Things We’ve Handed Down

Twelve Letters I Leave For You

I am offering a few reminders I was either handed or wish I had been handed in the years that preceded today. I want to share a few stories that may help you along life’s terrible, painful, dreadful, joyful, peaceful, beautiful ventures.

At my age, as I look toward the future, the land seems smaller now. As I look toward the past, the terrain is vast.

I choose to write it down—to remember, to offer it to those whose glimpse of the past may be shorter and whose vision of the future may be much wider.

That’s why I’m writing these twelve letters to you. I’m writing them as if it were my final collection of reflections. A few more stories to give you while I can.

Equilibrium

31 Ways to Stay Balanced on Life’s Uneven Surfaces

Thirty-one is an odd number. 

That is how life is. Odd. Not even or simple or predictable. 

Estimated time of arrival is just that, it is estimated. Expectations are not always met.

I want a balanced and structured plan. I want to stick with the plan and complete it. I want to then move on to the next plan and complete it. Early. Successfully. 

But as I walk toward that goal, the sidewalk ends. As I swim toward the shore, the waves intensify. As I believe this is the day or the week or the month or the year, my schedule doesn’t have the final word. 

embracing now

100 poems celebrating embracing the moment in pain, joy, healing, and living.

this now, only here for a moment, is brief. i hope to notice it. this now is like a tiny poem, the pace, the chances, the moods, the mystery, the turns, the endings. though brief, each now can, if we choose to notice, remind us more about ourselves: pain we feel, hurts being held, more pain we hide, more hurt needing healing. for me, writing poetry is prayerful therapy for more than survival. it opens my eyes and ears to see and hear this now, which, though brief, is bringing me an opportunity to love again, to live again, and to breathe, slowly, with curiosity and nerve and hesitation, cherishing the wonder nearby. i ask you to join me. together, in this poetic stride called life, let us embrace the now, this very brief, very real, very brilliant now.

a slow and sudden God

40 years of wonder

the number forty, i’m told, biblically symbolizes a period of testing. a trial, a season of waiting, a mystery, a wondering about what is next. mentioned 146 times in Scripture, i’m told, the meaning could, i’m sure, vary. moses isn’t here today for an interview, but i’d love to ask his take on forty years in egypt and forty years in the desert …

… the number forty, for me, reveals survival in the quest of life while displaying passion and pain during that endeavor. … life is, to me, a poem. a very long and very daunting and very charming poem. …life is brief and long. life is laughter and tears. life is a surgical procedure. life is waiting and waiting and waiting then noticing the something we waited for occurred unexpectedly right beside us while we stared out the window hoping to glance it from a distance. life thrills us. life scares us.

Underwater

When Encephalitis, Brain Injury, and Epilepsy Change Everything

Encephalitis almost ended Chris Maxwell’s life. The scar tissue in his brain and life with epilepsy made him – and his family and friends – feel like the life they’d known changed suddenly and permanently.

For Maxwell and the staggering number of people facing traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, or other painful encounters, life is experienced through a different lens. Names are tough to remember. Medication is a common acquaintance. Exhaustion, seizures, and mood swings are daily traveling companions.

Pause With Jesus

Encountering His Story in Everyday Life.

What if you could read the stories of Jesus’ life like a travelogue? Each encounter, complete with snapshots, weaving the story of Jesus’ journey among men? What if you were invited on this journey, to go with Him, become part of the discussion and interaction as He touched the lives of those He met? A Man who loved those who hungered to see and touch God, whether they understood who He truly was or not.

• The lonely? He loved them.
• The misfits? He loved them.
• The legalistic, religious, gotta-do-it-our-way-or-we-will-kill-you folks? He loved them.

Pause for Pastors

Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry

I remember my final Sunday as a lead pastor. Though I often forget things, I can’t forget that. Faces and voices, a sanctuary and a pulpit, many years and many moments.

Memories were breathing—all replaying at once. Life and death. Marriages and funerals. Prayers and songs and laughter and disagreements and meals and conversations and pain. And more prayer.

As I think back to those experiences, I’m asking myself, “What did I learn?” Not, “Did I succeed?” or “Did I fail?” Pause for Pastors is filled stories of lessons learned. Stories that just might help a pastor and his family smile when they hear this word, church. Stories that just might help a pastor and his family pursue help when they’re carrying too heavy of this weight, church. Stories of honesty—told by myself and many others—that just might offer a little bit of peace in the storms of pastoral life.

Pause for Moms

Finding Rest in a Too Busy World

This book is for Moms. The stories inside invite mothers to hit pause. To rest a moment and notice the beauty in the now. To pause and hear, notice, see, observe. To be led beside still waters. To rest for a moment – for this moment.

I’ve talked often about my mother. Though she died when I was nineteen, her stories have stayed alive. Carolyn Acker Maxwell was busy and able to accomplish many tasks, but she knew the joy of hitting pause. A multitasker before multitasking became common in today’s modern, hi-tech world, she refused to be controlled and obsessed by it. She chose to take time to appreciate the wonder of moments. Mama could laugh and listen, pray and cry, come to the table and enjoy events many people would ignore. She found value in what most of us view as holding little importance.

Pause

The Secret to a Better Life, One Word at a Time.

Imagine a quiet walk, hand in hand with a loved one, really listening, really connecting. Bask in the moment, feel the love. It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Much too often these potentially precious moments are swept away in the rush of everyday life.

Now is the time to enter the world of PAUSE…a time to think, evaluate, listen, observe and enjoy.

Pause with author Chris Maxwell as he explores a collection of words. Words of wonder, confession, hope, longing, and dreams. Words we often rush past, rather than taking time to ponder their meanings and true value. Immerse yourself in each story. Ponder and meditate on each reflective word. Reconnect with life and all it has to offer. Pause.