Photoshopped or otherwise manipulated, others video loops with odd, random motion. I guess I just prefer "old school" ways of presenting art -- paint piled onto canvas, beautiful photographs printed on paper, drawings and, yes, books sculpted into art.<br />
<br />
My relief at finally finding Dettmer's work was almost palpable. His work -- in the fourth of the five exhibit halls we visited -- was like a moment of serenity and comfort in an otherwise frenetic kaleidoscope of people moving around odd bits of stuff. The pictures I had seen of his work on the Web don't do them justice, and neither will these that my husband took, but I share them with you just to give you a sense of Dettmer's art.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2024iFbRMvw/Tt_U2UlzVqI/AAAAAAAAAOA/RWekiSXZOWM/s1600/FrontviewDettmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2024iFbRMvw/Tt_U2UlzVqI/AAAAAAAAAOA/RWekiSXZOWM/s320/FrontviewDettmer.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Here's the front view of one of his works. You can see the levels of word on word, and illustration literally embracing the words.<br />
<br />
This is not traditional art, but it's art I can appreciate because it appeals to my senses and sparks my curiosity. How does the artist decide which sections he'll carve out and which he'll leave intact? How does he choose the books he'll carve?<br />
<br />
Does he envision the final outcome as a modern Michelangelo -- freeing the sculpture not from a marble slab but from the book's pages? Does he approach it analytically? How long does it take to complete one of the sculptures?<br />
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I'm pretty sure that if I took a scalpel to a book, all I'd end up with is a mess worthy of the recycle bin.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDEZulvwFTw/Tt_U4cUVR5I/AAAAAAAAAOI/nct2OaoV6UY/s1600/SideviewDettmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDEZulvwFTw/Tt_U4cUVR5I/AAAAAAAAAOI/nct2OaoV6UY/s320/SideviewDettmer.jpg" width="240" /></a>To the right, you can see the same sculpture from the side. I love this view because it shows more clearly the intricacy and the detail of pages left and pages cut out.</div>
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The visual level upon level of interest are what make this art so appealing to me. It's what gives it power.</div>
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<b>The power of paper</b></div>
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Books and paper have power and purpose -- whether you're an artist cutting them up or a writer putting words on paper or a printer binding the book and cutting its pages. And I want to keep that power at my fingertips. </div>
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I saw a friend of mine today who is a printer, and he bemoaned the bleak outlook of his industry. He told me I'd be writing someday just for e-readers, making his printing business obsolete. I hope he's wrong. </div>
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I hope that when I am old, paper and books will still be around in full force. I want a bookstore where I can browse books on a shelf. Ones of different shapes and textures and weight with pages I can leaf through. Picture books with pop-ups and textures that will delight the children in my life. </div>
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And I hope that I will still send and receive birthday cards and Christmas cards and letters for all occasions printed on paper -- ones that I can display throughout the season and then keep in a scrapbook as a memory of family and friends through the years. And if that makes me old fashioned, then fine, call me old fashioned.</div>
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<b>A different sort of Christmas tree</b></div>
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<a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/11/different-kind-of-christmas-tree.html">Last week's post</a> described a different kind of Christmas tree I'd still like you to consider buying, and no, in case you're wondering, I still haven't put up the first Christmas decoration. But I'd like to leave you today with a link to <a href="http://lisnews.org/wonderful_polish_christmas_tree_made_books_howto">yet another kind of Christmas tree</a>. I include it here because it takes library books and shapes them into a Christmas tree. You can see a step-by-step building of the tree on the creator's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulowerek/6464467027/">flickr channel</a> -- definitely worth checking out. It's art and books and Christmas trees all rolled into one, and I think that's something worth celebrating.</div>
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<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-65628102573746606802011-11-30T16:14:00.001-05:002011-11-30T18:29:11.701-05:00A different kind of Christmas treeTis the season when our thoughts turn to Christmas trees and mistletoe and glittery ornaments and garlands and wreaths and shopping and baking and ... this list could take up the whole page, but you get the idea.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some of my neighbors already have their Christmas decorations up. I'm usually one who gets around to decorating the second, or sometimes third, week of December, probably because when I was growing up, we usually waited until after my brother's mid-December birthday to buy a tree and put up decorations. Or maybe it's just because I'm a shameless procrastinator.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Which camp are you in: the early decorators or the waiters? Whether you've had your tree up and decorated since before Thanksgiving or are just now starting to ponder whether to go with a real or fake tree this year, I bet you've got Christmas on your mind. And rightfully so, but I hope you're focusing on the best part of Christmas: the gift of Jesus' birth and life sacrificed for us. