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.

Too Good Not to Share

Posted on by Wendy
It only takes a spark.
It only takes a spark.

My daily prayer is for God to show Himself to me in a way that I can share with others and hopefully, inspire them on their faith walk. One of my favorite Bible verses is: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

There are some days, however, when God is hard to see and hear and I sometimes find myself wondering if I will spend hours staring at a blinking cursor with nothing to write. Do you ever have days like that? Do you ever wonder if He’s really near or if He’s really listening?

But, God is always faithful to those who seek Him, even when we insist on doubting.

At the end of my day yesterday, when I was getting ready to go home, one of our teachers came in and was chatting with some of our office staff. They were talking about never knowing when they should help someone who claims to need help. There are so many people out there who are scammers.

Quite honestly, I was only half-way listening. I think this is a struggle that most people have, when to doubt and when to trust, but then the conversation grabbed my interest.

The teacher was giving an account of the story her priest had told the Sunday before.

He had been at a gas station when a woman approached him for money. Said she had a long drive and no gas. He said he was skeptical at first, but there was something desperate in the woman’s eyes that made him want to help her.

He looked at her car and it was full of children.

He told her he wouldn’t give her cash, but that he would pay to fill her car up. He went into the store to pay for her gas and since he was one of eleven children himself, he bought her a bunch of snacks for the road for her kids and two more gas cards.

He told the grateful woman that he wished he could do more, but that was all he had. (After all, priests don’t make much money.)

The woman went on her way and he went back to the rectory.

When he arrived, there was an envelope lying on his desk containing the exact amount of money that he had given the desperate woman, apparently donated by some new parishioner.

Do you have chills yet? Is your heart warmed?

I thought about that priest and the choice he made long after I left work.

I was reminded that God is always there for those who seek Him. The Holy Spirit guides us to give and share when we should. Perhaps we should spend less of our time worrying about being cheated and more of our time listening to the nudges of the Spirit.

That’s what that priest did and look at what his faithful obedience produced, a story that was just too good not to share. Hopefully, you will feel the same.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Kindergarten Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
We can learn a lot from children.
We can learn a lot from children.

In my new job, in an elementary school office, my desk sits in front of the nurse’s clinic. Now, in a kindergarten through fifth grade school, I’m sure you can imagine that we have a steady stream of visitors. The little guys have all kinds of boo boos. That doesn’t even account for the upset stomachs resulting from nerves that naturally accompany a new school year.

We are blessed with one of the sweetest nurses on the planet. She is soft-spoken, calming and kind-hearted. I mean she’s one of those people where kindness actually radiates from her. The kids feel calmer just being in her presence. I feel calmer being in her presence.

One day this week, we had a kindergartner come in who wasn’t feeling well. It’s been a long time since I’ve been around little guys like that and they are adorable. This little fellow was running a fever and our nurse called his mama to come and get him.

While she was on the way, another student came in and the little guy had to come out of the clinic and wait in the office for her. He sat on the floor for about two minutes before he just went ahead and lay down. He pulled his jacket over him. When my coworker asked him if he was cold, he said he was, so she put her sweater over him.

He put two little fingers in his mouth and went right to sleep. His mama arrived very shortly and took him home.

I thought about that little guy all day the next day and what I could learn from him. I thought about how Jesus said we should have the faith of a child.

When that kindergartner felt bad, he sought help from the nurse and then he just lay down and waited for his mama to come and help him feel better. He didn’t worry or fret. He rested, knowing that help and comfort were on the way. He wasn’t embarrassed about feeling bad. He didn’t try to soldier on, plastering a smile on his face and powering through it. He readily admitted that he couldn’t keep going at the moment.

Have you ever been there? I know I have.

How many times have we been so overwhelmed by what life has thrown at us, yet we plaster a smile on and keep on going. We have been programmed not to show weakness. How often do we end up with stomach-aches of our own, or headaches, or sleepless nights? Stress can manifest itself in a hundred ways that can harm us.

