Category: Building Christian Character

As Christians, people should be able to look at us and see Christ. People should be able to see who we serve in the way we act.

The Rear View Mirror Illusion

Posted on by Wendy
Someone else took the time to snap a photo of that beautiful rainbow.

One day last week, I was driving to work, deep down into my bones, weary. It had been a long stressful week both at work and at home and I was running late. While none of these issues were serious in the big picture, I’ll have to admit that I sometimes live in the moment.

I allow my daily annoyances and stresses to completely cloud my vision and the big picture gets lost. My current situation takes over my thoughts and I can find myself feeling like I’m drowning.

This day was one of those days.

I usually find the remedy to these counterproductive thoughts in prayer. I was certainly praying that morning. I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw the most gorgeous pink clouds behind me. When I looked ahead, the sky in front of me was gray. The sun hadn’t touched it yet.

I sighed as I asked God why sometimes life looks like all of the best times are behind us.

If we are honest, I think we all probably do that from time-to-time. Don’t we? We look at where we are and we look at where we’ve been and we remember the good old days and we wish we could go back. We wonder if we will ever be that happy again.

We forget that time has a way of filtering the bad stuff out of our memories and we remember the good. Why else would anyone with a toddler ever want a second child? Those stresses are so real and hard at the time, the tantrums and defiance, the potty training, but the joy we get from that toddler crowds out the stress and we eventually forget.

I prayed for peace, strength and reassurance, during the rest of my short drive.

When I turned onto the road where I work, the sky was beautiful and bright. It was full of pink clouds and when I pulled into my parking lot, my soul felt lighter. I thanked God for the sign. I took a deep breath as I went racing toward the door, when a voice behind me called out. She wanted to chat and I was late and a little annoyed at the interference.

I politely slowed down and chatted with her. Then she stopped and pointed out the rainbow over the building. It was so faint; you could hardly see it, but it was there and I was amazed as I fought tears.

No, the best days were not behind me and yes, God was there and still listening, still present and still very involved and yes, He was still in the business of answering the prayers of His children who cry out to Him.

I really needed reminding that day. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Age Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
Strong faith takes a lifetime to grow.

I recently asked a friend of mine how her dad was doing. He had just lost his wife a couple of months earlier. She had been sick for a while, but death is always hard.

She told me that he was doing well and that he told her he had started walking with some ladies in his church. He said he needed to get in good shape for when he was older. He’s 90.

She and I laughed and I marveled at his attitude. It’s so easy to find something to be down about. Just turn on the news. It’s also easy to grumble about getting older. Our bodies begin to change shape and ache. We don’t have the energy we used to. We can’t see or hear as well.

We could come up with a long list of why youth is better and spend a lot of time dreaming about the good old days.

But, with age, comes wisdom. We simply know and understand more than our younger counterparts do. In many ways, we become more fearless that we were when we were younger. We learn from living, that many of our fears and stresses were unfounded to begin with, but try explaining that to a teenager.

They can’t possibly understand and I don’t think they were meant to. They have to do their own living and make their own mistakes. Wisdom must be earned over time.

There was a man named Caleb, in the Bible, who was one of the spies to check out the Promised Land. He was 40 at the time. He and Joshua were the only two men who gave a good report and stood strong in their faith. The other ten spies panicked and persuaded the rest of Israel to do the same.

God rewarded Caleb and Joshua for their faith. They didn’t get out of the forty plus years of desert time, but they did see the Promised Land. When Joshua was dividing up areas for each tribe, Caleb, who was now 85, told Joshua to give him an area that had not yet been conquered, the fortified city with the Anakites. He said he was as strong as ever and with God at his side, they would take it.

Joshua agreed and Caleb and his clan prevailed. Caleb could have easily requested another area, something flat, by the water, that had no more fighting involved. Surely he’d earned it. Yet, he chose the more difficult route, because his faith told him he could.

My friend’s dad reminded me of Caleb, still strong, still fighting and still standing for God. He inspires me to do the same. Maybe you needed a little inspiration too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Choir Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
We should always be open to both sharing with others and receiving from others, the gift of wisdom that comes from living.

A few weeks ago, we were practicing a new choir song. I don’t read music. I sing what I hear, but I have learned which notes mean to go higher or lower, even if I don’t know exactly how much higher or lower. But, sometimes the music looks like complete chaos to me.

There will be three different rows of notes and different parts and then the sopranos will switch up with the altos or we will join in with the men, and I find myself completely lost. This was one of those times.

At some point, I leaned over to my choir buddy to my right and made some comment about being clueless. She’s been reading music her entire life. She gently reached over and took my song book out of my hands. She took my pencil and she made notes. She drew arrows and wrote in short directions. It only took her a couple of minutes.

She handed it back and asked me if that helped. It did and I was ever so grateful. She took a foreign language of sorts, and translated it into something I could understand.

