Thinking Pink Blog

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; (and) I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Life is full of movement and full of noise. Movement is not a bad thing. If we are moving, we are living. But movement is exhausting, physically and mentally. In some ways, all this movement can be paralyzing. We feel stuck or caught because even though we're moving all over the place there is no direction or meaning behind it. We know we're moving, but we wonder if we're really getting anywhere. When our days are over scheduled and there’s no time to truly rest, not even a moment to stop and think clearly, that’s when God says, “Be still.” And when the noise of our lives is going at top volume, it’s difficult to hear ourselves think, much less hear what anyone is saying. When we are bombarded by media, and messages, and the whirr of technology, it’s exhausting. Sometimes we just want to put our hands over our ears and yell, “STOP!” That’s when...

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12 When I was 5 years old, I was living in upstate New York, when I attended a fall festival at a church. I won at a bingo game. Bingo is still one of my favorite games to play. I could pick any prize on a huge wall of toys. There were dolls, trinkets ,  and games to choose from. Instead of picking one of the many toys, I chose a large family Bible with the gold trimmed pages and beautiful colored pictures of Jesus talking to children. I still have this Bible, 34 years later. It is one of my prized possessions.  I have read through the Bible several times in my life. There have been times when I felt like I knew it all. I quickly learned that there was so much more to be gained from reading it again and again.  My hope for you, wh...

It's Monday, which means it is a new week full of new opportunities. Let's make it a great week by doing our part to have a better attitude and to have our hearts focused in the right direction.  I know that when I rush out the door and do not eat breakfast, I can get cranky because I am hungry. I think the word is "hangry". This means I need to eat breakfast.  I know that when I do not start my day with prayer, I start off on the wrong foot and can get stressed easily by what happens during the day. This means, I need to pray in the morning.  What are the things you must do to have a better day and to set your heart in the right direction? Do those things.  In the Bible, Paul says in Romans 7, that we do what we shouldn't and not what we should. We must make better decisions in order to have better days. If you want this week to be better, do something about it. Read your Bible. Pray to God. Listen to music that helps center you...

I can be kind!   22  But the fruit  of the Spirit is love,  joy, peace,  forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   23  gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. (NIV)  Kindness is a quality that every one of us can experience and express in our lives.  I know this is true because God has shown me how to be kind. It started with my little sister.   If you have a sister or brother, then you probably will understand my situation. I’m the oldest child in my family, and I have one sister who is three years younger than me. I love her deeply and really can’t remember not having her in my life. We are alike: we look alike and sound alike and dress alike and love the University of Texas Longhorns with the same passion. We love our parents and now we love each other’s children.  We are also different: she is short and I am tall; she keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself and I am more open and o...

The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:4-8 4  And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,  5  “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.  6  And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.  7  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.  8  And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”   When my kids were little they wanted to finger paint.  I wasn’t excited to clean up the mess I knew it would create, so I put it off as long as I could.  Finally, I relented and bought some blue finger paint.  On one warm Saturday afternoon, I had some work I nee...

Picture this: a pregnant, unwed teenage girl, running into the desert to escape cruelty and abuse.  Then, almost two decades later, the same woman and her now teenage son, sent out into the desert by the boy’s father to go anywhere but here.  Both times, death is right next to them, breathing his hot breath down their necks. Both times, she cries out for help.  Both times, she and her son are saved.  Twice she and her son are given a second chance at life.  This woman, named Hagar, is from the Book of Genesis, chapter 16 and 21.  She was a servant to Abraham and Sarah and let’s just say, there was a ton of drama around this whole situation.  It was a hot mess! It was also a completely different culture, time and place, so we have to consider that fact. But in the end, drama is drama and it can lead to some pretty disastrous circumstances, whether it’s 1600 B.C. or 2019 A.D. There is a lot to be said about Hagar but I want to focus on the fact...

Trust and Obey When we walk with the Lord, in the Light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way. As we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way  To be happy in Jesus But to trust and obey. By John H Sammis in 1887 I love the simplicity of this song that I’ve sung since I was a little girl.  Simply put, when we walk with God, He walks with us.  In the beginning of Genesis, we learn that God is perfect and our sin separates us from Him.  But, the remaining chapters reveal how God pursues us and wants to redeem us from our sinful state, so that He can abide with us.  God loves us and wants to abide with us.  What an incredible thought that the maker of the universe wants to abide with you and me. Think about the voices you obey.  Maybe you obey your parents or respect adults at church when they ask you to do s...