True Confessions

I have your attention already, don’t I?

Confession #1: I don’t really like to read.

It’s true. I’d much rather solve a puzzle than read a book. If I do read a book, I’m good for about one chapter a day…if the chapters are short. Perhaps that’s why I chose to become a math teacher. Have you ever really read a math textbook? Me either.

A Difficult Read

I say this to lead you to Confession #2. I grew up in the church and faithfully attended Sunday School and VBS, but I can’t say that I ever spent any time reading God’s word unless it was required in one of those settings. Imagine how daunting reading the Bible is for someone who doesn’t like to read in the first place. It seemed like it was written in a different language.

The Book of Jonah

My pastor led us through the book of Jonah to kick off 2026. That stirred up memories of what may very well be the most embarrassing moment of my life. I have never told a single soul, but it’s been haunting me during this whole study of Jonah. Maybe by sharing it, I can start laughing about it. If nothing else, you’ll get a good chuckle.

Confession #2: I thought the whale’s name was Jonah.

There, I said it. Go ahead—that’s your cue to LOL. I have no idea where I got the notion that the whale had a name and the guy inside its belly had none, but that’s how I remembered the story. I apparently wasn’t paying much attention the day that story was taught. What’s worse—that’s what I thought to be true until I was 30-something, married, and a mother of two. I learned the truth when I was volunteering at VBS when the kids were of age to participate. Apparently, the theme of the week was “Jonah AND the Whale” not “Jonah, the Whale!” Good thing they only asked me to play the piano!!

A Read with Impact

I am happy to say that I’ve come a LONG way in my spiritual journey since that embarrassing moment. But guess what? That progress was fueled by plenty of reading, like it or not! The Bible is the inspired, written Word of God and one of the main ways He speaks to His children today.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Reading the Directions

I often think of the Bible as God’s instruction manual for living. When you make a purchase that comes with instructions, do you sit down and read the manual first? While I’m making confessions, I’ll admit that I usually save reading the directions as a last resort. I try to figure it out myself first and then consult the manual if/when I fail. Would it be wise to read the manual first? Yep!

Speaking my Language

Though I knew about and believed in God growing up, Jesus didn’t become real to me until much later. I can’t provide a date on the calendar or even tell you a great story about that moment, but I can tell you this—it was AFTER I realized Jonah was a prophet, not a whale! I learned that, and so much more, when I started digging into His Word. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the words on those pages of the Bible started speaking to me like never before.

A Must-Read

If you came to my house for a visit, you would find a bookcase, but my books only take up one shelf. They all pertain to Christian living and have impacted me enough that they are worthy of keeping. But one stands apart from the rest, just like the One who inspired it—the Bible, a book of eternal significance. If you dig into it, it will dig into you. Try it and find out!

January 21, 2023

(Out of) Balance

Have you ever been on a seesaw? It’s been a while for me, but I remember how hard it was to get in balance with the rider on the opposite side. The heavier one ended up sitting on the ground while the lighter person was suspended in the air. Getting in balance required some delicate redistribution of weight. I have found that to be true in my life with the weight of my various commitments as well. That has never been more obvious than in the past few weeks when my pace essentially went from “rabbit” to “turtle” overnight!

Two Extremes

Rabbit

The weight of my “to do” list last fall nearly grounded me. It’s not that any of my commitments required too much of me, but rather, it was the sum of those commitments that pushed me to my limit and beyond. I didn’t know if I was coming or going some days. God was faithful to provide, as always, but I knew I needed more balance in my life—less Martha, more Mary! What kept me going was knowing that January, and a chance to catch my breath, was right around the corner.

Turtle

It’s January! I am enjoying the life of a snowbird once again. Fewer commitments equals less stress and more margin. That’s all good, but the drastic change of pace has been a real shocker. I’m not good at sitting still, but I’m getting some good practice this month!

December and January have been extreme, in opposite directions, and I could use some balance.

How Do We Find Balance?

Jesus perfectly demonstrated balance in His life here on earth. The demands placed on Him were FAR greater than anything I’ll ever experience, yet a 24-hour day was enough for Him. How did He do it? He looked to God, not to people, to determine His priorities. Sometimes that meant that He had to say “no” so He could say “yes” to what was most important.

“Very early the next morning before daylight, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. Simon and the others started looking for him. And when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.””

Mark 1:35-38 CEV

When we’re “out of balance,” let’s learn from Jesus. He not only modeled it, but He also taught it:

“But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.”

Matthew 6:33 CEV

I frequent Aldi and one of my favorite cereals they sell is called “Balance.” The cinnamon version is my preference. Balance, at Aldi, is comparable to “Life” cereal made by Quaker Oats. If you’re of a certain age, you may remember a commercial for Life featuring Mikey back in the 70s. Much to his brothers’ surprise, he liked it!

Balance—like Mikey, I like it!