I thought about the exchange long after practice was over. I thought about how at one time in my life, I would have never even asked for help. I probably would have just faked it somehow. If I’m honest, I probably would have been insulted that she took my book and actually wrote in it.

But, the older I get, the more humble I become. Pride is often not a useful emotion and rarely a productive one among God’s people. My friend heard me ask for help and she swiftly provided it. She has way more knowledge about music than I ever will. Why would I not be grateful for the lifeline?

She reminded me that we should all be reaching out to those around us who are struggling with something that we may have unique wisdom about. It could be how to survive a rough season with a difficult child, or a rough patch in a marriage, or a season of sickness, or financial issues. Sometimes our wisdom may involve matters of the Church or the Bible.

Every morning that we wake up, we should hear the little whisper that God is not done with us yet. We can begin each day with wide open eyes to not only reach out to others, but to be ready to receive as well.

A choir practice reminded me not to miss the many opportunities to share our wisdom with other people who are on this journey we call life. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Tree Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
Even thought the seasons change, our hope doesn’t have to.

My mama and daddy just went to the North Carolina mountains for a week, with some cousins. They had a ball and Mama sent me some pictures of their beautiful surroundings. I’ll have to admit, it was breathtaking. I love the beach and the mountains equally. I feel closest to God in those places.

When I surround myself in the sphere of His creation, I can’t help but to feel His presence and hear His voice.

As I was looking at some of the pictures, I thought about how they would be even more spectacular in a month or so, when the leaves start turning colors, with bright oranges, yellows, and reds.

Then, I began to think that the trees have no idea that something even more beautiful is coming. They are content with the green. Yet, in the dead of winter, when they are completely bare, that green looks like the prettiest color ever.

But, even when they are bare, the work of growing, still goes on beneath the surface. There’s even beauty in the bareness because the stars in the sky, become even brighter. They aren’t obscured by the leaves.

The pictures stayed on my mind all week as I felt a little nudge reminding me that our lives can be a lot like those trees.

When things are green and we are growing fast and everything is going right, we sometimes can’t imagine that God has something better for us. We get content. We settle. Sometimes we stop listening and get complacent.

The green season is probably where we spend most of our time.

Then, there are seasons when something wonderful happens, our lives are filled with brilliant colors and mountain top moments, like births, weddings, new houses or new jobs. While those may tend to be our favorite seasons, they typically don’t last for very long.

Then there’s the bare seasons, when our comfortable reality seems to drop and disappear. It may look like we have nothing left and hope can get lost. But, just like the trees, when they are bare, these are the times, when heaven shines the brightest. These are the seasons when we depend on God the most.

These can be the seasons that grow our faith the most, because when we cry out to God and seek Him, He will answer. He will restore our hope and hold our hand as we journey into a new season, one even more beautiful than we ever imagined.

My mama’s mountain pictures reminded me that on this side of Eternity, we all go through different seasons, easy ones, beautiful ones and hard ones and that none of them last forever. Whatever season you may find yourself in today, remember, as a child of God, you never walk alone. A new season is coming.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Spiritual Sea People

Posted on by Wendy
The skies got dark, but it never stormed.

On a family beach trip this summer, we were sitting out by the ocean and the skies got dark. The wind picked up. The people who were sitting around us, started packing up their things to go inside, it seemed like a storm was iminent.

But, my hubby and I, stayed put. When our kids inquired if we were going to go inside and beat the storm, we pointed out that there were parasailers in the air. There were also two snorkeling boats with snorkelers in the water. There was even a couple of boats with guys selling ice cream and peanuts, that were continuing to do business.

We were simply tourists. We knew what the signs of a storm were, but those people were sea people. They are on the ocean everyday, close to year round. Their livelihood comes from the ocean. They have sea wisdom that those of us who just pass through from time to time, can’t possibly have.

They never headed for shelter and neither did we. The wind whipped up. The skies looked threatening for a little while, but the storm went around us. We didn’t get a drop. It wasn’t very long before those folks who panicked and ran for cover, had to drag all of their beach stuff back out.

I thought about the missed storm, long after our beach trip. I thought about how the skies in our daily lives can get awfully dark sometimes. I thought about how easy it can be, to panic and run for the hills. Fear can be a powerful force that can invade our every thought, if we allow it to. Fear can steal our peace.

But, I also thought about the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who have been through storms before, and like those sea people at the beach, know when to take cover and know when to stand fast.

When I think about the people I know, there are some that just do life well. They have trials and troubles like everyone else, but they handle them in different ways. How do they do it?

They keep their eyes focused on heaven and they retain a peace that can only come from God. They know that the true battle is always spiritual and they spend a lot of time in prayer. The storms come and go, but they weather them in a way that is different than so many people do.

