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Kindness Matters

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 I received a call from my youngest son as we were each driving our cars back from oil changes. With most of my family out of town at a camping event, my youngest son and I decided to get much needed oil changes on both our cars. He took one route home, and I took another. Upon almost making it home, he called me telling me his car had stopped moving. It was stuck in the middle of the road on a very steep hill. I rushed over to find him at a dangerous section of road right above a hairpin turn. It was getting dark, and I was nervous. After realizing the transmission was frozen, I called a tow truck and prayed it would arrive before dark. While we waited, I noticed something interesting. Out of the eight cars that passed us, three people slowed and asked how they could help me. One woman was in a car that looked like it was on its last leg, but she stopped to help someone else. This brought me to a challenging question. Do we take the time to show kindness to those around us? God s...
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Knowing Right From Wrong

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  My son's dog does not differentiate right from wrong. Late one night, my husband had smoked a five pound bag of chicken for my youngest son. While he pulled the chicken from the smoker, I had decided to take a quick shower. I heard my husband's fire beeper sounding and thr slamming of the front door, indicating he was responding to a fire call. After showering, my son's boxer entered the bathroom to snuggle. Upon cuddling, I smelled the distinctive scent of chicken. After further investigation, I found an empty plate on the stove with remnants of chicken juice on the plate. I thought to myself that surely my husband put the chicken in the microwave or oven before leaving, but both remained empty. The boxer had eaten the entire bag of chicken! Was there any remorse? Not even a little. Why? Dogs understand consequence, but they can't discern right from wrong. In this day and age, the largest quality lacking is the discerning of right from wrong. People act simply becaus...
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If You Can Fit It, You Can Get It

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  My family has a long-standing agreement when I thrift. If I can fit the item in the car, I can get the item. One of my daughters furiously manhandled a large queen-sized murphy bed frame, along with a full-sized mailbox on its pole because of this edict. At one particular trip, as I was taking my daughter to her neurology appointment, we stopped at a Goodwill thrift store. It had become a bit of a tradition. While there, I noticed this massive framed oil painting. The painting depicted a ocean scene with ships moving in the water. I immediately thought of Jesus calming the storm for His disciples. I had to have it. However, I was in my car, and it was taller than a sofa. As I pushed, I had my daughter pull. She argued it would not fit. I volleyed by saying, "If I can fit it. I can get it!" With a big push, the painting slid inside the back of the car, barely fitting. It holds a place of prominence on my staircase wall. This week, my husband and I attended a funeral for a...
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Dreams and Visions

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  Have you ever had a dream that felt like God was trying to tell you something? Maybe He is. We all have those crazy dreams that make no sense. Maybe you're being chased by a sandwich while trying to finish paperwork from your job that is slowly smothering you. Explanation: you shouldn't have eaten that sandwich too close to bedtime, and you're stressed about your job. In my office, the first thing we do every morning is talk about our crazy dreams and try to interpret what they may mean. Scientifically, when our brains are at rest, they still process our day  and feelings we suppress through dreams. However, this is also the time when we are most vulnerable and willing to listen to God. God often spoke in dreams and visions through the Old Testament. Joseph had a dream of his brothers bowing down before him. This dream did come to pass. God is still able to speak to us in dreams. In a former post, I spoke of my mother having a dream of an accident on the way to visit me ...
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Creating Leaders

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  When I attended a professional development for teachers, I came across the above statement. In a time of social media frenzy, it's easy to get caught up in the need to be followed. It means acceptance, admiration, and flattery. You feel good knowing people admire you. However, this can be a shallow existence. The need to gain more likes or followers grows. Let's think about this away from social media. One person wears a certain set of shoes. Everyone around them buys the shoes. They may be uncomfortable or even hideous, but the need to be accepted outweighs their own personal convictions. Paul went about this in an entirely different way. I Corinthians 11:1 ESV Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. It's not about being yet another influencer trying to convince people to buy something or perform a new trend. It's about creating leaders that follow the ultimate leader, Jesus Christ. Nothing I say or do can change your life, but I can show you Jesus, who can revoluti...
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What's Wrong With Me? (The Gift of Thinking Positive)

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  I woke up on Saturday extremely sore. If I were an exercise guru, then this would make sense. However, I haven't set foot in my gym in quite some time. I wasn't doing construction on my kid's homes. I had actually spent a relaxing evening in the previous night, so what was wrong with me? My legs ached as though I had run a 5K race. My first thought was maybe I was having symptoms of a bigger issue- low iron, vitamin difficiency, or low potassium. Even though the siren of online medical advice called, I declined. The temptation to think the worst was great, but I reminded myself of a women's retreat where I shared about the power of our words and thoughts.                         2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. It is so easy to believe the negative thoughts that ...
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Roped Into This

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  Have you ever been roped into situations you had no interest in doing? As an introvert, almost anything social involves me being coerced. My husband is not like this. If someone suggests something, he is all in for an adventure. His latest adventure happened last night. He is starting a new position as a dean of students at a small school. Part of his initiation into this position was participating in a school FFA fundraiser rodeo. Originally, they wanted him to ride a bull. I reminded him that he was over 50, had never ridden a bull, and recovers much slower than years ago. They decided he and some of the administration should compete in a calf-dressing competition. What they didn't realize was what they thought was the 200 lb calf was actually a 600 lb yearling. That meant the calf was really big and angry. My husband walked away from the event a little sore, really dirty, but unharmed. Has God ever challenged you to do something you feel completely unqualified to do? I told Go...
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