The Great Gain of Godly Contentment
My friend Claire loves to proclaim she’s “fully satisfied” after a hearty meal. What a contrast to today’s rants from the disgruntled masses. As Christians, choosing to gravitate to the great gain of godly contentment brings us closer to winning the race marked out for us. And after all, isn’t that why we’re all here? How elusive is contentment, you may wonder? Siri defines it as a state of satisfaction or happiness. But the Greek definition goes a little deeper. That meaning refers to a habit or a permanent state of mind. It encompasses something more inward and peaceful. That’s in sharp contrast to the satisfaction that comes from an…
Lemonade From Lemons: How God Transforms Bitter Into Sweet
As we move through life, we experience an unpredictable mix of pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. As we grow older, we become more aware of adversity and its affect on our lives. But if we recognize God’s ability to make lemonade from lemons, we see how God transforms bitter into sweet. Though it isn’t always a rollicking adventure, the process can be a fulfilling and satisfying one with the proper attitude. Approaching Life as A Lab of Learning The key to accepting the lemonade lifestyle involves adjusting expectations. This can be challenging in a world where indulgence is culturally in vogue. Alas, sacrifice is passe. People enter into relationships…
Twisting Away From God’s Plans
Who doesn’t rejoice over the beautiful, abundant seasons with God? We feel so in synch when we are reasonably happy with our circumstances and in harmony with His plans and purposes. But before we know it, we find ourselves running with scissors, twisting away from God’s plans. How on Earth did we end up there? How does one end up going from cloud nine to the bottom of the abyss?Out of our deep love for the Lord comes a desire to please Him and do what He asks us to do, at least in general. But there are times in our walk when He makes it clear He wants us…
Serendipity: Falling Through A Trap Door of Blessing
You may know the old Irish blessing “May the road rise up to meet you.”May you succeed on the road” is the literal meaning. The song goes on to mention a desire for more favorable winds to blow from the rear rather than in head-on fashion. There’s a petition for sunshine to warm the face and for lavish rains to fall on the thirsty outlying fields. The closing line asks God to hold the traveler in the palm of His mighty hand. Yet Life hands out its share of lemons. It’s not likely you’ll be traipsing carefree through the land of Oz indefinitely. It is, however, possible to encounter the…
Scare Away Nagging Skeletons With Patience & Prayer
Scary decorations are up for Halloween. But it may be time to address some skeletons in our own closets. Let’s get down to the bone marrow. Scare away nagging skeletons with patience and prayer. This is my goal for October. Honestly, if I had a hundred dollars for every nagging suggestion I’d made, the world would be my oyster! My oldest son and my spouse bore the brunt of it throughout their lives. My autistic, mostly non-verbal son once had enough of my “suggestions” and finally said “good boy.” That was his way of letting me know he was trying his best. Ouch. Nagging by definition is constantly harassing a…
The Bonfire of my Vanity
As a young woman in my 20s, I romanticized my fashionable writing life. I wore little French hats like Louise Bryant did in the “Reds.” I carried around a journal to jot down my poems and had a small cachet of exquisite writing instruments. Down to the lake I would cycle to write “on location” or play French chanteuse music in my apartment> There, I typed out diatribe after diatribe of my problems and psychological wounds. In my naiveté, I imagined that if I had the proper costume, the requisite props and an appropriate soundtrack, fame and a coveted job in Manhattan at a prominent publishing house would be mine…
Pain to Pen to Paper
“If you can’t find the book you need to read, and you’re a writer, then that’s the book you were meant to write.” Such a powerful truth lies in those words from an IG post I read recently. Of course, books born out of pain and suffering are as hard for authors to write as they may be for readers to digest and apply. For a long time in the Christian community, they weren’t very popular. Or at least they didn’t leap out from the shelf at me in the early 2000s. That’s when I desperately combed the shelves at Christian bookstores looking for a much needed life raft. I…
