I have a guilty confession … I love to go out for Chinese buffet. And I usually eat too much. But I can’t resist the little steamed dumplings and fried cream-cheese thingies. And so I add some beef and broccoli to say I had vegetables, and then help myself to another scoop of almond shrimp and fried rice.
Oh my, I am so full after that. I can barely waddle to my car. Hand gripping my stomach … promises to never indulge like that again. Ever. I’m stuffed!
But fueled? Far from it.
After dinner at a Chinese buffet, all I want to do is lie on the couch. In misery. Have you ever been filled but definitely not fueled?
If so, you might enjoy my devotion on Encouragement for Today about how easy it is to fill our lives up to overflowing. And to feel full … but not be fueled.
There is an important difference between the two. However, the hard part about being full but not fueled is it’s almost impossible to diagnose the problem. Your life might be full of good things. Things you love. Things that honor God. But if you are seeking satisfaction from those things, you’ll always be left wanting.
In the devotion today, I promised to tell a bit more about the move that revealed this truth to me. So here’s the short version:
It was 1998 and my husband and I had a pretty good life, living in Phoenix. We had three wonderful little boys (ages 3, 5 & 7), both had jobs we loved, our family lived nearby and we were active in our church. I had cut my work hours to part-time in order to spend more time with the boys, but was working my way back to full-time.
At church, I was involved in almost every activity: helping to lead women’s ministry, singing in the choir in one service, leading worship in another, teaching Wednesday nights at the children’s program and co-leading VBS in the summers. In addition to teaching adult Sunday School occasionally, etc, etc.
Even though my life was full, I was always frustrated. Although I LOVED my children and husband, there was a constant anxiety that I wasn’t doing enough. I wanted to be able to complete projects but nothing ever stayed done at home. There was an underlying drive to push myself to prove that I still had “it”. That I could still do all I could do before children. It was exhausting.
Then my husband’s company closed their Phoenix office. It didn’t take long for him to get another offer – but it was all the way across the country. Charlotte, North Carolina to be exact.
Some women would respond to that kind of opportunity with graciousness. They would be the godly wives who smile sincerely with pride in their husband for getting a job so quickly. They would prepare their children for an exciting adventure. They would trust God had a plan to bring good to them.
Not me.
All I thought about was how far my husband was taking me out of God’s will. We were only going for two years, but I was certain they would be two dark years. But somewhere in my ranting, I heard God speak, and tell me to go. So I gritted my teeth, committed not to complain, figured I could get through two years, and we moved. With me crying a trail of tears across I-40.
Charlotte was beautiful, but I didn’t appreciate any of it. In spite of how accomplished I had been before the move, I was blind-sided by low self esteem and depression. I felt like a nobody.
I never thought I had a self-esteem problem until no one knew what my talents were, that I could sing, that I could write, that I could successfully organize a special event.
All my accomplishments up until that point meant nothing to anyone.
When every accomplishment was stripped away – what was left was an unhappy, self-centered woman who didn’t think God could make anything good out of a situation not of her choosing.
I know this isn’t a flattering picture, given I was a committed Christian, but it’s the gut-honest truth.
When I wasn’t crying, I was trying to make some kind of a home to live in. At a local Christian bookstore, I found a book called “No Ordinary Home” by an author named Carol Brazo. It was subtitled “The Uncommon Art of Christ-centered Homemaking.” Since I was going to be a full-time homemaker for two years, I decided to figure out what it meant. My plan was to keep trying to master something, to achieve something.
What I learned from reading the book was more than dusting techniques or time management tools. I learned a life-changing truth about how God sees me and I how should see myself. The author wrote:
“If there were one biblical truth I wish I could give my children and lay hold of in my own deepest parts, it would be this one thing. He created me, He loves me, He will always love me. Nothing I do will change who I am.
Being versus doing. The error was finally outlined in bold. I was always worried about what I was doing.
God’s only concerns was and is what I am being – a child of His, forgiven, justified by the work of His Son, His heir.
He did everything that needed doing; I need to relax and concentrate on being. The only thing I need to do is come to grips with God’s way of seeing me.”
I remember setting down the book because tears blurred the page. She was talking about me.
This truth redefined my understanding of what God wanted of me. And I was free from all the expectations I had placed on myself.
