The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

            Things do not appear to be going my way lately.   This causes me to grumble and whine my prayers to God.   As I considered this today, I began to think about ways to change my perspective; perhaps I have been looking at my life all wrong.   Initially, I considered, the things I was praying for were all good things and why won’t God answer my prayers my way?   What reason could there be for him not to be in agreement with me? My struggles are not monumental by any means but they impact my life so they are important to me.             So, I took a step back and tried to listen.   What I heard was to pick up my bible and open it.   When I asked where to open it to, I heard Romans 5.   (This is not the norm for me but I heard these two things very distinctly.) Mind you, I am pretty familiar with my bible but lately, I haven’t been opening it as often as I should.             Right from the beginning of the chapter, God got my attention: “Therefore, since we have been justifie

            I am a rule follower…in general.   I believe most people have rules they stick to pretty tightly but we also have those rules we feel are a little bendable.   For instance, the 65 mph speed limit on the toll way; I very rarely see anyone following that rule.   There are certain rules that when broken annoy me greatly, like people who leave shopping carts in parking spots. Then there is the personal space rule, please allow me my personal space or I get a bit testy.   Some rules boil down to bureaucracy and they can exasperate us too.             I was thinking about what makes me choose to follow the rules I do, as tightly as I do.   The conclusion I came to is that the foundation of my beliefs boil down to loving God and loving others. If a rule can trace back to either of those two, I can stand behind it, even gravitate to it.   Putting a shopping cart back in the cart return demonstrates love to others by leaving an available parking space open for the next shopper.   A

            I am a big fan of vocabulary, I think it has always been so too. I remember often asking my mom the meaning of different words.   I can fixate on a word and ponder it for some time.   The word that has been on my mind today is, wonderful.   When I extend birthday greetings, I often say, “Have a wonderful day.”   I am wishing the recipient a day full of wonder.   Wonder is a fascination with life; it causes one to contemplate the origin of something.   Wonder causes me to step back and consider why things are the way they are.             I often wonder what my dogs think about on any given day.   I wonder if my parenting skills equipped my daughters for the adult life they now live.   I wonder what it is about the Kardashians and Jersey Shore that interest people.   Sometimes, I wonder how different some things would be had I made different choices or I wonder at the choice I did make.   I often wonder about God.   When I pray and give God my laundry list of requests, I

            Have you ever considered the people that Jesus healed and how their lives were changed? These people who experienced life long disabilities were now able to take part in society.   What a change!   The former blind man had to learn to see; it sounds silly but think about it.   Most of us grow up visually oriented, seeing just is.   The blind man found his way through his other senses, touch, sound and smells, he trusted those senses, and will he be able to trust his sight?   The crippled man, able to walk would be expected to no longer be a beggar but a productive member of society and find a useful vocation.   To change from what one has always known to something totally different is not easy.   Answers to prayer are indeed blessings.             God has been answering prayers since he created man.   There are times I wonder if he gives me the answers I want, to teach me a lesson.   The lesson would be to trust that he knows best. With blessings comes responsibility.   Ho

            Today is the anniversary of the day I met my husband, a fond memory for sure. In reality, we spent about half an hour together that evening.   My first impression was that he’s a nice guy but I wasn’t instantly in love.   It took time to get to know him and for him to know me.   The more time we spent together, the more we fell in sync with each other until we reached a point when it became apparent we were better together than we were as individuals.             First impressions are interesting but not always reliable.   I have many friendships today that would not be, if we relied on the first impression. How many people would not be in your life if you didn’t take the time to get to know them because of your first impression?   Relationships require maintenance.   Maintenance might mean talking on the phone daily, a weekly lunch date, an occasional email or just a Christmas letter once a year.   I just love the friendships I have that can pick up on a moments notice; y

I am a self-confessed Facebook addict, it is my social connection.   Being a single woman these days, getting out of my house to do things can be a real challenge.   There is something very endearing and instant about it.   I am in communication with family and friends all over the world.   I can post my own thoughts or even this blog. There is something comforting about the connectedness that exists.   Just knowing that people I care about, care about me too is a huge comfort.   I like that I can just pop on for a quick peek or I can spend hours exploring. It is similar to my prayer life too. One difference being that I don’t need an internet connection with God.   However, I can do a quick pop in and shoot God an arrow prayer, like when I pass an accident and the ambulance is there, I shoot God an arrow prayer to be with the victims.   Alternatively, I can be in conversation with God for hours, just talking about life.   Now, God may not text me back but he does answer prayer and I

