A Question of Boundaries

3/30/2026

1 John 1:8 "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and truth is not in us."

I am currently teaching about setting healthy boundaries in my woman's Sunday school class. Usually (and this has been true of my class so far as well), the lessons talk about setting boundaries when it comes to others. These are the people who may be leading us down a dangerous path, hurting us emotionally or physically, or even trying to confuse Biblical truth. It is often difficult, especially for believers, to put up healthy boundaries because it feels as if it requires us to cut people out of our lives, or at the very least, greatly limiting our interactions with them. How can we do that when we are called to love our enemies? Lines can certainly get blurred, and we may willingly stay on the "crazy cycle" for a long time. 

This evening, the thought about boundaries kind of flipped for me. What if some of our emotional boundary settings were placed around ourselves? What would that look like? Would inward boundary setting have a reciprocal effect with outward boundary setting? If I have a certain personal conduct that is nonnegotiable, like many of us do, and I unabashedly and without reservation put those things forward in my relationships, would it change an unhealthy imbalance? If I truly put others before myself, but within the context of a Biblical love instead of what the worlds demands of me, how would my relationships look? After all, love does require boundaries, even when it is unconditional. I know that seems paradoxical, but true love protects and instructs, doesn't it? 

When He walked the earth, Jesus interacted with and loved the people considered to be unclean or sinful, but He did so in truth. He charged those people to "sin no more". (John 8:11) It was a strict and clear boundary, and it changed them. The religious leaders of His day were horrified at this behavior, but that did not matter to Jesus. He loved everyone, even those that society deemed unworthy, and He held that personal boundary unto death. Even the act of His ultimate sacrifice was not to place a boundary around those who betrayed Him, but to save them; to save us. That is love in its purest form. 

So, I think I am going to have to ponder this notion further and pray about it too. Are external and internal boundaries symbiotic? 

To be continued...

Even Nature Seems to Be Weeping

 

3/20/2026

Psalm 34:15 "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are toward their cry."

Yesterday, my husband noticed an unusual icicle hanging from one of the small branches of the large maple tree in our front yard. It was a colder day after several wonderfully mild days. All of the snow that fell over the winter has melted, as well as all the icicles hanging from various surfaces.  

This interesting icicle, which was a fairly good size, was cloudy, not crystal clear like what we are used to. It also smelled sweet. So cool. A couple days before, my husband had broken a small branch off of this tree for our pup to play with. We surmised looking at it that it was the maple sap running out and freezing as it dripped. The conditions were just right for this unusual happening. We snapped it off and our pup had a wonderful time breaking it up and chewing at it. 

This morning, another smaller icicle had formed, and because of the bright sun warming the air, it was dripping. I stood and watched each sparkling bead break free for longer than I ever imagined I would. Between the bright blue sky and the sun sparkling on these tiny droplets, I was entranced. 

While experiencing this lovely moment, I got an upsetting text from a dear friend who has been going through an unimaginably difficult time. All of a sudden, my tree went from dripping jewels in the sunlight to weeping. In that moment, all of the trials that those I love are going through, and all that our world is currently experiencing, came crashing down. I stood there, feeling so helpless, knowing there is little to nothing I can do about any of it. 

Being powerless is so hard, and many of us presently feel the weight of that truth. Even we, as believers in an almighty and gracious God, get very weary sometimes. It all just seems so big, and we are so small. 

So, what do we do with this kind of heaviness? How do we keep from falling into despair? The only thing we can do is search the Scriptures, make sure our armor is secure, and pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. We must cling to the truth that Christ is on the throne of Heaven, and He will ultimately win every war. He will heal the sick, even if it is not this side of Heaven. He will renew hearts that turn to Him. He will restore families and relationships if we call on His name, repent, yield fully to his authority, and accept freely His saving grace. 

During these difficult times, dear reader, keep going vertical the best you can. I will do my best to as well. Gather with fellow believers and worship our Lord on Sundays (or Saturdays if that is your tradition). Be there for those around you who need encouragement and lend a helping hand if you are able. 

Remember always...You Are Loved. 

Weary Struggling Fragile

3/10/2026

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."