What would our lives look like, if we modeled that kindergartner, and we sought help from God when life gets chaotic and out of control? What if we went to Jesus in heartfelt prayer about what is troubling us and then rested at His feet, trusting that help and healing is coming?

What if we always remembered that God is in control and that it’s okay to rest, and to heal, and to admit that our lives are messy sometimes? What if we remembered that what God thinks is the only thing that really matters, so what others think doesn’t?

I was reminded of some beautiful truths from a kindergartner. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Lessons from a Box Truck

Posted on by Wendy
We don't have to know what lies ahead; we only have to trust the One who does.
We don’t have to know what lies ahead; we only have to trust the One who does.

I was recently driving down the road when I got behind a big box truck. I really dislike driving behind them because I can’t see what’s up ahead. Sure enough, we came to an intersection with a stop light. He blasted through it, but I couldn’t see the light. It was obviously green for him, but was it still green for me?

I couldn’t see it. If it was yellow for him, then it might have switched to red for me. Someone barreling through in the other direction, could have gotten a brand new green light and t-boned me at full force.

What was I to do? Should I hit the gas and pray for the best?

Ummm, no, what I needed to do and I did, was to slow down, which turned out to be a good thing because the light had turned red. Hitting the gas instead of the breaks, would have been a dangerous decision.

But, hitting the gas is our nature, isn’t it? We don’t like to wait. We don’t like to go slowly and we definitely don’t like not knowing what lies up ahead. That’s why we don’t like box trucks.

That box truck stayed on my mind in the days to follow. Walking with Jesus is often like traveling behind a box truck. If we are in a hurry and insist on our own way, we will often find ourselves frustrated.

Faith teaches us to take one step at a time, one day at a time, and to trust that God has a plan. Faith teaches us that His plan is better than ours and that He will provide for us in His way and in His time.

In a world that asks us what our ten-year plan is and seeks to have us plan every minute of every day until we retire, that path often doesn’t sit too well. But, His path is not and has never been a worldly path. The journey with Christ is a daily walk where we sometimes walk the same road for years and then sometimes we take a new turn everyday.

We don’t have to know the way or even see the road ahead. We only have to know and trust the One who does and it can be excruciatingly difficult at times. Yet, that’s what we are called to do.

When we willingly follow Him, we will always arrive at the destination He intended for us and it will always be much more than we could have imagined.

The question for us is really a matter of trust, faith and obedience. I sometimes struggle with those, but thankfully, we have grace and redemption on a daily basis and the Holy Spirit to light our way. When we get off track, Jesus always reaches out for us to pull us back, closely to his side.

A box truck reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Walking in Faith

Posted on by Wendy
The light of Christ changes everything.
“For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

I was recently praying as I was getting ready for my day. I was in my bedroom and it was quiet. I had so many things on my mind, so many people and circumstances to pray for. I felt certain I was missing some of them.

I had been praying about our current political scene in this country. I had been praying about the recent violence involving police. I had been praying about people who I hold close who are battling sickness as well as other emotional issues. I had been praying about a new chapter in my own life.

My heart was a little heavy and I briefly wondered if I had met my prayer quota for the day. Was God getting all of this? Did I need to back up and repeat?

Of course, I know that is not how God works. The Bible says He knows what I need before I even ask it, but at that moment, the world around me from my little space to globally, seemed to me, to be in great need of His guidance and intervention.

As I finished my prayer, I went to the windows and opened my blinds for the day. The sun was bright and flooded the room with light and tiny rainbows dotted my ceilings and walls. The scene took my breath away. I grinned as I grabbed my cell phone to snap a few shots that don’t even begin to do justice to the moment.

Within minutes, they were gone, but the message was received. Yes, He was listening. Yes, He is in control. No, my list of prayers is never too much for Him. I looked heavenward and whispered, “thank-you.”