            I live in Northern Illinois and thus far, we have had a rather mild winter.   However, today we are getting our first real snow fall, many people have been looking forward to it.   I don’t mind snow; I think it is quite beautiful as long as I don’t have to go anywhere.   A beautiful snowfall can conjure up images of frolicking in the snow, sledding and laughter. In reality, snow is a bit of burden; we have to shovel it or drive in it and eventually it loses its shine and becomes a dirty gray color. I find this similar to looking at the life of another, you know, the perfect family, and stunningly beautiful people in magazines or the wealthy.   From the window of our perspective, everything in other peoples’ lives looks beautiful and shiny.   Yet, I’m confident that were we to get out into that life, it would lose its charm quickly.   No one has the perfect life.   We live in a sinful world, which means there is no perfect life.   We must also consider that while we are loo

            I’ve often considered how my life might have been different had I made different choices.   For instance, I initially went to college right out of high school but dropped out after a semester. What would have happened had I stayed and finished my education then (rather than now, 30 years later?) Perhaps I wouldn’t be living here.   Would I still have my beautiful children?   Would I have met my husband?   It isn’t that I haven’t a good life thus far, I have.   There is just that idea of “what if” and letting my imagination wander.   Or is it regret?             I like the poster that says; “No one gets to the end of her life and regrets what she has done; only what she hasn’t done.”   Is regret a useful emotion? In general, I would say, no.   If the things we regret are fixable, then it could be a good thing. But to regret things that are unfixable is wasting time.   The root of regret is found in the word regression, which means to go backwards, returning to a less develo

With what sort of people do you surround yourself.   Are they tonic or toxic?   A tonic is something that invigorates while something that is toxic will break other things down. It is important to be with others that invigorate and build us up and finding those people can be a challenge, especially if you are accustomed to toxic people.   If you have always been around toxic people, you may not be aware that not everyone is like that.   There are people in the world who are natural encouragers, people who accept you as you are and are ready to support you emotionally in your challenges.   I have found one of the best ways to have “tonic” people in your life is to be a tonic to others.   Positive people attract other positive people and negative people gravitate toward other negative people. (Misery loves company you know)   Everyone has down days but we must make the effort to have more up days.   If we wait for some else to come along and lift us out of the dumps, we may be waiting a

             What if we viewed the investment in our faith as we view home equity?   Equity of course is that part of something we truly own.   Do we really own our faith?   Owning something requires taking responsibility for it and maintaining it.   If you have ever gone from renting to owning a home, you know that there is satisfaction and a bit of burden that comes with home ownership. You can no longer call the landlord to fix the broken things.   With home ownership, it is obvious when something is not working or if it needs updating.   Faith in need of updating, on the other hand, is not always so obvious.   It requires maintenance, for if we are not growing in faith we are shrinking.             Martin Luther said: “ Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”   Faith is living; living things require nourishment and nurturing.   The Holy Spirit instills faith in us, he provides us with the

New Year’s Day; a day for new beginnings, for resolutions, for recollection of the year we leave behind. When I was a young adult, I was told that whatever one does on this day is an indicator of the year to come.   I have never found this to hold true.   I have great hopes for 2012 and keep telling myself, this is going to be my year.   Yet, when I consider this I wonder, what is it I hope this year will bring, how is it going to “my year?”   What needs to occur to make this your year?   It is an extraordinary consideration, isn’t it? All my hopes and dreams cannot fit into a simple sentence or even a paragraph.   Yet, in spite of that, God’s dreams for me (and you) are bigger than I can fathom!   As I consider this point it occurs to me that instead of saying this will be my year, I should say it is God’s year because “with God all things are possible.”   All of this begins with faith, instilled by the Holy Spirit.   Faith is not based on feelings.   If we rely on how we feel, noth