Category: Building Christian Character

I took a walk yesterday, it seemed like overnight, the earth woke up. There are so many things in bloom. I suppose all of the rain we have been complaining about really did have a good purpose. Isn’t it funny how life works out that way? As I was walking and appreciating the beauty and thanking God for the gorgeous day, I came across a forsythia bush, that brought back a memory.

The forsythia bush is bright yellow and sometimes called yellow bells. They bloom in the spring. We had two big ones at our last house. One day many years ago, my mother-in-law and her companion, Bill were visiting. I was complaining that our yellow bells weren’t blooming well at all.

Now, Bill, was one of the sweetest natured, quietest men that you would ever meet. He was a retired principal and he loved to grow things. He always had a huge garden every summer. He leaned over and asked me if I had tried watering them.

I was kind of stunned. What a simple question, right? I mean, plants need water to grow and I watered the plants in pots at the house, but not the bushes. I grew up on over a hundred acres with a well. We didn’t really water much because the well might run dry. We had pear trees, plum trees, apple trees and scuppernongs among other things. They either made it or they didn’t. We didn’t coddle anything much.

But, when Bill and I were talking, we were in a deep drought and had been for quite a while. Why hadn’t I thought of watering the yellow bells? I admitted to him that I had not. He kind of smiled and told me that might help them bloom. He was right of course. He put some water on them while he was there and they did bloom soon after.

Seeing the yellow bells today reminded me of that sweet, wise man and of that conversation. They were blooming because of all of the rain. All living things require water to thrive. What else in our lives do we need to water to make them bloom? What areas of our lives have we allowed to fall into drought?

When I think about it, all relationships require some effort to keep them blooming. From friendships, to marriages, to families, to our spiritual relationship with God. Over time, if we don’t give them care and nurture, water, so to speak, they will not only stop blooming; they can eventually die.

The same goes for goals and dreams we may have. If we don’t devote any time to them, they can die too and some of them are likely meant to produce beautiful fruit.

Lent seems like an ideal time to consider the areas in our lives that may need watering. Who knows, by Easter, we may have more blooms than we know what to do with. What do you need to water?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

While Lent is supposed to be a time of reflection and drawing closer to God, it’s also a season of repentance. We don’t like to think about repentance much or about sin. It’s often easy to pick out the sins of others, but our own sometimes seem to escape our notice.

One thing I consistently find when talking to parents of all ages and stages is that they carry around guilt regarding their children. They regret a wide variety of decisions they made while raising their kids. They carry guilt over things like their kids’ education, or not being more involved in their lives, to getting a divorce.

The truth is, there’s no way that any parent will always make the right decisions. Parents are humans. Humans are flawed and broken and we make mistakes. But, we can also be forgiven.

When we repent and ask God for forgiveness, we are forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. He shed it for all people and for all sin, period. As Christians, we sometimes need to ask ourselves, if we really believe that. If we do, then we cannot carry around unresolved guilt. When we do, we are really saying to Jesus that his sacrifice didn’t count. We are saying that everyone else’s sins can be forgiven, but our sins are special and especially dark.

Does that concept sound ridiculous? Hopefully, it does, but a lot of people are carrying guilt and shame needlessly. When we lay our burdens, even guilt, at the foot of the cross, we must leave them there. If we truly believe in the power of Jesus, we cannot pick them back up.

We also need to remember that we have an enemy that loves for us to carry around anything that causes us pain. Anything that separates us from God is a victory for him. Guilt that we have repented of, that we have placed at the foot of the cross, is no longer our burden to bear, even if Satan whispers in our ear a different message. We aren’t to listen to him.

Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 9b

Lent may be the ideal time to ask ourselves if we believe that. If we do, then we have to repent of any guilt that we stubbornly cling to for whatever reason. It’s not God’s way or in His plan for us. How can we serve Him with our whole heart if we allow darkness to abide within our heart? Unresolved guilt is darkness.

Maybe we should take a little time during this season to honestly let go of burdens that have been forgiven long ago and if we need forgiveness, then all we have to do is ask. Letting go of the bad stuff that we can’t change is actually about trust and obedience. How are you doing with those two things?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

I have often thought bluebirds were beautiful. I never saw them much growing up and they aren’t as common as they once were. So, when my son had to complete a project for an agriculture class at school, last year, I naturally encouraged him and my hubby to build a bluebird house.

