Category Archives: Career

A God-Inspired Sabbath

A God-Inspired Sabbath title image

A God-Inspired Sabbath

There will be times in our lives where God leads us into a period of rest or a “Sabbath”. It may be taking a break from work or something that you do, a hobby, serving, or even a temporary break from a friendship or relationship. These times of rest are there to refresh and replenish you. They might also be there to create margin because God may foresee things coming up that you are getting ready to encounter. You might need extra time and energy in order to face them.

My recent God-inspired Sabbath

Over the last several months I’ve missed my writing, and I miss (and have sometimes felt a little guilt-ridden) about the consistency of new content on my site. Consistency, loyalty, and faithfulness are character traits that I have always valued and strived to achieve and demonstrate. Therefore, it’s been extremely difficult for me to feel like I’m not successfully living up to those traits in my writing over the past year.

Although, I do feel like God, in his kindness and divine foreknowledge kind of gave me a “heads up” that I was going to need to take a bit of a break, a “sabbatical” of sorts, from writing new content and spend some time recycling, updating, and reposting some of the older content on my site. I expected the break to only last for a few months, however, it ended up taking place over the entire year.

Seventh Year Sabbath from my writing

I decided to take a break from writing for my blog (or at least from writing a new post every week). It was a bit of a hard decision. I felt some guilt about it, like I was letting people down or letting God down. When I decided it just felt like I needed some rest, some time off because I couldn’t keep up the way and the pace that I wanted and had been doing. The word “sabbatical” came to mind which then caused me to think of “Sabbath” (aka…rest).

Something made me take a look at how long I had been writing on my blog, and coincidentally, I was just entering my seventh year. God reminded me of the times in scripture where he asked his people to let certain things have their “Sabbath” on the seventh year. He instructed them to let the land rest and not to plant new crops on the seventh year.

Seventh Year Sabbath in scripture

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Ways to Fight Discontentment

Ways to Fight Discontentment title image

Ways to Fight Discontentment

Have you ever struggled with discontentment in something? You know…a situation where you just feel unhappy, frustrated, annoyed, irritated, displeased, dissatisfied, or just flat out angry. It might be in your job, in your marriage, at your current church, in a relationship or friendship, in a class, on a team, or even with material things like your home or your car. I think we all at some point or another in our lives experience some discontentment with various things, myself included.

I have been struggling with a couple of these things myself over the past couple of years. Recently God convicted me about how I was handling some of my frustrations and dissatisfactions. Unfortunately I was letting my discontentment steer some of my attitudes and behaviors, and it wasn’t in a good way. God dealt with me on some practical ways that I can fight discontentment, so that I don’t become bitter or give a foothold to the devil (Ephesians 4:27). This week I thought I’d share some of those strategies with you in hopes that they might help you too if and when you ever struggle with discontentment.

Take Some Practical Steps to Fight Discontentment:

Pray for a right heart and spirit

One of the things that has helped me the most over the past year has been to pray Psalm 51:10 as a heartfelt prayer over myself. By doing this, I’m asking God to change my heart and clean it up and to help me have a right spirit in areas where my heart and spirit may not line up with God and his heart. I’ve seen a tremendous difference in my attitude (and my irritation levels) since doing this. Whenever, I start to feel discontentment and frustration coming on, I will say this verse out loud, sometimes two or three times (or more!).

Another verse that I pray over myself is Ezekiel 36:26 asking God to take away any hard-heartedness or stubbornness that I might have and to help me be more tender and responsive.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

Pray for grace

I’ve also found it extremely helpful to pray for grace. This is the kind of grace to be able to handle things that I normally can’t handle on my own. This definition of grace is God’s ability and enabling power. With God’s ability and power helping us, it makes managing difficult situations much easier and more bearable.

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

Pray for those things that frustrate you

Consider this–maybe God is allowing you to be discontent in certain areas in order to talk to you or trigger you to pray for those areas. Instead of just feeling discontentment in expressing your frustrations and complaining, start praying about those issues or things that you see wrong. Pray about things that need to be changed. Find some scriptures to stand on and believe for that will help with that specific need or problem.

