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 Danger of a Slow Leak

Posted on by Wendy
It's hard to believe that something so tiny can cause so much trouble.
It’s hard to believe that something so tiny can cause so much trouble.

I had just dropped my daughter off at school, when my cell phone rang. I mean, I wasn’t even out of the high school parking lot. I knew it was my daughter because she has her own ring tone. I quickly answered and she informed me that the girl riding in the car behind us told her that one of my back tires was almost flat. Fabulous!

I drove really slowly all the way home. I hadn’t had a shower yet. No way was I going to the tire place looking like I did. Now my mama is enjoying a little snicker as she reads this, because she has always refused to leave home without her makeup on, even if it meant getting up at 5:00 AM. I, alas, haven’t followed in her footsteps.

When I got home, it looked pretty low. I was really kicking myself at this point because I knew it looked low, like a week ago, but I kind of ignored it. I hadn’t had time to get to the tire place and the car was running just fine, so I put it out of my mind. Therein lies the danger of the slow leak. If you have a flat, you have to stop the car immediately and have it fixed, but the slow leak lets you keep driving, deflating a little bit at the time and putting you in danger. It may just be flat when you go to jump in when you are running late or worse, have an emergency. But, it also weakens the tire and sets you up for a blow out which can be catastrophic.

I know this, yet I drove on it anyway. Luckily, a teenager of all people, pointed out that I could wait no longer and I took it in. They fixed it. It was a tiny screw, but that tiny screw made me late to an appointment.

All day long, I pondered the dangers of slow leaks in our lives. They are just as dangerous as the one in the tire. When we get little leaks in our marriages or other relationships, we often ignore them because we are too busy. Like the tire, we know we should address the issue, but we don’t and they always get worse.

It’s the same way with health issues. We can know that something is wrong with us physically, but we ignore it. We just don’t have time to see a doctor or to make an effort to exercise or lose weight or eat better. But, in the history of leaking tires or relationships or serious physical issues, I’ve never heard of a leak spontaneously plugging itself. Nope, that job falls to us, the procrastinators.

Our spiritual lives are the same. We can know that we feel far from God, but ignore it. We can know that we need to be in serious prayer about something, but we don’t make the time. We can know that we should attend church regularly instead of a couple of times a month, but sleep in instead. We can know that the Bible is God’s word, but just can’t seem to make the time to read it. All of those things are slow leaks. They can be easily repaired early on or we can wait for a blowout.

Blowouts are scary and dangerous. They are often recoverable, but why take the chance? I’ve decided to be more vigilant about slow leaks in my tires and my life. Care to join me?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A Fine Christian Woman

Posted on by Wendy
Having others see Jesus in us is a lifelong pursuit.
Having others see Jesus in us is a lifelong pursuit.

I recently watched the movie, “The Blind Side.”  It came out in 2009, but I never saw it. I knew it was supposed to be a heartwarming movie based on a true story, with a happy ending. I love those kind of movies. The basic story is a wealthy, white family takes in a homeless African-American teenager, Michael, and help him learn to play football and get into college.

It’s a fabulous success story about what can happen when people are willing to help those in need and how when those in need, take the offered help and make their best effort to succeed, the sky is the limit. The family has been very blessed and have their children in a Christian school and seem very willing to give back.

All of that, made me teary and gave me the warm and fuzzies. The mom, Leigh Anne, was played by Sandra Bullock and she was a very strong Southern woman. She always wore a cross around her neck and seemed determined to do the right thing. But, the part that has stayed in my head, is her meeting with the Michael’s mother.

She had learned from a case worker that the woman had twelve children and was a crack addict. Michael was a ward of the state and there was no reason to even try to contact her. I’m sitting in my comfortable chair at this point, just thinking what trash this woman was. How could she have that many kids? How could she smoke crack and lose her kids? I’m thinking, she should just write her off.