Now, those of you out there who may be the Doubting Debbie types, I am fully aware that the sun was reflecting off of something in my bedroom that acted as a prism. I am well aware that it wasn’t some kind of miracle. But, the fact that I just happened to open my blinds at the same exact time I said, “Amen,” and at that precise moment, the sun just happened to hit the right spot at the right time to produce those little rainbows…..

That, my friends is faith. I know that God was letting me know that He was listening. The amazing thing is that when I seek Him with my whole heart, in a quiet place, He always has a way of showing Himself, if I am diligent about looking.

There are so many Bible verses that pop into my mind here: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 or “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5  or maybe, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

They all point to the Amazing God who we worship. They all point to Jesus. God is always listening to our prayers. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Leave It

Posted on by Wendy
We could learn a lot from our furry companions.
We could learn a lot from our furry companions.

My sister and her family brought their dog, Scout, along on their visit south this summer. She’s actually still a puppy, a very big puppy. She’s some kind of lab mix with lots of energy. My sister did some obedience training with her and she learned to use the command, “Leave it,” when Scout is exhibiting undesirable behavior.

It was really kind of fascinating to watch. When Scout would bark when she wasn’t supposed to, my sister would use the command and she would stop and lie down and relax. When she was chewing on something she wasn’t supposed to, the command would make her stop. When she was doing just about anything she wasn’t supposed to be doing, the command worked.

Sometimes, Scout was reluctant to obey and my sister would have to use a sterner tone, but eventually Scout would comply. Dogs, by their very nature, want to please their master.

We could learn a lot from Scout.

I thought about her interactions with my sister long after they headed back north. I thought about how we would all be better off if we were better at listening to the voice of our Master.

How often does His voice simply say, “Leave it?”

When we are anxious and afraid, “Leave it.”

When we are picking up or participating in something we have no business being a part of, “Leave it.”

When we really want to engage in unnecessary arguments or disagreements, “Leave it.”

When we want to hang on to pain and guilt from our past, “Leave it.”

Sometimes His voice is really quiet and sometimes it’s louder, if He really needs to get our attentions, but “Leave it,” seems to apply to most of the earthly situations in which we want to chase and often entangle ourselves.

Because of Jesus and His sacrifice for us, we are all invited to “Leave it,” at the foot of the cross. Whatever “it” is, is redeemable. God has an amazing way of turning ashes and despair into magnificence that we can hardly even recognize.

But, the key comes from obedience. He will not force His will on us. He doesn’t tell us to “Leave it.” He invites us to. When we willingly comply, the peace and rest and joy are beyond anything we can really imagine.

The choice is ours. Are we willing to “Leave it?”

A dog reminded me of the importance of obedience, trust and faith. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

River Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
You can learn a lot from a river.
You can learn a lot from a river.

On a recent trip with my family, we went tubing on a section of the Chattahoochee River in Helen, Georgia. Notice I said tubing and not rafting. Rafting is fast and kind of wild. It often requires a guide of some sort. You have to wear a life jacket and a helmet. It can be dangerous. That’s a little too much adventure for this gal.

Now, tubing, requires me to sit in an inner tube, with a bottom, and float. That’s it. That’s my idea of an ideal way to spend a few hours on a summer afternoon.

It was kind of crowded and I got separated from my family, so I had a lot of time to reflect. I learned a lot from tubing down that river.

First of all, I had no way to steer, so for the most part, I was at the mercy off the current. When I was getting too close to the bank, I would lean forward and use my arms to frantically paddle back into the main stream.

The banks were kind of scary. There were lots of nooks and crannies for snakes to hide. Every now and then, no matter how hard I tried, I ended up at the banks. Sometimes it was because I was pushed over that way by another tuber. Sometimes it was because the current pushed me that way. Sometimes it was because I wasn’t paying attention.

Whatever the reason, I tried to stay off of the banks. But, sometimes I wound up there.