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December 10, 2021December 10, 2021

Blurry Vision

Earlier this week, I went for my annual eye exam and vision test. Once upon a time I had that eye chart memorized from all my trips to the ophthalmologist, but not anymore.

I had LASIK a number of years ago and never expected to need glasses or contacts ever again. Then I hit middle age! In the last few years, I found myself in need of trifocals because I couldn’t see well from any distance! It was somewhat concerning that my distance vision was in need of more correction with each yearly exam.

A Change in Prescription

When my eye doctor asked me to read the third line down on Monday and I had to guess, I knew I was in trouble. I wasn’t completely surprised since my vision has seemed somewhat blurry for a while now. The exam continued—better 1? better 2?….you know the drill. When it was all over, I was left speechless, but not for the reason you might think. It turns out that I could see the eye chart better with my naked eye than with the prescription of my current glasses! My vision has actually IMPROVED since last year, with no real explanation. But guess what? Blurry is blurry! It doesn’t matter if the prescription is too strong or too weak. If it isn’t the right one, the vision isn’t clear!

So, how is your vision? Can you see enough to take your next step without stumbling? Do you need more light on the subject to make things more clear? If your vision is blurry, I know just the prescription for you—His Word!

“Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.”

Psalm 119:105 NIRV

The Bible is like an instruction manual for this thing called life. God knows we need it! And as always, He provides. His word guides us and shows us the way forward.

Instructions Necessary

I’m currently reading the instruction manual for our new microwave. What a great read—LOL! I will admit that I started using the microwave before consulting the manual. I found out the hard way that microwaves have come a long way in 34 years. Let’s just say I did my share of cleaning up messes last week!

First or Last?

After purchasing something new, do you read the instruction manual first, or only as a last resort? How about when life presents challenges? Do you seek God’s direction through His Word first, or only after you’ve tried (and failed) to solve the problem yourself? Admittedly, I often approach my problems much like the microwave. I try to figure it out myself first because I think I can handle it. Do I think God can’t? Do I not want to bother Him with my petty problems? What is my reason for getting it backwards? If you can relate, what is yours? It seems I give myself too much credit and don’t give God enough! I think they call that pride.

“Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 CEB

How is that for purpose?? If His word can do all that, we would be fools to ignore it! This passage inspires me to sit the microwave directions aside and dive deeper into His word so I can look more like Jesus. All I need is my new glasses so I can see those directions clearly!

January 26, 2021January 27, 2021

Source

My Word for 2021

It’s that time of year again—time to choose a word and verse for the new year! Unlike last year, this word came to me rather quickly…and directly. In fact, it all started before I even went to church on the first Sunday of 2021. The devotional I used that morning talked about God as my SOURCE. I remember making a mental note of that word before I headed off to church. When my pastor announced his word and verse for the new year during the service, he encouraged us to choose ours too. At that time, I put the word SOURCE in my message notes as a definite possibility for 2021.

The Confirmation

Several years ago, I read a book written by Lysa TerKeurst titled, “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.” In this book, Lysa devoted a chapter to how we can determine if God is speaking to us by asking ourselves five questions. One of those questions is to ask yourself if you are hearing the same thing from different sources. The very next day, the word SOURCE came up again in the daily story in YouVersion. By this time, I was feeling pretty confident that my word for the year was to be SOURCE. The kicker is what happened next though. After my quiet time with God, I went upstairs to get a shower. When I stepped in, there was a freshly unwrapped cake of soap waiting for me with the word SOURCE written on it. If you aren’t an Aldi shopper, that is the brand name of their soap. That was confirmation enough for me! I literally laughed out loud and said, “Ok, God, I get the message!”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 NIV

Selecting My Verse

The verse for 2021 was not quite as obvious, as many could serve as a reminder that God is my SOURCE. I had it narrowed down to three and finally settled on the verse above, John 15:5, just over a week ago. This happened to be the same day that my dad was admitted to the hospital and I was 1000 miles away from him. What a helpless feeling! With my mind racing and my emotions all over the map, I certainly needed the reminder that God is my SOURCE. He is the SOURCE of everything I need. The list is extensive, but peace was my greatest need that day. As always, the Prince of Peace provided. What I want you to take away from this post is not my word and verse for the year, but rather that He is the SOURCE of everything you need too.

Our Part and His Part

The Bible is packed with promises from God. Many of those promises come with a condition though. We are not just passive observers; we have a role to play. In John 15:5, our assignment is to stay connected to God. If a branch is separated from the vine, it’s dead wood. And that makes it powerless to bear fruit. Apart from Jesus, we are also powerless. He is our power SOURCE! The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that others will see this fruit on display in the lives of His children. That is assuming we do our part. To bear fruit, we must remain connected to the SOURCE of our power.

Bear It and Eat It

All this talk of fruit is making me hungry for a different kind. I’m dreaming of my next trip to the strawberry farm. I find this fruit especially delicious this time of year in Florida, especially when shortcake and ice cream are connected to those strawberries!