She doesn’t. Leigh Anne looks for her and finds her in a very sketchy housing project. She just sits right down on her couch and begins talking to her, not condescendingly like I felt like she deserved. She told his mother that she wasn’t getting any money from the state for taking him in. She spoke to her with kindness and when she did, the woman’s defenses came down. She openly spoke of at first, not remembering Michael’s daddy’s name. Leigh Anne moved over onto the couch next to her and asked her if she wanted to see him. Here’s the two lines that have stayed with me.

“You are a fine Christian woman.” Leigh Anne answered, “I try to be.”

That scene and those words have weighed heavily on my mind. The character in the movie was a fine Christian woman. Even in Michael’s mother’s misery, she could see the face of Christ.  Lee Anne makes me ask myself how I’m doing. Do people look at me and see a fine Christian woman? Do they see Jesus? If they see him in me at church, that’s great. But, am I that woman at the grocery store or at Wal-Mart? How about when someone cuts me off in traffic? What about when someone is unkind to me or my family? What about when someone has made horrible decisions like the woman in the movie? Would I be willing to speak kindly to her?

It’s easy to do the right thing when things are going well or when people treat me kindly, but it’s much more difficult when people are unkind or when they have treated people I care about unkindly.

The Bible tells us that we should love one another because God loves us. He loves everyone, so we should too. That’s a tall order. I have to admit that I often fail miserably. Even so, I feel I should try. I believe that being a fine Christian woman is a goal worth shooting for. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Holes

Posted on by Wendy
This is a hole that chipmunks dug in our yard.
This is a hole that chipmunks dug in our yard.

We have a very wooded backyard. We have lots of oak trees and moss and rocks and very little grass. We like it that way. We kind of feel like we are in the mountains. Our yard is the home to a ton of birds and squirrels and chipmunks. Now chipmunks are notorious for digging holes and we try to fill them back in when we feel they pose a danger of someone stepping in them. But, chipmunks are relentless.

This hole, is at the very end of the walkway off of our deck. It’s right next to our house. As I was cutting okra and pulling a few figs yesterday, I noticed something shiny and black lying on the top of the chipmunk hole. As I went to investigate, I caught my breath; it was a snake, with only its head exposed. I have no idea how long the snake was in the hole, but I do know that I stepped around it several times that afternoon.

After I called my hubby to come check it out, it retreated further. I thought of that snake for the rest of the day and into the next. How big was it? When would it come out? Was it dangerous? My biggest question was, how long had it been there?

As many of my encounters with nature tend to do, this one made me begin to think about the possible holes in my spiritual life. How am I doing with the big three: prayer, Bible reading and worship? I think most of us can claim we do one or two well, but to really be able to put on the full Armor of God, we have to engage in all three. If we are lacking in one area, we leave a hole.

This is what finally came out of that hole.
This is what finally came out of that hole.

Bible reading seems to be where most people fail, but we can’t really get engaged with the Holy Spirit, if we don’t read God’s word. How can we develop wisdom and discernment? How do we know if a calling comes from God or somewhere else if we don’t know what He has to say about the matter.

We need the Holy Spirit to help us develop love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control and perseverance first in ourselves, and then to share with a badly hurting world. In the Armor of God, the Holy Spirit is the only offensive weapon. It’s a sword. It’s important.

Then there’s prayer. If we want to hear what God has to say, we have to listen intently. That means setting aside some quiet time daily to pray. Believe me, I know how hard that can be, but still very necessary.

Then there’s worship. In worship, we engage with other Christians in lifting up the name of God. The importance of worshiping the Creator of all on a regular basis, is also incredibly important to our spiritual life and spiritual safety. It creates a community that is vital to our spiritual growth.

When we pray about what areas need work, we can make an effort to fix them and plug any holes that we may have.

My hubby plugged the hole with a rock.
My hubby plugged the hole with a rock.

If we leave the holes uncovered, who knows what might move in? Chipmunks aren’t the only thing that is relentless. How do you do with spiritual holes?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Life in Progress

Posted on by Wendy
We have to remember that life is always in progress.
We have to remember that life is always in progress.

When I was a kid, when our television programming was interrupted for a Presidential speech or for a weather report, we would rejoin our show in progress. In progress, meant that we had missed a portion of the show. Sometimes, depending on the show, it was very difficult to figure out what was going on. Sometimes it was close to impossible.

