A Dangerous Woman?

A Faithful "Dangerous Woman"

My Grandma Thaxton, pictured above, had a big positive influence on my life. She taught me what a strong faithful Christian woman looked and acted like. Fern Thaxton raised three little girls as a single mother during the Great Depression in Boelus, Nebraska. She supported her little family by working fulltime as a schoolteacher. When this photo was taken, Grandma was riding on her favorite horse, Daisy, who carried her on the daily trek to teach her "little folks" in a one-room school house.

Grandma may look meek and mild in this photo, but she truly was what Lynne Hybels would call: "a dangerous woman." Why? In her book, Nice Girls Don't Change the World, Hybels says, "A dangerous woman is one who shows up with everything she is and joins the battle against whatever opposes the redeeming work of God in our lives and in our world. A dangerous woman delves deeply into the truth of who she is, grounds herself daily in the healing and empowering love of God, and radically engages with the needs of the world."

My Grandma Fern lived a full life loving God and caring for children by teaching during the week at a small public school and also every Sunday at her little Methodist Church's Sunday School. Even after she retired from fulltime teaching at age 73, she volunteered as a private tutor for special needs children in her home.

Grandma never left Nebraska in all her 93 years, but she still fit Hybels' description of a "dangerous woman" who: cherishes children, embraces the elderly, and empowers the poor; who prays deeply and teaches wisely." As her adoring granddaughter, when I looked into her eyes and listened to her speak, I could see she was a strong and gentle leader, who sang songs of joy and talked down fear; who never hesitated to let passion and conviction compel her and righteous anger energize her. She was a "dangerous woman" who overflowed with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus. By that power and God's amazing grace, Grandma Thaxton changed the world for those whose lives she touched in Nebraska. And she continues to change the world through us her offspring and for generations to come. Thanks be to God for faithful dangerous women!

Thought Conditioners

Norman Vincent Peale is one of my favorite inspirational authors. He always wrote positive practical messages in his many books and Bible studies. Recently I found an article entitled: "Thought Conditioners." Our thoughts need to be conditioned - like clothing, or hair!

Reverend Peale dedicated much of his ministry to the power of positive thinking. In his preaching and teaching he would often remind us that we do have control over what we think about and how we perceive the events in our lives. Dr. Peale said, "Since happiness and effectiveness depend upon the kinds of thoughts we think, it is absoutely impossible to be happy if we think unhappiness-producing thoughts."

This reminds me of a favorite scripture: "Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things...And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4: 8-9 NIV)

And Luke 17: 21 promises, "The kingdom of God is within you." When we are filled with self-doubt, fear, and insecurity, we tell ourselves, "I can't do it. I don't have it in me!" But you do have it in you. You have the Kingdom of God within you. Dr. Peale once said that God has placed in your personality all the ability you need. You have only to believe in yourself, and strength within you will be released.

This photo of my daughter shows the joy and strength one feels when accomplishing God's work. We were in Kenya digging an irrigation ditch to direct water to the garden of a Maasai community. It seemed an impossible task at first, but with perseverance and the help of our whole team working alongside our Maasai friends, we were able to do it. Remember, when you are gripped with self-doubt, repeat to yourself, "God's abundance, peace and power are within me. I lack for nothing."

Entertaining Angels Unaware

There is a song by the Newsboys that has the chorus: "Entertaining Angels by the light of my TV screen, 24/7, you wait for me. Entertaining Angels, by the time I fall to my knees, host of Heaven, sing over me."

The scripture that inspired this song is Hebrews 13: 2-3. "Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured as though you yourselves were being tortured." (NRSV)

How difficult it is for us to take time to show such hospitality! This kind of hospitality was a custom in the Mediterranean region in the early Christian era. And the Bible speaks often of the importance of hospitality as in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). The book: Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in its Mediterranean Setting by Andrew Arterbury details what Christian hospitality meant. It wasn't just a quick greeting and welcome, it was a sincere interest in the wellbeing of the other. Our modern society has lost interest in true hospitality and often shuns the idea of getting involved in one anothers lives. Yet, God calls us to reach out and take the risk to care for each other personally.

The little angel in the center of the labyrinth photo above is a symbol of hospitality to me. It was given to me by a parishioner who wanted me to keep it in memory of our mutual dear friend who passed on into eternal life a few years ago. Every time I look at this precious little angel, I think of our friend, Joy, and the graceful talents she often demonstrated in showing Christian hospitality to friend and stranger alike. Joy was a professor at a nearby university. She often invited students to her home for a home-cooked meal and fellowship.

Life is full of opportunities to show hospitality. And when you do, the blessings come back to you, maybe in the form of angels and maybe in the form of the peace you feel from doing what your heart knows is grace-giving. You are an instrument of God's grace when you show hospitality to the strangers in need. May God bless you richly as you bless others near and far.

"A human being is a part of the whole Universe, a part limited in time and space. One experiences one's self, our thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical illusion of our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. This is what I call Hospitality, offering our home, this earth, this universe to all who share it with us." (http://www.uupuertorico.org/Values/Hospitality.htm accessed 7-08-10)