Like a married woman who becomes dissatisfied reading romance novels, I have become dissatisfied with mundane Christianity as I’ve read the thrilling adventures of missionaries–men and women like Gladys Aylward, Esther Kim, Hudson Taylor, Samuel Morris, and Eric Liddell.
Our Kids are Bored
The book, Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, makes the argument that young people are leaving the Christian church in droves because the church isn’t addressing the big questions on evolution and the veracity of the Bible. I agree, but I also believe that young people are leaving because they’re bored. My son is currently on his mission trip to Africa. He called me from Nairobi more excited than I’ve heard him in years. The Kenyan church is on fire for God, he told me. I don’t want the flame to go out when he returns.
I’m Bored, Too
I’m only 40-something, but I’m bored, too. By boredom, I don’t mean that God is boring, because He isn’t. The relationship I have with Jesus Christ is the most exciting relationship I’ve ever had or will ever have. One reason He is so exciting to me is because He challenges me. He isn’t like a teacher who keeps saying, “Good, good” to everything I do. Instead, He says, “Good! Now try this.” What I’m asked to do always seems beyond my reach, but it isn’t.
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. (Deut. 30:11)
While my personal relationship with Christ is exciting, my corporate relationship isn’t. In other words, I don’t feel my church challenges me the way Jesus does. Instead, I’m asked to do easy things I could do when I was six. I’m still dropping money in the offering basket, singing songs, and folding my hands to pray. Is that all there is?
I don’t think so. Anything becomes boring when it’s repetitive and disconnected from its purpose.
God Isn’t Boring
A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me to donate shoes to her missionary friend who works in a remote area of Africa. I gathered up shoes from my closet with no more thought than I give to any decluttering. Some time later, I received a photo (I can’t find it or I would share it) of the women wearing my shoes, so giddy with joy they were practically levitating. I sat at my computer and wept and wept. Giving shoes was suddenly anything but boring.
I was expecting my fourth child as a mother of three sons. At the time, I had a number of online friends who also had boys and only boys. One of them shared that she had prayed about the gender of the child she was expecting and her son then had a dream that she would have a girl. The ultrasound revealed that he was right. I decided to pray about my child’s gender, too. I knew I would be happy either way, but this time (for what I thought was for sure my last child), I wanted to know.
I prayed and opened my daily Bible to the date my ultrasound was scheduled. The passage for that day read:
Genesis 35:17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”
Now, I was pretty sure there wasn’t a passage in Scripture that said, “Guess what? You’re having a daughter!” But I was still so struck by the direct answer to my prayer that I believed come ultrasound day, I would learn that boy number four was joining our family.
The ultrasound technician confirmed what God had already told me through His Word.
That evening, I had arranged to go out for dinner with my Bible study friends to give them the news. They were dying to know and not long after we were seated, a family with four boys sat behind us. I just gestured to them and said that my family would look just like that. After my friends were sure that I wasn’t upset about not having a daughter, they began deciding what I should name our son.
I had given my three sons biblical names, so that made the decision easier for them. Names were written on a paper napkin and then the debate started. Finally, after much discussion, they told me his name ought to be Benjamin. As I considered this name, I thought about the Scripture God had given me predicting another son. When I got home, I read further in Genesis:
18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
Of course, I hoped I wasn’t going to die in childbirth! But I knew that my son’s name would be Benjamin and that God had known him even before he was conceived.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
My mother was always game for a new adventure. She remodeled houses that were in danger of being condemned. She started a large daycare in her home. She was willing to be trained to be one of the first women to work in appliance repair for Sears. She willingly moved to a small acreage where she had new adventures in raising animals and planting crops. She willingly tackled a completely new career of activity directing in a nursing home for many years. In these latter years, she’s been willing to learn computers and blogging. She’s even taught me a thing or two!
Wonder Women need to be willing to try new things.
Have Fun
My mother has always liked to have fun. She could make the most boring tasks interesting. I fondly remember our team house- cleaning competitions. She turned a snowed-in Halloween into one of my favorite family memories. She loved to entertain–the more the merrier. As an activity director, my mom enjoyed wearing crazy jewelry and planning creative activities that she knew the residents would enjoy. Her ready smile and laughter went hand-in-hand with her love of fun.
Wonder Women need to have fun.
Keep Things Simple
My mother is a fabulous cook, but rarely uses a cookbook and even more rarely uses anything but the most basic spices. My husband and I raved about some mostaccioli she made once and left for us at our house. When I called to ask her how she’d made it, she didn’t know it was mostaccioli and she’d used nothing more than the simplest ingredients. She doesn’t understand why I have to have complex systems and rules for doing things and neither do I.
Wonder Women keep it simple.
Don’t Complain
My mother has had a number of challenges in her life–physically, emotionally, and financially. But I can’t ever remember her complaining about them. Even now that she has multiple sclerosis, she is determined to have a positive attitude and be thankful for what she has, rather than what she doesn’t. What a rare trait this is! Okay, she might complain about her husband occasionally. 😉
Wonder Women don’t complain (much).
