Life as a Christian Woman

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,
but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17

Do you ever wonder what Heaven will be like? Dumb question, of course you do! All Christians think about it at one time or another. We’ve heard of the Pearly Gates and Streets of Gold.

And of course, we all joke about what we expect out of Heaven. My little girl thinks Heaven will be one big American Girl Doll store (if so, I hope they hand out lots of Heavenly Dollars at the Pearly Gates!).  Golfers insist that Heaven will have the best golf course, and some of us dream of a Heaven with calorie-free chocolate.

And we also make comments when someone has died, such as “I’m sure she is looking down on us right now.”

Once, when I was younger, I told my dad that whenever he died I was going to have to be extra good, because he would be able to see everything I did. My dad said that he was going to be busy… he figured once he was actually face-to-face with God, he wasn’t going to care too much about what was going on down here.

Scripture backs him up on that.

There is nothing but joy in Heaven, everlasting praise of our God:

⁶Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

Revelation 19: 6-7

People of all races and nations will be there:

⁹After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 7: 9

And there will be no sadness:

⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21: 4

We are in this world, but we are not of this world. We were created to be in communion with God. We will suffer indignities and pain while we are here, because Satan is in control of so much of this earth. But this is only temporary. This is just a brief speck of time in what will be a glorious eternity!

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25: 31-40

Over 1.5 billion pairs of shoes lay idle in American closets.

Over 300 million children around the world are without shoes.

Those numbers are mind boggling. We have enough shoes sitting in our closets to put shoes on needy children five times over.

How many times have we thrown out shoes that we didn’t like any more? Or tossed shoes that our children had outgrown?

There is an organization that will take those old shoes, refurbish them, and then give them away to those who need them most. The organization, Soles4Souls, takes donations from shoe companies and retailers, as well individuals. They take new shoes and used shoes.

And every 19 seconds, Soles4Souls gives away a pair. And they aren’t picky. They take every size, every style, no matter the condition, repair and prepare them for new owners.

Jesus has told us in Matthew 25 that we are to care for those in need, “least of our brothers,” and in doing so, we are doing it for Him.

Its easy to do. Just box up your old shoes and send them to this address:

World Distribution Center
315 Airport Road
Roanoke, Alabama   36274-8011

They do the rest.

But you can even do more. Make it a service project for your small group or club. You can ship one pair or 100 pairs, knowing that each and every one will end up on the feet of someone in need.

For more information, visit www.givesshoes.org, or write Soles4Souls at their headquarters:

2900 Lebanon Road
Suite 210
Nashville, TN   37214

I have a new mantra: If you don’t want to hear the answer, don’t ask the question.

All of us have asked those innocent little questions, like “Do these pants make me look fat?” or “Is she prettier than I am?” We ask them because we know that, no matter what the truth is, we will get an answer along the lines of “No, you look great in those pants!” or “She’s got nothing on you!”

But sometimes the questions are a little bit thornier. And while the truth may not be what you want to hear, it may be what needs to be said.

What if a friend told you she was doing something wrong… very wrong. Perhaps having an affair? She comes to you as a friend, confused yet excited. What do you tell her? Do you join in her excitement and keep her secret, or let her know its wrong?

This sounds easy on the surface, but it isn’t. Human nature leads us to want to be liked by those around us. And often to get that acceptance, keep that friendship, we are willing to drop our guard a bit, make an excuse.

But we are Christians. And as such, we are challenged by God to hold each other accountable in His sight. So we need to be straightforward, yet speak with love and understanding. James 1: 19 says:

“… everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

I use this verse to remind me to not just THINK before I speak, but to PRAY as well. And when we pray, we need to pray for the right words, but also the courage of our convictions.

When holding someone accountable, we must be willing to open yourself to criticism. But we also need to share of ourselves. If we open ourselves us, we can open the door for our friend to be more, well, open!

Recently a friend shared with me some news from her life that broke my heart. My initial reaction was to support her… but God’s initial reaction was to hole ME accountable to speak to her as a sister in Christ. And I did. I stuttered and stammered, and frankly felt as inept as a human can be. And while she heard my words, the epiphany I hoped for didn’t come. But others are speaking up, too, all of us nudged by God (ok, some of us… me… are more stubborn and needed a strong push from God!). And then we all fall back and pray. The situation may not change.

But whether the situation changes or not, we all need to speak the words, walk the walk, and hold each other to God’s standards.

Remember the old Mary Tyler Moore Show from the 1970’s? The theme music started with the words:

Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?

And then we were treated to Mary spinning in a circle and throwing her hat in the air, carefree and full of joy. (I’ve always wondered about the woman in the background wearing the head scarf. What was she thinking?)

Reality is that people respond to those who bring joy into their lives, not those that find fault or negativity in everything around them. God wants our lives to be full of joy, not full of grumpiness. The Bible is full of scripture that speaks of the joy God wants for our hearts:

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.  1 Chronicles 16:10

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  Psalm 5:11

I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.  Psalm 9:2

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  Luke 10:20

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  Luke 15:11

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

God wants us to be happy and rejoice, and to spread that happiness to those around us. He understands that we have sorrows, and He also understands we all have a bad day or two now and then… ok, maybe even three or four.

But we can’t spread the joy of the Lord to others and be Ms. Grumpy Pants at the same time!

Be sad when you need to be sad, mourn when you need to mourn… but don’t look for reasons to be angry or grumpy. Look to Heaven and share the joy!

The word church is from the Greek word ekklesia. Ekklesia is not a religious word as originally used among the Greeks. Ekklesia is a compound word meaning “ek” out of, and “klesis” a calling. The word is used in its basic, secular sense in Acts 19: 32, 39 - an assembly and, then, a lawful assembly.

From BibleQuestions.org

Some folks at my church are in a tizzy. Our preacher is away on sabbatical for six weeks. This is a part of our church’s “rules,” asking each staff minister to take a sabbatical every so often. Well, the last time we had a preacher who took a sabbatical, when he came back he resigned to take a job at another church.

So now, some folks are worried. But they’ve got it wrong. They have put too much stock in a man as leader of the church.

Now I like our preacher. He’s funny. I feel I learn something from his sermons. But he isn’t the church.

We are. The people.

A preacher is integral to the success of the church, no doubt. He is a teacher, but he is not the church. It is obviously important to be fed spiritually on the Sabbath, and that generally comes from the pulpit.

But we aren’t there to follow the man in the pulpit, we are there to follow The Man that the man in the pulpit is teaching us about (that’s tough to follow, huh?).

If the preacher comes back from Sabbatical and says, “I feel the call to go to (fill in the blank) church” we, as the church, should feel excited. First, the preacher is answering God’s call. It’s always easier to stay than to leave.

And second, that mean’s that God has someone new in store for the church, a new leader that He has been cultivating just for that body of Christ.

We have to be careful that we don’t get so wrapped up in our leadership that we lose sight of The One we are there to worship, to learn about.

If we elevate our preachers and other church leaders too high, we are nothing more than a cult of personality.