He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

 I started packing away the Christmas decorations today.  Anybody else?  Because I singularly take them out and set them up on whichever day I decide as the holiday begins (after Thanksgiving at my house)....it is also up to me to decide when to take them down.  I have never waited long enough for the people in my family to wonder out loud why they are still up.  Typically it happens around New Years holiday.  So I started today but I always pack them away in a certain order.  First I pack away everything that looks like Santa/Christmas tree/ stockings/ Merry Christmas.  We have a fresh tree from the tree farm so I leave that up and decorated as long as possible.....something about the twinkly lights is so lovely when it is dark for more that 12 hours a day.  Most years our city garbage service will pick them up the week after Christmas but Roger read somewhere they aren't doing that anymore so I may just leave it up until it starts to look d...

 I was in my car a lot today, first for work and later driving Precious to and from Sioux Falls for volleyball.  Several times the radio station told me there are only 6 days until Christmas.  That is both fun and stressful is it not?  I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends and worshipping the Savior, turning my face to Him to remember what all the hullabaloo is for....it's for Jesus, not for us or for our kids.  The classic song Oh Come All ye Faithful tells us to come, let us adore Him...adore is a big word.  Adore means to worship, love greatly, honor highly and idolize...and to like very much...and to love with one's entire heart and soul, to regard with deep respect and affection... If I am to come and adore Jesus, I can't just passively wrap some gifts and bake some cookies....I can't even just show up for all the concerts and programs and parties....adore is a verb.  It requires action.  It demands intention and effor...

 There is a mantra familiar to those who move in the circles of mental health.  It goes like this..... I can do hard things.   You say it over and over again and if you've had some therapy maybe you cross your arms over your chest and pat yourself rhythmically while you say, "I can do hard things". I find myself reciting it tonight....not because I am facing a giant of adversity, or a scary prospect....mostly just because I had a busy night caring for my family and it involved driving at night.  I don't like to drive at night.  Other people don't dim their bright lights anymore....and it is stressful....I have a rather short night and then have to get up early tomorrow and get kids up early and then go and give a presentation to some college kids first thing in the morning.  I need to act like I know what I am doing (which I do) and present well....but they are coming to "class" and I am not a teacher.  I am a nurse.  I can do hard things....

 Today is a big day.  For 2 people I love very much, they are reconciled to a big change.  a new normal.  Life as they know it will change very soon.  They are moving on.  My heart is full of sadness and pride....and I am in wonder because how can those 2 feelings exist in the same place?  I guess the answer lies in the human-ness....and the knowing them.      One of my loved ones has had highs and lows and acceptance and rejection and a hint of something bigger....and this beautiful soul has agonized with the tension of who they are and what they deserve....I can't be more specific because it would be a betrayal to a beautiful soul.  Because I love this person I am biased for sure.  More than anything, mental health and a sense of contentment in who we are is a priority for me....so I have been a more aggressive version of myself to advocate.  I would do it every day.  That's what love does.  For this one...we a...

 Matthew 13:44-46     "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."     I listened to a devo recently about the treasure hidden in the field.  It happened that as I was listening in my car, I was noticing the beauty of the fields.  In the midwest, we are in harvest season so the fields are busy and changing.  As I drive around the county for my work, I notice the fields and the changing seasons daily.  I appreciate the seasons of planting, growing, harvesting and the winter season of rest.  I value the work being done here, to grow and harvest and feed the world with what our farmers know and grow and what our fields produce.   ...

 Recently I was in the car with one of my kids.  We were talking about how warm and dry the weather has been.  I brought up global warming and she asked what that meant so I tried to describe it in my motherly way which was probably not very scientific.  She was satisfied with my answer.  I went on to say that we as a human species are using up our resources and at some point there won't be any left...but that when Jesus returns he will create a new heaven and a new earth for us....so because we are believers, we will be ok.       I told her that the bible tells us that Jesus will return and when he does there will be an end to all the hurting and sin and misery and ugliness.....but until he comes back we need to just keep doing our best every day to endure the hard things.       This kiddo has struggled lately and it has felt like lots of days are hard.  Feeling rejected, left out, frustrated and unseen is a hard way...

 As the seasons change we see evidence of summer ending and the start of fall.  Pretty little yellow leaves lay on the green grass.  Grasshoppers and crickets and late-summer cicadas are moving around.  The trees are beginning to change colors.....what has been green for months is starting to get a kiss of yellow, orange and red behind the heavy branches......and I am thinking about trees.       Yesterday a co-worker and I were leaving a home visit.  We delighted in noticing a particular tree on our country road that had a big horse shoe shape.  It had been cut into a "u" intentionally for a power line path....but the integrity of the tree was preserved and it was full and healthy and waving at us in the breeze that always seems to blow in Iowa.  She told me she loved trees, all kinds of trees and especially the Weeping Willow trees that look so magical.  I shared her delight but also brought to mind one weeping willow tree I d...