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The Christian season of advent started this past Sunday, and my church is all decked out to celebrate: wreaths outside and in, a huge tree in the sanctuary and poinsettias all over the place. For the last several years, our preachers have put together sermon series to build on a particular theme for a few weeks at a time, and this year's advent series is called "The Christmas Tree: Scoundrels, Liars and the Perfect Child." During the weeks that lead up to Christmas, our preachers will tell about the family members who make up Jesus' family tree, based on the genealogy listed in Matthew 1. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Take some time this week to read Matthew 1 for yourself, and see if it helps prepare your heart better for the season. Then, as you look at your own Christmas trees, think of those people from the Bible who formed the limbs and branches of Jesus' Christmas tree, maybe people who aren't that different from ones you find in your own family tree.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But there's another sort of Christmas tree I'd also like for you to consider, too, especially as you scramble to find the perfect gift for that person who already has everything. <a href="http://www.heifer.org/">Heifer International</a> sends out a catalog each year, usually filled with different animals you can "buy" for struggling villages around the world. This year, they're offering <a href="https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/trees.html">tree seedlings</a> as a gift option, $60 for a a full complement of seedlings or $10 for a share of seedlings. If you have a little more to spend and want to include some animals in your gift, consider the <a href="https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/gardeners-gift-basket.html">Gardener's Basket</a>, a gift that includes tree seedlings, rabbits, chickens and a bee hive. The full basket is $170, and a share is $20. For each gift you give through Heifer, you'll receive cards to let family and friends know about this wonderful gift you have given in their honor.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Do you know family or friends who might appreciate a donation in their honor more than a material item under the Christmas tree? Or maybe you and your children can research the gift choices Heifer offers and choose one to buy together as a family.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Many times, the gifts we give at Christmas are forgotten or broken or maybe even exchanged by the end of January. But the gift of a different kind of Christmas tree is one that can change lives forever. Because of that, it will bless both the receiver and the giver.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I hope you'll consider this gift-giving option, and if you do, I hope you'll let me know about your decision here in the comments. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Christmas shopping to do.</div>
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<div>
<b>Speaking of gifts</b><br />
I almost forgot to announce the winner of <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/11/indescribable-gifts.html">last week's challenge</a>! Thanks so much to all of you who shared your responses to this challenge, and also for those of you who tried to post responses but couldn't (blogspot can be so frustrating at times).<br />
<br />
Anyway, I loved reading all of your responses and ended up drawing a name at random to win a copy of Ann Voskamp's book. Bev, you're the lucky winner!</div>
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</div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-853834630420519932011-11-23T14:10:00.001-05:002011-11-23T15:02:29.984-05:00Indescribable gifts"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" -- 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NKJV)<br />
<br />
The Bible verse above is printed at the top of the page in my gratitude journal that I just finished filling in. Back in August, I challenged you to take a journey of gratitude with me and keep track of the blessings in your life for which you are grateful. Though today marks the official end of the challenge, I hope it won't bring an end to your list keeping.<br />
<br />
I'm up to #297 in my journal. Much of today's list contains blessings from my adventure at Whole Foods a few hours ago. Yes, I braved a trip there the day before Thanksgiving. My favorite is #294: Whole Foods vegan pumpkin pie. Or maybe it's #295: A quick parking space find at Whole Foods the day before Thanksgiving.<br />
<br />
I'm also grateful for getting to sit down for iced green tea with a dear friend yesterday (#286), as she shared with me how her own journey of gratitude has gone this month. She updated her <br />
<a name='more'></a>Facebook status every day in November with something that made her give thanks. Some of these status updates were profound. Others, funny and light-hearted.<br />
<br />
She told me that one day had been so horrible for her that she couldn't think of a single thing from the day to put in her status that wouldn't have been fake. So that night, she posted that she was grateful for the promise of the next day, a promise that tomorrow would almost certainly be better than her day had been that particular day.<br />
<br />
We talked of how the practice of gratitude had changed us in subtle ways, made us more aware of all the many blessings in our lives. These are blessings that life's difficulties threaten to overwhelm and make us forget, and by keeping a list, we became aware that they are even more precious for having taken a moment to stop and write about them -- to call attention to them even when our spirits feel battered by trials and disappointments.<br />
<br />
