Just Checking In

Our phone rang one Wednesday night about 9 pm.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Ma… it’s Brandon.”
“Hi, Sweetie… I thought you were still out in the field. Are you back in?”
“No… I’m parked in my Humvee under a tree because it’s too stinkin’ hot to be out right now, so I thought I’d just check in with you.”
Brandon and I visited until I heard voices in the background.
“Gotta go… love you, Ma… Talk to you later.”

There wasn’t anything particularly unusual about this phone call, except that Brandon was parked under a tree at the edge of a rice paddy in South Korea and I was sitting at my kitchen table in Oak Harbor, Washington. It was 1 pm on Thursday afternoon in South Korea, but it was only Wednesday evening in Oak Harbor. (Brandon says that he calls from the future!) Technology has made what was unimaginable just 20 years ago commonplace today.

When our children were teenagers and began driving and staying out later, Pat would ask them to call and check in with us around 11 pm so we would know their whereabouts and that everything was OK. Brandon is now in his thirties, married, and an Army officer, but he still continues to faithfully check in with his “Ma & Pa” once a week, no matter where he is in the world. And it blesses us, his parents.

When is the last time you simply checked in with your heavenly Father just to tell Him where you are and how you are doing… not to ask Him for any specific thing, but just to talk to Him about what’s going on in your life? And when did you last close a conversation with your heavenly Father with “Love you… talk to you later?”

Why not give it a try today?

Pastor Kit


(Photo by Brandon McCartney)

Whose Voice?

One of the hardest lessons that I have had to learn as a Christian has been to pray and then to keep my mouth shut! Although I may still be a “work in progress” in this area, my husband says that I’ve come a long way. And he should know.

When I was in my thirties, I had an ongoing conflict with Pat over his social drinking. And honestly, he didn’t seem to understand. His job encouraged it, he enjoyed it, so what was my problem?

After one particularly nasty confrontation over Pat’s “problem,” I found myself at the church altar on a Saturday morning, crying, and saying to God, “What am I going to do about Pat?” And God answered. He said, “You’re the problem.”

A physical slap in the face could not have shocked me more than that answer. In the ensuing “discussion” I had with God over this, He made the following three points. They have stuck with me to this very day.

First, I was really more concerned about myself—and what others might think—than I was about Pat. I grew up in a family that was more concerned about appearances than about the emotional health of its family members. It is safe to say that if it weren’t for the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, I would be repeating this same pattern. I was more concerned about what people would think than about what Pat was thinking.

Second, I claimed to be the “sold-out” (we Nazarenes say “sanctified”) Christian in the family, yet I was far more willing to extend criticism than I was to extend grace. This was difficult, because I ended up having to go to Pat and confess my attitude toward his behavior. Talk about leaning on Grace!!

Third, God revealed to me that I was keeping Pat so on the defensive that he couldn’t hear God’s voice over my voice! Ouch! Years ago, one of my sons was pulled over for speeding. He was on a rural stretch of road, it was late at night, he was tired and wanted to get home sooner!?! He said, “Mom, when I saw the flashing lights in my mirror, I actually heard your voice!”

I used to think that was funny but, now that my children are grown and gone, I don’t so much anymore. Too often it seems that my children hear my voice when they would fare better if they heard God’s voice.

Can your children, spouse, or family members hear God’s voice over your own? Can you even hear His voice over your own? I have had to confess wrong words, wrong attitudes, and wrong actions to my own children, spouse, and family. And that has turned out to open doors so that God could work real changes.

These days, I want my family to hear God’s voice in my own as they continue to hear God’s voice on their own. That’s my prayer. What’s yours?

Pastor Kit

This Wasn't The Plan!

For a number of years now Pat and I have talked about driving over the scenic North Cascades Highway soon after it reopens in the spring. This year I told Pat that Mother’s Day weekend was to be the “someday.” And I began to plan. I suggested that we load up the dogs, cats and RV on Friday, leave, and camp as close as we could to the west end of the highway that night. Then we could drive over on Saturday and return home on Sunday.

But then things changed. Pat’s Thursday evening freed up and so did his Monday. And I changed the plans. Now we could leave on Thursday after Pat got off work!

I planned three “first-day” options. Option A was to stop at a large county campground beside a river. Option B was to stop at either one of two privately owned campgrounds farther down the road. Option C was to stop at a national park campground at the west end of the North Cascades Highway.

Thursday evening we headed out a little before 6 pm. Pat smiled and said, “I can’t believe that we are actually underway on Thursday evening!”

“This doesn’t bode well,” I replied.

Pat chided me for being pessimistic. I reminded him that we have a consistent track record of setting up in the dark—and frequently in the rain. Historically, our first day of camping just doesn’t go as planned!

We blew past our usual supper stop because we were only an hour away from option A. We pulled in on schedule. It was still light—and it wasn’t raining! And... who would have thought that 44 of the 49 campsites would be reserved for a family reunion!

The plan had changed, but we still had two options. It was getting dark by the time we had investigated and eliminated options B. And we arrived at option C with just enough light left to see that its gates were locked!

Pat pulled over. We looked at each other. He said, “Well … only 45 miles to go!” Meaning that the next campground, Klipchuck, was ONLY 32 miles UP the North Cascades Highway, across two passes, and then 13 miles DOWN into the Okanogan National Forest! The plan had truly changed!

But I didn’t want to drive the highway at night! I was tired. I was hungry. And I didn’t want to—yet again—have to back the rig into a wooded site and set up in the dark. This just wasn’t the plan!

We grabbed a couple of bottles of water and a jar of peanuts from the RV and climbed back into the truck. Pat looked at me, smiled great big and said, “I have the feeling that we are about to embark on an adventure!”

We drove into the gathering darkness. Falling snow met us at Rainy Pass. Plowed snow banks towered over us at Washington Pass. And somewhere along the way the trailer’s electrical connection became unseated. And the only brakes we had as we began the steep 13 mile descent down the eastern slope were on the truck!

But the gates were open at Klipchuck campground, and by 11 pm we were set up and cozy in our favorite site in one of our favorite campgrounds in our favorite national forest. And it wasn’t raining—or snowing!

Although the trip didn’t start out as I had planned, it turned out even better that I had thought. We would never have attempted to drive to Klipchuck that first night if our other options had been available. So we would have missed spending four relaxing, renewing days in one of our favortie spots. And we would have missed seeing the early spring flowers and the calypso orchid. We would have missed the character we met in Winthrop. We would have missed the adventure!

What in your life isn’t going as planned? A relationship? Your health? Your finances? Your career? Your retirement? Trust the One who has The Plan. Embark on the adventure!

Pastor Kit