It is an ongoing process to live according to this truth. There’s still something in me that drives me to achieve. But now I’m able to see it for what it is, and hold my internal desires up to God’s truth.
I don’t have to prove anything to be loved by God. And He alone desires to fuel me with significance, worth and value.
Perhaps you feel this same frustration I did so many years ago. If so, my prayer is these same three words – being versus doing – will help release you to embrace the truth about your value.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you’ll leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
In His love,
Glynnis
P.S. There’s more God did in that move to Charlotte. We did go back to Phoenix, but His plan all along was for me to get to Charlotte – not just my husband. I met Lysa TerKeurst within and month, and connected to Proverbs 31 Ministries, which changed my life and my family’s lives. Now 15 years later I’m an executive director at P31 and so thankful God got tough with me.
Here I am at 3:27am…doing. I couldn’t sleep because a recent promotion and work-related trip has left me feeling anxiety ridden and so behind in just everything. Instead of catching up this weekend, I spent almost all my time at one of my (4) sons basketball tournament or sleeping while my husband stayed home (sick) and the laundry got even further behind. The annual Gospel Music workshop I sing in is this week…something I look forward to all year…trying to figure out how to “do” that too. Your emails and testimonials always seem to arrive right on schedule. Thank you. I’m listening. Please send prayers for peace and balance.
I will pray. I always say that the weekends aren’t for relaxation but for getting further behind. Run here and run there for our kids. I always try to remember that this is only for a season. They are only in our care for such a short time. Now…it’s hard for me to remember my own words as I spend the entire weekend running from event to event.
. I will pray for you.
How funny- my name is Shannon, too, and my response was going to start out exactly like this one! ” Here I am at 3:24 am, not sleeping, but thinking about all I have to do. ” I know there’s more to it than doing– but, I like the other comments spend my weekends at basketball games and when I’m home, all I want to do is relax! It means my house, laundry, etc, are never caught up and I berate myself for not having it all together. I have a wonderful husband who helps when he can, but works crazy hours and is home relatively little. I was actually just praying for God to help me get it done when I clicked on my email and saw this. Maybe it is not about doing, but being. ( but I guess the laundry still needs to get done.
. Maybe it’s an attitude adjustment I need!). Thank you, Glynnis, for your guidance and wonderful blog.
Boy did this one hit me at 5 a.m. As a stay at home mom, most would think I “have it made”. Granted, I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to stay home. I taught school before I had my two boys and earned a master’s degree in library science in 2010. I have tried to get back into the swing of it again by substituting, but my husband’s job and my boys’ busy schedules always overshadow my plans. I have sat here for months feeling depressed and ignored (except for being taxi service and short order cook). Your devotion this morning made me realize that maybe this is God’s plan for me. Maybe being Mom is supposed to be my ministry. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this and see that in my funk and feeling under appreciated, maybe God will use this so that I can be a blessing to my family instead of seeing this as a burden.
Wow. I had a complete breakdown yesterday as a result of chasing endless projects that would fill me up somehow and make me “worthy” and “valued.” God used your words and story to speak directly to my heart. I’m a homemaker with two small children and I keep attempting to create things to be done instead of resting in the truth you shared. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this today. Please pray that His love will penetrate my heart and that I will understand I do not have to earn it. I pray that countless women are drawn to your devotion today-every woman needs to read this!!!
Wow! Thank you for your blog & devotional. I echo the other comments in one way or another and I needed to hear this message – about BEING vs DOING, again! It’s seems so much easier to DO things to fill up my heart but ultimately that always leaves me empty and thankfully God meets me there at the empty place with a devotional or blog or something else like this to get my attention back on him. Thanks!!
I am in that place you speak of. Stripped of responsibility and all that I thought signified my worth. I’m learning that truth of being rather than doing. It’s been many months now but I think I’m finally getting it. Thanks for putting it in black and white for me. BEING VERSUS DOING. Can’t get much clearer than that. Blessings.
Loved…loved….LOVED this Glynnis. And I needed to hear it.
The quote from Carol B.’s book is powerful. So glad you shared it.
Oh my you just told part of my story. When I got sick, lost my job, children grown, and me at home, lost myself. Came deeply depressed, with unpleasant thoughts. I hit rock bottom. It was then that I realized, my worth was all about what I could do, and now I didn’t have anything to do. I was nothing so I thought. God proved that differently for me. Thanks for sharing your unperfection. It helps us to also see that God doesn’t expect perfection. He just wants us to come to him and let him live in us. Thanks for sharing. Love the quote going to share it on Facebook.