For me, the gratitude list became a challenge to find peace on those bad days. I was forced to ask myself, "What are the positives, the blessings, that I can see in these circumstances?" Take #199 (just because my friend <a href="http://traceyfinck.com/">Tracey</a> asked for this one in particular): "A delay that gives me more time to prepare." I had been disappointed that some friends who were coming to visit for the weekend had missed a connecting flight and wouldn't arrive until the following morning, but their delay gave me more time to get the house ready. And I was grateful for the extra time that kept me from feeling frantic as I cleaned and ran errands before they arrived.<br />
<br />
There were especially good days when my hand hurt from writing such a long list, like this past Sunday after returning from a trip to South Carolina with my husband. I got to see trees draped in Spanish moss with sunlight filtering gently through, and it filled my heart with gratitude for the varied beauty of nature and the time I get to spend with my husband.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HabEwlEvLY8/Ts1LoyIBrQI/AAAAAAAAAN4/pllbqV4XNWY/s1600/SpanishMosstree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HabEwlEvLY8/Ts1LoyIBrQI/AAAAAAAAAN4/pllbqV4XNWY/s400/SpanishMosstree.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful tree covered in Spanish moss, #276 on my list.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As Corinthians tells us, God's gift can be indescribable, but I've found it worth the effort to attempt the description. The act of describing blessings keeps me grounded in a greater truth: the blessings God has given far outnumber and outweigh the trials.<br />
<br />
I trust you'll hold me accountable by asking from time to time if I'm keeping up with my gratitude journal. And I hope you'll keep writing your list, too. In that way, thanksgiving becomes a celebration of every day, not only the day(s) we fill ourselves with turkey and stuffing and green bean casserole ... and pumpkin pie, too.<br />
<br />
<b>A gift for giving thanks</b><br />
Would you please share here what the Thanksgiving challenge has meant to you? Or maybe just one or two things for which you are grateful? Leave a comment here before next week's post (Wednesday afternoon), and I'll send one of you a copy of Ann Voskamp's <i>One Thousand Gifts</i>.<br />
<br />
Before I close, let me tell you that I'm grateful to you for reading this blog and encouraging me. (That just made #298.) Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. Keep on giving thanks.Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-74957755499726473702011-11-16T15:39:00.001-05:002011-11-16T16:34:44.049-05:00God's palette"Aren't you the one who's supposed to be keeping a gratitude journal?" asked my dear friend on Sunday night. Yep, she was chiding me for a generally cranky attitude I had brought along for one of our rare and treasured coffee dates.<br />
<br />
She was right to remind me that I needed to look for the positives in a situation that has me struggling. I'm not one who adapts quickly to change, and so when my husband's work travel increased exponentially a few weeks ago, I began struggling to accept what will become the new reality of our life together. But instead of focusing on the positives, I was too busy pouting because I felt like someone pulled a rug out from under me.<br />
<br />
So this week, I've dug deeper to add to my gratitude journal and to change my mindset, and I cannot help but see God's blessings all around me. One of my favorite blessings is God's palette in November. And so yesterday, I got out and took some pictures to share with you -- pictures that may help explain why Autumn is my favorite season:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOLhrT5uCW8/TsQk348s1qI/AAAAAAAAANc/SE-x8ZqbdQ8/s1600/backyardtree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOLhrT5uCW8/TsQk348s1qI/AAAAAAAAANc/SE-x8ZqbdQ8/s640/backyardtree.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yesterday's lunchtime view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This beauty is a tree in my backyard. It has leaves of yellow, gold and green -- some leaves with all three colors on them in striking, interesting patterns. Because the weather was warm and<br />
<a name='more'></a> sunny, I took my lunch outside and sat enjoying the view as leaves swirled all around me.<br />
<br />
After lunch, it was time for a field trip. I headed to the art museum and then downtown to take pictures of manmade tree art that I'll feature in a future post. But what struck me, particularly at the art museum, was that we humans can't improve on God's palette.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B5U4cVFCWVY/TsQl2TqSToI/AAAAAAAAANk/JVWYX68t-PU/s1600/redtreegoldtree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B5U4cVFCWVY/TsQl2TqSToI/AAAAAAAAANk/JVWYX68t-PU/s400/redtreegoldtree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I love the juxtaposition of colors in this shot of the art museum grounds. Take a moment to count how many different colors you see in this photo. How many shades of red, green, brown, gray and gold are there? The blue in the bottom right corner is manmade. The blue sky doesn't show up well in the photo, but trust me, it was there.<br />
<br />
Here's one more photo from yesterday's gratitude field trip, sentinels standing to greet visitors as they wind their way down the path to the museum entrance.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxLvgRhA_XE/TsQnqrY7jcI/AAAAAAAAANs/D8hKu0QuNms/s1600/redmuseumtrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxLvgRhA_XE/TsQnqrY7jcI/AAAAAAAAANs/D8hKu0QuNms/s400/redmuseumtrees.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now you may remember from past posts that I really do love art, and a visit to the art museum is just about one of my favorite ways to spend a few spare hours. But yesterday, I didn't even need to step inside the doors. The beauty was all around me. God's beauty. His palette. His artwork.<br />
