Spiritual Growth
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Workplace Mission Field
When you think of a mission field, what picture do you have in mind? For many, this means a country overseas somewhere. Maybe you think of traveling across the US to a location away from home. But what about where you spend most of your time now? Many of you would say your workplace, whether it’s an office, school, factory, retail store, restaurant, home, or zoom meetings (especially if you work from home). Is workplace what you think of when you hear “mission field?” Maybe you need to consider workplace first since it’s where you spend the majority of the time. I’d like to recommend an article by Courtney Moore,…
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Who Do You Imitate?
How would you answer the question in the title of this post? A celebrity? Best friend? Sports hero? What about the “cloud of witnesses” we see in the book of Hebrews in chapter 12? When I was in elementary school, I played “teacher” after my all time fav teacher. Mrs. Evans was so kind to the students. My fondest memory was when she gave me a peppermint candy in class because I was coughing. I felt loved and cared for, and quite special since I was the only one who got one that day! She was always smiling. In my teen years sometimes I would imitate friends I thought were…
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Two Book Recommendations
I recently finished reading two amazing books I want to recommend to my readers. The first is When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons. My D-group did a slow walk through this book. I wrote one post on it in Perfect? For Who? since I am a recovering perfectionist! Ruth takes us from a “self help” mentality to a grace mentality as she reminds us of who Christ is and what He has done for us. Because of His grace we can walk in confidence in His image and stop striving to work our way through self-help methods. Yes, there are things we do to become disciplined disciples, but even those things…
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The Blessed Limp
Ever had an injury that just wouldn’t heal? Or surgery on a part of your body that took forever to heal. Maybe, like me, you never were the same after an incident. I’ve had 3 foot surgeries. Each time I’ve had numbness from the procedure that I’ve never fully recovered from. The last surgery took the longest to heal. I limped in a boot for a while, then limped as I favored it when the boot was removed. Lasting issues, although minor, continue to bother me. But what happens when the “limp” is a spiritual one? Those sometimes last a lifetime, and yet, they can be some of the sweetest…
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Who Hates Disruptions?
Task oriented people like me! You know, gotta get the job done…today…now! No matter what. What about you? All of us have experienced them. Most of us do not like them. Over 2 years ago the entire world experienced disruption to life as we had known it. In addition to the pandemic, many others also experienced a disruption in their good health, close relationships, face-to-face community we relied on, satisfying jobs, and income that goes with that. And this is the short list. Some experienced continual losses, one after another, along with, and in the middle of, the pandemic. But, what if, for whatever reason, this was God’s plan for…
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Perfect? For Who?
Any other perfectionists out there? Oh, we use the cop out, “we just want to do a great job for the Lord.” But is that really the truth behind our perfectionistic tendencies? I was raised by a perfectionist dad who was a great father, but perhaps his expectations, even of me, pushed me this direction. Add to that I am an enthusiastic, optimistic, Type A, Enneagram 1 personalty, and that’s the makings for trouble if I’m not careful. I can truly say, I’m not as bad as I was in the past, I still struggle to some degree with perfectionism as I was made aware of in reading Ruth Chou…
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Leadership Challenge Blog Share
As I’ve served in various capacities over the years, mostly in the area of women’s ministry, I’ve wanted to continue to grow as a leader, spiritually, relationally, and practically. Often that has included different types of assessments. Today’s blog share is to help you assess where you are, and see were you need to grow as you lead. And ALL women lead! Check out these posts. 1 Be honest as you read 9 Everyday Situations That Say More About Your Character Than You Think by Carey Neiuwhof. 2 I don’t know about you, but listening is not one of my greater strengths! Check out How To Listen as a Leader…
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Reading Recommendation
I am an avid reader and often share what I’m reading on this blog and on social media. If I can inspire someone else to READ, I am a happy girl, especially when I find amazing writings. Today I just want to recommend two memoirs that will touch your heart and that are surprisingly connected…as I just discovered! The first is Elisabeth Elliot’s memoir published after her death using her journals. I’ve read and loved her for over 30 years, and wrote about this book in Who Are You Becoming? I asked her to speak to the women at my church in the early 90’s and her spiritual depth blew…
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Getting the Job Done
I bet many of you reading this post are “get’er done” types. You know, you have a vision, hear a suggestion, get an idea, or see a need and right away, you start strategizing how to get a desired job done. As a believer, our goal is to hear from the Lord daily to get our marching orders rather than just put together our own agenda to accomplish for the day. Being BIG on to do lists and crossing things off, I find myself sometimes doing just that. It’s my idea, worked out in my power. And you know what, it often just feels like a job, not a way…
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As Long As I Breathe
Have you ever heard an illustration used over the years and thought, “that makes sense and helps me understand” some spiritual concept, only to later find out it’s not a correct illustration for that concept? That happened to me this past week. I have so much to learn, even at 70 years of age, and almost 50 years of studying the Bible! Right before I run across my life finish line, I’d love to have a Bible in my hand saying, “hey, did you know this is in scripture?” Then I can take my last breath and wake up in the presence of Jesus! But until then, I’m still learning.…
