The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

            Matthew 6: 1-4: “Be careful you do not do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do you will have no reward from your father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who see what is done in secret, will reward you.”             Do you ever feel as though you are invisible? It can be frustrating, especially in the work place where being recognized for your actions is important for advancement. When I find myself in this situation I must remember the bible verse above. Even though other people are unaware of my kindness, I always come back to remembering that God knows what I have done. The thing is he knows EVERYTHIN

            I am not the classic “beautiful woman”. I am however, beautiful when I allow God’s light to shine in me and through me to others. I allow it to shine when I am confident in his word and I trust him implicitly. For, when I am that confident, the ways of this world cannot distract me. When something is perceived as an awful event and I can see God in the middle of it, I have confidence that allows me to be bold in my faith. This is the beauty I strive for, hope for, and pray for. It cannot be taken away by age or disfiguration, by weight gain or loss, by exhausting days or sleepless nights. God gives beauty for ashes. he anoints us with the oil of gladness, and clothes us with garments of praise. We are planted oaks to display His glory! (Paraphrase Isaiah 6: 3)             Today, I choose to cling to my Lord and Savior knowing he will make me beautiful and I will glorify him. Each day offers a choice of how we will live; either walking with God or going our own way. “

            When I became a parent, I felt like I gained a better perspective of God. Not in an almighty, all powerful sense but I gained the insight of loving someone more than myself. In those times of exasperation, that all parents go though, I quite frequently stopped in my tracks as God reminded me that I too have exasperated him. He reminded me that mercy and grace are two of the best gifts that love has to offer.             Very often, when I consider how much I love my children, I realize that God loves them (and me) even more than I do! Think about how much you love your children; can you begin to fathom even more love? I really treasure the father/child relationship I have with God. He is consistent with me. He shows me mercy and grace frequently. Not long ago, I came across these definitions: “Grace is when you get good things you don’t deserve. Mercy is when you’re spared from the bad things you do deserve. God is generous with both.” God also disciplines those he l

            If you have ever been to Disney World you may be familiar with the concept of the “hidden Mickey”. Each of the attractions have elaborate surroundings and within those surroundings are hidden Mickeys, silhouettes of Mickey’s head. It gives the visitor something a little extra to do while standing in line for a ride.             I like to apply the same concept to life events, although, instead of looking for a hidden Mickey, I look for God’s hand. Let me tell you, this week has God’s hand all over it. I received the news that I have breast cancer, not to worry; it has been discovered early and is very treatable. I have been told that cells are very active though. So, I cried a little and then I looked for God’s hand.             For starters, I was originally scheduled to get my mammogram in April; that appointment was missed because I was with my daughter in the hospital at the time. Had I kept that appointment, the cancer would likely not have been visible yet a

            I love to travel. Every couple months I get the itch to go somewhere and see someplace new. I have been blessed with the opportunities to see many places and I firmly believe each trip has enriched my life in some way. The name for my desire to travel is “wanderlust”. It is the overwhelming desire to get away from the ordinary and experience something new, something extraordinary.             While there is nothing wrong with this desire, there can be a problem when the wandering creates dissatisfaction with the ordinary. You see, the ordinary is where life happens. This can happen in my faith life too. Maybe you have heard the term “mountaintop experience”, it refers to the over the top spiritual experiences we have from time to time. Remember how Peter wanted to hold fast to his mountain top experience of seeing the transfiguration of Jesus? He wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elisha and stay there, (Matthew 17: 1- 5). I get that way on my travels too.