Choose Joy in the Journey

If my words could jump off the page and embrace my Christian sisters with a loving hug, I’ll reach my goal.  I don’t want to take them for granted after watching the angry Women’s March in Washington, D.C. the day after the inauguration.  Bet You Can Guess Where This is Going I am not going to bash the marchers.  Instead, I feel that I’ve received a divine word about them which leaves me with a different perception. I conclude that these dark, lost women seek to find a place to belong. Too bad they’re choosing the enemy’s camp . We women feed our insecurities differently than our male counterparts.  Men find their worth in what they achieve whereas women long to be loved, fit in and be accepted.  It’s about relationship for us. Both men and women excel once they find truth and fill those dark places inside with meaning.  We all need something to worship and a purpose to live. I noticed the hate, the nasty words, and the obscene gyrations those marching

I attended a memorial service last weekend with my husband and it reminded us that we are sojourners here on this earth.  We are just passing through. Tom defined it as the best memorial service ever!  When asked why, he quipped: “It had everything:  Scripture teaching, humor, music and a catered meal.” We celebrated Wally’s 83 years of life. I expected the service to revolve around his outstanding achievement of founding the Old Town Mission and feeding the homeless and hungry every Tuesday night.  His wife preached but Wally ran the show. And, yes, the focus spotlighted his gift of serving, but I walked away with so much more to think upon.  This couple’s love story reflected God’s power and faithfulness.   Two broken lives found each other over 20 years ago and allowed Jesus to shape their future.  God brought bonus children to live with them who shared hilarious stories about Wally’s sweet tooth that made us laugh until we cried. Many testified to W

My best friend’s husband died, but she did not place her wedding ring in a draw.  She designed a new ring, an everyday kind of ring, and incorporated the diamonds from her wedding ring.  I cheered her on for her ingenuity to keep his memory close at all times. A gal in my critique group wrote about the best Christmas present she ever received.  She inherited her late mother-in-law’s mink coat.  She loved her dearly, but when she put on the coat, she felt like she stepped out of the 1950’s.  She hated the thought of it placed in a box and stacked on a closet shelf.  Her husband took it to a furrier and surprised her at Christmas with a brand new mink stole.  I choked up when I read her words of love for her mother-in-law and the beautiful mink cape she wore for a classy event in frigid Flagstaff during the holidays. The Spiritual Trade off I don’t have a mink coat or extra diamonds to create something new.  I do have some things, however, that I want to trade.

I learned years ago in Marriage Encounter that I need to find creative ways to keep love alive.  Avoid the boring status quo and experiment with new ways of doing things.  The principle of changing it a bit can be applied to any relationship, really.  Healthy friendship is a gift but doesn’t just fall in my lap.   I have to work at that too and think of ways to enjoy life together with those special friends. I’ve changed some things around the house recently to spice up things.  When I took down Christmas decorations, I placed my plants in different rooms and rearranged the bookcase to give the living room a different look. I drank my coffee black.  Ugh, that did not work! I knew months ago the “read through Bible” plan I especially like and have used off and on through the years would not suffice this year and found a new way to pray and study in the morning.  How refreshing to wake up to a new way of saying hello to God!  My pastor mentioned that he enjoys tal