<br />
And I left feeling renewed and grateful for so many reasons. The result of a field trip I might not have taken had it not been for my friend's nudging me to alter my mindset. I'm grateful to her for that push.<br />
<br />
How about you? Has stress about the upcoming holiday season started to eat away at your peace of mind? Or maybe finances or health concerns or worries about work are keeping you from fully living and fully appreciating the blessings in your life?<br />
<br />
Next week marks the end of the <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/08/worries-on-road-less-traveled.html">Thanksgiving gratitude challenge</a>. I hope you've come along on the journey with me. My notebook has 242 entries right now -- a long way from the 1,000 gifts Ann Voskamp writes about in her book. But I'm making progress and have found that she's right: gratitude to God keeps my faith in Him increasing and anchors me to an attitude of hope and peace and happy moments.<br />
<br />
If you haven't been keeping a journal of daily moments that bring you joy and fill you with gratitude, I encourage you to start. If you have been writing, I'd love to hear from you about what the list has taught you. Has anything made your list that surprised you?<br />
<br />
I hope you'll join me next Wednesday -- on the eve of Thanksgiving here in the US -- to read about the journey of gratitude started back in August. And just for fun, if you pick a number between 1 and 242, I'll share that particular entry from my gratitude journal with you. So leave a comment here, if you like. And I look forward to seeing you here next week.<br />
<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-69190722770572442672011-11-09T17:08:00.001-05:002011-11-09T17:08:30.493-05:00Greater things than theseLast Friday's <a href="http://candorville.com/2011/11/04/biblejoke/">Candorville</a> comic strip caught my attention. I had just come upstairs to my home office and was reading some comics online before working on chapter four of my book. Chapter four focuses on how simple events can inspire sudden faith, in this case, Jesus recognizing Nathanael from when he had seen him sitting under a fig tree several days earlier. The very same story Lemont is telling to Susan in the strip.<br />
<br />
Lemont tells this story as he might tell a joke. And I can understand why, because this story makes me laugh, too. Just not for exactly the same reason as Lemont.<br />
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You see, Lemont leaves out what I think is the best line, the last part of Jesus' remark to Nathanael in John 1:50: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.'"<br />
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I imagine Jesus’ response today would go something like
this: “Seriously? You believe in Me just because I saw you sitting under that tree the other day?
You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Jesus knew that during the short years of his
ministry, He would encounter others with harder hearts who would witness His
most miraculous works and still refuse to believe. So it must have refreshed
Him – and likely caused him to chuckle to himself – that a person could believe
for so little a reason as the fig tree.</div>
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<b>You will see greater things than these</b></div>
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Nathanael didn't need to witness spectacular miracles to believe in Jesus. He had come to meet Jesus at the invitation of his trusted friend Philip, who had already proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah they had been seeking. It was enough that Jesus recognized him -- knew him for a true student of God's Word -- simply from seeing him studying under a fig tree days earlier. Can you imagine believing in Christ for such a simple reason as that?</div>
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Most of us experience simple moments of faith, quiet encounters with Christ that transform us in small ways and remind us of who He is. Have you experienced such a moment that further cemented your faith? Maybe God has answered a prayer you desperately flung up to heaven. Or a moment of beauty has taken your breath away -- light streaming through trees of orange and scarlet and gold on a fall morning, or the ocean's lapping at the beach filling you with peace. Or maybe you catch a glimpse of God's presence in the delighted laughter of a child.</div>
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For my faith walk, it's daily moments like these that bond me -- again and again -- to God. Each day brings its own wonders, not anything necessarily spectacular or miraculous, but reminders, nonetheless, of God's presence in my life. And each one points to the promise Jesus made to Nathanael: "You will see greater things than these."</div>
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I'd love to hear the simply, daily events that inspire you and draw you more closely into experiencing the presence of God. Or maybe God has drawn you to Him with a more miraculous event. Either way, I'd encourage you to share your stories here. Together, they'll tell the story of the greater things we will one day see.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-47503109431348516192011-11-02T16:20:00.000-04:002011-11-02T16:20:58.132-04:00Gratitude -- not just for the fourth Thursday in November anymoreFor the past few months, I've been challenging you to keep a gratitude journal, a list of everything -- big, small and in between -- that makes you stop and give thanks. In case you missed the challenge, you can read about it at the bottom of <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/08/worries-on-road-less-traveled.html">this post from August</a>.<br />
<br />
