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The Humbling of the SBC

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I am a Southern Baptist woman.

As a baby I toddled up and down the aisle of my parents’ little SBC church in central Texas, squealing with laughter as one church member after another held my chubby hands to steady me. I grew up there. I knew all of the best hide and seek spots in the building. I slept on the floor of the fellowship hall during G.A. sleepovers, and Jesus found me in that same room, when a traveling evangelist asked me if I could hear my shepherd’s voice. How many sweet people had poured God’s word into my hungry little soul by the time I was eight years old?

Eventually, as all kids do, I became a teenager. I spent years in Acteens reading the stories of passionate SBC missionaries. I mapped Paul’s missionary journeys on a posterboard that hung in the hallway. I went to national conventions designed specifically for Southern Baptist girls, and I loved every minute of it. The senior adults in our church encouraged me endlessly. They recognized me as a leader, and they allowed me to function as such. My junior year in high school my church hired a part-time youth minister, a young college kid, only two years older than me. We were great friends and did Christianity the best way we knew how–with gumption and passion and brokenness and gratefulness. I was never asked to be less than I was.

As a freshman in college, I found myself tasked with a strange job. My home church asked me to interview a college boy that they were considering hiring. He was two years older than me at our Baptist college, and I called him to ask if he would meet me in the cafeteria. I remember he was sitting with a group of his fraternity brothers when I walked in, and they were all wildly amused that he was being interviewed for a job by a freshman girl. My sweet church, though. They couldn’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t be the first one to vet this guy.

When I was nineteen, I stood behind the podium at that same little church, in the place where I had been so well loved and, looking out on many of the very faces who had smiled down at me when I practiced first steps up and down that long aisle, I spoke the truth of God’s word. No one was wringing their hands or glaring disapprovingly. My church wanted to see me grow and to use every ounce of ability that I had in order to glorify God within those walls and without.

I was never told that I should aspire to be a pastor. I was never told that I should be quiet. I was never asked if I fully understood complementarian roles. But, in every way in that humble church that I loved so dearly, it was made clear to me the truth of God’s word. The roles of men and women were so gracefully modeled there. Women were held in high esteem and helped run the place. Men were honorable and respected. That dear church saw value in me, and they allowed me to lead in my own ways, gently showing me the way to go according to the Scripture.

In 40 years of living I have been a part of seven Southern Baptist churches, each of them filled to the brim with kind, compassionate, godly people. What I have seen in all these years is not perfection. Far from it. Our churches are full of sins of all kinds, and so am I. We are on a steep learning curve right now in the SBC, and it is a good thing even though it hurts. We are straining to walk up this high hill of God’s good design for women, and we are woefully out of practice. In many ways we have forgotten what it looks like to hold women up, to hear their voices which are crying out in the wilderness, to value their thoughts and opinions and the wisdom they have gained through their study of God’s word. We have filled our boards and committees with men, albeit great ones, and we have entered rooms and we have closed doors to discuss sensitive women’s issues while most of the women wait outside.

The SBC is not dying. It is not facing a crisis that can’t be overcome. It is waking up from a long, fitful sleep to realize that some things are out of order, and those things can be set right by listening men and women and by the Holy Spirit of God. This is a time to be grieved by the sins we see revealed. It is a time to be cautious as we move forward, never allowing the pendulum to swing so far that we forget our strong, Biblical complementarian convictions. It is a time to be excited about the ways that God will work through humble hearts and changed attitudes. It is a time to be prayerful as hurting people are healed and as fallen leaders are reconciled to Christ. I believe all of this and more is in store for our convention. This is not a day for doom and gloom predictions or for jumping ship. It’s a day for holding on to Jesus as tightly as possible and asking Him to reveal to us our own wrong thinking and attitudes. It’s a day for humility in the SBC.

