All tagged Christian

Waking Up to the Beauty of Slow (Because Jesus Didn't Go Fast)

This idea of slowing…ruthlessly eliminating hurry from our lives…is nothing short of extraordinarily counter-cultural. Society deems faster is better, waiting is wasteful, and slow is lazy with every message it can muster.

With this in mind, over these next weeks, in true Coach and Spiritual Director fashion, I hope to share with you ideas, concepts, questions, and possibilities that could help you on your own journey, as you seek to become closer to the One who loves you most, the One who delights in you, the One who has so much to show you, as you chose to wake up to the beauty of slow.

Is God Really Good?

As a follower of Christ, believer, pastor, pastor’s wife and truth seeker, I’ve wrestled on and off with these question for years.  While my mind believed and my mouth confessed of God’s goodness, in an effort to live an honest and authentic life, I’ve been forced to admit that  at times I wrestle with the validity of this broken declaration. That although His goodness was definitely evident, glimpses of Him are sometimes accompanied by times of discouragement, heartache, disappointment, even perceived abandonment, in which authentically owning the belief that He was good, has limped at best.  

How to Increase Your Self Awareness

I hadn’t asked myself what I wanted in life, my marriage, my pursuits, and as a woman in…well, maybe never. It seemed as if I had always piggy-backed on other people’s wants, needs and desires.  As a good Christian wife and mother, isn’t that was I was supposed to do?

Is God Disappointed When We're Afraid?

We beat ourselves up about fear, especially when we know that God tells us we have no need to fear.  We can be really hard on ourselves, convinced that there is something very wrong with us. “If I trusted God enough, I wouldn’t be struggling with this!  Can’t I just get over it?  How many times do I have to turn this over to God?!”At times, shame and guilt can seem to overwhelm us because we fear.  

Conversing with Grief - Thank You Mt. Zion UMC

When I walk…I walk fast.  Not speed walker fast, but fast enough that some of my friends to refuse to walk with me.   “Slow down!” they say.  Really?  What’s the use of walking, if you don’t walk fast?  I mean, burning calories is the goal, right?

The Greatest Battle - Being Yourself

“To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself – means to fight the hardest battle which
any human being can fight – and never stop fighting.”

Excluding God from Our Relationship with God

The blinders, which had slowly been building on my spiritual eyes over a timespan of at least 25 years, had been removed.  I was finally seeing things clearly for the first time – I had become downright MILITANT in my daily quest to spend time with God – checking off the “boxes” of scripture reading, as if that alone would get me close to Him.  In my quest to be disciplined, I had slowly, but surely, excluded God from a time that was intended for intimacy

Social Media is Screwing Us Up!

The outcome of our willingly (and even knowingly) subjecting ourselves to everyone’s polished persona and comparing our lives with their pics (most of which have been altered or filtered), has resulted in nothing less than GRAND THEFT, stealing our confidence, self-respect, uniqueness, healthy body image, focus, and peace. For goodness sake, it’s even taken our money, as we’ve gone out and tried to purchase the life we’ve seen depicted on our phone screens!

Ask Me, Don't Tell Me - the Power of Questions

Trust me – there’s a huge difference between “Get me a glass of water!" and “Would you please get me a glass of water?” The result of the latter being a glass of water; the result of the former being a death glance, possibly accompanied by afore-mentioned glass being thrown across the room (which may or may not have happened in our first year of marriage).

Keeping Your Sanity in the Waiting Room

Crappy stuff has happened.  Thing’s haven’t turned out as expected.  You’re holding on to every remaining ounce of faith you possess, believing that God is at work in the midst of it all.  In fact,  you know He is, because when you look back, you recall circumstances, events, and situations in which He’s orchestrated such happenings that cannot be chalked up to mere coincidence. 

Our Journey - The Cost of a New Heart

God most often doesn’t immediately deliver us from that which we need deliverance, as most often His concern is not only deliverance, but character development, which takes time.   

Irma Will Not Have the Final Word

As I continue to watch the news stations as they predict and report the approach of possibly the most powerful hurricane in recorded history, Irma, I have decided to not post my usual weekly blog, as it seems pretty insignificant at such a time as this. Rather, I want to let those in Florida know that I am praying. 

Our Journey Continues - Sacrificing Desires

After 25 plus years of consistently reading God’s Word, it never ceases to amaze me how you can read a particular scripture countless times, only to have it resurface in a new and powerful light, impacting you with a truth that is not only encouraging, but can sometimes shake you to your core, causing you to do some drastic re-evaluation. Such an occurrence reinforces the truth that His Word is living and active, never diminishing, and ever empowering

Our Journey Continues - A New Song

This past week, I’ve had moments of temptation in which I’ve wanted to abandon our plan of “leaning into the pain” and discovering the lessons, growth and deeper relationship that Christ has for us.  There has been a time or two when I’ve want to take a very, very long nap (maybe lasting a couple days?) in an effort to escape the challenges. 

Lessons MaMaw Taught Me

When remembering pivotal moments in our lives, some are grand and earth-shaking, while others are subtle and sweet.  When I think of the latter, I remember a time in my early 20's when I ventured out with my newborn son, Adam, to see MaMaw. Verna Thomas Little, my grandmother, was one of my heroes.

When New Mercies are Needed

In addition to being a genius, Thomas Edison (most famously known as the inventor of the light bulb), was often described as an extreme optimist. 

Don't Be Afraid of Them!

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you.  He will not leave your nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6

Forgiveness Isn't...

You know when you hear a word for a phrase, over and over? It seems you can’t escape it’s invasion into your space.  Author Margaret Feinberg describes this as a “Sacred Echo,” when God is trying to get your attention or get a point across. This very thing happened to me this past week.  The word I kept hearing?  “Forgiveness.”  First, I saw it in a letter someone had written.  Then I heard someone say it out loud. Then I heard an analogy about forgiveness. Finally, I clearly heard God’s voice…”Cammie, you haven’t really forgiven ________.”  Awesome.  Just awesome. I thought this account had been cleared.