Serve Others
Even though caring for people in need isn’t fun, my mother has done it as long as I can remember. From caring for a young boy with cancer to caring for my father even after they’d divorced, to sewing and cooking for her best friend as she battled the last stage of cancer, my mother has always known the importance of service and people love her for it.
Wonder Women serve others.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Today is my my mom’s birthday and she would love it if you would drop by her blog and give her a happy birthday comment. While you’re there, you might enjoy reading some of her stories. She’s a great writer.
For years, every time I went to the dentist, the hygienist would be on my case about not flossing. I honestly don’t understand why I was once a flossing failure, but I do know why I’m now a flossing fanatic. I changed my habits using a simple approach that can work for you, too, whether your new habit is flossing or something even more important.
No Oprah Moments Required
I didn’t have an emotional breakthrough with flossing by recounting a horrible incident in the dental chair when I was a child. I do like talking about the time the dentist hit a nerve while giving me an injection (it was AWFUL!), however talking it out didn’t get me to floss. Oprah is a case study in the lack of relationship between understanding a bad habit and ending it. So are our pets. You can train your dog to stay off the couch without having him recline on one for psychoanalysis, thankfully. You can develop a healthy habit (or change an unhealthy one) without understanding the roots of your behavior.
Quit Looking for Motivation
I didn’t start flossing because my dentist put the fear of gingivitis in me. I do recall being motivated to floss at one time because I hoped for the approval of my hygienist. When she didn’t praise me for my months of flossing and instead criticized my technique, I quit flossing for years. I don’t know why I started again. Maybe I had something stuck in my teeth? The point is, to change many habits, you don’t need a big reason to do so.
Just Do It. A Lot.
For some reason, I flossed several days in a row. Then I thought about not flossing because I didn’t feel like it. Flossing isn’t fun and I do it at the end of a long day when I’m fatigued. But I flossed anyway. I have no idea why. Then I got serious about the potential of not flossing. While I thought about skipping, I would reach for the floss. By the time I had determined I could skip it “just this once,” I was already done. I was on automatic pilot. I’ve been flossing every night for years now and I can’t NOT do it. Reason or no, motivation or no, just do what you know you should do, day after day.
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Genesis 4:7
Rinse & Repeat.
I’ve used this method to change a number of habits. I lock my car with the remote each time to keep from locking my keys in the car. What was once a regular problem hasn’t happened in many years. I also run my dishwasher each night. I can be dead tired, but like it or not, there I am loading, adding soap, and pushing buttons. I am currently using the same method to develop a regular blogging habit. So far, so good!
What habits have you changed with this method or what habits would you like to try it with?
Today is my birthday and I don't mind telling you that I'm 44. In fact, I'm excited that I'm only 44, because I had it in my head that I was 45. So I have a bonus year now! 🙂
Because of a disappointing birthday or two, I am now very vocal about my birthday, often giving people weeks of warning and being very specific with my family about what I want! So because I consider you all my family, too, I am going to be very bold in telling you what I want for my birthday this year.
Last Sunday, some of our church members shared about their recent mission trip to Haiti. One woman told us that a six-year-old girl came up to her at church before the trip and slapped a ten dollar bill into her palm. The woman was confused until she was told that the little girl had asked for money for her birthday to give to poor people. I was honestly taken aback. That little girl, whoever she is, can't possibly have all that I have. I'm so blessed with material things that people have no idea what to get me for my birthday.
So if you'd like to give me something for my birthday (and seriously, why wouldn't you??), this is what I want. Consider sponsoring a child through World Vision. My dear friend, Deb, is in Bolivia, South America (I add the continent in case you're as geographically challenged as I am) with World Vision to see and write about the amazing work that ministry is doing there. For a little more than a dollar a day, you can change a child's life forever. Now you might be thinking that I'm not worth $35 a month, but certainly you have to agree that those children are!
I know some of you who are reading honestly cannot afford such an extravagant gift for me. Could you join with other friends and family members? If seven of you spent just $5 a month, you could adopt a child through World Vision and you'd really make my day! If you can't spend anything on a gift, then please honor me with the gift of prayer. Pray that God would raise up sponsors for the children of Bolivia and follow Deb's journey through Counting My Blessings. If you CAN sponsor a child, please click through the link on Deb's blog.
Thank you for reading! That's a wonderful birthday gift, too.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
, makes the argument that young people are leaving the Christian church in droves because the church isn’t addressing the big questions on evolution and the veracity of the Bible. I agree, but I also believe that young people are leaving because they’re bored. My son is currently on his mission trip to Africa. He called me from Nairobi more excited than I’ve heard him in years. The Kenyan church is on fire for God, he told me. I don’t want the flame to go out when he returns.