Imagine what could happen in Dallas next week if we all walked in with humble hearts, empty of all agendas other than glorifying our great God? What heights could the SBC reach on this steep climb that we’ve begun if we begged Jesus to show us where we are going astray in our own hearts and minds? There is no joy in seeing the mighty of the SBC fall. There is no joy in hearing the stories of women who have been abused or dismissed or silenced by the very men they should be able to trust for guidance and protection. But, there will be joy on the other side of this trek up the mountain. When God has changed things that we were afraid were unchangeable. When women are heard and when what they have to say is wise and changes our churches for the better. When SBC committees and boards gain more godly female representation. When women are expected to learn theology and are invited to discuss it freely. When we all grow. When we all change. I believe Southern Baptists will look back on these days as essential to our growth and flourishing. It’s gonna hurt. But, it will be worth it.

The SBC could take a few tips from the sweet church family who helped raise me. They did it with enthusiasm for who I was and excitement for who I may become. They cared for me by teaching me truth and by encouraging me to use my gifts for God’s glory. This is all any woman in the SBC really needs: open ears, open hearts, wise counsel, compassionate discipleship, and love poured out on a soul made in God’s image. Encourage women to grow, and value who they are and how they can contribute to our convention. I believe God will bless that many times over. I’m thankful for the SBC and the countless Southern Baptists who have nurtured me through the past 40 years. May God continue to humble and bless as we seek His face.

When Laundry is Your Biggest Sin Problem

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Sometimes I’m struck by the absurdity of modern moral codes. We live in an age when it’s permissible to get on the internet and say anything you want in the cruelest and most harsh ways. In a time when moms everywhere are decorating their homes with throw pillows and supposedly esoteric art pieces that feature the f-word, simply because they find it amusing. When abortions are wiping out huge numbers of the next generation of human beings. We live in a world where men and women alike can’t make it through the day without watching videos of violent sexual acts in which women and children are victimized in the most horrific ways. Yet, over and over again I see posts on social media about what a worthless human you are if you don’t return a shopping cart when you go to the grocery store.

A recent Barna survey asked Christian women what their biggest sin struggle is, and the top two answers were disorganization and inefficiency. First of all, is a messy laundry room really classified as a sin? And are these really the worst things that women believe they are struggling with?

The less connected we are to God’s word, the less we will be able to recognize and understand sin and biblical answers to moral and ethical questions. As a whole our culture  is moving further away from the Bible every day. Even professing Christians are distancing themselves from the scripture or are so unfamiliar with it that they have no real understanding of their sin as it relates to a holy and perfect God.  I suppose it only makes sense from there that people begin creating their own brand of morality, one where leaving a shopping cart or having dirty dishes in your sink is more grievous than jealousy or hatred or lust or even murder.

These are times for self-examination. Times for letting God’s word form our worldview and not the confused, godless culture that we are now living in. These are times for mining the depths of our own hearts and considering whether we truly know Christ or we are just going through half-hearted motions. Any woman who would claim that her biggest sin issue is disorganization has an extremely stunted understanding of who she really is or how depraved and wicked, how desperately in need of a Savior. A woman who believes that inefficiency is her most urgent sin struggle has little comprehension of her position before the God of the Universe. In these survey answers there is no hint of Isaiah’s confession as he fell at the feet of the Lord: “Woe to me! I am ruined!”

It’s likely that many of the women Barna surveyed who claim to be Christians are, in fact, not. But, even among those who are truly converted there is a real lack of comprehension when it comes to the holiness of God. As long as large chunks of Christianity believe that their habitual sins are not that bad, as long as churches are fooled into thinking that shopping carts and messy desks are bigger problems than pornography and racism, jealousy and pride, the church will grow more and more ineffective in showing the world what it really means to follow Christ and to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And as long as Christians fail to identify and kill sin in the Body of Christ, we are proving to the world that we don’t read or live by the book that we claim changes everything.

We can’t be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, identifying and eradicating sin in our lives, unless we read scripture and do what it says. We can’t see ourselves accurately until we see God for all that He is. We can’t even begin to reach for sanctification and holiness until we begin to see the utter holiness of our great God as He is revealed in the Bible. Until we turn to His word, until we study it and live with it and treat it like food and air, then we will never be able to untangle the mystery of the human experience, and we will be fooled into believing that things like shopping carts separate the decent people from the awful ones. It’s all just posturing until we get real about the awful in our own hearts.