A missed summer storm reminded me to not only seek out spiritual sea people, but to seek to become one myself. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Flamingo Faith

Posted on by Wendy

May our faith be like a flock of flamingos!

On a beach trip this summer, I saw large flamingo floats everywhere. I suppose it just happened to be their year, but I joked with my daughter every time I saw one, that I wanted one to take home with me and that perhaps we could strap it to the roof of our car.

I was just kidding, but I have always liked flamingos. Their pink color and the way they stand and bend their legs, and even they their beaks, have always been a tangible picture for me, of God’s creativity.

But, I recently learned something about them that I found fascinating; their vibrant color comes from their diet. At birth, they are gray. When they are malnourished they are white or pale. But, when they eat their normal diet of shrimp and algae, they are vibrant.

God set them up this way.

That little factoid made me think about how human beings are set up in a similar fashion. While we all know that our health and well being is a product of our physical diet and what physical malnourishment looks like, do we ever give much thought to our spiritual vibrance or what spiritual malnourishment looks like?

We’ve all met those people who almost glow with the light of Christ. There are those people who are rarely shaken by the curve balls that life tends to throw. They seem to always be at peace and when our own lives hit a rough patch, those are the people who we find ourselves seeking out with prayer requests.

They are a kind of spiritual flamingo. But, where does their vibrance come from?

It comes from a steady diet of prayer and spending time reading the Bible. Every time I have ever met a spiritual flamingo, it’s the same story. Their faith is very strong and it got that way through years of Bible study and prayer.

They become a beacon to those who seek to know God as well as those who seek a closer walk with Him. They become a comfort to those who seek them out for prayer.

I know some spiritual flamingos who are at the top of my list when I’m struggling. I’l bet you do too.

The flamingos I see in nature, inspire me to ask myself whether my spiritual being is malnourished or vibrant. Am I reflecting a dull gray or pale image to this dark world or am I flashing neon pink?

I’m going for the pink. What about you?

Have an awesome day!

Turtle Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
We sometimes forget we are in His hands.

Early this summer, I was taking a walk and encountered a little box turtle crossing the road. It was really close to the grass, but I took my foot and gently nudged it to safety.

I reasoned that it didn’t really matter how close it was to the grass, if a car came flying by, it would have been crushed.

However, the little turtle did not appreciate my assistance. It immediately pulled up into its shell. As I continued with my walk, I thought about how it had no idea I was helping. It just knew something huge, moved it. It was afraid.

I hadn’t thought too much about the little turtle until my son came home last week and told me a similar story. He had actually pulled his car over and picked up a box turtle and moved it out of harm’s way. This particular turtle, actually hissed at him before pulling into its shell.

It wasn’t very thankful either.

I’ve thought a lot about those little turtles over the past few days. I’ve no doubt, in their minds, they were simply going the way they wanted to go and minding their own business. They were completely oblivious to the dangers of the cars flying by them.

But, just because they were unaware of the danger, didn’t make it any less real.

If I’m honest, I can admit that I have a lot in common with those turtles. There have been times in my life when I wanted to go where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go there. I liked choosing my own path and just like the one that hissed, I didn’t like to be knocked off of my chosen path. I often didn’t take interference too graciously.

Thankfully, God is always forgiving and good to me whether I’ve been thankful at the time, or not. God’s goodness is not dependent on my reactions. He has time and time again, saved me in spite of me.

With age, and hopefully, wisdom, I’ve learned that He always has a plan and I’ve come to accept that it’s often different than mine. I’ve come to understand that there are sometimes dangers that I’m unaware of, but I trust that God knows about them and has my best interest in mind.

Faith is a lifelong process and like the little turtles, I sometimes still want to pull into my shell when I’m bumped off of my path, but my trust is stronger these days. Now, I can usually appreciate the scenery of the detour. The view is often amazing.

A couple of turtles reminded me to trust God’s plan. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Restoration Business

Posted on by Wendy
In God’s hands, we are never past redemption.

This summer I spent a lot of time refinishing furniture for my daughter’s first college apartment. I have to admit, I had a blast.

There’s something amazingly therapeutic about taking something old, ugly, and seemingly past its prime, and turning it into something pretty and useful again. Old furniture tends to have a certain character about it, that you just can’t buy new at the store.

The simple years of existence, give it something unique, not to mention, it’s made much better than the newer stuff is.

I sailed through sanding and spray painting an old metal bed that belonged to my grandparents and then I moved on to cherry end tables that had belonged to my parents in a formal living room. Next, my attention went to an old wooden desk and chair.

I sanded some and primed a lot. Most of the paint I used, I already had from previous projects. Several times, I even mixed my own, with no clue what I was doing except creating a color I liked. Each piece came together better than I had hoped and I couldn’t wait to see all of my little tapestry of furniture woven together for the final product.