Life is like that sometimes. No matter how hard we try to stay on course, on the right path, we get knocked off. Sometimes we end up on the banks with the snakes because of our own bad choices. Sometimes we get pushed there by somebody else. Sometimes we end up there through no fault of our own.

But, the beauty of being a Christian is that we never walk alone. We walk with Jesus. Thanks to grace, when we find ourselves on the metaphorical banks, we can pray and paddle and have faith that eventually, we will end up back where we need to be.

The second lesson I learned is that the river was full of people of all ages, shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Yet, we were all headed in the same direction. We often bumped into each other. Sometimes people apologized and smiled and sometimes people acted annoyed. Each reaction was a choice.

We have that same choice in everyday life. If we choose to leave our houses and participate in community of any kind, people will bump into us. Whether they do it on purpose or by accident, our reaction to their action is a choice. We can always choose anger or we can choose to let it go and not to take it personally.

When our eyes are set on God, what people do, no longer matters as much.

The final thing that stayed with me, was the opportunity to help others, is always close. I witnessed a little boy fall off of his tube. He was tethered to his brother and he was wearing a life jacket. He was not in any real danger, but he was panicked.

I had the choice to paddle over and offer help or to float on by. I felt led to help and so I did.

I wonder how often I miss that call. How often I’m I focused on my own journey, my own plans and miss the call to help others. That day, I was quiet and watchful. How many times am I self-consumed?

I left that river a little wiser. I was reminded of the importance of faith, focus, and loving our neighbors. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Amazing Power of Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
Christians should always remember the powerful weapon we have in prayer.
Christians should always remember the powerful weapon we have in prayer.

On July the 4th, my family invited my sister and her kids, and my mom, over to our house. The plan was for us to head out around 6:30 to a park in town where there was music and food, including ice cream, and then a fireworks show.

We were all excited. Who doesn’t love fireworks? We had been loading up our cars for a while. There were several coolers to pack and we kept going back into the house for “one more thing.” Then there was the discussion of who was going to ride where. My young nephews always want my teenage son to ride in their car.

Needless to say, we were running later than we planned.

At last, we were ready to go, when my hubby grabbed my arm and pointed at the house across the street. He said that something was wrong with our neighbor. He had seen her throw her arms into the air and run back towards her house. I thought he was overreacting.

Then her car came tearing out of her driveway and she turned around erratically and flew back into her driveway. I became worried at that point. She’s a widow and she’s older. She’s very careful with all that she does. Something wasn’t right.

I began running toward her house. As I reached her car, she rolled down her window and yelled that there was a snake in her driveway and she went flying back out again.

She was trying to run over it with her car. Unfortunately, she missed it. I could see it. It was a very large copperhead, around three feet long and very wide. Apparently, she had hit it at one point, because it was stunned, but not dead. I yelled for my hubby to get a hoe from our house and he killed the snake.

At this point my own kids had come over to see what the commotion was. Then my mom and my sister and her kids came over to see the large, dead copperhead.

My sweet neighbor was very grateful. We were all a little nervous at the fact that the very large snake was in her driveway, right next to were she walks her puppy everyday. Had the snake stalked her puppy?

After my hubby removed the snake from her driveway, we said our goodbyes and were on our way, a little later than planned, but with quite a story.

It wasn’t until later, that my daughter shared with me that our neighbor told her that she got in her car after she saw that snake and prayed that God would help her and that when we came, we were an answer to her prayer.

My eyes filled with tears. I’m a big believer in the power of prayer and I share those thoughts with my children often. Yet, I’m always amazed at how God steps in and shows Himself through other people, helping to grow my children’s faith a little at the time.

If we had left our house five minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have been able to help my neighbor and she would have been in danger, but God knew that she would need our help and I’ve no doubt, each “one little thing,” was by design, His design.

I am reminded at how perfect His timing is, even when we don’t understand and I stand in awe, as always, by the power of prayer. A snake reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

New Chapters

Posted on by Wendy
As our faith grows, we know that Jesus always has our hand, no matter the season.
As our faith grows, we know that Jesus always has our hand, no matter the season.

