Election Day

Election Day. What did it mean to you?

If you’re a school-age kid or a government worker, maybe it was just a day off. But if you were able to vote, I hope it meant your chance to exercise the freedom our founding fathers and soldiers have fought to ensure for you.

When it’s all said and done tonight, I don't really care who you voted for (even though I did think it would have been amusing for both sides to have a post-voting sticker that read, “I Cancelled Out Your Vote”). In fact, I told several people today that I just plain love Election Days. I would drive across three counties to vote for Dog Catcher!

The main thing is, you and I both had the opportunity and privilege to make our voices heard today by voting in a democratic election. That’s a wonderous thing, no matter which side you’re on. And ultimately, we’re all on the same side again.

God bless America.

Photograph: Getty Images

Waiting

I have always had a thing for pumpkins. When my cousins and I were kids, my Granddaddy Settle would plant a whole field of them on his farm in Southside Virginia just so he could have the pleasure of watching his grandchildren run through the vines in autumn, seeking out their "perfect" pumpkin for Halloween. Naturally, when we were young the rule of thumb for picking a pumpkin to carve was size and, to the dismay of our parents, bigger was always better!

When I grew older and had children of my own, I enjoyed the pumpkin carving tradition just as much, but from a different perspective. I always urged Ben and Hannah to opt for a "friendly" face over a scary one, but truth be told it didn't matter to me, because it was all about them. We never had trick-or-treaters. Our house was too out of the way, in the woods up a rough gravel and dirt road. Still, we carved our Jack O'Lantern and I bought candy...just in case.

Fast forward a few years and everyone's older, meaning the kids have caught onto the idea that trick-or-treating in subdivisions is much more lucrative than trick-or-treating in Brumley Gap. We still carved pumpkins and bought candy. But after that we piled in the Suburban and headed for town. And I started buying more pumpkins, so when the Jack O'Lantern was compost I would still have bright, beautiful, firm pumpkins to color my world when all of the leaves had fallen in late November.

Tonight my kids are enjoying Halloween elsewhere. It is, after all, probably the biggest holiday on college campuses across America. Hannah is a ladybug and Ben is the dead guy from the movie, "Weekend at Bernie's." And I didn't carve a Jack O'Lantern this year. So my pumpkins, large and small, may just last until my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I bought candy, but as usual I've had no takers.

It's probably no surprise that, as a kid so taken with gourds, one of my favorite seasonal television treats was, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Charles Schulz was a genius, and in his 1966 classic (which, according to the Wikipedia entry, preempted "My Three Sons" that year), the Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween minus Linus and Sally, who are waiting in a pumpkin patch for "The Great Pumpkin" to appear. Long story short, The Great Pumpkin never makes an appearance and Sally's not happy with Linus, to put it mildly. But he hangs tough, vowing that next year will be different. In one of my favorite lines, Charlie Brown tries to comfort Linus, telling him, "I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, too."

It may be a cartoon, but Linus’ vigil reminds me of our own, as Christians waiting for Jesus to return. At times it may feel futile, and yes, non-believers may even ridicule us, saying it’s a “stupid” cause. But I’m trusting in Christ’s promises. After all, we’re not talking about the Great Pumpkin, but the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. So here are six ways the two differ. (Please, don’t send comments about how blasphemous this is. Just stay with me...)

Six Ways Jesus Is Different From The Great Pumpkin

1. You can’t “carve” Jesus into whatever you want him to be.

2. You can’t blow out his light.

3. He’s the vine, not the fruit.

4. He’s unchanging, unlike a pumpkin that grows, peaks, then withers away.

5. His seeds produce wisdom, love, and mercy.

6. He is coming back!

Like pumpkins, but love Jesus. And never, ever give up on waiting for Him.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” ~ John 14:27-29 (NIV)

Taking a Stand

I live in place where you’re all but legally required to declare your allegiance to one of two colleges: University of Tennessee or Virginia Tech. So let it be known that I am a fan of my father’s alma mater, Virginia Tech (or VPI, as it was called back in the day). I tease my friend Debbie because she has a cozy blanket that sports the UT logo and colors on one side and VT’s on the other. She graduated from Virginia Tech, but is a big fan of the Lady Vols basketball team, and her daughter Sarah also recently graduated from Tennessee. So depending on who’s playing any given evening or weekend, Debbie can curl up on the sofa with the right gear.