Then we pulled out the old dresser we were planning on using. It had been stuck in the very back of our under deck storage, for years. Unfortunately, some rats had set up shop. It was a mess and it smelled awful. I got out some bleach and went to work and even put the water hose to it, just to clean it.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it could be saved. But, my hubby felt differently. After a thorough cleaning and lots of sunshine, he cut the bottoms of the drawers out and replaced them with new ones. I sanded, primed and painted and it looked much better.

But, the mirror was black and blotchy from age. I couldn’t fix that.

My hubby had an idea. we replaced the mirror with a memo board, so our daughter could pin up pictures. Instead of looking at herself, she would see photos of fun times with people who love her the most. For a college student, this was a much better option than a mirror. It came together beautifully.

The entire furniture experience reminded me of God’s never ending love for us. There are times when we all feel out of date, past our prime and even useless. But, God is never done with us.

He’s always in the restoration and redemption business. He can take even the most damaged among us and make us new and useful for His purposes. And just like that old mirror, when we put our lives in His hands, He can create something even better than what was original. All we need is a little faith.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Senior Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
Although graduation ends one chapter of the journey, a new one is just beginning.

A couple of days ago, the seniors from our local high school who attended the elementary school where I work, were invited to come and walk the halls in their caps and gowns. It was such a sweet spectacle. Their parents came. The current elementary students poured out into the halls and clapped for them as they passed by, sometimes giving them high fives.

One group, I’m sure, wondered if they would ever be that big and the other probably felt like elementary school was a lifetime ago. Then there were the parents who I suspect, wondered where all of the time went and could have sworn that only yesterday, their kids were the ones walking the halls as elementary students.

There were lots of pictures and videos and more than a few bittersweet tears. We had some of the seniors come into the office to ask if they could see their former teachers, those who had been standouts in their journey to this point, those who had believed in them, and connected with them, inspired them and made a difference in their lives.

I suppose we all have teachers like that, those standouts who we will always hold dear and will always be fresh in our memories.

As I thought about it all later, it occurred to me that while those seniors have reached the end of a chapter in this particular journey, a new one is just beginning. They will have new standouts and mentors, not only for the next few years, but for the rest of their lives, because the journey never ends on this side of Eternity.

I began to think of the standouts in my own life, from elementary school, high school and college. I have been blessed with many, but, there are so many more, family members, bosses and coworkers, friends, neighbors, in-laws, members of my church family, and members of my Salkehatchie family.

There have been so many people along the way who connected with me, believed in me and made a difference.

I think teachers often understand the call to connect with, encourage and inspire others. I think that’s often why they choose to do what they do. Yet, we are called to do the same with the people God puts in our path.

We all have the opportunity to encourage others and be a part of someone’s journey just as others have chosen to be a part of ours. If we pray about it a and keep our eyes open, God will send us the very people who need our individual wisdom and experience.

Because the journey never ends until we graduate to heaven. Until then, we should make all of the difference we can. Some seniors reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

When Two or Three Gather

Posted on by Wendy
Community can lift us up when we need it most.

I work in the front office of an elementary school and this week is our last week before the summer break. The office is busy on any given week, but to say that this week is packed full of events all week long, is an understatement. It seems like we can’t go more than ten minutes without something new popping up in the office.

And the busyness begins first thing in the morning, from parents who bring in an array of items left at home, from lunchboxes to homework, to phone calls from parents looking for a bus that they swear they were not late getting out for, or this week, calls from parents asking about events that those of us in the front office didn’t even know about.

People rarely pop in, in the morning just to say hello. If they come in, they usually want or need something.

But, yesterday, my sweet friend from choir, who also happens to be my pastor’s wife, popped in to say hello. She’s a long term sub until the end of the year and a retired teacher. She told me she just had to come in and tell me a little bit about her weekend.

Her granddaughter had turned sixteen and the family had a party for her. My friend decided to take the cornhole game that my family had made for her and her husband several years earlier. She said she thought they might enjoy it. Well, apparently it was a huge hit. Her eyes danced with joy as she talked about how much fun the family had playing that game and she gave me a hug and thanked me again for giving it to them.

I don’t know what prompted her to come and see me. I suspect it was spiritual in nature because I had really prayed on the way to work about extra patience and peace this week, and for God to help me be a light to others when I’m so stressed out at the moment.

And there she was, shining light herself, spreading love and joy, and starting my day with a positive spin.

I’ve often written about the importance of Christian Community, where we can encourage each other, just like the Apostle Paul wrote about, not that long after the Resurrection. I’ve seen Jesus through it way too many times to doubt its importance in our spiritual lives. Yes, it can sometimes be hard and we sometimes get it completely wrong.

Yet, we really are better together and as the Bible says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Mathew 18:20

A morning hug reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