The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

So, I have been watching Oprah’s Life class with Joel Osteen and the theme is that “Whatever words follow ‘I am’ is sure to catch up with you.”   I feel this connects with the previous post on identity.   If your words are I am fat, I am tired, I am worthless and so on, those issues will catch up with you.   This sounds a lot like self-fulfilling prophecy to me but I do believe there is good to be gleaned from it.   What has really spoken to me is the phrase “I am” this is how God introduces himself to his people.   When Moses asks, who shall I say sends me?   God says, Tell them I am sends you.   (paraphrased) Do not get me wrong, I am not saying we are God but we are his children.   What if we mentally put the word “God” in place of “I am”?   We wouldn’t speak ill of God, we would never say God is worthless, would we?   Is it possible that doing this small trick would stop us from speaking poorly about ourselves? You see, God does not want us to beat ourselves up with neg

I was recently challenged by a message which has been on my mind ever since.   What is my identity?   When I first meet someone, how do I introduce myself?   What is the first thing I want them to know about me?   Moreover, I have discovered I have a shifting identity based upon the person I am meeting.   Even my blog profile demonstrates this; I am a nurse, a writer, a Mom, a widow, a student, a traveler and a Christian woman.   Ultimately, though, I should always find my identity in being a child of God, redeemed, saved and dearly loved. How would I be different, how would my world be different if I maintained that base, regardless of the company I keep?   We all want to be loved or at least liked.   The great news is that we are!   In my loneliness, I often think of what I don’t have (the shoulder to lean on, the hug of a good man, a hand to hold) can I change my thinking?   Can I remember what I do have?   (The love of Christ, redemption, salvation and eternity in heaven).  

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”   It leads me to wonder, with what is the road to heaven paved, bad intentions?   In a way, it is true. The road to heaven is through the narrow gate that is Jesus Christ and it is through Christ that we have forgiveness for not only the bad intentions but the bad words and deeds as well.   That is not to say we keep on sinning for the sake of his grace. Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” It speaks volumes to the love of Christ for us. He knows we can’t be perfect (not that we shouldn’t try) and he still provides a way for us through forgiveness. What if we applied the same principle to the way we live and interact with others?   We would give others the benefit of the doubt rather than take offense. We would not judge based on appearances (or at all for that matter). We would take the time to understand each other.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9   Quite possibly the most difficult words for a Christian to digest.   Especially when one’s life is not going particularly smooth. How do we hold onto that grace when it feels all else is crumbling? My own tactic is to play a retrospective of my life in my head. I can see how God has demonstrated his power in my life through every difficult circumstance. He allows me to be in uncomfortable places and then produces wonderful things from those moments. So, in my rational mind, I know and understand the process of growth through difficult conditions. Yet, with each difficult condition, it appears I need to relearn this very basic concept. Does anyone else feel this way?