These two schools never even meet on the football field, but the divide isn’t just collegiate. It’s a tale of two states, and Bristol is a city divided right down the middle of its downtown by State Street, where my daughter took this picture at the Rhythm & Roots music festival last month. Bristolians have to choose between living in Virginia or Tennessee, and sometimes the people even go so far as to buy their tomatoes according to what state they were grown in. (I’m not kidding.)

People take a stand on a whole host of personal issues, from coffee vs. tea (coffee, please) to mountain vs. beach vacations (since I live in the mountains, I’ll pick the beach). The church is especially prone to division on issues like contemporary or traditional worship, King James or NIV Bibles, and baptism by dunking or sprinkling.

And with a presidential election just days away now, the clamor to take a stand for the candidate or party of your choice is reaching a fever pitch. Obviously, who wins is important. But no matter who’s in the Oval Office, it’s who’s on the Throne of Grace that matters even more, Amen? That said, I received this list of “predictions” in an email recently:

TEN PREDICTIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

I don’t know about you, but these truths give me some welcomed perspective for the next 10 days. So no matter who you’re voting for President, you can get out there and campaign for Christ, in your homes, workplaces, and communities, through word and deed. We’re called to run the race, and there’s no question that He’s going to win!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ~ Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)

Don't Panic

www.nataliedee.com

What a week. You'd have to be living in a cave (unlikely, since you're reading this) not to be aware of our downward spiraling economy, and concerned about how it affects you. The stock market's wild swings have felt like a carnival ride, and the resulting media frenzy has been enough to make you dizzy with fear. I got off of the treadmill at the gym last night more stressed out from watching the nightly news than I was when I got on 30 minutes earlier!

I recognize, as well as any of us can, the magnitude of the problem. But I still have to believe the glass is half full. (Have you been watching gas prices this week?) It's a healthy and wise thing to be concerned. But the question is, where are you on the "anxiety scale" of 1 to 10?

Apparently the only AP file photos suitable to accompany bad stock market news are variations on this one, although this is the worst I've seen this week. No one wants to see the guy handling their retirement money making this face! All the same, as my friend Connie reminded me today, "Life can be hard and doesn't always go the way we think it will—yet Jesus is still Lord." She also said she's quit praying about finances, and instead is just praying for Him to grow her trust and obedience. That was a powerful witness to me.

She shared these thoughts with me in response to some lyrics and scripture I emailed to her earlier in the week. A few years ago Amy Grant put out a collection of old hymns done in a new way (I love those). It's called, "Legacy," and more times than I can count, when I've had a heavy heart, "Fields of Plenty" will come up on my iPod. Amy sings a couple of verses from, "Be Still My Soul"...

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to thy God to order and provide;
in every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
to guide the future, as He has in past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious will be bright at last.

Sweet music, and a balm to my soul...and if that weren't enough of a reminder to trust God, Amy Grant quotes the very verse I cling to when I'm struggling:

Delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, and find your joy in Him. Be known for your gentleness, and never forget the nearness of our God. And don't worry, whatever's going to come...Just tell God every detail. And the peace of God that no one understands will come to you. No, don't worry...just tell Him every detail, and His peace will come to you." ~ Philippians 4:4-7

So yes...BE CONCERNED. But I just wanted to remind everyone that there's an alternative to panic. Because apart from Jesus, none of us really have anything.


Photo: A broker on ICAP's dealing floor calls for prices on October 9, 2008 in London, England. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

In the Blink of an Eye

Have you ever seen one of those little books with the illustrations on each page which appear animated when you riffle the pages quickly from beginning to end? I used to have one have that featured a dancing couple, and the idea that I could make them twirl and spin and dip their way through a virtual ballroom absolutely fascinated me.

If I could dig through my photo albums and find just the right pictures of my son, I imagine I could create a wondrous book of his life thus far, from infancy to adulthood. And I could make the pages from September 29, 1987 to September 29, 2008 flutter by over and over again, reliving memories that seem as though they were made only yesterday.