They are apparently, rather picky about their houses. They like for the hole to be a certain size and for their nests to be a certain height off the ground. They found the perfect plans on the internet and he got an A on the project.

Low and behold, we had bluebirds, the first season we put it out. They are very shy birds and although I often see them, they flee the moment they see me. I was able to capture this one after returning from a recent walk and it made me think about other things that we could have more of in our lives if we simply made the space.

Having two kids that are very artistic, I have found that when I created a space for them to create and the supplies to do it, they were much more likely to be creative, than when I left their art supplies packed away in a box and had to make a space on the kitchen table for them.

Likewise, when I decided to turn a rarely used formal living room into a writing space for me, Graceful Gaines was born.

I am aware that space is at a premium in many homes, but even a little corner with a folding table set up can make all of the difference to someone who has an ability and a desire to create, but needs a little nudge.

I once read that Mary Engelbreit announced to her mother as a child, that she needed a studio space. Their house was small, but her mother cleaned out a closet and put a desk in it for her artistic daughter. A studio was born and so was one of my favorite artists.

I also use my writing space for my place to read my Bible and jot down notes and questions I have. I can certainly read the Bible anywhere, but having a dedicated space to leave it out, open and ready to go, along with a pen and a pad, just seems to make it easier to make it a point to read it everyday.

Even a rarely used chair in a corner somewhere can serve the same purpose. Inviting God in regularly, can make any place holy.

Perhaps Lent is an ideal time to prayerfully consider what things in our lives would we give much-needed attention to if we were to create a little more space for them. They can range from creative endeavors to more prayer time. God created each one of us with unique talents that we are supposed to nurture and use for Him. If we aren’t nurturing and growing them, then we aren’t serving to our best abilities.

What areas in your life need more space?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

When we went to bed on Saturday night, we had to spring forward an hour on our clocks. Now, I don’t know about you, but Sunday proved to be a very long day for me. Not only was I exhausted all day, but every time I looked at the clock, it was so much later than I thought.

This happens to me every year and honestly, it takes me about a week to adjust. I have always found the same to be true with my kids, whether they were toddlers or teens; we will have a week of grumpiness. But, it’s only an hour. Should one little hour make such a huge difference in our lives?

Perhaps it shouldn’t. But, let’s ponder that for a moment. What would happen if we gave up an hour, (just one), daily, for exercise? Our blood pressure would likely drop, along with our cholesterol, not to mention our pants size. Studies have shown that our stress level would drop as well and our sleep quality would increase. That hour doesn’t seem quite as insignificant; does it?

What if we were to dedicate an hour daily to prayer time and Bible reading? Does that hour now, seem huge? That’s a lot of prayer; isn’t it? I wonder how much of the Bible we could read in a year’s time if we dedicated an hour a day to it. What would our faith walk look like? I wonder if our stress level and blood pressure would decrease in this scenario as well. I wonder if our sleep quality would increase. I feel like our level of peace would likely increase as well as joy and all of those cool fruits of the Holy Spirit, like patience, kindness and love.

We live in a busy and over scheduled world and we have the tendency to waste time and energy on frivolous things, or at least I do. Perhaps you do too? Things from playing on Facebook, to surfing the net, to checking Pinterest, can eat up an awful lot of time.

Daylight Savings Time has been a good reminder to me of the large amount of good that could be accomplished with only one hour a day. As I trudge through this week, getting readjusted, I’m going to take some time to pray about how I might better use my time.

As we travel through Lent and attempt to draw closer to God, maybe one of the best tithes we could ever give to God would be our time. Managing our time better to include more time with Him, could possibly be one of the best gifts we could ever give ourselves as well as to all of the people who happen to cross our paths.

Since time is one of those precious commodities that we never get more of, perhaps we should be more intentional with it. What do you think?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Yesterday was a miserable, dreary, rainy day. It was also a Sunday. Getting out of bed took some discipline. I could have come up with a hundred reasons not to have gotten up and attended church, but I didn’t. I got up and I went.