I have had a rough couple of days, mostly being concerned for others. Being HIGHLY empathetic can be both a blessing and a curse sometimes. This also does not help my struggle with OCD. Any time I am very emotional is exactly when the evil one attacks and my triggers start popping off. This evening, I am trying to ride the wave in (that's the term I use for not giving into the compulsion part of the disease I have). It's not that I don't have any defenses at all, of course, but by the end of the day they are wearing thin.

I have two very important support people in my life who help me though these difficult times. Today, one is traveling and the other did not sleep a wink last night, although the latter did try and helped me not give in or give up. It dawned on me how important it is for all of us to have those people in our lives that are there for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Those people who step into our hard times or mess no matter the cost. To have such people is truly a blessing. 

When my mind can get to a place where it stops racing, even for just a minute, I start thinking about trust. You see, OCD is all about controlling the environment around you, and if that cannot be achieved, there is a tilting. Just like when the pinball game "tilts". 

Via Google: "Pinball machines tilt in order to protect the machine from being abused. The tilt sensor is regulated in such a manner that it will only be triggered when pressure is applied to the machine."

Boy, do I get that. The creator of the game placed a special mechanism inside for protection. A tilt ends the game. My Creator places in me a mechanism that is vastly more protective: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. My internal connector is there not to stop me but to keep me moving forward. Yet, I still allow myself to be shaken by evil one's attack. He wants nothing more than to see me tilt so I will be ineffective and stuck in fear. It is a constant daily battle for my soul. 

All of us experience some kind of struggle, although it takes different forms and has different triggers. There are people whose fight is very obvious when other people's battle may not be. We ALL, however, need our reliable and loving individuals to help us though those difficult times. We need, above all, to trust in a living and loving Savior. He is my way, my truth, and my life.  

So, though I am currently a weary warrior, I will fragilely lean into prayer and on God. I am so thankful that I can. As I sit here writing, I can hear that still small voice in my spirit saying, "Do you trust Me?" 

Yes, Lord. Forever. For always. And no matter what. 

Blessed Connections

 

2/28/2026

Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others." 

As I have mentioned before, I am a proper hermit. I can go many weeks happily being at home and not venturing out for any purpose other than attending Church on Sunday. There are many reasons why I have adopted this quiet lifestyle, but I digress. 

This week, the importance of connection was front and center in my world. I will not go into specifics here, but time with others really impacted me in ways I did not expect. There were deep and challenging conversations along with much laughter and even a few tears. The one thing that was very evident to me is that God was in the midst of it all. His presence was so clear that at the end of the week I was drawn into deep reflection and immense gratitude.

Sometimes, going outside our comfort zone is hard, and we avoid the prompting to do so. I know I have many times. However, if we stay obedient to God's call to love and care for one another, the blessing is often immeasurable. I know this has been true for me. It matters little if I am on the giving or receiving end, because in those moments that all gets blurred. God's presence is all that matters, and the shared space we occupy with one another feels anointed. 

So, this committed hermit is once again realizing that I am commanded to be in the world, even if it is not easy. God will supply the strength I lack if I stay obedient to His call on my life. 

John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

As always, I am a work in progress. 

Bionic Faith

2/20/2026

John 3:30 "He must increase, I must decrease."

Those of us who are of a certain age will remember the TV shows The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Did you also know that there was a made-for-TV movie called Bionic Showdown starring a young Sandra Bullock? But I digress. For those of you who have no point of reference for these shows, I will fill you in. Each character had experienced some kind of horrible and disfiguring accident that left them with devastating disabilities and in critical condition. Luckily for them, a secret organization, the OSI, used these folks as test subjects for bionic experiments to save their lives. They each have super speed and strength, while one has enhanced vision and the other enhanced hearing. The parts of their bodies that were replaced became "better, stronger, faster." They became superhuman in a way. 

I wish my spiritual life could become bionic. I wish all the areas that are broken and damaged in my soul could be replaced with supernatural spiritual strength. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could open my soul fully for this reconstruction and seek that Holy Spirit transformation in me? God could make me better, stronger, more loving, faithful and obedient. What if all of my damaged areas could be replaced?

Fear with Faith

Worry with Peace

Willfulness with Obedience

Frustration with Patience

Unforgiveness with Grace

Doubt with Faith

Grumbling with Gratitude

Discontentment with Trust

And so on...

God is the Great Physician and could certainly change this brokenness in me, but I am always getting in the way. Oh, me of little faith. 

As always, I am a work in progress. 

