Blog
From and about women who love Jesus and want to share His message through Scripture, everyday inspirations, and relatable stories.
Pareto’s Rule, or the 80/20 principle, states that 80 percent of the consequences come from 20 percent of the causes. Over the years, I’ve heard this applied to the church: 20 percent of Christians do 80 percent of the giving and work of the church. If Pareto is right, and experience is any indication, a minority of professing believers participate in the life of the church, including outside of the four walls of our church buildings.
Perhaps it’s an old wives’ tale, but I once heard someone say, “Bad news comes in threes.” At this point, my family and I are on number four in eight short months. We have had a series of rapid-fire unfortunate events occur in a short amount of time.
One of my favorite passages from the Bible is found in I Kings 19. Elijah fled into the wilderness because he was afraid—full of anxiety and panic—after he heard that Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, sought to take his life. Jezebel vowed to kill him in revenge for criticizing Ahab’s idolatrous worship of Baal and for the deaths of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18).
So many things are easier said than done, are they not? We Christians often hear, “Let go and let God,” or “Cast your burdens upon the Lord” (1 Peter 5:7), or “In your weakness he is strong.” And indeed, many of us would vigorously affirm that we believe those things. But do we really?
“I am tired.” These are the words I have found myself repeating frequently to the Lord over the last several years. Why am I tired? I have a full-time job as a seminary professor that I love.
We moved from another state into our current rental home after selling our own house. We moved to what is considered a “hot seller’s market.” That means even run-down homes were selling for over 100K over the asking price because of the housing supply versus the demand.
A friend is deeply involved in humanitarian work. He knows what it’s like to be poor. Perhaps that’s why he has an extra measure of compassion for people rendered invisible by society or the church. He and his wife are helpers—always lending a hand to friends, family, peers, and those who are less fortunate.
My family and I recently took a trip to the western part of the United States. We went through long stretches of desert and climbed high mountains, several close to ten thousand feet. What I noticed when we were at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, in the mountains of California, and at Yellowstone National Park, is that there were few guardrails in the high places. I was shocked. One slip of the foot, one veering too far to the right or to the left, and the fall is long.
My youngest daughter and I recently made a quick trip to visit my family. Pandemic, job, family and educational commitments, along with our daughters’ extracurricular activities had made visits difficult and infrequent. The last time we were all together was for my mother’s funeral.