Those of you who know me will get a kick out of this. I volunteered for the church choir during one of our Christmas services. You girls know that I will sing out loud, but you also know that I can’t sing. That Bible verse about “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” was for me. It’s the clause that provides a covering for me so that my songs of worship will be received based on the thankfulness in my heart and not the tone of my voice.
I have a precious friend who is a professional life coach. She’s been challenging my thought life. How sweet it is to have a friend who will challenge you, who gets you outside of your own head, and makes you hold up your beliefs for inspection. Is my “beliefs” the truth or simply my reality?
I’ve been traveling non-stop for the last ten days. If I haven’t been in the air, I’ve gone from ship to land, vice versa, and from one event to another. Finally, a sweet friend and I made it into Norfolk International around 12:15am. Not by choice but rather directed by the airlines (who also let me know my bag is still in Paris). I staggered into my house at 1:30am, finally into bed at 2am. I’m in recovery mode today. Possibly the whole week. Even now, sitting at the counter in my kitchen, I feel the boat swaying.
A few weeks ago, I got out my Christmas decorations and opened a set of petite, white ceramic nativity figurines. I immediately saw that Baby Jesus was no longer in the set. I looked in the bigger box and could not find Him. I was missing Baby Jesus! Surely He had slipped through the cracks of the smaller box and fallen into the bottom of the larger one. I looked again. Still no Baby Jesus.
Did you know that sin does not send you to hell? It’s true! But when I first heard it put that way, I immediately thought, “What hell are you talking about? Of course, sin sends you to hell—and there’s only one hell you need to be concerned with!”
I grew up in an environment where questions were not received well. I was told I was nosey, dumb, or received vague answers especially with regard to our family-proclaimed faith of Christianity. It was as if the questioner behind the question did not exist.
There can be great benefits to conferences. A couple of months ago I listened to a woman who challenged the audience to create morning habits that would set the tone for our day. She shared with us that her morning ritual started before she lifted her head off the pillow. As she listed each purposeful action, I could see how the focused intention set the pace and attitude for the day ahead, because the real battle in every day and in any challenge is our thought life!
I would imagine there are only a few women who have not at one point in their married lives questioned their choice. At some phase in their commitment of “till death do us part,” they wonder why marriage is even worth it. I further imagine there are single women who question their singleness a time or two. Are they missing out on something by not having a ride-or-die partner for life?