We are three weeks away from Thanksgiving (gulp) here in the United States. That little fact may stress you out more than spur thankful thoughts right at the moment, but I hope it will encourage you to spend some time thinking about all you have to be grateful for. Perhaps pondering those blessings in your life will lead to writing them down as a way of keeping a running tab of how rich your life is.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kXmX0BLnP20/TrGg2bjb7RI/AAAAAAAAAMw/vJ-B3mezjCA/s1600/Gratitudejournal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kXmX0BLnP20/TrGg2bjb7RI/AAAAAAAAAMw/vJ-B3mezjCA/s320/Gratitudejournal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My gratitude journal and favorite pen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't write in my gratitude journal every day, though I could if I had more discipline about it. So don't worry if this isn't yet a daily habit for you either. Just get started, and see where your journal takes you.<br />
<br />
If you don't want to buy a journal or physically write out a list, try a daily post on Facebook or Twitter about something you're grateful for. Or record your thoughts on your smart phone. I have a friend who has committed to posting a daily gratitude on Facebook for every day of November, and I'm eager to hear from her at the end of the month about her experience keeping this list. The same goes for the rest of you. I'm eager to hear whether keeping a list of what you're grateful for <br />
<a name='more'></a>changes you in any way. Will you complain less and smile more? Will it challenge your pattern of emotions from day to day? Will it comfort you in moments of difficulty?<br />
<br />
This month -- every day -- give thanks for the blessings of that day. And keep a record of it. Don't just save it up for the last Thursday in November when you find yourself suddenly tasked with announcing to extended family what you're thankful for.<br />
<br />
Keep me posted. I promise a delightful prize for one of my faithful blog readers at the end of this month.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, here are a few things I've been grateful for this week:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BUrD1vOa27I/TrGkCOSo_uI/AAAAAAAAANA/APFs-_NVJD4/s1600/SpiritFighter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BUrD1vOa27I/TrGkCOSo_uI/AAAAAAAAANA/APFs-_NVJD4/s320/SpiritFighter.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friend Jerel's book, which Amazon delivered to my door last Thursday.<br />I finished reading it last night and loved every bit of it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nRrO2QlcowU/TrGj9yJ1U9I/AAAAAAAAAM4/vQorJNZtydk/s1600/bouquetsurprise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nRrO2QlcowU/TrGj9yJ1U9I/AAAAAAAAAM4/vQorJNZtydk/s320/bouquetsurprise.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A surprise bouquet on a cold, dreary Monday<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs5F5kl1OSQ/TrGkEeaZvOI/AAAAAAAAANI/vJZPGAGdyoE/s1600/Phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hs5F5kl1OSQ/TrGkEeaZvOI/AAAAAAAAANI/vJZPGAGdyoE/s320/Phone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odd to be grateful for so mundane a thing as a phone, but it has let <br />me hear my sweet husband's voice every day while he has traveled for work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-79679469258387276142011-10-26T17:07:00.004-04:002011-10-26T17:07:54.732-04:00Forgiving Wal-mart, cont.Can you stick with me for one more story in the <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/10/forgiving-wal-mart.html">Wal-mart</a> saga? I think this will likely be the last of them.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I gave up -- at least for now -- on getting a copy of my friend <a href="http://www.jerellaw.com/">Jerel's book <i>Spirit Fighter</i></a> from Wal-mart. But I made peace with the store after a surprisingly good customer service experience with them.<br />
<br />
Up to yesterday, the count was four Wal-marts I've visited in the last few weeks to find Jerel's book. I had heard from a reliable source (Jerel himself) that one of the Wal-marts I had visited <br />
<a name='more'></a>early on was carrying the book. It must have just been out the day I went. There was no employee anywhere in sight near the book section that day, and so I left empty-handed.<br />
<br />
Because that particular Wal-mart is such a long drive from my house, I decided to try calling the store before going all the way out there. It took three calls before anyone even answered the phone (not cool). The lady who answered the third attempt sounded skeptical when I asked if I could find out if they had a book in stock: "Ohhh, I don't ... hold on." Four minutes later (yes, I kept track), she came back on and asked who I was holding for. I told her, and she asked me to hold again.<br />
<br />
Three minutes after that, she came back on the line and asked me the name of the book. For the next two minutes, I heard her talking with someone on a two-way radio who had gone to the book section and was looking on the shelves for the book -- an act of customer service I appreciated even more for several reasons:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I was an anonymous voice on the phone who would have been easy for them to ignore.</li>
<li>The book isn't listed on walmart.com, and therefore, the employees have little chance of finding out on a computer if it's something they even carry.</li>
<li>I've been in that store's book section (the largest of any Wal-mart I've been in yet), and it's not easy to find much of anything in it. Books there are loosely categorized by genre but there's no sort of alphabetical order by author or title or any other apparent order at all. Well, unless you count "random" as an order.</li>
</ol>
<div>