This is my first post in a month. July was eventful for me, to say the least. My sister came to visit with her three kids, all under the age of eight. We celebrated the 4th of July. My son went to band camp. We had my daughter’s senior pictures taken. We celebrated her seventeenth birthday and I went back to work full-time.

It’s been a roller coaster ride.

For the past seventeen years, I have been a stay-at-home mother and wife. I have been a substitute teacher for the past eight, but that was a very flexible gig.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I prayed without ceasing, that God would make a way for me to be at home full-time with her. It was something that I desperately wanted to do, but was impossible on paper.

But, as I would learn personally, “Nothing is impossible with God.”

My hubby was offered a new job that paid better and we took a leap of faith. My sweet mother-in-law dropped by from time-to-time with diapers and meals for our freezer. She continued to do so all the way through my son’s birth too. She never told me when she was coming, but she always came with her arms full and she always took us out to lunch and paid for my kids to ride the merry-go-round.

My mama brought diapers too, and formula, and baby clothes. She often took my little ones for the weekend so my hubby and I could have some alone time.

Things were tight, but life was good. God had indeed, provided.

God began to work on me and my faith. I began to read my Bible regularly. I began to teach a Sunday school class. I began to get involved with and then lead Vacation Bible School. I became involved in my kids’ youth group and eventually went on a mission trip with them and then another.

But, when they both started high school, I began to feel called to do something else. I prayed again without ceasing, about the next step. I applied for many different jobs and got more than a few rejections, but my faith had grown to the point that I knew God would let me know what the next chapter would be.

He did. I learned of a position as a bookkeeper at a local elementary school. I interviewed and was offered the job right away. I started a couple of weeks later.

It would be dishonest to say that it’s been easy beginning my new chapter. It’s been exciting and fun doing something new and I’ve met some fabulous people, who I know will become good friends. But, there have been tears too. It’s been exhausting and when my daughter told me she really missed me being at home, I cried myself to sleep.

A Bible study I have been participating in, (which I’m sure is no coincidence), has focused on Ecclesiastes. “For everything there is a season;…. a time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:4

But, the study also pointed out that on this side of heaven, the seasons often overlap. We can celebrate a Christmas, but mourn that a loved one is no longer with us. We can be thrilled that a child is starting kindergarten, or high school, or going off to college, or getting married, but be sad that our life with them will never be quite the same. We can take a new job, but desperately miss our friends from the old one.

That’s the tension that we live with here on earth. My tender heart is learning to embrace both the laughter and the tears in this season. I can be thankful and sad at the same time. I can be happy and mourn. One is not exclusive of the other and Jesus has my hand, all the way through.

A dear friend asked me if I would continue to write here on Gracefulgaines. My answer was yes. I’m still seeking God in the world around me even though my world is changing, because God never changes.

I’m still hoping to be a reflection of Him here in this space and provide a ray of light to someone who may need it. As long as I’m breathing, God is still at work in me. He is in you too, no matter where you are in your story. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The View from Our Knees

Posted on by Wendy
It's amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone's life in five days.
It’s amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone’s life in only five days.

On a recent mission trip that my family attended, we toured two houses in need of repair. My daughter and I felt drawn to one and my hubby and son felt drawn to the other. This, as it turns out, was not by accident.

This was my hubby’s and son’s first trip to a Salkehatchie mission camp and they were not particularly excited about it in the beginning. My daughter and I had talked about it regularly since the year before. Our experience had filled us with such passion for returning and helping others that we found it difficult to contain it.

It’s kind of like when people first come to know Christ and they can’t stop talking about their newfound faith. Those of us who have walked with Jesus for a long time, can find ourselves getting annoyed, if we’re not careful about it.

My hubby and son were growing a little weary of hearing about our mountain top experiences and about the amazing group of faithful servants who we not only worked with, but had come to think of as family.