I think we need to remember that whenever we meet someone new, that their life is in progress. We have such a tendency as human beings, to compare ourselves to others. Why is that person so much more successful? Why does her marriage seem so perfect? Why does she seem to have it all? Of course the flip side is, why is she late everywhere she goes? Why are their kids always fighting? Why is their house always a mess?

We love to compare ourselves to one another. We either make ourselves feel badly for not measuring up or make ourselves feel good because someone else’s life seems to be such a disaster. But, the truth is, whether good or bad, everyone’s life is in progress.

For the people we choose to put on some kind of pedestal, we need to keep in mind that we have absolutely no idea how hard they have worked or what they have been through to get where they are. We also have to remember that we may just be getting started on something, that someone else has been working on for years. We shouldn’t compare our beginning, to their in progress.

For the people that we choose to look down on, they too are in progress. Here again, we have no idea what they have been through or how hard they have tried. Everyone’s personal journey looks different. Theirs may have been particularly difficult.

The Bible tells us that, we are all “fearfully and wonderfully,” made by a loving God. We are all different, but all made in His image. We are all called to serve Him in some unique way. How we serve and how we walk our faith journey will look a little bit different for everyone. There will be sprinters and those who like to stop and smell the flowers. There are those that will leave the path on detours here and there, eventually to find their way back.

The point is, as long as we are here on planet earth, we are in progress. If we keep our eyes on God, where they should be, we can resist the temptation to compare our progress with anyone else’s. It’s not supposed to be about us or them. It’s supposed to be about Him. That can be a difficult truth to accept, but it’s still truth.

In the mean time, if we are tempted to compare, we have to remember that we are all in progress and as long as our faith journey is leading us into the arms of Jesus, who cares who gets there first? After all, it’s not a race.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy

The Lifeline of Community

Posted on by Wendy
Faith community is more than fun and fellowship. It can be a lifeline.
Faith community is more than fun and fellowship. It can be a lifeline.

I got a forwarded e-mail this morning from my church mama. She rarely sends me things and when she does, they are always so good, inspirational and thought-provoking. Today’s was simple, but I loved it so much, I jotted it down in my journal before I took my walk.

“Life. Sometimes life lies hidden and buried under banks of snow, or in seemingly dead and lifeless beehives, or mysteriously within an egg. But under and in and within, life is literally waiting to erupt at just the right time, at just the right moment, because that is God’s desire for creation.” Brother James Koester

The words are so simple, yet so beautiful and they speak volumes about the nature of God, especially regarding His timing. I pondered these words as I walked and prayed. I try so diligently to respect God’s timing. I understand deep in my heart, that waiting for God is an act of obedience that requires and builds faith, all at the same time. But, lately my troubled heart has really wanted some hard and fast answers and some very clear signs, whether they be green lights, stop signs, or detours, and I feel I have been met with silence.

Silence means more waiting and patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. These were the things I was praying about when I returned home.

I was met with an e-mail in response to the first, from another church member. The words stopped me in my tracks. It was as if my prayers went right up to God and the immediate response came from her. I don’t know her very well, but we are a part of the same church community. She’s in a different stage in her life, further along than I am, which makes her a prime candidate to glean wisdom from. I don’t know why she chose to include me in her reply. I suspect the Holy Spirit was behind it, the way he usually is with the unexplainable coincidences in our lives.

Her words were a little longer, but here’s the gist: “I am reminded seek and ye shall find. The ‘answer’ the revelation, epiphany most often comes in the, seeking itself. (not necessarily in what was sought) … Must remind myself daily that there are golden nuggets that have been sown just for me….keep digging, keep mining. Often what seems as interruption along OUR chosen way, that is indeed the manna from Heaven along what seemed to be a detour.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck. These were words my weary soul needed to hear. This is community. This is why Christian community is so important. Through the Holy Spirit, we can encourage and guide one another. When we plug into other community members, we provide a telephone line of sorts for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us. It’s powerful and beautiful and it’s God’s will for the church.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Community can come in so many different forms and look a hundred different ways, but it’s vital to us on our faith journey. It can provide fun and fellowship, but it can also provide a life line.

