St. Luke's Blogs

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
            I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
            as I rejoice in the Lord.

In the year before I began seminary, I went to work selling cars. I sold cars and trucks at a Ford store. It was a challenging and rewarding experience that taught me so much about life and work. I still remember going to lunch on my first week of work with the finance manager, who I had known since high school. While we were at lunch, he told me something that I have never forgotten. He told me that selling cars was not easy, it required hard work and patience. He also told me that each morning, before he went to work, he would pray that God would give him an opportunity, that day, to make a sale.

I grew up traveling on airplanes. My first airplane ride was when I was 6 months old, when my family flew to England to visit where my mom grew up.  Since then, we have taken many more family trips to Arizona, California, Nevada, internationally, and more. Each time we go, there is always a moment of panic when you walk up to the counter to check your bag in – “How much will it weigh?”  You see, if you are not super familiar with flying, your bag must be less than 50 pounds, or it will cost additional money for each pound over.  When you are a family of five women traveling for more than four days, and that includes shopping at some point… well, you approach the 50-pound limit quickly…

When the LamFam travels, we like our gadgets. Noise-cancelling headphones, phone-charging luggage, gum to keep your ears from popping during take-offs and landings; we bring quite the arsenal. Nothing, however, is as crucial as our luggage scale. You see, on most short trips, Brooks and I can get by with our carry-ons and backpacks. Hannah will have her suitcase, but she tends to pack light. And then there is Wendy…

I love memories of traveling with my family.  Most of the places we traveled to as a family were places we could go in the family car.  We would load up, take our set spots—parents in front and me and my brother and sister in back – and set off on a well-planned trek to memorable places like Colorado Springs, Point Clear (Alabama), Hilton Head (South Carolina), Washington D.C., or a state park.  No matter where we went, the trips were carefully mapped out in pen on a paper map and the items we took were limited to a small backpack filled with things of our own choosing (no electronics or iPhone here) to entertain us.  Travel was fun and exciting and pretty worry free for us—our biggest concern was often anticipating the next historical marker we might stop at or arguing over who got the best view out the window. If there was any hard part of our vacation trips, for me, it was coming home…

Jabari Richardson was in the process of moving. He is a student at Florida A&M. Like many students, he was moving to a new place for the summer. Jabari wanted to sell some of his things. He wanted a little extra spending money, and he did not want to keep moving this stuff from place to place. Jabari was driving down a road in Tallahassee when he spotted a homeless man on the street corner. Jabari remembered his mom teaching him, “There are a lot of people that are in need.” He pulled over…

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

Each summer, I am blessed to participate in Youth Force. Youth Force is a mission experience for our middle school and high school students. They spend an entire week working on homes, restoring them, so that the homeowners have a better living environment.  They complete tasks such as installing insulation and siding, wheelchair ramps, and even new roofs when it is called for. It is amazing to see the work they accomplish by the end of the week.  It is equally exciting the see the joy of the homeowners who have received such a gift. This past week, I saw something else at Youth Force that put joy in my heart…