I prayed all year that God would provide a way for us to return this year and that the men in my family would be as moved and inspired as my daughter and I had been.

Well, you know what they say: “When you pray for rain, you better get an umbrella….”

Orlando, the homeowner, on the work site that my hubby and son were on, had spina bifida and had spent his entire life using arm crutches. He had inherited his house from his parents, but it was badly in need of repair.

It was very dark inside. The carpet was decades old. The kitchen was a loss. There wasn’t a working toilet in the house and the house was covered in years of grime.

Orlando had been waiting for help for years and he was clearly depressed. He didn’t have much to say at all, when our group came through the first time.

But, although he thought he had been forgotten, God was at work.

In the span of five days, his life was changed. A crew came in and scrubbed everything from walls, to floors, to furniture. A new toilet and vanity were placed in his bathroom. He got a washer and dryer and new floors. His counter tops were replaced and walls were painted. He got new carpet.

My hubby headed up the carpet crew and got to spend a lot of time with Orlando. He was incredibly touched by his story. He was moved by the way that Orlando brightened up each day. He was amazed at the way Orlando took more and more pride in his home as the week went on. He was thrilled when Orlando accepted the cross necklace that he offered him.

At the end of the week, each person who attended and worked, was asked to stand up and share with everyone a symbol that demonstrated how God had shown Himself that week.

When my hubby shared his, he began by saying that he had spent the entire week on his knees, dealing with carpet. While on his knees, he saw God in every staple and every tack strip. In short, while on his knees, he saw God everywhere he looked, including in Orlando’s newfound smile.

I don’t think he could have said it any better. Perhaps we should all try it. He’s already talking about going back next year.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Being the Ears

Posted on by Wendy
There are many ways to serve God, some more active than others, but all are important.
There are many ways to serve God, some more active than others, but all are important.

Last week, my family attended a mission work camp in South Carolina. This was my second year. I was no longer a rookie. I went in with skills and confidence that I didn’t have the year before. When we visited the two houses we would be working on, only one needed a roof. That was the once I chose.

I had learned a fair amount about roofing the previous year and I was ready to go. Monday, I got up on the roof and got busy and we got a lot done, so much so, that it was decided to rotate some newbies to the roof on Tuesday.

Our crew was a little larger than we actually needed and all of the grown ups, me included, believed it was better for the youth to be busy at work on the roof, than the adults.

I was grounded and a little bummed. I had been waiting for an entire year to serve as the hands and feet of Christ and now I wasn’t even on the roof.

But, God had other plans for me this year.

Our homeowner was named Miss Annie. She was disabled from years of seizures. Her body was week and she had to use arm crutches, but her spirit was strong. Everyday, she had one of the teens staying in her house to escort her with her wheelchair, outside to our work trailer. She would then sit down and visit for a couple of hours.

She had a heartbreaking story to tell and she really wanted to share it. She told of a family riddled with mental illness. She told of the death of a disabled grandchild, right there in the house we were roofing. She told of the death of her mother, also in that house and of the stroke that left her daughter disabled.

She talked about poverty and the inability to afford physical therapy, but she also talked of hope.

She said that when her roof began to leak, she bought buckets and she sought help. She said for three years, she had been passed over; and the rains kept coming, so she bought more buckets and kept praying.

She told me that she hoped to get stronger so that she could volunteer at the hospital to visit with people who were up there for days on end like she had been with her granddaughter. She said that people who took the time to visit with her had been the only bright spot some days.

She told me that our group was an answer to her prayers.

Miss Annie made me laugh and she made me want to cry. Some of her stories were hard to hear, but she needed to tell them. She needed for someone to sit with her and listen. She needed for someone to care about her journey.

God used Miss Annie last week to teach me that the ears are just as important to the Body of Christ as the hands and feet are. He taught me that sometimes we can do just as much good planted firmly on the ground as we can high in the air. He taught me that attentively listening to someone can sometimes accomplish the same amount of repair as a hammer can.

We all have a part to play. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