How are you doing with community? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Life’s Spider Lilies

Posted on by Wendy
You just never know what God may have planned.
You just never know what God may have planned.

These spider lilies that pop up every fall always make me smile. While the entire country goes pumpkin crazy and everything is geared around harvests, these brightly colored flowers show up out of nowhere, virtually overnight. While we look to decorate our homes with browns, oranges and golds, and the leaves on the trees begin to turn their kaleidoscope of color, these whimsical flowers that have the look of spring written all over them, make their presence known.

They are everywhere too. Just look around as you drive down the road. They are in yards and on the side of the road. They are so whimsical looking, you would think Dr. Seuss, himself designed them. But, he didn’t. Nope, a much more creative designer, created them.

As I was returning from a walk a few days ago, I just had to grab my camera to photograph them. I didn’t plant them, but here they were, just begging to be noticed. I have always thought that God’s fingerprints are the most evident in nature. The spider lily is a perfect example.

First of all, God creates beauty just because He can. He didn’t have to make these flowers so colorful and funky looking, but He did. That tells me that He loves beauty and art and color and appreciates whimsy. Maybe we should do the same. How often do we just take a moment to appreciate the sunrise or sunset or the shapes and colors of leaves and flowers. When was the last time you really checked out a chipmunk? They look like they have been hand painted. Their little stripes are in perfect lines.

Nature is full of God. If it’s been a while, take a little time and check it out. Seek Him out in His creation. I’ll bet you will be surprised how He shows Himself. The Bible tells us that, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Proverbs 8:17  Why not give it a try?

The second truth these awesome flowers remind me of is that whatever we have planned, God’s plan may be different. While we are looking towards autumn where the leaves that fall are beautiful, but dying, out pops something new and different. We may not have planned for it or planted it and we may not know how we feel about it, but there it is, all the same. The question then becomes, how do we proceed?

I think the spider lily is a beautiful reminder that God’s plan for us can be different, exciting, unexpected and beautiful all at the same time. It may be a bright coral and fuchsia mix  when the rest of the world’s is brown and orange. That’s okay, because nature also teaches us that God loves variety.

So, I challenge you to go forth today and appreciate some part of nature that you may have overlooked recently and embrace your life’s spider lilies, whatever they may be. God made them just for you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Small Changes Can Create Beautiful Results

Posted on by Wendy
If you change position, you might change your perspective.
Small changes can create beautiful results.

We had a homecoming celebration at our church yesterday and the guest preacher who is now a district superintendent, used to be the senior pastor. So, it was a homecoming of sorts, for him too. He made the comment that he saw many familiar faces and many new ones as well. He went on to say that many people were sitting in the same exact pew that they were sitting in back in 1998. That comment, of course, drew laughter as it was intended to, but that got me to thinking about things like, sitting in the same place for over a decade.

We regular churchgoers have a tendency to do that. We stake out a spot and sit there Sunday after Sunday. If we are honest, we get annoyed if we walk in late and find someone else in our spot. Do we feel that we own that particular spot? Would the message be different at some other location in the church?

One of our dear church family members, sat with our family a few months back, because his wife was out of town. He sits very near the back and we sit very near the front. He made the comment that it was an entire new experience sitting that close to the front. He also went on to say that he was pretty sure that he would never convince his wife to change pews. They have been members close to thirty years, so I can’t say that I was surprised.

Today, we had three church services combined into one. Where everyone would sit, was completely thrown up into the air, but apparently some folks were able to find their same 1998, spot.

What is it about people that make us dig into where we feel comfortable and refuse to move? There are those who welcome change and every new challenge that comes along, but many of us seem to be happy right where we are, thank-you very much.

We have evidence of this in Biblical times. The Israelites were willing to go back to Egypt as slaves instead of trusting God to feed them. They also were unable to trust God to conquer the people already in the Promised Land and had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.