Wow!,I’ve been so depressed lately and empty. Im Christian school teacher. Started 2 yes ago. Ud think I’d be so happy. Its what I thought I wanted. Almost two years I changed my life. I was full time outreach director. I felt I needed to find balance and spend more time w my family. But felt guilty for thinking it. Then I broke free to find myself just a few months later serving again. Just feel like I’ve gotten deeper into depression and like I’m always trying to please someone. I wonder where my relationship with God went and I want to quit my job and take care of my family. Boy is laundry piled up! But I’m so afraid I will be disobedient to God if I stop teaching! Such a hard place to be. Would love to get away and find myself in Gods presence! Thanks for sharing, let’s me know I’m not alone.
Dear busy, oh boy. I am 70 and so relate. I remember those teaching mommy years. Years have deleted by. Why couldn’t I wait for those kids to be in bed at night? Now I would give anything to read them a bedtime story. When it is all said and done , it is family first. All else can wait.
What a timely post. I am at home stuck without a car because of a flat tire I got last night during my 3rd trip to church yesterday. You have hit the nail on the head for me. So I am just being at home today and trying to catch up on all the things I let go because I am too busy to be the stay at home mom I’m supposed to be. Thanks for the great reminder.
So glad your car broke down. ;0)
i just tried to get the book “No Ordinary Home” on Amazone because the library did not have it. $67 for new $20 used and $75 collectable.
That’s crazy!! I know it’s out of print, and that makes me sad.
At the top of the body of an email, beneath the sender’s name, are two little words: “to me”. It certainly was. Thank you, Glynnis.
Glynnis, this message struck a deep nerve. I know that I’m known as a ‘doer’. I get things done. But just ‘being’ me has been difficult. I’m always so concerned with others that i seem to have forgotten about me. Last year, i cried alto because I felt like I lost who a sense of who i am. I love being a stay at home mommy and wife. I felt overconsumed by these roles. I lost a sense of who i am, God’s beloved daughter, forgiven and cleansed; never to be alone knowing that i am loved by God. I’m a work in progress learning on just being.
Amen!
This was such a helpful reminder! My husband is retiring early in June and we are moving across the country to “homestead”. I struggled with the exact same struggle you did – I am so “needed” here with so many church ministries, what will I DO there??? But God taught me just in the last 3 weeks that helping my husband, being kind, etc. IS doing something. We think of those things as the “side” things, but they are the MAIN thing! I’m sure I will have some hard days ahead as I adjust, but this devotional is PERFECT for me. Thanks!!
Renee – What a beautiful insight to share. Thank you so much. My home and family are my first line of ministry too.
I feel like I’m in a rut right now. God has gifted me with a Masters degree to work in the church. He has also gifted me with many different capabilities. Having a daughter with Down Syndrome and a husband who is in school trying to become a paramedic, I feel stuck. I have 2 self-employment jobs and we are not making enough money to live on.
Your post for today just re-emphasized that I probably need to quit taking things on to do. However, I know that if I stay home and do nothing, I am not happy and my husband grows more frustrated. Any thoughts?
Dear and precious Heather,
My prayer for you is wisdom, guidance and rest in this season. May God abundantly surprise your needs as you trust in Him! I was a single mother of three and although we didn’t have loads, He ALWAYS supplied my needs!
Blessings previous one in Christ
Heather — I was meant to see this. I was a Speech Therapist and made as much as $42 an hour in the same year that I made $8.50 an hour. I was no happier either way and now at age 60 am working one-on-one with a 10 year old Down’s boy. YOUR being his MOM counts for more in GOD”S kingdom than anything else! Your supporting your hubby, again, is PRICELESS!! Kudos to you! RELAX and let GOD lead you. YOU WILL have that dream church job at some point and just think of ALL THE WISDOM you will bring. Meanwhile – plug into “Joni & Friends’ web or radio. I hear her for 5 minutes on my way home sometimes. SO UPLIFTING. She has been in a wheelchair for over 50 years. These Proverbs 31 people too are amazing! Blessings!