It’s time to take a closer look at ourselves.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139: 23-24

Willpower isn’t the Cure for Pornography Addiction

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One of the most common things that we hear in ministry counseling is that someone is struggling with a pornography addiction. Men and women alike constantly battle this temptation, and in moments of weakness they regularly fail in their commitment to stay away from porn. They don’t understand why they can’t just stop looking at it, stop being tempted by it. Like a serial dieter who keeps a smorgasbord of cupcakes, cookies, and candy in the pantry, they leave their computers and phones and tablets unrestricted and count on their own strength of will to keep themselves away from the very sin that is killing them.

That’s not how avoiding temptation works.

If you are struggling with a porn addiction and you really, truly want to stop looking at porn, then you need to get filters and accountability software on every single device in your home. Alcoholics have to pour out the liquor, dieters have to throw away the cupcakes, and porn addicts have to block the porn. This is how you flee temptation.

If you want your husband, wife, pastor, or friends to believe that you are sincerely and desperately sick of your porn addiction, this step will show them that you are serious. Your willpower isn’t going to rescue you from this destructive sin habit. Pray that Jesus will keep you from temptation, but use the tools that He has inspired and flee temptation like He commanded.

Your life will be better without porn. Your relationships can be healed. Your mind can be redeemed. If you really want to be free of the guilt and the heartache of porn addiction, take this first step. Block the pornography.

By the way, the best time to get internet filters and accountability is before an addiction develops. We have been fleeing this temptation since 2004, and no one in our house has a porn problem. Every Christian with internet should take the availability of pornography seriously. Don’t count on your own willpower or the willpower that you imagine your children have. Sexual sin is spiritually devastating, and no one–not one single soul–is immune.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

Are You in the Wrong Airport?

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He was the type of man who knew how to pack a week’s worth of clothing in one small backpack. He stood in line impatiently, a seasoned traveler, waiting for his opportunity to check in for his flight and move on with his day. I saw him strut up to the counter, passport in hand, confident that it would be a smooth experience. From my vantage point I could tell right away that there was a problem. The airline employee’s brow furrowed. Did you make this reservation yourself? she asked. He seemed puzzled as he assured her that he had made the reservation. His passport still hung in the air, looking exotic in his hand with its stamps from around the world.

Her eyes never left her computer screen. You’re at the wrong airport. She said it in a matter-of-fact way, with authority. He had scheduled a flight out of a different airport in the city, and then he had expertly packed his things and confidently driven to the wrong place, where no flights to exotic spots were leaving at the moment. His shoulders slumped. His passport fell to the counter like a wounded butterfly.

His posture said he had never felt so stupid in all of his life.

He turned to leave, his expertly packed backpack flung over one limp shoulder, still shocked that he had made such a terrible mistake, bleary-eyed as he considered all it would take for him to get to the other airport in time for his fast-approaching flight.

The truth is that by this time there was probably no fixing his error. He hadn’t realized until it was too late that he had been following the wrong agenda all along–even though he looked the part, he wasn’t as much of an expert as he had imagined. And now he was deeply regretting his huge mistake.

As I watched him go, I wondered how many Christian parents might someday find themselves in a similar situation. Parents who prioritized everything but Jesus. Who made sure that their kids were at every sporting event and every band concert and every dance recital, but who figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if they couldn’t make it to church on most Sundays.

Parents who made sure to talk about politics and self-esteem and safe sex, but who figured that their kids were getting all the Jesus talk that they needed in Sunday school, on the days when they managed to get them there. Parents who chose to live as if their faith only mattered when it was convenient. Who wanted their kids to have Christian values but never taught them that God’s way is the best way to live. Parents who felt confident that they were giving their kids the best possible life, the most coveted opportunities, the most discipline. Parents who told themselves that their lukewarm Christianity was enough. That their family would be okay in the end.