When you have babies, people far wiser than you are at the time (people who aren't sleep-deprived) warn that you'd better pay good attention, because the time will fly by and your children will be grown and gone in a flash. I'm a living witness to the truth of their words today, the day before my son turns 21. It's one of God's greatest mysteries, how we got from the photo of the toddler, just up from his nap (he was a wonderful sleeper), clinging to his beloved blankie and his last pacifier, to the handsome young man in his college fraternity portrait. My compliant child, he grew up in spite of me.

So happy birthday Ben. I love you, I'm proud of you, and I can't wait to see your future unfold. And don't forget what I told you when you were a senior in high school: Always remember whose you are.
Here are 21 more great bits of advice on your 21st birthday...

"Use what talents you possess—the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." ~ Henry Van Dyke

"The best way out is always through." ~ Robert Frost

"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~ Francis of Assisi

"Sometimes you've got to jump off cliffs and grow wings on the way down." ~ Ray Bradbury

"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." ~ Marcus Aurelius

"The only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." ~ Albert Schweitzer

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psalm 37:4

"Overnight success takes a long time." ~ Stephen Jobs

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." ~ George Bernard Shaw

"Do the ordinary things in an extraordinary way." ~ George Allen

"If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball." ~ Jack Lemmon

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're absolutely right." ~ Henry Ford

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17

"Once the mind has been stretched by a new idea, it will never again return to its original size." ~ Oliver W. Holmes

"Where there is great love there are always miracles." ~ Willa Cather

"I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time." ~ Mother Teresa

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint." ~ Isaiah 40:31

"A ship in the harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are made for." ~ John A. Shedd

"The best things in life are free." ~ Cole Porter

"All things are possible with God." ~ Mark 10:27

"You are a child of your heavenly father. Your faith in His love and power can never be bold enough." ~ Basilea Schlink

More Is More

I'm in a rut. I can't stop eating tomato sandwiches for supper, and it's all my co-worker Lisa's fault. She sent me a link to this website, and that was the beginning of my obsession.

See, I was raised on tomato sandwiches (along with cucumbers in vinegar, Brunswick stew, and fried oysters), so the website she innocently passed along was bound to strike a chord deep inside. We're talking comfort food...flavors that bring childhood memories rushing back to your mind...meals you'd forgotten could taste so amazing.

This week, my tomato sandwiches have been made of toasted sourdough wheat bread from the Farmer's Market, mayo, homegrown tomatoes (again, from the Farmer's Market), plenty of garlic salt and freshly ground pepper, and the piece de resistance—a melted slice of Provolone cheese. Lisa's recipe provided me with a revelation: Toasting the bread creates an entirely new sort of tomato sandwich, one that won't dissolve into a soggy mess before you can finish eating it—Eureka! And when I googled, "perfect tomato sandwich," I came up with a lot of delicious sounding variations.

My Granna Settle's tomato roll was a modification of the tomato sandwich my mother made. When my Granna died 11 years ago I grieved, among other reasons, because I would miss our long phone conversations, her unconditional love, and her yeast rolls. To enjoy one of her fresh rolls one more time, slathered with mayonnaise and adorned with a thick, juicy slab of tomato (courtesy of my Granddaddy, who annually grew enough tomatoes for all of Italy)...well, that would be a little slice of heaven.

Are you seeing a connection? It's so easy to get hung up on something that touches you deeply on an emotional level, and it's natural to want to keep evoking that same pleasurable response over and over. But there are two problems with the emotional connection...

First, you're bound to burn out eventually. There will come a day when I can't bear the thought of eating another tomato sandwich. And only time will tell if I'll recover from the excess, or if tomato sandwiches will be off of my personal menu forever.

The second potential problem with going overboard is that you may miss out on the present by focusing on the future. For example, what happens when the tomato harvest is over, and my tomato choices are reduced to pale, mealy imitations of the real thing? If I'm worried about that scenario while I'm eating my juicy tomato sandwich now, well, where's the joy in that? I suspect Peter experienced something similar during the transfiguration, related in Matthew 17:1-5 (NIV):

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

In other words, Peter thought, "WOW, this is AMAZING. If I can just get these shelters built, I can show everyone how the prophecy is unfolding and the Feast of the Tabernacles is being brought full circle the coming of God's kingdom, AND I can make the moment last."

But that wasn't the plan, according to God. He said, "Peter...STOP. This is my SON....pay attention to THIS moment!"

