The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

Do you know what you call a medical student that graduates with all A’s?....... Doctor. Do you know what you call one that graduates with all C’s?.......... Doctor. This is something Don used to remind me of when I would be upset about a B or C on an assignment in nursing school. This popped in my mind a couple days ago and it won’t leave. I am back in school and I am trying hard to get A’s in my classes. I don’t really feel uber stressed about school but when things like this happen I believe that God is using the familiar to remind me that I am loved. While getting an A may matter to me, it isn’t a condition of his love. In fact, there are no conditions to God’s love, how cool is that?   Whether I get A’s or even D’s, whether I achieve earthly goals or not, whether I’m charming or grumpy one thing NEVER changes; I am a child of God and he loves me! (You too!)   It doesn’t change my desire to try my best in life because I love him too and I want to do the right thing to put a smile

I thought I misplaced something very valuable to me today. I have a crucifix necklace that my husband gave me and that is also where I keep Don’s wedding ring. I wore the necklace a couple days ago and I remembered taking it off and I thought I remembered putting it in my jewelry box. However, this morning when I looked for it I could not find it. I didn’t really panic thinking it has to show up because I wouldn’t have left it somewhere unsafe. But after mulling it over in my head it dawned on me that I had water in my basement and we had brushed it into the sump pump, used the wet-dry vacuum and swept various ruined things into the garbage. Immediately, I had a sinking feeling; what if I left my necklace on top of the jewelry box and accidently grabbed it up with things for the laundry and thrown it in the basement? (We’ll discuss my housekeeping skills another time) I felt ill. How could I do such a thing? What will my children think of me? How do I explain such a gaff in judgment?

I have a confession to make...I am not always upbeat or happy. In fact, today I'm feeling pretty darn low. I went for a walk with my dog Elsa on a walking path surrounded by nature to pick myself up. I listened to praise music and talked to God as I strolled along the path. While I am really happy to have salvation and to know that I will see my beloved Don again, it doesn't really help me today. I try to change the focus of my thinking to positive things but honestly, that just helps me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Christians have days that ...well...suck. Days like this may not make me love God less but they do cause me to cling to the hope I have in him more. So even though I just put one foot in front of the other all day today, I know that God was walking with me and always will be.

I have an analogy/theory about the Trinity. I believe when God said, “Let us create man in our image” he was not referring to the outward appearance of a human. Coming from a nurse’s point of view I look at a lot of things as to how it relates to the body. The three major organs are the brain, heart and lungs, these three work together to keep a person alive and for a person to be declared dead there must be no heart rate, breathing or brain activity. I believe the brain is in the image of God the Father, this is where thought originates and creativity develops as the Father created the universe and each of us. The lungs are the image of the Holy Spirit; we breathe which also gives us our voice as the Holy Spirit gives us words to speak. The New Testament Greek word for the spirit is “pneuma” which translates as wind or breath. We use that prefix in words such as pneumonia & pneumothorax, both having to do with the lungs. Finally, the heart is the image of Jesus Christ the son of G

Two little boys were known trouble makers in the small town. Their mother did everything she could think of to bring them in line. Finally, she went to her minister and asked him to have a talk with the boys, to which he agreed. The boys were taken into the minister’s office one at a time. The first boy sat across the desk from the minister who stared at him, the minister then stood up and spoke in a firm voice, “Do you know where God is?” The boy stared back blankly, thinking he had not been heard the minister spoke even louder, “Do you know where God is?” The color left the little boy’s face and he bolted from the office, ran home and hid. His brother watched as the first boy ran out of the church and decided he wasn’t going to stick around to receive the same treatment. The second brother found the first one hiding beneath the stairwell and he asked what happened? The first brother replied breathlessly, “It’s really bad, God is missing and they think we took him!” God will never go

Have you ever overcome a hurdle to think, “Whew, now I can move on” only to be confronted by another hurdle? I’m guessing you have. It makes me think of all the people that Jesus healed in the New Testament. Imagine the sense of elation the blind man felt when he could see or the crippled man when he picked up his mat and walked. Yet, almost instantly the elation evaporates as the bible tells us that church authorities begin making accusations toward the blind man and his parents distance themselves from him. The cripple had been a beggar all his life, now he is an able bodied man with no discernable skills. We don’t know how old he is when this miracle occurs but he now finds himself in a position of having to make a living to support himself.   His blessing brings new challenges, as most blessings do. But if blessings bring challenges then the reciprocal is true that challenges bring blessings. Our current economy is most certainly a challenge, men and women looking for work where i

Doesn’t it just amaze you that people can look at the changing of the seasons and not see God? If an artist painted a picture depicting a beautiful autumn day no one would even consider thinking that the painting occurred by accident. Yet, people are willing to believe that the original creation of the autumn day with all its extraordinary colors and cool breezes happened because of some cosmic explosion. For the life of me I cannot understand this train of thought. Neither do I understand why someone feels that it is better to have originated from some primordial mud puddle rather than being loved, planned and structured by a loving creator. It goes well beyond the deepest recesses of my mind. Psalm 139 is my favorite chapter in the bible. It tells me that God knew me before I was formed and that all the days ordained for me were written in his book before one of them came to be. It doesn’t make me a puppet on a string, I have the free will to do as I choose. We live on a linear tim

I have been a widow for two and a half years now, I really dislike that title but at the same time it lets others know that I am a wounded person. So many people believe that I am so strong because I keep moving forward, honestly, what choice do I have? There are certain things that motivate me each day; what I believe God's will is for me, the voice of my beloved Don in my heart, and the opportunity to love others. Being a nurse in a Neuro-Trauma ICU gives me many opportunities to see all my blessings in disguise. I have healthy children and my health and i thank God for that daily.  Family, what a great invention of God's. Every family has someone who is a button pusher, a bragger, a joker, a peace keeper and the list goes on, it may be extended family and they may drive you so insane. You know though, that when the chips are down they will be there for you.  It is the wounds that create the strongest bonds in a family. It doesn't matter if your parents were awesome or p