And then one day they look up, and their children have grown into adults with no interest in Christ. With no spiritual foundation to build on. With the values of a God-hating world. These parents who have invested their lives in their children realize in that awful moment that they were actually in the wrong airport all along. They looked like the greatest parents. They did a lot of things right. But it turned out that none of it really mattered. Just like the expert traveler, they had made one very grave mistake: they had failed to make Christ the starting point. They had built a life itinerary for their children that excluded the entire reason that life matters. They made it all about baseball and theater and music, popularity and name brands and cars and colleges. They had invested all of their time and money and resources in ways that made their children believe that what matters is what doesn’t last, and that what is eternal isn’t worth thinking about.

Imagine how badly parents who are true Christians will want to take it all back when they realize how quickly the years have passed. How all of the training in godliness that they planned to do one of these days just never got done. Imagine how they will grieve when they are standing there, taking in the awful truth that their chance to influence their kids has passed, and that the godless adults who are now standing before them are actually a direct result of their influence.

Since the day I watched the expert traveler’s painful moment unfold, I have often wondered if he ever made it to the right airport. I hope he got to add another stamp to his impressive passport. If there is one thing he needed that day, it was the chance to start over.

Maybe you need the same chance. Today is the day to gain eternal perspective. Where are you investing your life? Where are you leading your kids?

Pray for the Editors of GQ

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The editors of GQ have written an article called “21 Books You Don’t Have to Read,” and I wasn’t at all surprised to see that the Bible made their list. They aren’t impressed by God’s word. Here’s their review:

The Holy Bible is very highly rated by all the people who supposedly live by it but who in actuality have not read it. Those of us who have read it know there are some good parts, but overall it is certainly not the finest thing that man has ever produced. It is repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish and even at times ill-intentioned. 

Then they recommend an alternative, a novel that they say will be good for those who heard that the thing that’s good about the Bible is “the nasty bits.”

There are so many things that we could say about the fact that God-breathed scripture has wound up on a list of books that supposedly aren’t so hot. We could even analyze their maybe not so untrue jab about Christians who don’t spend much time reading God’s words (although I would argue that none of GQ‘s editors have sat down and read the Bible cover to cover). But, I would suggest that we resist the temptation to do so. God isn’t shocked when His word is mocked, nor is He wringing His hands about it right now. Neither should we. The Bible is filled with verses about this very thing happening, and sadly things don’t end well for those who reject the truth of God’s word.

The editors of GQ don’t have the power to hurt scripture or its message. God doesn’t need the editors of an ungodly magazine to approve of His word. He already speaks clearly about people like them. Instead of demanding an apology or all of those other silly things that we tend to want as American Christians, our time would be better spent praying that the editors of GQ would have their eyes opened, so that they would see that the message of the cross is the power of God to those who believe.

If the editors of GQ come to the end of their lives, holding hard to their “truth” that the Bible is foolish, in one last breath they will learn the awful otherwise. Pray for their salvation and their rescue from the wrath of a Holy God.

The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? Jeremiah 8:9

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.  1 Corinthians 1:18-26

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14

Don’t Waste Your Talent

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In church we like to talk a lot about spiritual gifts. All kinds of spiritual gift inventories are available online, but I remember taking one with a paper booklet and answer sheet when I was in the youth group in the 90s. Pastors often encourage us to use these gifts for the good of the church and the kingdom of God, as we should. When we use our spiritual gifts we help to build up and strengthen the body of Christ, and we help fulfill our role in that body by doing the things that we are well-equipped to do.

But, God also gifts us with talents. Our talents can help us to carry out our spiritual gifts, but they are different from spiritual gifts in most cases. For instance, you may have a talent for golf. Golf isn’t a spiritual gift, but playing golf with a friend who is feeling down or lonely can help you use your gift of encouragement. Maybe you have a real talent for cooking, baking, or decorating. While none of these are spiritual gifts, they can help you exercise a gift of hospitality.