The Lollipop

2/10/2026

Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people, have sown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

When you leave yourself open to an interaction with a stranger, you never know what will happen. Recently, my son was taking the dog for a short walk. An elderly woman drove up to him and rolled down her window. (Just for clarity, my son is a large 6'2'' man with a full beard, but he must have seemed approachable to her.) He politely stopped because he is a very respectful and kind person. She began to ask him if there was still a school on the road they both currently were on. He said he thought the original school had been converted to affordable senior housing. He was correct in this statement. She told him she had attended the school many years ago. He smiled in recognition. 

What happened next was nothing he could have foreseen. This lady, alone in her car, began to talk to my son about her life and some painful events that had happened to her. One of those things was her children not having any time for her anymore as they moved up the corporate ladder with wealth as their ultimate goal. My son could not conceive of such a thing and felt great empathy for this lady. As she spoke, he listened quietly. He really didn't need to say much as it seemed she just needed a kind ear to hear her heart. He gave her just that. 

When she finished unloading all the hurt, she thanked him and reached into the center console of her car. She pulled out a purple lollipop and handed it to him, saying she had recently gone to the bank and had gotten it there. It was a gesture of gratitude for the kindness he had shown her. 

Sometimes, God does not ask us to do the big thing; sometimes He asks us to just give someone who needs it a moment of our time. He may ask us to be aware and loving enough to stop what we are doing, listen, and share a moment with someone in need. My son did just that, and it not only blessed the lady but also himself.  

He will never know the outcome of this interaction, but I know he is hopeful it gave the woman some hope and peace.

I pray the next time God places a stranger in my path that needs a bit of my time, that I also stop and share a moment with that person. Who knows what blessings we may both experience. 

Decisions and Consequences

1/30/2026

Psalm 16:9 "Your Word is a lamp unto to my feet and a light unto my path."

Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

I have been thinking a lot lately about the consequences of poor decision making. I don't think anyone gets through this life without some decision they wish they could change because of an undesired outcome. Whether it is that meal that didn't taste quite right but you ate anyway resulting in GI issues, an expensive purchase that was made in haste and it caught you short paying for bills or necessities, or possibly a perm you thought would give you those sought-after loose beachy waves that actually made you look like Bob Ross, you may find yourself feeling a minor regret that quickly passes. Other decisions have a much deeper reach and may take years to unravel or heal from. 

Then there are decisions that have far reaching and lifelong consequences. Unfortunately, these kinds of hasty. careless, or even carefree decisions usually affect other people in our lives as well. They can be vast and wide in scope. The worst, though, is when a decision impacts the most innocent of us all: our children. People often enter into relationships without fully considering the future because falling in love is so "of the moment". Vision can easily - and often does - become myopic. When a relationship ends, and children are involved, it leaves a mark even when it is the most agreeable and magnanimous parting the likes of a Gwenith Paltrow coined "conscience uncoupling". 

Please do not misunderstand me; there are absolutely valid reasons for ending a relationship, such as when there is mental or physical abuse involved to any degree. Sadly, this does not account for many of the relationships that I have personally seen dissolve. I have even heard, in recent years, women referring to the men they are about to marry as their "first husbands" and vice versa.   

Today, I saw a Facebook reel of a young woman about to be married surrounded by her bridesmaids. They all, in turn, prayed for and over her before she walked down the aisle. It brought tears to my eyes. I have seen similar videos when fathers or parents pray with their child directly before the bride or groom say their vows. The most powerful image for me, however, is when the bride and groom themselves have a time of prayer before they make a lifelong commitment, usually back-to-back or each standing around a corner (keeping the tradition of not seeing each other until the ceremony). Do any of these moments of prayer guarantee that the marriage will last? Of course not, but putting God first certainly sets the right tone and course for a union made with a covenant.

Several weeks ago, in my women's Sunday School class, the topic of making a covenant came up. It was in regard to entering into membership at a church. It got me thinking that the word "covenant" is not really used in our society or culture much anymore. In layman's terms, it is a pledge or contract backed with a promise. The Biblical definition is a binding agreement or solemn pledge between God and humanity. 

We, as a society, do not take entering into a covenant with as much gravity as perhaps we should. Aren't we grateful, however, that God's covenants with us are forever binding? For through God's covenant, we are offered eternal salvation through Christ. If only ours to each other were eternally binding as well. 

Hebrews 9:13-15 "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."