I read the P31 devos every day in my email and rarely click over to the individual’s blog. But today I saw how you were going to talk more about that move across country and I needed to hear what you had to say. You see, my husband is determined to move us across country and I’ve been fighting him on it because I don’t want to move away from my dream job that I’ve had for 5 years, our friends, family, church, etc. I don’t want to give those things up. But in trying to turn to God and let him soften my hardened heart, I’ve realized that every reason I have is selfish or based on fear. Fear that I won’t make friends or find a job I love as much as the one I have now. Or fear that I’ll sink into depression, or we won’t find a church, etc. And your words spoke so much truth to my heart today that I’m sitting here stunned and in tears. Thank you so much for sharing this story/life lesson today. You’ve given me much hope.
Ashleigh – our God is so precious to care about our needs. He has not forgotten you.
I love reading your story again even though I have read it in your book many times. Your transparency about your situation gave clearer focus to what was wrong in my life when you said, “everything about my life was beautiful except my heart”. A pivotal moment in my life was seeing & accepting that truth. You see, your story is my story…5 years ago I moved to a new place but I still have the same address…God introduced a major health issue into my story so that I was no longer the woman I had been and I spent years trying to get her back. I have never been in a comparison battle with another Christian woman that was as fierce as comparing the new me with the old me. Irony is, I spent decades encouraging new moms to embrace their new life by letting go of what was B.C.-before children! (i am old)
But I could not see that I was doing the same thing! I still have to fight to keep this truth protected in my heart because the enemy tempts me daily but at least I know the difference between being filled and being full. Thank you for encouraging me today in my battle, Glynnis.
Wow, this closely describes the past 3 years of my life. I moves 500 miles from where I grew up and lived my whole life to marry the love of my life. It has been the hardest thing I have done yet. My heart has been wrecked much the way yours was. Thank you for sharing your journey, I needed to hear it. I’m still leaning to rest in His love only. Learning that grace is all I have and anything I do is only good because of His touch.
Lord knows I have been there. For me it was a sad and challenging time in my life but when God stepped in and met me right where I was, in a place of confusion, heart ache, and pain, I received my healing, my breakthrough. No longer on empty but fueled with His love, His peace, and His joy I could take the trip that was before me, not looking back but pressing forward. In HIM WE WIN!
This blog has also spoken to me! I am an empty nester, and find that I really am feeling sort of lost, yet weary and glad for some free time. I guess I struggle w/ feeling guilty that I don’t WANT to do so much anymore. It seems like right now keeping up w/ work and my home and husband is about all I can juggle! Yet, I continue w/ many activities at church because I know I will benefit once i get there, and I do, but also out of a feeling of “obligation”. It is very hard for me to really accept in my heart that God does not expect me to “Do”. I know I need to learn that. I love going to the mountains. It is my favorite place. I feel all the pressure of everything melt away when i am there. I feel as though no one expects anything of me when I am there and that is where I feel God is content w/ just me. Wish I could feel that way even at home!
Thanks for this post, Glynnis. I think God took my husband to work out of state (almost 13 months and counting) to force me to slow down and focus on His will for my life as well. Thank God He loves us enough to make sure we get the message!
Thank you for your devotion today Glynnis! I journaled all my concerns to God a few days ago and asking him to answer each one with a verse or Godly wisdom that I come across as I am living life. Next to my comment, “I do not add value because I do not work outside the home” and “I need to do more”, I wrote the quote you included from Carol Brazo, “God’s only concerns was and is what I am being – a child of His . . .”. My kids are 14, 16 and 20 and I thought I had dealt with those issues long ago, but they are rearing their ugly heads as I have more time and energy having older kids. However, it takes time and margin to sit before the Lord, manage a home and all that that includes, counsel a friend on the phone who is having a rough day or issue, asking God how I can be His hands, mouth, feet and then doing it. I really don’t have time for anything else. He is reminding me to not look for value as the world gives or even how I might occasionally view it, but how He views it! Interestingly enough, the moms in my Bible study who work full-time are struggling with the same thoughts. Have we been obedient to His call on our lives each day? Do we see any other way we could have gone with our lives thus far or do we believe we are where we at because that is where God put us and where we need to be until He moves us? I do. So with that, I need to rest and have no regrets. Joy, thankfulness and freedom in my thoughts, is how I go forward from here!
I love your insights. Thank you so much for sharing them with all of us!!