The pastor reminded us that we had to make a tough decision to attend in the rain. We all chuckled. But, then he reminded us that throughout church history, people had been killed for all kinds of decisions relating to their faith.

The thought occurred to me that Christianity is not a spectator faith. It never has been and Jesus has always been a polarizing figure. While most of us won’t be called to physically give up our lives for following Jesus, we are all called to fully serve and participate. Yes, getting out of bed and attending a church service is a start, but then what?

When people join churches they seem to be in one of two camps. They either participate in everything or they participate in nothing. So, we often find a small group of people involved in many church activities and other groups simply attending church and maybe Sunday School.

But, here’s what happens; the word gets out that there are certain people who will agree to help with whatever they are asked and so they get asked to serve again and again and again. They sometimes get very tired and discouraged and sometimes they end up leaving the church altogether.

I kind of think of it as a relay race at a track meet. In that kind of event, each runner runs for a little while and then they hand the baton off to another member of the team and they run for a little while and then they hand it off. Everyone has a leg to run. Everyone has a part to play. Everyone is a part of the team. Everyone’s participation matters.

If one runner drops the baton or doesn’t do their part, the entire race is severely hindered.

Perhaps Lent is a good time to do a little service soul-searching. The season is meant for us to intentionally take time and make the effort to grow closer to God. Maybe it’s a great time to ask ourselves in what ways we are serving.

Are we serving at all? Are we serving in the same way we have for the past ten plus years? Should we prayerfully seek a different way to serve? Would a new type of service help us to grow closer to Jesus in our faith walk?

If we are serving in many places, perhaps we should prayerfully ask God if we are too thinly stretched. Are we serving because we are called or because we couldn’t say “no?” If we are serving for the wrong reasons, we may be taking someone else’s slot who could really grow doing that particular service.

As I observe Lent this year, it’s more about intentionally drawing closer to God than giving up some kind of vice, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just feel like it’s really important not to make the season about us and what we can or can’t accomplish.

It’s supposed to be about deepening our faith walk and I think that examining how we do or don’t serve and making changes may be worth a look.

What do you think? How are you observing Lent? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

I was recently catching up with a friend of mine. She was talking about how her business wasn’t doing very well, but that almost everyone she knew in her line of work was struggling too. She acknowledged that she knew that God hears her prayers, but also that her bills were piling up.

But, then she said she wondered if God was preparing her to do something completely different than her current line of work.

I’ve thought about our conversation a lot over the past week. I’ve thought about prayers, both answered and unanswered. Of course, there are no truly unanswered prayers. Sometimes the answer is, “no.” We may not like that, but that’s still an answer.

I thought about how often we pray for very specific things. We pray for God to give us a raise for x amount of money, or to send us more clients, or to make our spouses want to spend more time with us, or to make our kids behave. There’s a limitless list of the ways that we attempt to control God’s answers to our prayers.

We feel like we know what we want and what’s best for us and therefore we ask for those things, like a to-do list.

But, what if we were to approach God in an entirely different way, with an entirely different heart. What if we were to pray instead of, “to please fix it and give me xyz”, we prayed something like, “I’m really struggling, please show me your plan for me and help me to trust. Help me to remember that, “Even the very hairs on my head are numbered.” Matthew 10:30 (my emphasis)

What if we were more willing to surrender our own preconceived notions and plans for our lives and yielded to God’s? I wonder if the pharmaceutical industry would take a hit.

There has been an ongoing struggle of our will verses God’s, since the very beginning. It showed itself in the garden and we have an enemy who loves to feed it.

Trust and obedience can be really hard to master. I think as Americans, we pride ourselves so much in our independence from government and from other world powers, that we sometimes forget that we truly are dependent on God.

And when we forget, we don’t pray; we don’t worship; we don’t yield. We do things our own way which usually ends up in some type of disaster.

Lent is an ideal time to take a good look at our prayer lives. Are we praying like Jesus taught us, “Thy will be done”? Maybe we should look a little harder at that phrase and see if our thoughts and ambitions are lining up with His.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to know when we go to bed each night, that we are covered no matter what, because we are chosen and loved and He has a plan, and all that is required is for us to keep our eyes on Him and place one foot in front of the other?

That sounds kind of freeing to me. What do you think?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