At the end of that nine-minute call, I had my answer: "We don't have that book." But the call wasn't wasted. It was filled with grace. Grace of two Wal-mart employees who likely don't get paid enough or appreciated enough but who still went above and beyond to help me get the answer I needed. Grace extended that made it easier for me to reach the final step in forgiveness and achieve a measure of peace.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So ... I <i>still</i> haven't bought anything at Wal-mart in more than 14 years. But the ban is over, and I've let go of something inside of my head or my heart or my soul -- wherever it had sat smoldering all this time -- that isn't worth holding onto any more. And though I won't go out of my way to shop at Wal-mart, I won't go out of my way <i>not</i> to shop there either. Besides, they may be the only store that carries Jello's new seasonal delight, pumpkin spice pudding. And that delicious treat, my friends, is worth going out of my way for. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Grateful for computer glitches</b></div>
<div>
Now, I don't want you to worry that I'm going without a copy of the book. Thanks to an alert on <a href="http://www.jerellaw.com/blog/">Jerel's blog</a>, I took my chances and ordered two copies of the book on Amazon.com (one for me and one for my friend <a href="http://distractedbyprayer.blogspot.com/">Shannon</a>, who won a copy based on her comment to my initial blog about this whole forgiving Wal-mart issue). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks to a glitch in some system, Amazon has been able to get a few copies at a time. Though the shipping prediction was 1-2 weeks (meaning Amazon wasn't sure they'd be able to get more copies), I placed the order anyway. Tomorrow, they're due to land in my mailbox. And I can't wait!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So today in my gratitude journal, I'll have several more items to add, including:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Lessons Wal-mart taught me about forgiveness.</li>
<li>Computer glitches that will bring a much sought-after book to my doorstep.</li>
<li>A <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/10/taken-for-granted-or-taken-with.html">healing right hand</a> that doesn't hurt anymore when I type. (Thanks also, to all of you who prayed for me after last week's fall.)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
So I ask you these questions: Has my experience with Wal-mart given you pause to consider what resentments you need to let go of? How about a person -- or retail store -- you need to forgive? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And are you keeping a list of gratitudes in your life? I hope so. Thanksgiving is edging ever closer, and with it, <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/08/worries-on-road-less-traveled.html">the Thanksgiving challenge</a>. I hope you find that keeping a list of things for which you are grateful will help you experience a richer holiday season. Oh, that reminds me, I'm grateful Halloween is just around the corner, because I'll be able to get rid of all that candy sitting in my pantry. Trick or treat, my friends!</div>
<div>
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<br /></div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-50917249626031412722011-10-19T18:23:00.000-04:002011-10-19T18:25:01.510-04:00Taken for granted or taken with gratitudeWe've been having a conversation about <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/10/forgiving-wal-mart.html">Wal-mart and forgiveness</a> the last few weeks, and I promise to come back to that topic when I have more to report.<br />
<br />
But today, my thoughts are more occupied with the things I take for granted. My hands, for instance.<br />
<br />
Yesterday while I was out running, I took a tumble on some loose gravel and ended up sliding along the asphalt for what seemed like an eternity -- probably because it happened in slow motion. I sat up and saw the palm of my right hand covered in blood, asphalt crumbs and dirt, and felt pain along the left side of my body (shoulder, hand, hip, lower leg and foot).<br />
<br />
A very kind, concerned driver who saw me fall stopped to make sure I was okay. I told her I <br />
<a name='more'></a>was and also happened to be close to home. So I managed to get up and trudge home.<br />
<br />
Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I cannot tolerate pain. I may be the biggest wimp in the world when it comes to pain. But so far, I haven't been able to change that and haven't dared to ask God to help me better tolerate pain because I'm frankly afraid of what challenge He might send my way to teach me that lesson.<br />
<br />
As the day went on, I realized how much I take my hands for granted, given all that I expect them to do:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Push me off the ground when I want to stand up.</li>
<li>Unlock and open the front door.</li>
<li>Open a bottle of rubbing alcohol (note: not the best to use on road rash).</li>
<li>Cut strips of bandage and tape.</li>
<li>Put on make-up.</li>
<li>Write.</li>
<li>Drive.</li>
<li>Wash dishes.</li>
<li>Take out the trash.</li>
<li>Walk the dog.</li>
</ul>
<div>
That's not even the full list, but I think you get the point. As a writer, my hands are vital to what I do, and they don't even ask for much care in return. Today, instead of taking my hands for granted, I'm taking them with gratitude. Despite the temporary pain I feel from them now, they are indispensable to me. They're also a way that I'm able to do the work God has blessed me and called me to do.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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I began wondering what else I take for granted, and I know there are family and friends on that list, any of whom I might have called yesterday to bring over a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. That duty fell to my dad, who was very sweet to also bring the new tube of neosporin with pain relief added in -- he knows better than most about my lack of pain tolerance. I didn't even know neosporin came with pain relief in it!</div>