As a 2012 seminary graduate, my denomination has policies and procedures that can take two years to complete before ordination. As I began this process in December 2012, I feel frustration as I haven’t found employment, companies respond that I’m over qualified. Still, I look and wait. Suggestions from friends say that I tend to overextended myself, a realization I now understand. strangely, I find myself enjoying being, and letting God show me the way he had planned for me. it’s ok to rest, waiting got God’s plan to continue my journey. thanks for reminding me it’s ok to be, not do.
Thank you for sharing your story and encouraging words. I also am struggling with finding my purpose or feeling like I need to be more. I am learning/trying to hear Gods words and praying that I live my life out in that way.
Dear Glynnis,
Thank you so much for sharing such powerful words of wisdom. I cannot even begin to put into words how deeply you ministered to me this morning. The question I will now ask myself, “Am I fueled or filled?” A question that begs to be answered. I not only learned from your testimony, but I also was so challenged by the wisdom that you gained from your rich experience. My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for your devotion and post!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Blessings!
Hi Cheri – I was just thinking about you recently and your Dream’s Box. I love that idea .. just haven’t implemented it. Thanks for leaving a comment today.
Dear Glynnis,
I struggle with doing vs being all the time. I think I have to do for God in most areas of my life until I keep hearing myself saying I & me. Praise God He reminds me I am His and He is perfect. I have known the Lord most of my life. Now that I am pushing 60 and the kids are grown, I still find myself doing too much for God rather than being His child, and letting Him fill me so I can do His will. Praise God for sisters like you & Lysa T. Your insights from Him remind me of who I am and that my Father will take care of everything if I just get out of His way. Lord Bless your day! amyfaith
I wrote that down Amy Faith:)..”. My Father will take care of everything if I just get out of His way!.. Thank you for that reminder!
Thank you so much for the timely reminder of being and not doing. It reminds me of the story in the Gospels of Martha and Mary and how Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen wisely to hang out with Him all day.
I have had to deal with this issue for different reasons. Being a victim of sexual abuse left me stripped of self worth. I learned to be a people pleaser just to feel valued. It has taken many years of counseling and breaking bad habits to learn that being is just as important as doing. We moved to different churches after many years of service as well. Like you I felt my worth dwindling since the new church family did not know me or my accomplishments or my capabilities. It was tough. It has taken years to learn it isn’t about me it is about God and I am finally satisfied to just “be” and wait for the Lord’s guidance before I “do” anything. God had a new plan for you to touch women’s lives and I love Prov
31!
Teri – Praise God for the work and healing He has done in your life. Thank you for leaving a comment today!
What you are talking about is the fear that I have right now. My husband and our family are moving to go on a church plant. We are the oldest people going, the majority of people are college students or just out of college. Finding myself and what God has planned for me has been a stretch. I am excited though, just want to get past myself.
I am a working mother of 2 children and have felt for years (ever since my oldest child was born) that God wanted me to stay at home with them. I was able to do that for 2 wonderful years, but finances forced me back to work. I still struggle with the desire to be at home for them. Even though they’re both in school now, I miss out on a lot because I’m working & I also miss their summers. Sometimes I think they need me even more as they get older. It makes my heart ache! We just cannot find a way to afford for me to stay at home. I would welcome prayers to either change my heart or change our situation. Luckily, I don’t find my worth in my job & would welcome the opportunity to give it up to be there for my kids.
Thank you Glynnis so much for today’s devotional. You wouldn’t believe how needed it was to me!! I’m engaged but now really disillusioned by my fiance…and I’m leaving. It’s the most horrible thing right now to me and he’s out of town but I see him friday. He’s lied a few times and has alot of things to take care of that he actually wanted me to pay for and is just showing he’s not reliable and though he says he’s Christian, he’s showing he wouldn’t be there for the long haul. I can’t believe what he’s done to me through all of this and I even moved closer so we could hang out together. I’m now seeing he wouldn’t be there for me if something bad happened to me whereas I have been there for him in his struggles. I really wonder why God put me here and made it such a clear path to me to move to be closer to my fiance. Even my friends from church mentioned this when I told them about our engagement and of my move to be closer to him.
