Christine's Blog (2,610)

I loved the children’s program “Blue’s Clues”—it was clever, creative and colorful.  I suppose of all of the television programming I watched while raising four children, it was my favorite!  Steve, the main character on the program, had a place he went to think—a favorite over-stuffed dark red chair—which he affectionately called his thinking chair.  I think Steve was on to something . . . do you have a thinking chair?  Do you have a place to go and just think—especially to think creative…

It doesn’t matter whether you are a businessperson, at-home mother, engineer, or teacher—the way you think really impacts every aspect of your life.

God himself puts a…

Eight simple words.

In looking to be transformed, tis a good time to look at one of the regular practices of our Lord, and make it our own.  In all four gospels, the writer noted that Jesus would go to a place to be alone with his Father; if the Savior needed that time, how much more do you and I!  If you do not make time to be alone with the Lord, you will not have it. …

Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts.1  Your thinking is the lid to your potential … why?  Because ‘as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.’2   So let me ask you--how’s your thinking? 

“We are taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ,”3 Paul stated.  ‘So God, please open our minds to understand the truth of your Word that we might be changed by it.  Amen’

Hmmm . . . if it is true that we become what we…

Did you experience it … the big shift?

Did you take fifteen minutes to ‘work’ “Focused Silence”?  Practically speaking, what did you do in your solitude?  What happened?  Your mindset was shifted … it was elevated.  Your thinking went from the mundane to the magnificent, as it went from whatever you were thinking about your own life, be it your day or…

Taking time to be still, making time to practice solitude is foreign to my nature, even though I love the idea of it.  In fact, several years ago, I created something called “Morning of Serenity” . . . an event I periodically held at local beaches that helped folks create sacred space in which to sit under God’s vast skies, listening to the crash of the waves, whilst focused on the Creator--communing with him, through prayer, meditation, and listening.   Funny thing, this last weekend, I was…

You are straddling two very different worlds—an inner world, in which you hold your thoughts, ideas, feelings and fears—and an outer world, which is public and observable to others …         >Are you taking time regularly to order your inner world?

Here’s what I mean: I want first of all . . . to be at peace with myself.  I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I…

Did you see it? I had a glaring omission in my last briefing . It was only one word, just three letters . . . but those three letters changed the intent of my heart. Here it was: “Hear me correctly—I am standing in condemnation of these folks, just concerned about those who are held captive by what they can’t seem to control.” I shall fire my copy editor---that’s what I’ll do! The sentence was meant to say, “I am not standing in condemnation…

Did you see it?  I had a glaring omission in my last briefing .   It was only one word, just three letters . . . but those three letters changed the intent of my heart.  Here it was:  “Hear me correctly—I am standing in condemnation of these folks, just concerned about those who are held captive by what they can’t seem to control.”  I shall fire my copy editor---that’s what I’ll do!  The sentence was meant to say, “I am not standing in condemnation of these folks (regarding observed…

Let’s do some word association … I say ‘independence’, you say ___?

independence … day

independence … freedom

independence … emancipation

independence … liberty

independence … self-reliance

Americans just celebrated Independence Day, commemorating America’s independence from Great Britain’s tyranny (though most just call it Fourth of July now).  John Adams said this to his wife, Abigail, about the day,

       “It ought to be commemorated as…

Would you say you are conformed or transformed—conformed to a secular world’s values and ways of doing things, OR transformed—transformed by the power of God in your life?  Think about it for a minute. 

If I were to answer the question honestly, I am sure I am much more conformed than transformed.  Oh, I have moments when I have fixed my gaze on Jesus so strongly that my faith knows no bounds . . . if he asked me, I could get out of the boat and walk on the water to him.  But more…

‘Which church is the right church?’  ‘Where should I take my kids to Sunday School?’  ‘Oh, yeah, we’ve been meaning to find a new church, but with sports and stuff, it just hasn’t happened.’  ‘Kinda stopped going because I just couldn’t relate, I know I should go back … where should I go?'

Hold the phone. 

I am sure you have noticed the big push to get back to basics—at least, in mid to upper class areas.  A lot of folks are feeling so harried by their daily pace, they long for…

School is out . . . time for some fun.  Usually, the local teenagers head to Rivi, (short for “Riviera” Beach), at the south end of our Southern California beach town.  However, Dylan and his friends have discovered another recreational water spot—you drive inland, down a country road, and then walk in still further to discover a great place to jump off the rocks to water some 25 to 30 feet below.  …

Great is the Lord!

If you could answer all of your questions about God, he would not be eternal.   If you could understand all of God’s thinking, he would not be infinite, and your thinking would not be finite.  If you could figure out everything about his ways, and what he would do next, then you would not need faith, whereas the writer to the Hebrews clearly stated that, “without faith, it is impossible to please…