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<b>Taking the big and small for granted</b></div>
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Is it possible that we take family and friends for granted more than anything else? We lost someone this week on my husband's side of the family, and it was a reminder to cherish the moments we have with each other, whether the years together are long or short.</div>
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I had a great aunt who lived to be 100, and in the final years of her life, I treated every visit as if it might be the last: enjoying the stories of her life, the gift of time with her and all of the ways she made each one of us feel special and unique. My only regret was not asking for her recipe for chicken corn soup, as I'm not sure anyone in my family still has the recipe.</div>
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Why don't I cherish time like that with more of my family and friends? Relishing in the time together. Saying what needs to be said. Ending each visit with an "I love you." It's because I take my time with them for granted, ignoring -- perhaps intentionally -- that tomorrow is promised to none of us.</div>
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So I have some more entries to add to my <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/08/worries-on-road-less-traveled.html">gratitude journal</a> today. I'd encourage you to spend some time today, too, thinking of what you might be taking for granted. Will you say a prayer of gratitude to God thanking Him for those things (healthy hands, no broken bones) or person (Dad with first aid in hand).</div>
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Write it down so you can come back to remind yourself again and again not to take anything for granted, but instead, to take everything with gratitude.</div>Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-19250065663573976782011-10-13T14:57:00.000-04:002011-10-13T14:57:16.761-04:00Forgiving Wal-martIf you had asked me back in February when I started this blog whether Wal-mart would be a hot topic on my blog someday, I would have laughed. But love the big-box store or hate it, you haven't been shy about sharing your opinion.<br />
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To respond to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4643801436725868019&postID=2019809384474265520">Chris' request</a> to see some of the email and Facebook responses to last week's post, I'm adding a sample here. I had meant to share the email I got from a close friend giving detailed advice to forgive Wal-mart. Her answer was the one that moved me the most. But not everyone encouraged breaking the ban. You'll see that there's a pretty sharp division:<br />
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<ul>
<li>"Hey! Loved the blog. Loved the steadfastness of your walmart ban even more. Wow."</li>
<li>"Just forgive Wal-mart already!" (straight from my mom's mouth when I visited her earlier this week)</li>
<li>"Ha...nice blog post. A great reminder of why I never shop there."</li>
</ul>
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Here's the email from my friend:</div>
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"My advice would be to consider shopping at Walmart again as an act of forgiveness. You<a name='more'></a> may want to be selective about which location you choose because I find some of the warehouse environments draining. Or you could order online. </div>
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I have a sweet tooth and on a recent trip [to Wal-mart] a kind gentleman saw my older son point to the empty tray of samples and opened up a brand new package of brownies for us to try. The last time I was at another location, my younger son was crying in the stroller, and one of the associates asked if she could help me find something. I was looking for playing cards as part of a Father's Day gift. She said they are sometimes at the checkout counter and possibly in toys. When I made it to the toys section, I was completely surprised to find her there picking out cards to bring back and show me. </div>
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Remember one person can truly make a difference. You never know: that person could be you when you brighten someone's day at Walmart. I imagine many of the associates would appreciate a friendly face.</div>
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Now I must confess my bias ... My brother-in-law recently became employed with Walmart and I consider it an answer to many prayers. The job allowed him to return home after working in Iraq for more than two years. The youth pastor at my sister's church referred him for the position.</div>
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I have also had my fair share of bad experiences with retail establishments. While pregnant with my first child, a floor model rocking chair collapsed beneath me. I still get a little anxious going in another store where a large piece of furniture crashed over me and my infant son. Thankfully, he was uninjured, and I healed. My reading in Job reminds me that God is watching over us. We simply do not control our circumstances, only our responses."</div>
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Preach it, sister! That last part about controlling only our responses pierced my heart.<br />
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I'm not sure this is about Wal-mart anymore. It's another example in a year where God has been gently reminding me -- again and again and again -- about the tough lessons He wants me to learn about forgiveness.<br />
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Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts -- about shopping at Wal-mart or the more important work of forgiveness.<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4643801436725868019.post-20198093844742655202011-10-12T18:44:00.001-04:002011-10-12T18:44:42.662-04:00A tale of three Wal-martsIt was the best of times. It was the worst of times. ... Oh, right. That's been done already. Do you mind if I tell you about my day instead?<br />