The question is: are you wasting your talent?

God gives us talent so that we can use it to bring glory to His name. There are a million different ways that this can be accomplished, but none of those ways will work if you neglect your talent. If you become lazy or apathetic about the abilities that God has gifted you with, then your talent, meant for His glory, is going to waste. Maybe you have a gift for writing, but writing is hard, so you don’t do it much anymore. Maybe you are a singer, but you don’t get as many solos as you would like so you would rather not sing. Maybe you are an organizer but someone criticized the way you did something once, so you quit trying to use your ability. Maybe you feel underappreciated or underachieving, so you mostly just leave your talent on the shelf. You are wasting what God has given you.

Maybe you don’t believe your talent is useful in bringing glory to Christ. Remember the story of a little seamstress in Joppa? (Acts 9) Tabitha was a widow who knew how to sew. It’s not like that was a rare talent in her day. Every woman knew how to sew. But, Tabitha used her ability to provide clothing for widows and orphans all over her town. She had a well-developed ministry that brought glory to the Lord just because she had a vision for how she could use what she was good at to minister to those in need. She was so influential in her community through her sewing ministry that when she died her mourning friends sent word to Peter, and he came and raised her from the dead. After that happened, the Bible says that many came to know Christ, all because a little widow chose to use her talent.

There is no such thing as an insufficient gift from God. Whatever your talent, there are ways to use it to bring glory to Christ. Just ask the jump rope champion that travels all over the world teaching kids about Christ while he does jump rope tricks. Ask the flower-arranging employee in the craft store who told me she creates beautiful things because beauty brings glory to God. Ask the nursery worker who has an amazing ability to calm down the fussiest babies so that their mamas can worship the Creator of the Universe.

Maybe you are using your talent, but you are using it in ways that don’t bring glory to Jesus. You may have the “gift of gab” and make friends easily, but if you are using your words to gossip or tear others down, you’re wasting your talent. If you are great at making and managing money but you are stingy with what you have, then you are wasting your talent. If you have a rare ability to think deeply and operate on a high intellectual plane, yet you never dwell on God’s word and who He really is, then you are wasting the brain power that God has given you.

We all have so much more to offer to the kingdom. Let’s not neglect the opportunity that we have to use what God has given us. We should be working to develop our talents, to improve and be even better equipped to use our abilities for His glory and for the church’s good. Erma Bombeck wrote: When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.” What if we all made this our goal? No more talent lying dormant in the Christian’s life–just a joyful exercising of the good gifts and abilities that God has blessed us with. Even a meager talent can have an eternal impact when Christ is involved. We have no way of knowing what He will do through us if only we have willing hearts and open hands, giving all that He has given us back to Him.

For the Love of Discipline: Sara Wallace and Parenting Through the Gospel

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Sara Wallace is a church planting pastor’s wife and a mother of five (!) little boys. When she writes about parenting, I sit up and listen because she has great ideas for helping kids learn the power of the gospel through discipline. She recently did a social media parenting series, and I’m here to tell you that her strategies are thoughtful and they work! I’m happy to welcome her to the blog today to introduce you to her upcoming book. You can catch Sara at her blog, The Gospel-Centered Mom.

Dear Tired, Worn-Out Mom Who Hates Discipline: You’re Not Alone.

“I’m doing it wrong. This isn’t working.”

From the moment we hold our sweet babies in our arms these thoughts waste no time creeping in. I remember having these thoughts when I first started nursing and the first time I buckled a floppy newborn into a car seat. They haunted me during sleep training, potty-training, and picking gum out of toddler hair.

All of those things have a way of eventually working themselves out. We survive, life moves on. But when it comes to discipline, those thoughts don’t want to let go. “I’m doing it wrong. This isn’t working.” Perhaps that’s because nothing brings out our frustration and doubts about our parenting like discipline. We know we’re supposed to be training these little hearts, but we didn’t expect it to be so hard.  