Once we get comfortable somewhere, good or bad, we seem very hesitant to change the status quo. So, we stay in the job we hate or in a church that doesn’t feed us. We don’t try to make our relationships better. We put off that diet or exercising, for another day. We settle for less.

Why? Maybe we are afraid of the unknown. Even when something is bad, at least we know what it is. Maybe we aren’t trusting God to help us to make better choices and changes. How do we know we can trust Him? Reading and trying to understand the Bible is a great start. God loves His people and seeks a relationship with them. He is delighted when we seek Him and He will light our way and guide us.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not big on change simply for the sake of change. There are some things in everyone’s lives that work beautifully, just the way they are. Those things are blessings and we should give thanks for them. But, if there are things that aren’t working well, we shouldn’t be afraid to change them.

We have to trust God and know that even making small changes sometimes changes our entire perspective on life and that’s a good thing. So, look around; if you feel stuck or stagnant in some area of your life, pray about it. It may be time for a change. Who knows, the new view may be spectacular.

How do you do with change? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Teaching Real Life Skills

Posted on by Wendy
It's up to us to teach our kids the real life spiritual skills that they will need when they grow up.
It’s up to us to teach our kids the real life spiritual skills that they will need when they grow up.

My teenage daughter sat at the breakfast table yesterday morning with tears streaming down her face. “I’ll never use geometry in real life!” she lamented. Oh, how I remember those feelings and I said the exact words myself at her age, verbatim, to my own mama. She agreed with me, just as I agreed with my own daughter. I think it’s safe to say some twenty-five years since high school, that I was right.

I have never found the occasion in life where I was required to prove that something was a triangle or a circle. I have never used the Pythagorean Theorem or the quadratic formula. But, they gave me a run for my money in high school and I shed more than a few tears myself over geometry and calculus.

I think grades have become an idol of sorts in our society. The number one reason I hear for kids not coming to church is either they had to study or sports. I have to ask myself the same question about sports. When will these kids use these skills in their adult lives? Will they be wrestling in their jobs or shooting baskets for a raise? Will they be required to make a soccer goal to get a promotion or a kick a field goal to be considered for a management position?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, probably not. But, the next question is, will they use something learned from a Sunday School class or a Bible study in real life? Can attending church affect how they live and the choices they make? Can it have an impact on their hearts and souls? Can it make their lives richer and more meaningful? Can learning to read the Bible help them cope with the inevitable hard times that happen in life?

Now don’t get me wrong. Grades are important. A certain amount of time is required to do well in school and you have to do well in high school to get into a good college. But, how much is too much? As parents, when do we say to the teachers and school system, “enough is enough.”

I feel the same way about sports. Kids can learn so much from playing a sport. They learn about team work and winning and losing and that hard work pays off. But, once upon a time, sports had a season. The Bible tells us there is a season for everything. If our kids regularly miss church because of a sport, maybe there is a problem. It’s one thing if it’s for a season, but if it’s year round, what are we willing to sacrifice in the long run for our child to play a particular sport?

The window of opportunity to teach our children about God and worship and the importance of church and community is incredibly short. By high school, we are down to four short years. After that, they are out of our homes and on their own. When they walk out of our doors and head off to college or other parts unknown, what can we say we have taught them?

Have we taught them to put God first in their lives? Have we taught them to honor God with their lives or have we taught them that grades and sports are all that matter? Idolatry has always been an issue for humanity. We will worship something. The decision we have to make is what or who will that be. The choice is ours.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

We Never Get to Retire Spiritually

Posted on by Wendy
As we get older, we sometimes feel that we have done all that we have been called to do. This little sign is a reminder that we are not done.
As we get older, we sometimes feel that we have done all that we have been called to do. This little sign is a reminder that we never finished on this side of Heaven.

When I was subbing in an elementary school class recently, I would ask the class a question and most of the kids would almost come out of there seats, waving their hands in the air. Some of them would even say things like, “I know!” or “Pick me!” They couldn’t wait to share their knowledge or come up to the board.

I remember similar instances when I was in school and I also remember that with each passing year in school, the desire to participate enthusiastically, dropped off. The students who wanted to answer were much fewer in number and no one was particularly excited anymore.