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Thanks to those of you who commented on <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/10/defeating-green-eyed-monster.html">last week's post</a> about jealousy. At the end of that post, I asked for advice about whether to break a 14+ year ban of Wal-mart to buy Jerel Law's new (first) book there. Wal-mart has exclusive rights to carry the book for 90 days, and I found out from <a href="http://www.jerellaw.com/spirit-fighter/update-on-spirit-fighter-and-locations/">Jerel's blog</a> that it may be April of next year before the book is available elsewhere.<br />
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Several of you who emailed me or posted a comment said I should forgive Wal-mart and go buy the book. So today, I drove to Wal-mart to break my ban. I left empty-handed.<br />
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It felt odd to me to walk in to the store, but the greeters were there, and they smiled and said, "Hello." I smiled and said, "Hello" back. I got my bearings and found the small book section, consisting of one side of an aisle, and one set of shelves along the back of the store.<br />
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I was still excited about breaking the ban for a good cause and eagerly scanned the shelves <br />
<a name='more'></a>for <i>Spirit Fighter</i>. It wasn't in the New Releases section. It wasn't in the Novels section. Or the Inspirational section or the Young Readers section.<br />
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I happened to be on the phone with a good friend who had emailed last week to tell me to forgive Wal-mart. She offered to look for the book on Wal-mart's website to see if she could find it in the store. So with her infant son alternating between coo and fuss in the background, she looked on the site. No matches for the book or Jerel's name. That left one option: find an employee and ask for help.<br />
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So I did. And he was very helpful. But the store isn't just out of the book. They don't carry it, at least not yet. He said I could call back in a few days to see if they get it in stock.<br />
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I drove home and got on the computer to see where other Wal-marts are located. There aren't any very close to my house, and as I haven't shopped at one for so long, it's easy to drive past them without noticing they're there.<br />
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I found two more close enough to try. Jerel's blog had also informed me that only half of all the Wal-mart stores are even carrying his book, and so I figured three Wal-mart stores improved my chances of finding the book.<br />
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I decided to call both remaining stores to see if they carried the book. The first store took a long time to even answer the phone, and I ended up on an interminable hold. Well, not interminable. I hung up after a few minutes. Same interminable hold at the second store. Not cool, Wal-mart.<br />
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So I took my chances and got in the car. Two hours and one rush hour traffic jam later, still no book. I wish I had just stopped for the day at the first store. The customer service was better there (as opposed to being nonexistent at the other two), and at least I still had some hope of finding the book.<br />
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For now, I've ordered copies on Amazon. Somehow, they mistakenly got some initial copies to sell but may be out of stock at this point, which means I may be out of luck.<br />
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In the meantime, I probably won't take up shopping at Wal-mart, but if I happen to drive by one I haven't already checked, then I'll stop in and see if they have the book.<br />
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<b>What I learned from three Wal-mart visits</b><br />
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<li>Wal-mart isn't as horrible a store as I remembered. And there are some helpful employees working there.</li>
<li>Forgiveness takes time and effort, and sometimes, even companies (not just individuals) deserve forgiveness.</li>
<li>I'm more willing to forgive a company if it provides something unique (which probably means I have more to learn about forgiveness).</li>
<li>I am soooooo grateful that I don't have to drive in rush hour traffic every day down a busy, traffic-signal-filled, major road into my city.</li>
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Oh, speaking of gratitude, that reminds me. We are six weeks away from Thanksgiving. Are you keeping a gratitude journal or list? Remember that <a href="http://flourishingtree.blogspot.com/2011/08/worries-on-road-less-traveled.html">Thanksgiving challenge back in August</a>? It's not too late to start. I'm up to #131: "Rush hour traffic that reminds me how blessed I am not to have to drive that road every day." My list is a long way from 1,000, but it's a start, and keeping it has helped remind me to give thanks in all circumstances, even the days that include three Wal-marts and an empty shopping bag.<br />
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(By the way, <a href="http://www.distractedbyprayer.blogspot.com/">Shannon</a>, I'm grateful for your comment last week. You win the free copy of <i>Spirit Fighter</i>, but I can't send it to you until I actually get a copy.)<br />
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<br />Hope Squireshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854876695296951117noreply@blogger.com6