I clearly remember a day that I disciplined my three-year-old for throwing a toy in anger. I told him to sit on his bed and think about what we learned about self-control. Situation over, discipline nailed. Right? Not so much. He turned around and said, “No. I will NOT think about ANYTHING.”

Oh, boy. I realized then and there that discipline is not something I can check off my to-do list. It’s an inseparable part of daily parenting – whether I like it or not. After having five boys in exactly seven years, I realized discipline was a train I was not getting off anytime soon.

But at the same time God began showing me that that’s a good thing. I not only want to stay on this train, I want to ride it all the way to its final destination: my kids’ hearts. Discipline allows me to connect with my kids in a personal, precious way. Most importantly, discipline lays the foundation for teaching my kids the gospel.

And now I want to come alongside you parents with a personal and embarrassingly raw account of what God has taught me about the “D” word. What does discipline have to do with the gospel? Theology is wonderful—but how does it help me with my screaming two-year-old in the middle of WalMart? How do we strike the balance between too much discipline and too little, especially when we are exhausted and discouraged?

I didn’t write this book because discipline comes naturally to me. I wrote it because my kid pushed your kid into the pool at swim lessons. I wrote it because last week I had to leave the grocery store early when my kids were wrestling in the aisles. And I wrote it because discipline seems exhausting and discouraging only when we leave out the most important ingredient: the gospel.

If you’re looking for a formula that will turn disobedient kids into perfect little angels, you won’t find it. God doesn’t give us a formula. He gives us principles. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to use those principles to point our kids to Christ. When your kids disobey, they are telling you something. Strain your ears to hear past the tantrums, the rebellious stomping, and the disrespectful tone. They are saying, “Mom . . . I don’t know how to obey on my own. Can you help me?”

This is our time. This is our chance to point our kids to the only thing that matters: the gospel. God has given us the task of discipline not just so we can survive today but to lead our kids to the cross. Discipline is a beautiful privilege and I want to show you how to find joy in it. There is so much more to discipline than creative strategies, checklists, and behavior management. There’s Jesus.

For the Love of Discipline: When the Gospel Meets Tantrums and Time-Outs will be released April 30th. Preorder yours on Amazon today!

Sara Wallace is a wife, author, and stay-at-home mom. She and her family live in Idaho where they minister in their church plant and homeschool their five little boys. Sara loves to cook, decorate her home, and write about the crazy blessing of parenting. 

The Women of T4G

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Thanks to our amazing church, Chad and I are enjoying the week at the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville. It’s been amazing. Every single session has fascinated and excited us, and we feel so privileged to be here as first-time attendees. We’ve made new friends and have been reminded that God is working everywhere, not just in our little Texas town. The rooms are filled with like-minded Christian people, and there’s an excited and happy buzz in every corner of the arena as little groups circle up and talk about Jesus, about our churches, about what God is doing and how can be a part of it.

I am in the minority here, as demonstrated by the fact that most of the women’s restrooms have been highjacked so that 10,000 men will have someplace to go potty. Among those at the conference, fewer than 2,000 of us are women. I suppose there is some sense in me that we have crashed the men’s theology party, but it has been a pure blessing to be here, to stand in a huge arena, silent and still while men worship at the top of their voices in stereo in front, behind, and all around me. It’s truly a sound to behold, and just listening to them reminds me that there are godly men everywhere that we can depend on: clear-thinking, tuned-in, humble and sincere leaders with sound theology in their hearts and minds.

I say that I wonder if we women are crashing the party, but no man here has treated me as such. Everyone I’ve met has been kind, gracious, encouraging, and interested in me as a thinking Christian. I am not opposed to conferences where men and women are segregated, but I am in favor of women being encouraged to attend conferences where real theology is taught. Where real church issues are discussed. So if any man were to begin to grow disappointed that women are expressing an interest in being a part of these things, I would ask him to stop and consider how dramatically our families and world will be changed when women are being taught something deeper than the importance of being able to set a nice table. Most women’s conferences have nothing at all to do with theology, while today I sat and listened to Kevin DeYoung teach for an hour about the immutability of God. There is a huge gulf between the theological learning opportunities for women and those for men.