I’m not feeling totally lost but kinda and will keep Isaiah 58:11 as a power verse for the week ahead. I had forgotten about that verse but thank you for adding it in as your devotional is helping me feel a little less overwhelmed. I would welcome prayers for me…and my fiance. It’s hard to do my work at the hospital when all i feel like doing is crying.
Julie – It sounds like God is speaking to you … I am praying for you right now, and I’m praying for God to give you the strength to obey whatever He says to do. Trust that He is speaking to you.
God will not fail you!! And He will not lie to you.
Thank you Glynnis. Again, thank you for the devotional. I will keep my heart open to find out what God is telling me and obey Him.
Thank you so much for this devotion! Praying that I would be able to focus on the Lord for fulfillment.
Wow-does this speak to me! Thanks for this devotion! i really appreciate you and Proverbs 31 ! So thankful that the LORD has led me to this website and devotions! Praise You-LORD!
Glynnis,
Every time I read something you write, I think we are just alike. Though I can’t sing worth a hoot, and I’m pretty impressed you must be both left and right brained. I have a 4 year old and two year old boys and long to get things done like I did before children. Don’t get me wrong I love to cuddle but I really like to keep working. My best day is a productive day. I miss having some quiet time to think and things staying clean for longer than a few minutes. Thanks so much for the post today. It’s so hard to remember to just be….not natural for me.
I am recently retired and already struggling with the “do too much but still feel empty” syndrome others warned me about. Now I am in the process of slowing it down and placing a higher value on my role as a homemaker. The book “Having Mary Heart in a Martha World” by Joann Weaver was invaluable in helping me diagnose my problem. I took more notes out of that book than any other I have ever read! Here’s one: ” Service was never supposed to be our first priority. God desires fellowship with us. Don’t confuse duty with devotion. ” Thank you, Glynnis, for yet another devotional that really spoke to my heart. And thank you for letting God use you in mighty ways.
Glynnis, I am so glad you have written more on this subject! I read what you wrote on Day 13 of the Clutter Free Challenge: “For many years I defined myself by what I did.” Boy, did THAT strike a chord for me. I was anxious to read more on this topic.
My husband of 30+ years passed away 3 1/2 years ago from early dementia so my world was turned upside down for quite a while. But God led me to my new husband who I married this summer at the age of 58. I then packed and moved from Florida to Illinois to be with him (when we couldn’t make the reverse happen due to being unable to sell his properties). My new husband is committed to helping me be the woman God meant me to be. But moving cross country where I started my new life–new house, city, state, relationship, etc. (with my 86-yr old father in tow who presents his own challenges) has been MAJOR. There have been and there still ARE many moments when I have questioned who I was. But the whole time I have been here I have been loving and trusting God that I was where I was supposed to be. I was working in FL and right now I don’t have to. It is working out for me to just be home and take care of my father and spend time with my new husband. In the beginning it felt REALLY weird not to have a job to go to (and be defined BY). But as more time goes on I am learning to BE, to figure out who I am, and to NOT feel guilty that I am not doing MORE. Because I am in a new relationship AND still trying to go through a lot of moving boxes in the garage, every day is a blank slate. In the beginning it was tumultuous (combining households) and I had a few meltdowns. With my husband’s help I am starting to feel peaceful about BEING. Thank you, Glynnis! I welcome all you write on BEING and not doing. You are a blessing to many.
I have always been a doer, that is until chronic illness took over my life! I have had to learn to let go of doing and learn how to be. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and some days all I can do is be still. God has shown me in my time of stillness that I am still me, just a different version of who I used to be, but in the stillness, I am finding out who He is. Would I have been able to slow down long enough to truly know Him if He would have left me the way I was, Maybe, but in the stillness is where He speaks to me, where I learn more about Him and his desires for my life. I may not be who I used to be, but I am sure of one thing, God has me right where He wants me to be right now. Has it been hard, yes!! I still pray for healing, but while I am in this trial, I will thank Him for slowing me down long enough to hear his voice and rest in Him.
I just wanted to let you know how much this devotion has touched me. Thank you for sharing your life with us to show us again how God is at work.
I think we all struggle with this at times. I am a total type A personality and relaxing is not my strong suit. This was a wonderful post.
This is my first visit to your website. When you wrote about Charlotte,N.C. , I felt a connection. My daughter and her family have lived there for over 25 years. I have prayed for Christian fellowship for her. Just as Abraham said, Lord, will you save if there are 10?