I think our faith walk can unfortunately, be much the same. When we first get to know Jesus, we want to shout it from the mountaintops and we are willing to serve just about anywhere, but as the years go by, we are too often just willing to sit in the church pew like that old desk from high school and simply listen.

For many of us, our children provide a reawakening and we get involved in the things they are involved in church, because they are involved. We help with Vacation Bible School when they are in it and we stop when they finish. We help with the youth program because they are in it and then we stop when they graduate. When our last one leaves the nest, we are tempted to once again, sit in the pew and listen. After all, we have done our part, right? We have paid our dues. It’s somebody else’s turn.

Maybe somebody else should step in and help with those particular programs and maybe they will. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a season of rest if we have served non-stop for many years. Furthermore, not everyone feels called to help with the children or youth in a church. Either you find children charming or incredibly annoying. You may have found your patience pushed to the limits with your own teenagers, much less someone else’s.

But, here’s the deal; we are all called to serve in some way within our church community and as a church community. There is no expiration date on our call to service. If we are breathing and still up and moving around, we are supposed to love and serve those around us in some capacity. I don’t think we ever are supposed to retire from working for Jesus and bringing people into the kingdom. There is no magic age where we can just sit on the pews.

Besides, and this truth is a huge one; the older we get and the longer we walk the journey, the more wisdom we have to share. Why would we want to keep what we have learned about our faith to ourselves when there is a world literally dying to hear it. We are called to let our light shine until we are called home.

While we may have passed the exciting, “Pick me!” stage, at some point, we should be asking God to “Reuse me!” and “Please help me find a way to share!” And you know what? He will. God is unbelievably gifted at recycling our experiences and using them for something new. If you are not currently serving anywhere, just ask God about it and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised and excited.

How are you doing at serving? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Taking Chances

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we need to be willing to take chances.
Sometimes we need to be willing to take chances.

I’m not really a big dare-devil with my life. I like to weigh all of the pros and cons before I make a decision. I like to dot my i’s and cross my t’s. I like to prepare for all possible scenarios before I proceed. I’m not too keen on taking a lot of chances not knowing what the outcome may be. This clinging to the shore, attitude has cost me a lot of sleepless nights. Part of it is how I’m wired. I’m a planner. My mama is a planner. I suppose it’s genetic.

But, lately, God has been showing me another way. There have been several instances where I felt very little planning was involved, (not nearly enough to my way of thinking), yet things turned out beautifully. God doesn’t seem to mind taking chances on us, so why should I think  any differently?

There are a ton of examples in the Bible of God taking a chance and trusting a human. He trusted Noah to build a giant ark and save all of the animals of creation, in the desert. All of the rest of mankind had turned wicked. Why not Noah and his family? Noah came through. He trusted that Job would continue to worship and praise Him even if he lost everything that he had been given and he had been given a lot. Job proved Him right. And my favorite, is a teenage girl named Mary. God trusted her to carry His son. She did beautifully.

These are just a few examples of God taking a chance and trusting humans to get it right. And it was a gamble; we are notoriously unreliable. We have proven that fact repeatedly. Yet, our Heavenly Father who loves us anyway, is willing to trust us with some important missions. He gives us multiple chances to get it right and forgives us repeatedly when we get it wrong.

Knowing that to be true, I have to ask myself if I shouldn’t be a little braver when I think of taking chances on things that I know God has asked me to do. I also sometimes need to take hard look at the people He has put in my path, you know the ones. They might drive me absolutely crazy or appear to be a lost cause altogether. But, God often reminds me that nothing is impossible if His hand is on it. I may not be able to fix any situation or circumstance, but He can.

So, maybe instead of playing it safe, what I should do is go all in and take a chance on what or who has been in front of me, give it my very best shot and let God handle all of the rest. Maybe I should give my heart and soul a break from all of the what ifs and just go with it. Even if I fail in my own eyes, as long as I’m serving Him, I have succeeded in His and isn’t that all that really matters?

What do you think about taking chances?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