An Inconvenient Christianity

On Monday of this week, much ado was made about Diana Nyad (pictured below. Photo courtesy of CNN.com). She was the first person to swim the 90 miles from Cuba to Key West without a shark tank. She failed the first 4 times she attempted the swim, but finally succeeded on her 5th and final attempt....at the age of 64. Her determination was unshakable. She defied so many odds, they are too numerous to name. And she inspired me. Not only to make my lifelong dreams come true... ...but spiritually as well. Determination means persevering through inconvenience. It means not getting sidetracked or stymied by setbacks. It is about learning from the setbacks and making efforts to get past them. Look at Diana Nyad. Her most recent attempt before this one ended in abject failure because of jellyfish. She did not anticipate them and suffered greatly. In this attempt, she wore a protective face mask and made it to the end. As Christians, we too must use determination. Like Diana Nyad, n...

Happy Labour Day out there! So...I have been ruminating about a lot lately. There is so much fodder in my life for a good blog that I often have no clue where to begin. I recognize that it has been a while...In fact, I was reminded of that just yesterday (I'm looking at you Ms. "Uplifting Souls"). So here goes... A few days ago, I was in a meeting with some of the saints and one person was giving a praise report. She had gotten some positive news about a medical diagnostic test that she had recently undergone. She ended by saying in essence that she knew that God was good to her because of her clean bill of health. I wanted to rejoice with her. I did. But the first thing the Holy Spirit brought to my mind was this one question: "So if the result was negative would God's goodness cease?" I'm sure if I had asked her that, her answer would be a resounding NO. I'm almost positive that she didn't mean her statement like it sounded. She couldn...

Hello out there! I've been silent for an extended period of time and for that I apologize. There is no excuse, so I will not offer one.... This Christian life is hard folks....and terribly inconvenient. In the recent past (yes, in the period of silence), I have been faced with some difficult decisions. To my shame and dismay, I didn't always make the right ones. Actually, more often than not, I made the wrong decisions. And I have been struggling to figure out why I chose the wrong path time and again. One word: disobedience. It is the first sin of mankind and has been plaguing us ever since the Garden of Eden. It is the root of every sin that we can commit within or without the body. And it is terribly difficult to excise. Disobedience rears its ugly head when we start to think of our own selfish, self-serving, evil will above God's pure, perfect, holy one. And is over-simplified as this may seem, all God wants us to do is obey Him. But disobedience is so pervasi...

Okay...so I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but on the first of this month I  had my first dentist appointment in literally years. It would shame me far too greatly to state the exact number of years. Sadly, the only real reason that I even made the appointment is that I had a hole in a tooth. A big 'ol hole! It was awful...I had sensitivity to cold, heat, sweet...everything. Initially, I noticed pain. Then I felt a little hole...but I did nothing. Shortly after, the hole got bigger. Finally, I couldn't bear it any longer and I had to see a professional. I tell you this embarrassing and frankly disgusting story to say this: during the time that the hole in my tooth was festering (for lack of a better word), I received multiple compliments on my beautiful teeth and gorgeous smile. Imagine that! I had a tooth literally dying with decay, but I was being complimented. People could see the outer enamel of my teeth, but not the decay that was killing it. It made me think ...

Has this ever happened to you? Everything is going well, there are no major problems, but you get this unsettling feeling that the other proverbial shoe is about to drop. I cannot pinpoint where it is coming from. And it is so weird because I truly am thankful for what the Lord is doing in my life...but somehow I can't shake this feeling. And I hear the Holy Spirit whispering, "Be anxious for nothing..." And the stubbornness in me whispers back, "Easier said than done." Not the right attitude to have, but that doesn't make my statement any less true. At the heart of the problem is an embarrassing lack of faith. I have been realising it more and more in recent weeks, as my family studies Hebrews chapter 11, sometimes known as Faith Hall of Fame. Those stalwarts of the Old Testament had a crazy, radical faith in God. To my ultimate shame, they did not have half, or any, of the references that we have, but they displayed a faith in God that I cannot seem...

This past weekend, I was reading Joshua 6 in preparation to teach my Sunday School class and a familiar story suddenly became brand new. Joshua 6 records the story of when the children of Israel circled the walls of Jericho and the city was delivered into their hands. I thought I knew the story so well, I almost didn't look at the text again (dangerous mistake). Against my foolish judgment, I picked up my Bible and began to read the text. The Holy Spirit arrested me at verse 2. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The first verse of the chapter sets the scene: the children of Israel were gathered outside the city and the people of Jericho were on lock-down inside the city walls, knowing that the people whom the "gods" favour have gathered outside. I began to picture the siege in my minds eye. There must of have been a sense of uneasy calm in the streets of Jericho. They knew that the enemy was without, but they felt secure that as long as the gates of the city wer...

All right folx! Because I have been quiet for soooooo very long, you get a two-fer! LOL. I didn't write this one though. It's an article about  choosing a church home  by my sister in Christ Sandra McAubre of hirenanny.org. Please check it out. It is definitely worth your time, especially if you are a spiritual nomad. Bless up!

Let me begin by confessing that I watch WAY too much television. To be clear, I watch most of my television programming on Hulu  with my laptop...but still. It's a lot. Trust me. A few nights ago, I was tucked tightly in bed watching an episode of  Fringe  when a transient character declared one of the deepest statements I have ever heard: "You don't know what you don't know." In other words, a person has no idea the amount or even the scope of things of which s/he is ignorant. Powerful, huh? As humans, we are learning everyday. There is always something to learn and something about which we know absolutely nothing. Now, if we use that as a basis for understanding Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV), "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think...", the possibilities are mind-blowing. Think about it. We don't know the depth and breadth or the scope of the things that we don't know. All we know is that the world of k...

Greetings and Happy New Year to all! I love the New Year's Day. It's like God hits the reset button and we get a do-over. We don't really, but somehow it feels like that. Some people make resolutions and then resolve to actually do them this time. Other set goals and strategize how to go about achieving them. Whatever it is that you do, make certain to keep your focus on God. That's all. Be blessed!