Do you believe in magic?

For the past few weeks, I've been watching a magic show on Monday nights with my family. The 'masked magician' performs several magic tricks and reveals the secret to how each act was carried out. A woman was cut in half. A handcuffed magician escaped from a locked barrel. People disappeared and reappeared.

I explained to my children that what we were watching was an illusion. We were being led to believe that an event was taking place, when it really wasn't. Someone was behind the curtains, manipulating things because they wanted us to believe that what we were looking at was real.

Once we caught on to the secrets, the performances grew a little stale. The ladies twisted their bodies into one of the five zillion secret compartments. The magician was never really chained and the barrel wasn't locked either. Look-a-like assistants pulled off the disappearing/reappearing acts.

Don't get me wrong. It was still fun to watch. But our perspectives had changed. We knew the truth, so our reactions were different. Instead of being amazed by the illusion, we immediately searched for a loophole, trying to figure out the truth.

We live in a time where many of us are being deceived by the illusions of this world. We are hurting ourselves, and hurting each other. We look at our temporary circumstances and are tricked into believing that we have no hope, no self-worth, and no future.

Satan can definitely bring the drama, and it is intensified by our own self-doubt and fear. While unpleasant situations may get us a little rattled, we should seek Jesus and His truth about our next move. For He truly brings the magic.

No, the miracles.

Pray, have faith, and enjoy the show!

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. " John 10:10

A Love Affair Waiting to Happen

My five-year-old wants to be a dog doctor. A veterinarian, I tell her. "A dog doctor," she insists.

She will see puppies first and larger dogs later. The big dogs scare her. I learned that when we were playing 'dog doctor' and she lovingly took a look at her eleven-month-old sister turned puppy, but refused to examine her three-year-old brother, who was pretending to be a dog.

"I'm scared of big dogs," she said.

"You're a dog doctor!" I exclaimed when the "big" dog started to cry. "How can you not see him? He's a dog."

Grudgingly, she put her imaginary stethoscope to his chest and rolled her eyes as she listened.

I sighed and kept a close watch on them, making sure that the dog doctor gave this canine the same care that she had given the puppy. She did. And all was well.

Scenes like this are common in our household. Whenever one of the kids shows an interest in something, I try to encourage them to check it out. If they like it, we stick with it. If they don't, we move on.

I try not to pass judgment. I know that words can tear down, build up, or lead someone in the wrong direction.

When I was getting ready to head off to college, it was popular to major in business. That's where the money is, everyone would say. If I told them that I was going to school for English, they would look puzzled and say "Oh...what you gonna do with that?" I didn't know. Maybe teach. Maybe law school. I just knew that I'd always loved to read and write.

But what did love have to do with it?

I went to the University of Illinois in Chicago with a business major and dollar signs in my eyes. After a few semesters of failing the same algebra class over and over, and being bored to tears looking at stock quotes in my business classes, I realized that I was falling fast. I headed to see an advisor, changed my major to English, and have been on my feet ever since.

A relationship with the Dean's List followed. And then there was a love affair with the Writing Center. Now I'm married to my publishing company. And me and youth writing workshops have a little something happening on the side. Who says you can't work and enjoy it too?

Love has everything to do with it. I took a detour, but found purpose and joy where I started.

I try to keep this in the forefront of my mind when nurturing my children's interests, talents, and abilities. Rather than dictate what will work and what won't, I think it's important that we teach our children how to listen to their hearts, and seek God for themselves.

When figuring out how to use something, why not go to the one who created it? I'm certain you'll find that your true love was there all the time.

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path." Proverbs 3:6