Strive to give, not to get, when you are feeling discontentment

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Are You Faithful or Unreliable?

Are You Faithful or Unreliable title image

Are You Faithful or Unreliable?

Do you ever encounter people who are just unreliable? Many years ago I had a friend who would cancel our plans about 80% of the time. She was so unreliable that I could rely on her unreliability! My husband and I used to joke about it often, but it did truly wound me as a friend when I couldn’t count on her. She became untrustworthy. In fact, she and I are no longer in relationship BECAUSE she was not a faithful friend.

Faithfulness, reliability, loyalty, and commitment are very lacking among so many self-proclaimed Christians these days. David’s prayer in Psalm 12:1 seems to still ring true…

“Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.” Psalm 12:1 (NIV)

I recently read a daily devotional on this very topic. Consequently, this post is inspired by that devotion by Judy Jacobs, “7 Days of Preparing for Great Exploits—Day 5”.

“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV)

In her devotion, Judy Jacobs says that “Faithfulness was the mainstay of being a steward in Paul’s day; and—beyond a shadow of a doubt—it still is.”[1] Faithfulness, commitment, reliability, and loyalty should be one of many defining characteristics of followers of Christ. Faithfulness, in fact, is a fruit of the spirit that we should all operate in and display.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

How about you? Can people count on you? Are you faithful?

A poor reflection of Jesus

There are many negative consequences to being unreliable. One especially unwanted outcome of Christians who aren’t faithful is that it can give Christians (and Christ) a bad name. Having a lack of integrity in work ethic and/or reliability does not represent Jesus well. I’ve seen this (and written about this before) in a collegiate setting where students professed to be Christians, but then consistently showed up to class late or even missed class regularly. These same students put little to no effort into assignments and often had apathetic and lazy attitudes that were apparent. These types of students were a very negative reflection to other students and professors who knew they were Christians.

I LOVE the way the Message translation of Colossians 3:22-25 reads:

“Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by.  Do your best.  Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance.  Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.  The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.”

Other negative ramifications of being unreliable

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Burn the Ships

Burn the Ships title image

Burn the Ships

A couple months ago I heard a song for the first time called “Burn the Ships”, by for KING & COUNTRY (video below). I got really excited to show my son the song because he had just told me the story about the Spanish explorer and conquistador, Hernán Cortés, who burned his ships to give his men motivation to fight. I never remembered learning about this story before.

He had actually learned it from his baseball coach this year. In fact, it’s one of the team’s mantras this year. You see, last year the team made the state playoffs but just missed making it to the championship game. This year their coach didn’t want that to hold them back. He said they need motivation just like Cortés’ men did in order to conquer the new land. They have to fight in order to survive.

For the baseball team, the metaphorical ships are their past (the past losses, being an ordinary team, almost winning, etc.). They needed to burn them down, get out of their shell, and fight as a team this year. To symbolize this, the team huddles up and shouts “1-2-3-BTS!” (BTS=Burn the ships) The back of their hoodies this year also say “Burn the Ships”.

Hernán Cortés-Burn the Ships

Cortés was said to have burned his own ships upon arrival in Veracruz, Mexico in 1519 to prevent the retreat of his men. This would send a clear message—that there was no turning back! After doing a little bit of research I discovered that Cortés, in fact, may not have actually burned the ships. There is some dispute about whether or not he burned the ships or instead sank, scuttled, or ran them aground. Additionally it is debated whether or not he actually spared one ship to send to King Charles V in Spain with a portion of the treasure from his conquest.

Regardless of the “how”, it is evident from history that the ships were indeed destroyed. Thus, the result and reasoning remain the same…to prevent retreat and ensure his men were committed to their mission. Cortés knew one thing: retreat is easy when you have the option. Therefore, to burn the ships is to cut all sources of retreat. Consequently he removed any obstacles that could potentially hold his men back from giving their full effort. The message? “Succeed or die. We are not leaving this place alive unless we win.”

