The Meandering Mind of a Christian Woman

            Since I have become a runner, I have come to the decision that having bruised toenails is a sort of badge of honor. When I look at them, it says to me that I have tried my best. There is something about it that makes me feel that I am a true runner. I would imagine that everyone has a badge of honor of some sort. Perhaps it is an award, a distance, a success, children, or a time span to deprive oneself of a bad habit such as smoking or drinking too much. We take pride in these badges and rightfully so, because we have worked hard to achieve them.               Perhaps you have seen the sticker that says, “ If God had a refrigerator your picture would be on it.” Have you ever considered that you and me are God’s badges of honor? The trick is that we are living, breathing badges of honor that make mistakes. I usually pray in the morning that the life I l...

            I’m pretty sure everyone is familiar with the many different dialects of English spoken in America. There is the classic Southern drawl, the east coast twang, the valley girl of the west, the Midwestern flatness (we don’t believe we have an accent) and of course Boston and Chicago have their own sounds too. When encountering a new dialect, careful listening is pretty important or there could be some major miscommunication.             It occurs to me that Christians have their own dialect too. We are a dialect within dialects, we have our catch phrases like, “too blessed to be stressed.” We might say we are blessed when the non-Christian might say lucky. This can lead to misunderstandings too. How often do we assume that people are on the same spiritual page that we are on? Up until the last ten years or so, I truly felt that the majority of American were Chri...

            In my previous post I mentioned my weakness for chocolate. I tried to do better this past week but, yet again I failed. You see, I have a tongue that likes to be the boss of my body; it frequently argues with my brain, my stomach and my joints. Today, the argument is between my knee and my tongue. My tongue has been winning in its temper tantrums for Diet Coke and chocolate and today my knee decided it was time to speak up to let me know it is time for water and complex carbs. (My knee is very wise.)             There are times my tongue prefers to be independent, it desires counsel from nothing. This can be a problem when it cuts loose without the consideration of the brain first. My brain always wants to throw common sense into the mix while the tongue takes great pride in a quick (usually sarcastic) comeback. Regret often follows. If I can control my tongue...

Sin. No one likes to admit or even speak of it. The idea of original sin raises much debate too. Simply put, sin is anything that separates us from God. The other thing about sin is that it usually looks so appealing, in the short term. Living in an instant gratification type world, sin is even more appealing. Lately, I have been getting a little discouraged with my journey to better health. The scale has been stuck in the same place for a while and Satan has used that discouragement and the temptation of temporary pleasure to pull me off track. I can feel him nudging me and saying “c’mon, a candy bar won’t hurt, you’ve been so good.” He is sneaky that way, one candy bar won’t hurt but my problem is that one leads to two which leads to three and so on until I have binged and the scale has moved… the wrong direction. Please, do not misunderstand me; I am not saying candy in itself is sinful, nor is being overweight. But it is a slippery slope for me to glide right into poor healt...

            If someone had asked me about running a few years ago I would have said “never”. However, I have several friends who are runners and I have been intrigued by their passion for the activity. As I have started to participate in the running culture, I am beginning to understand the passion behind it. I don’t really see myself running a marathon but I no longer say “never”. I was inspired and influenced by my friends and by the desire to improve my health so I can look forward to productive retirement years (still more than a decade away).             Who do you influence? I had an interesting discussion with a young friend this week; she is not a believer. She doesn’t believe that we have purpose or that we meet people for a reason. She does believe each of us is a singular being without effect and when we die it is all over. I was saddened. I shared my beliefs a...

            The Old Testament reading in church this morning was the story of creation, the entire first chapter of Genesis. It got me thinking about the creation/evolution debate. Now, I am not looking to debate anyone, I believe what I believe and I am not trying to force any agenda on you. Frankly, I find the whole debate futile. Whether one believes in creation or evolution or a combination of the two is not crucial to salvation.             Working in the medical field as I do, I know that there is validity to science. I also know that there is the corruption of science by men seeking fame and fortune. Because of man (speaking of all people, not gender specific) religion has often been corrupted as well; this is nothing new.   As for what is taught in schools, I would much prefer to see the things that are current in science today being taught. Does it really...

“If you always do what you’ve always done; you will always get what you’ve always gotten.” Most, if not all, of us have seen that quote before. It is true too. At the beginning of the year I decided I would change things I do. I began regular walking then jogging, first on a treadmill and now on terrain. At first I kept going to the same walking path; lately I have begun exploring new paths. My dog, Elsa, absolutely loves going with me, she is actually the one who makes sure we go every day that I am not working. I’ve been rather proud of myself for making this improvement in my lifestyle. Yet, I know there are more changes to be made. There is excitement and a little hesitation in exploring new paths. There could be steep trails, or creepy people or even the brown bear that has been spotted roaming around Northern Illinois. But there can also be beauty, a welcome breeze or a cute bunny waiting for me around a bend.   I have to make a choice to step out of my comfort zone...