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Tidy Up in the New Year and Benefit Charities
Marie Kondo (KonMari) has taught more than ten million people to tidy up. Or at least, she’s sold them books about how to do so. Lots of people have simplifying on their minds, and January seems to be the prime month for getting organized and setting goals. Releasing our grasp on too much stuff is great for us (Matt 6:19–20). And in the process, we can also reap more benefits than merely purging. As the adage goes, one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Here are some organizations that would love your gently worn treasures: · Used Bibles and Christian literature. “Love Packages” recycles Bibles, Sunday school materials, VBS literature, and…
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Christianity’s Hamster Wheel of “Spiritual Advancement”
The heading for this piece takes its cue from an article Casey Chalk wrote, which was posted on January 9, 2020, at The American Conservative website.[1] The main title is, “America’s Hamster Wheel Of ‘Career Advancement’”, followed by the subtitle: “We’re told that getting ahead at work and reorienting our lives around our jobs will make us happy. So why hasn’t it?” Regretfully, the same sort of attitude can be found in various forms of Christianity. It’s characterized by a hamster wheel of “spiritual advancement.” Supposedly, if Jesus’ followers do A, B, and C, as well as avoid X, Y, and Z, they can expect to make steady, measurable progress…
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Find Healing for Hurting Hearts
What’s on your New Year’s Resolution list? If your list is a lot like mine, it includes returning to pre-holiday healthier eating habits and making time for exercise several times a week. Those are common resolutions regarding physical fitness. Not so common are resolutions pertaining to our emotional fitness. But I have a book recommendation that might help with your 2020 emotional goals: Healing Every Day: A 90-Day Devotional Journey by Mary DeMuth.
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But, I’m Not Sorry; Navigating an unrepentant heart.
Recently I behaved in a way that was sinful. I lost my temper with someone I love because I was furious. I confided in my husband and as usual, he gave sound counsel. “You need to call her up and say that you’re sorry,” was his simple advice. “Well,” I said. “Here’s the trouble. I’m not sorry.” What do you do when you’re not sorry? Check yourself before you wreck yourself. This is one of my favorite silly sayings. But, to “check myself” is not actually good enough. “Self” is the issue. If left to myself, I might justify my behavior. This is where humility and the transforming power of…
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Choosing Bible Study Curriculum
Popular teacher . . . Best selling . . . Easy homework . . . Recommended. I’ve chosen Bible study curriculum for all these reasons, but none of them is foolproof, and they often won’t meet the needs of your group or fulfill your purpose for Bible study. The popular teacher won’t necessarily reflect good theology or teach women how to think biblically for themselves. Her greatest asset may be her humor or her stories, which are great, but they may not help the women learn the Bible, which is essential to personal discipleship. Best-selling doesn’t always involve depth or even truth. Easy homework by definition fails to wrestle much…
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Time Management and Wise Living
As you head into 2020, how’s your schedule? Are you looking for things to do? Are your days full? Or are you feeling buried by the demands of home, work, and church commitments? Commitments in my life sometimes tumble on top of each. In fact, when an event occasionally gets cancelled by weather or sickness, I’m sometimes secretly thrilled at the empty space in my schedule. Once, when a planned lunch outing was cancelled, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even without the lunch, activity filled the day as I prepared for a dinner. I shopped, chopped mountains of vegetables, put casseroles in the oven and scrubbed dishes. As guests…
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2 Pieces of Biblical Wisdom for Our Current Religious & Political Climate
Every day it feels like the divisions in the Christian and the political spheres stretch wider. Here are 2 pieces of biblical wisdom to help guide us.
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Resolve to Remember
From New Zealand to New York City, the world celebrated the beginning of not only a new year, but a new decade on January 1, 2020. Something exciting stirs within us at the prospect of something new. We are drawn to the fresh start and clean slate it provides. Whether the first page of a new journal, the fragrance of a new car, the butterflies of a new relationship, the opening chapter of a new book, or the scent of a new baby, “new” evokes a feeling of hope. We seek to make the most of our new opportunities, whether big or small, and begin to reflect on what’s to…
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Choose to Listen
After a lovely dinner with old friends, my husband turned to me, “Cindy, you hardly let me get a word in all night!” His comment took me by surprise. Had I really dominated the conversation so much? Oh dear. These were my former colleagues whom I hadn’t seen in more than thirty years. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I totally got carried away with all the catching up,” I feebly mumbled. My apology sounded lame even to me.
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Your Help Wanted
Anxiety impacts an estimated 264 million people worldwide. For those living in “the land of the free and home of the brave,” things aren’t much better. Millions of adults (31.1%) are strangled by anxiety on a regular basis. Anxiety disorders impact over 40 million Americans (19.1%), earning the title of most common mental health concern in the United States. I’m passionate about this issue, not only because of a personal struggle with social anxiety, but also because there is a major void of awareness, compassion, and service from the Church to those struggling with anxiety disorders. To that end, I’m working on a resource that provides a robust theological framework…