A reminder to me

This reminded me of a particular time that I too had to burn the ships at one time. 10 years ago our marriage was in a deep and dark place, to the point of separation and divorce papers. It was very broken—beyond any repair that we could humanly do. Only by God’s grace, forgiveness, and power was our marriage restored.

Tattoo rings...symbols of what God has done

My tattoo ring is a reminder to me of what God has done in my marriage

We symbolically burned the ships when we literally burned our divorce papers. (I had a picture I was going to post of us burning them with fireworks on the 4th of July, but I can’t seem to find it.) My “ship” was divorce, and by burning that it took that option off of the table forever. Then on our 15 year anniversary, five years later, we re-committed with another symbolic (yet quite permanent!) declaration by getting tattoos on our wedding ring fingers as a reaffirmation of our vows.

Last month (December 2019) we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. The traditional “gift” for 20 years is china, so I made Eric a mosaic out of a broken piece of china of my grandmother’s. This mosaic represented how God made something new and beautiful out of something very broken. This was only possible because we committed to burn the ships and decided to look ahead to the possibility and promise of something new.

Mosaic china heart

Mosaic china label

Still need reminders on occasion

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Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Last week I shared about how I’m having to learn a balance of helping but not coddling my kids in order to help them build necessary life skills. Fortunately I’ve had some good teaching in this area from my pastors in addition to other helpful resources that I have either sought out or “stumbled upon” (i.e. led by the Holy Spirit). I often actively seek out resources in guiding and leading younger generations due to being a parent, educator, and church youth leader. I recognize my own limitations. Subsequently, I realize that my own perspective is definitely not unbiased and not shared by today’s younger generations and culture.

Some of the issues I have dealt with as an educator over the past 10+ years have also prompted me to seek out further counsel and guidance. One issue in particular is the rise of anxiety and stress levels in younger generations. Today, I’ll share some examples with you from what I’ve seen in my own classroom. Additionally, I’ll give you some resources to help in this area, along with other resources that I find extremely helpful when dealing with younger generations.

The rise of anxiety and stress

I’ve been pretty disheartened with the state of many of my college students lately. Although there are some AMAZING and desirable qualities in these younger generations, so many of them are so inadequately prepared for college and for life. I could get on a colossal soapbox about the sense of entitlement, apathy, poor work ethic, and lack of respect for authority that is so rampant among younger generations, but I’ll spare you that rant. My discouragement today centers around the rise of anxiety and stress (and really even poor mental health) among today’s youth and young adults.

Unfortunately, many parents, educators, and/or other influencers of youth and young adults have been a large part of the problem. I will include myself because I have personally been convicted about some of my previous parenting and teaching strategies that have enabled and even exacerbated this problem.

Recent examples of students crippled by anxiety

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The Benefits of Service Learning

The Benefits of Service Learning

In the class I teach at the local community college, the students are required to complete 4 hours of service learning. At the end of our course, these students are required to do a presentation of their service learning experience. This past week was our final week of class (it’s a short-term, 10-week class), and they conducted their presentations and presented their Vision Boards. It was by far my favorite week of class! Talk about feel-good, uplifting class sessions…this was a perfect way to end our course on a high note.

It didn’t start like that

At the beginning of the semester a large number of the students aren’t terribly excited about this “required volunteer” component (sounds like an oxymoron right?). In fact some of them are just downright mad!

I hear comments like…

“Why do I HAVE to volunteer?”

“You mean we can’t get paid for this work?!”

“I don’t have time to do service learning.”

“This seems like such a waste of time.”

By the end of our class I love seeing the turnaround in many of their attitudes and perspectives. They start to see why service learning is so beneficial, not only to those they serve, but to them as well.

What is Service Learning?

