A Christmas Carol for Sandy Hook

The proximity of the Connecticut tragedy last Friday to Christmas seems to mock the angels' message of peace on earth and good will toward men in Luke 2:14. Yesterday as I sang “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," my mind turned to the senseless deaths of so many and questions that always accompany such evil deeds.

Precious Memories--Places of Grace

Who and what do you remember from your childhood? Adults who influenced and loved you? Kids down the street who played in your yard? Teachers and schoolyards? Birthday parties and sleepovers? Relatives now gone? Friends who tragically died too young?

A childhood friend recently created a Facebook page to record memories from our neighborhood elementary school. The stories being posted take me back to events almost forgotten and people of long ago, the majority of whom have not been a part of my life for decades.

Maybe 30 Gifts?

November is the month of Thanksgiving here in the U.S. when we pause to thank God for his blessings. Rather than focus on being grateful only one day, I plan to thank God for one of his gifts in my life each day this month, centering on one particular blessing. 

If you have read or heard about the premise of 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp, you may have been overwhelmed with the idea of reflecting on so many gifts, even wondering if you could think of that many!

Messy Redos

We are in the midst of redoing parts of our kitchen—and what a mess! Now in our third week, we can hardly wait to get everything emptied out of the kitchen cabinets back where it belongs.  Our living and dining rooms are full of dishes, glasses, pots and pans, and cleaning supplies.  Sheets of plastic hang from the ceiling around the kitchen to protect the rest of the house. Despite the best efforts of the workmen, however, there is a layer of dust on everything, and the smell of paint is giving my husband a daily headache.

Why deliberately make such a mess? Fixing problems brought on by time often requires making things seem worse before they get better.

My heart is similar to my kitchen.

Are You a Servant or a Leader?

George Barna’s latest poll of Christian women reveals that 49% characterize themselves as servants while only 36% call themselves leaders. When only one out of every three of us sees herself as a leader, it is no wonder that 75% of us feel that we should be doing more to serve God. We have likely misunderstood the value that God puts on each and every Christ-follower to influence her world.

   

It’s time that women in the church have a radical change of mind about leadership. 

The Spicy Hot Climate

If Texas summers were food, I would call them spicy hot—day after day of temperatures over 100 degrees, little rain, and few clouds. Even the water in swimming pools is too hot to really refresh! Many of our plants are suffering by drooping and dropping their leaves and flowers, but not all of them. Our crepe myrtles are flourishing with abundance blooms. I think God made them for the spicy hot climate.

For what climate did God make you?

The Celebrity Cult

Although they are referred to simply by their first names, everyone knows who they are—Oprah, LeBron, Angelina, Bono, Beyonce, Tiger, Arnold (said with an accent), and many others. The world of technology has created a new religion of celebrity, and the worship is extensive.

I am certainly excited to spot such people in New York or LA; it’s fun to recognize someone seen on the big or little screen. So what’s wrong with that?

Untangling Life's Knotty Messes

Last night I discovered that the yarn on one edge of my throw blanket was knotted together. The individual pieces were tangled instead of loosely hanging as designed. The other side was completely free from problems, but this one was a mess. Some strands were easily pulled out, but more often so many were intertwined that I could only loosen one to get to another. I spent more than an hour freeing the yarn from interwoven knots.

Isn’t life often the same way? We attempt to deal with a problem and find that it involves a whole knot of issues. Far too often we implement easy answers that don’t work because the difficulty is too complex.

Directionless or Directed?

God doesn’t seem to be leading me anywhere right now. It has been almost two years since I left my church staff position. At that time the only direction I had was to write a book based on my curriculum designed to grow women’s influence. I spoke at women’s conferences and retreats—opportunities which God clearly provided by his sovereign hand. I am now completing the final edits on the book to self-publish it. But what is next? No doors have opened; no voice has spoken; and no sign has appeared in the skies. I don’t like being in limbo and am getting impatient with this waiting. Have you ever felt that God left you without a compass?

How do we navigate such times? What path do we take without clear direction? How do we maintain faith when God seems to have forgotten that we are available? How is God guiding when he seems so silent?

Grieving the Older Generation

Two weeks ago my ninety-four-year-old father-in-law passed away, only three-and-a-half months after his wife. I have been in their family for forty years now and am very saddened by their deaths. My own father died when he was sixty-three, an age when he should have been enjoying his grandchildren. I have learned a lot about grief in the ensuing years. I am certainly no expert; I am merely one journeying through the loss of the older generation.

What have I learned so far?

Words of Love

Even in the best of earthly relationships or the closest marriage, we don’t always feel loved. For many people Valentine’s Day is a difficult reminder of what we don’t have, whether we are single or married. Because we live in a broken world, our expectations are often unrealized and our dreams of love are far from reality.

We long for a perfect lover, one who knows us intimately and loves us unconditionally. No one on earth will ever meet those expectations but God.

As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s a great time to ponder words of love from God to his people.

Attention-grabbing Blogs

What grabs your attention and draws you to read a blog?

I have now been writing them now for a year-and-a-half and reading them even longer. I would love to hear what appeals to you, the reader. I not only have this blog, but I write on Tapestry and watch the number of reads and wonder about these things. Other than liking a particular topic, what else appeals to you?

What do you see that makes you link and read an entire post, not just go to the page and fail to READ MORE? Do any of the following draw you into the post?

Growing in Prayer this Year

When I led women’s ministries in churches, the position of prayer coordinator was often difficult to fill. Most of us (and I include myself here) have a mental image of the ideal pray-er, and we are aware of our own inadequacies. The women I approached often expressed their surprise at being asked to shoulder such a responsibility and their belief that almost anyone else would be better equipped for the role.

What is it about prayer that makes us feel so inadequate? What steps can we take to move forward?