All of that to say that I’m deeply grateful that this week I have watched young women swaying back and forth with their babies held close, listening as God’s word is opened by great and knowledgeable men. These mothers need a good theology in order to do their job well. They need sound doctrine if they are going to raise children in our times who have a true and lasting idea of how great our God really is. I’m grateful that the leaders of T4G have the wisdom to welcome us into this world of discussions that have nothing at all to do with sending Christmas cards or finding our “true beauty” or any of the other tedious topics that are often the focus of women’s conferences.

To the women of T4G, don’t worry about the lack of bathrooms. Bathroom locations sometimes change. But, as we learned today, our good and gracious God never will. Glory to His name forever and ever.

A Stranger’s Gift

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This weekend Sawyer went to state Bible drill competition. For those of you who aren’t Baptist, Bible drill is an awesome and terrifying competition where kids as young as fourth grade memorize 25 scripture verses and figure out how to locate ten key passages and all the books of the Bible in under ten seconds. It’s one of the most intense things that I’ve ever watched my kids do, but I love hearing my ten year old rattle off one scripture after another.

Sawyer isn’t one who loves being singled out in front of a crowd, so when he is called on in competition, his answers come at just above a whisper. As intense as it is for me, it is so much more for him, as he stands there, red-faced, trying to get his fingers to move fast enough to find what he’s looking for.

He did amazing at the state level. He had a perfect drill up until the last and most difficult section, which is the key passages. When he didn’t find the first one in time, I saw his eyes fill with tears. He was trying so hard to hold it together, but he was bitterly disappointed that he wasn’t going to get a perfect score. By the time the competition was over, his tears were flowing freely, and all of the sweet families from our church who were there with their own children were hugging and encouraging and consoling him.

I stood beside him, feeling so sorry for this child who had just stood up and done something that I couldn’t have done in a million years. I was contemplating how he was feeling, how I could make him feel better, and I was firmly focused on this moment that was playing out in front of me: my little boy, crushed, embarrassed, pained.

Then a stranger walked up to him. She was a blonde woman, a motherly type. She was small, but carried herself with an air of purpose. She put her hands on both of Sawyer’s shoulders and looked him in the face. Listen, she said. This was about God’s glory. And you glorified God tonight. 

Just like that, her words gave me spiritual vision that I hadn’t had a moment earlier. I realized that I wasn’t seeing this experience through spiritual eyes, but through temporal ones, and when she spoke to Sawyer she helped me to see the bigger picture of this moment. We all need eternal perspective. We need to remember how our everyday experiences fit into God’s greater plan. And, this kind stranger spoke the truth that helped me to shift my focus–she saw things through a biblical lens, and she helped me to look through it with her.

Sawyer dried his tears. He seemed satisfied with the thought of glorifying His God, the author of the very Bible that he has spent so much time studying. I wonder if he realized that he had been given the gift of a shift in spiritual perspective. I hope her words will stick with him and that he will understand that he can glorify God with his one-decade-long life. I watched him do it on Friday night. And I almost missed it.

I have thought a lot about that little blonde-haired stranger since then. I want to be the type of person who so clearly sees things with eternal perspective that when I speak it will help others to have spiritual eyesight. I want to be so Christ-focused that I recognize the spiritual significance of what I’m seeing from day to day. And I especially want to be a mother and a wife who helps her family to realize that there are plenty of things about life that will try to distract us, even our own sympathies and fix-it-now attitudes. But, in the end, it isn’t about us or our feelings about things or even our good deeds. Sawyer could have gotten a perfect score that night, but it would have been a complete waste if someone hadn’t reminded him of this truth: it’s all about God’s glory.

I’m grateful that God gives us a place in His story. That He gives us the opportunity to glorify Him with our lives in big and small ways. I know He was pleased when a sweet freckle-faced ten year old turned three shades of red in Allen, Texas, on Friday night. All for God’s glory.

I see it now.

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