Service Learning incorporates learning with meaningful community service and promotes volunteerism toward meaningful social causes that interest people/students as an individuals. This type of activity allows individuals to develop real-world skills while contributing to their community at the same time.

At the local college where I teach we’ve adopted a definition of service learning as an experiential education that includes:

  1. Student participation in an organized service activity that reinforces specific course learning outcomes
  2. Student identification and response to community need(s)
  3. Structured time for student reflection and connection of the service experience to learning

At my church we might identify these activities as our Love Your Neighbor Outreaches (both locally and globally). At our church we believe that saved people, serve people. We do this by finding opportunities to use the gifts, talents, and resources that God has given us to serve others.

What are some of the benefits of Service Learning?

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Proverbs 31…It’s Not Just For Women

Men should possess the Proverbs 31 characteristics too. These same character traits this passage praises the Proverbs 31 woman for having are also desirable for men. They are not gender-specific. ALL people, men and women alike, should strive to have this type of character.

Proverbs 31…It’s Not Just For Women

Proverbs 31 is one of those chapters that I think a lot of women sometimes read and then feel deficient. It’s almost like we can never measure up to her. I mean, really, who can do and be proficient at ALL of the things that she does? Talk about a Renaissance Woman!

However, recently I had some different insights while reading Proverbs 31 in The Message translation. As I read through the verses about the Proverbs 31 woman, I jotted down her characteristics in my journal. It dawned on me that it’s not necessarily the activities that she does that matter, but the character and traits she possesses are what are truly important. That should be our primary takeaway from the reading. Thank goodness because I don’t think I’ll EVER be proficient at sewing!

In Proverbs 31, verses 10-31 form an alphabetic acrostic, used here as a type of Hebrew poem about a woman who exemplifies godly character and wisdom from A to Z. J.A. Motyer says, “In the common form of acrostic found in Old Testament Poetry, each line or stanza begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. This literary form may have been intended as an aid to memory, but more likely it was a poetic way of saying that a total coverage of the subject was being offered — as we would say, ‘from A to Z.‘”[1] So in this case, the Proverbs 31 woman exemplifies godly traits and wisdom throughout and completely. She’s the full package.

Proverbs 31 is not just for women

In part of my recent study of the Proverbs 31 passages, I came across a really good article by Rachel Held Evans. In her post, she mentions that the “target audience” of Proverbs 31 is actually men. I did not know this! Rachel mentioned that she learned from a Jewish friend of hers that in the Jewish culture, it’s the men who memorize the passage, not the women.

In fact, the men actually sing or recite it to the women as a way of praising and blessing them! This special “Eshet Chayil” song is typically done each Friday night before the Sabbath or Shabbat meal.

Here is a video of a traditional Eschet Chayil song with the Hebrew lyrics and English translation shown:

I LOVE this English rendition by Ari Lesser as he sings to his wife:

I also realized these are NOT just characteristics that a woman should possess. Men should possess the Proverbs 31 characteristics too. These same character traits this passage praises the Proverbs 31 woman for having are also desirable for men. They are not gender-specific. ALL people, men and women alike, should strive to have this type of character. 

Proverbs 31:10-31 in The Message Translation

Below is a look at my takeaways about character from the passages. I use the feminine pronouns “she” and “her” when describing her characteristics, but read through them keeping in mind that we should all endeavor to display this type of character in our lives. Continue reading

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do

What to do when you don’t know what to do

What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do

I recently received a question from a sweet reader on a previous post I had written, How To Use the Correct GPS–God Positioning System. This person felt like they might be on the wrong track and may have made a wrong decision about attending a design school. They were starting to doubt their original decision to attend. The essence of this reader’s question was basically, “What do you do when you don’t know what to do?”

I think that many people could relate to this question. So today I wanted to share my advice to this reader for when you don’t know what to do, in hopes that it may help others too. There are 3 simple steps that I find helpful in any decision-making process, large or small. I’ll jump right into your practical steps…

Take Some Practical Steps When You Don’t Know What To Do:

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