Monday, March 23, 2009

"Shining Louder or Talking Louder?"

This weekend I took down the curtains in my office to wash them. I didn’t get them hung back up before the day was over, and would not do it on Sunday. So this morning when I sit down to the computer, the sun almost blinded me. My desk is under the window that faces east. (We all know what direction the sun rises from.)

As I was trying to work, in spite of the bright light that was coming in through the window, it made me think about Jesus who is The Light of the world and how as a Christian I am to be letting His light shine through me. This led me to wonder, “Are people able to ‘see’ Christ’s light in me or is it hid by what they ‘hear’ from me?"

Is the light hid or dimmed because of the things I say?—the unkind words, the criticism, the belittling statements, the harsh response, voicing my desires above anyone else’s, the nagging, the blaming, hateful words, fear, defeatism, etc.

Christ’s light should be shining brightly through us but it can be hid if our unpleasant words are speaking louder. People often remember what you “say” more than they remember what you “do”. So our words need to be shining brightly and they will if they reflect the glory of God. They do that when our words are wholesome, seasoned with salt, full of grace, kind, patient, edifying, compassionate, loving, full of blessings, encouragement, praise and so on.

I don’t want my words to hide His light… I want even my words to shine brightly for Him.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Super Woman"

The other day I told my husband that I was feeling sluggish and needed an “oil change”. Sometimes you can burn the candle at both ends, run here and there, start early and go until late, stay on the go, attend one meeting after another, do everything that others expect of you and just run out of “fuel”. That’s how I felt last week.

I bring this up because most of us seem to have the mentality that we should be “super-mom” or “wonder woman”. Society tries to tell us that this is who we are. Remember the song, “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let you forget you’re a man, because I’m a woman.”? Even when I look at the Proverbs 31 women, I feel I fall so short. Am I by myself? I am not talking defeat- I know I am victorious in Christ- I am just saying that I am not and can not always be and do everything everybody expects of and from me. And that being the case, I don’t need to try to conform to that or let the demands of others cause me to miss my true purpose and be the person God intends for me to be. I just need to make sure that my life is pleasing to the Lord and that I am in the center of His will for me.

So, it’s all right if I can’t leap tall buildings at a single bound; if I am not faster than a speeding locomotive; if I can’t be in more than one place at a time. I may not be super woman, but I am who He wants me to be and that is “super” enough.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

"The Princess Test"

The other day I was thinking about a fairy tale that I had heard when I was a little girl- you may remember it- “The Princess and the Pea”. I call it, “The Princess Test”. You know the story, a prince wanted to get married but he had to marry a princess- a “real” princess, not a “wanna be”. One day a princess came to the castle but she didn’t look like a princess. They devised a test to determine whether she was a real princess or not. They invited her to spend the night, but the bed she was to sleep on had twenty mattresses on it. Unbeknownst to the girl the queen had placed a tiny little pea beneath the bottom mattress. In the morning, she was asked how she slept. She said she had a terrible night because something hard was in the bed and she was black and blue from lying on it. They knew she was a real princess because only a real princess could be as sensitive as that. So she and the prince were married and lived happily ever after.

I am a princess- a “real” one- because I’m the daughter of a King (our Heavenly King). And I began to wonder just how sensitive I am to even “little” sins. Do they “irritate” my spirit? Are they so much a part of my life that I don’t even notice them? Or do they make me uncomfortable? Does that unkind word, that thoughtless act, that angry thought, that “evil eye” look or that harsh word I speak even bother me? They should, but if they don’t… I failed the “princess test”… and I have to keep working on it until they do.