When my kids and their cousins were growing up, everyone I knew had video cameras, and countless childhood moments were immortalized forever in film (all of which now need to be transferred to DVDs). I didn't have a camcorder though, mostly because I just always felt like I would be trading the present joy of experiencing the moment for looking through a lens, worrying about lighting and background noise.

Are you enjoying the "here and now" moments God graces you with? Or are you worried about where your next homegrown tomato is coming from? Life is a series of moments, some incredibly special, some not so much. But that's life, and to spend all of your time looking ahead (or worse, behind) is just sad. So seize the moment, or "carpe momento!"

Photo 1: Tomato sandwich image by Elizabeth Passarella, www.thekitchn.com
Photo 2: My fraternal grandparents, Walker & Frances Settle
Photo 3: My nephew, Noah Secor

Turn, Turn, Turn

This week, watching Sarah Palin electrify the Republicans at their national convention, I could almost imagine myself living in Alaska and being darned proud of it. But that was only an idle daydream, because I love being a Virginian too much.

I am glad to live in a state—no, commonwealth—that is rich in history…one of the original 13 colonies, and one that produced four of the first five presidents, at that. And, although we’re traditionally conservative, I confess I like living in a state that could go red or blue…a place presidential candidates will have to pay attention to, or else.

We stood with the South in the Civil War, but we’re not so insensitive we automatically assume you take your iced tea sweet. And if you’d you’re hungry for some local flavor, how about our seafood, peanuts, ham, apples, or Brunswick stew, just to name a few of our specialities?

Virginia spans the geological spectrum, from the majestic Blue Ridge mountains to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, and everything in between. My father raised his garden in the red Piedmont clay of the same Virginia where my grandaddy made his living growing tobacco in Southside’s sandy soil. And I probably shouldn’t say this, with hurricanes roaming the Atlantic, but natural disasters are relatively rare here in Virginia.

Still, I think what I love the most about Virginia are its seasons. I can’t imagine living in a place where the months merge into one another with no clearly defined seasons. My favorite is fall, its warm afternoons filled with golden light filtering through jewel-toned leaves. The crisp nights, with frost in the air and crickets chirping, lend a sense of urgency to autumn…a warning to gather in crops, friends, and family before the cold of winter is upon us.

For me, the first part of winter is fun and festive, busy with Christmas celebrations. The rest of the season is in stark contrast—still and quiet, occasionally surprising me with billiantly faceted snowflakes and icy air that takes my breath away. Winter is a time to rest and regenerate. Spring is a tease, just as harsh as winter at times, but also giving glimpses of new life and better days for our winter-weary hearts. I celebrate Easter, the risen Messiah, and the colors begin to fill in the landscape. The promise is fulfilled, in our hearts and surroundings. Then, in a flash, summer is upon us, seeming to arrive unannounced and leave just as quickly. It’s a fast and furious season of activity, although I remember it being much lazier when I was a child.

Maybe my soul yearns for the structure of seaons because I recognize that they also make up the structure of our lives. We compare youth with “spring chickens,” and when we grow older we liken our lives to autumn, again with a sense of urgency to check things off of our “bucket list” before the winter of our old age.

But within the larger calendar of our lives are a multitude of seasons we travel through—seasons of learning, waiting, parenting, new endeavors, love, grief, perserverance, enlightenment, frustration, anger, joy—as many seasons as there are emotions, and more. Often they overlap. A season of waiting and grief may go hand-in-hand, as surely do parenting and new endeavors.

My children are in seasons of learning and new endeavors. In retrospect, I tell them these will be some of the best years of their lives, but I doubt they take me seriously. Oh, to be in college again, with a huge expanse of possibility stretching out before me like the horizon when you stand on the beach between the safety of the sand and the unknown that is the ocean.

My season of “hands on” parenting is finished, and the idea of that makes me sad. I threw myself into being a mother with my whole being for the past 21 years. But now I can not only look ahead to the next seasons in my life, I can also take joy in watching my children experience this season of their lives. It’s a double blessing, and I’m thankful for it.


"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

Note: Our Hannah has been asking to have her nose pierced with a small stud for the past year. I said no, with all of the parental advisement I could muster: "It'll get infected...You'll have to stick your finger up your nose, for heaven's sake...What about your first job interview? You'll have a scar!" But she turned 18 last month, and I think she knew, to tell the truth, that if that was the worst I had to deal with, I would be ok.