The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

            I just spent my morning waiting in an auto care shop for maintenance to be completed on my vehicle. I have spent the last couple months ignoring a warning light on my dashboard and decided it was time to investigate it. The guy behind the counter approached me a couple times with a new problem and different scenarios of how to manage them.   (It’s situations like this that remind me how much I miss my husband.) At one point the solutions proposed had a price difference of more than a thousand dollars, we went with the less expensive solution first. As they worked on that solution, I prayed fervently that it would work. Fortunately for me, God heard my prayer and answered in the affirmative. The mechanic did say there is the potential the solution is temporary; I will continue praying.             As I left the shop in my smoothly running vehicle, it occurred to me how important maintenance is, not just in vehicles but in all aspects of life, including faith. With a ca

            Since I recently broached the topic of speaking it seems natural to proceed with the concept of listening. James 1:19,20 “My dear brothers and sisters take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”   As one who is mildly hard of hearing there are certain people whose voices are so quiet; I must face them and concentrate on their voice to hear them. Honestly, that should be how I listen to anyone speaking to me. Giving our full attention to someone demonstrates love and care. I work in an environment that requires a certain amount of multi-tasking; I am accustomed to distracted listening, but I admit I don’t do it well.             I’m particularly fond of the story in 1 Kings 19:11-13 when Elijah encounters God. “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wi

            “You can’t outrun your mouth.” I heard this comment in reference to diet and exercise; meaning you can’t exercise your way out of poor eating habits. However, I think this applies to the spoken word as well. Perhaps this one will ring a bell; “Open mouth, insert foot and chew vigorously.” How many times have you said something that has come back to haunt you? It might be something said innocently enough but has been skewed by another to be offensive. Or even worse, your words are spoken to another through another, wrongly; like playing telephone, who truly knows what each person said or heard? The spoken word is something you can never get back and those sound waves keep vibrating in the atmosphere and ringing in the ears. You know this all too well if you have ever been on the receiving end of harsh criticism or insult.             I prefer the written word over the spoken because it gives me the opportunity to review and revise before sharing. Not that I can’t find

            Are you like me when you look at a photo of yourself? Do you immediately locate all the flaws in your appearance? A picture might accentuate my eyes or my smile beautifully but all I see is the roll on my abdomen. I believe it begins as a self-defense mechanism; if I point out my flaws first then no one can hurt me with them. But in reality; the majority of people will notice my eyes or my smile and not the roll anyway.             As of late, I have been exploring the concept of self-love from within the Christian perspective. It requires a certain amount of balance between humility and grace. Humble enough to avoid being a chest pounder pointing out all our achievements but graceful enough to accept a sincere compliment. Whenever we look at how Jesus handled such issues in scripture, he demonstrates that perfect balance.   From the wedding at Canna to his crucifixion, he just spoke the truth his only boasting was in God the Father. But he didn’t deflect praise either.