2nd Sunday Morning Glory

By Jane Ann Crenshaw

In the absence of the preacher, Jim the elder was called to visit a woman who had lost her husband. She was desolate and was threatening to commit suicide! Jim was called by a mother of a child who attended the Sunday school. I went with him that morning. As we drove to this home, Jim was at a loss as to what he could do or say. This was something out of his realm of expertise! We had prayed before we left the house, but Jim was anxious! God was putting this woman's life in his hands! I picked up the Bible from the console and said, "Maybe I can find a verse that will help you!" I opened the Bible randomly, and a verse jumped right out at me. I read it to him, "For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour, what you ought to say!" (Luke 12:12, NIV). As we pulled up in front of her house, Jim said, "Mark that page!" We quietly walked into this home. Jim was directed to the woman in need. He talked with her, prayed with her, and read the scriptures of comfort and encouragement. He was with her a long time! When the situation became calm, we took our leave, and the woman who contemplated suicide continued to live. We never heard if she made a place for the Lord in her life, but we knew that He had taken up permanent residence in ours! We felt it! We saw it! We were lifted by His might and encouraged to keep on keeping on. God is real!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781098009069

Book preview

A Beautiful Thing

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I know what is beautiful to me, and you know what is beautiful to you. Many times, I have used the story of Mary anointing Jesus’s feet. There is so much beauty in these passages. So much emotion! In the book of Mark, I saw something beautiful. I saw something revealing about Jesus.

In chapter 14, we read the story of a dinner party held at the home of Simon the Leper.

According to my studies, Simon was married to Martha, the sister of Mary. While the men were reclining at the table, Mary came in with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard. She broke it and poured it over Jesus’s head. Some were indignant and made comments about wasting this perfume that could have been sold and the money given to the poor. If you recall, Judas was one of these men! Jesus said, Let her alone! Why do you bother her? She has done a beautiful thing to me! (Mark 14:3, RSV). Jesus submitted to Mary’s love and devotion and called it beautiful!

Because of my brother Lloyd’s inability to walk well anymore, or even to bathe completely, Gene and Joetta would make a trip to his house just to wash Lloyd’s feet. When my sister started doing this, she could get down on the floor easily. As time moved on, she would sit on a stool. No matter how she felt, she would wash and manicure his feet. Looking back on this, I know that everyone had taken their turn doing things for Lloyd, but no one thought to do that for him, wash his feet, except Joetta. Lloyd suffered much with his paralysis, and Joetta suffered much with rheumatoid arthritis. I never heard her pain! As she did this beautiful thing to Lloyd, she also was doing a beautiful thing to Jesus! I can still see her doing this, and I am still aware that I never heard her pain!

Have you thought about what you have done to Jesus that is a beautiful thing? When I consider Joetta’s story, I feel ashamed! What have I done to Jesus that He would consider a beautiful thing? When I ask Jim about this, he reminds me of when Jesus was speaking of the judgment in Matthew 25:31–46. He speaks of a time when I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothe me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me! (Matthew 25:35–37, RSV). Are we aware of the beautiful things we do to Jesus?

The righteous asked, When did we do these things? Jesus says, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:45b, RSV). Does he mean the church? Does he mean the stranger on the highways and byways of life?

I imagine you and I have done beautiful things to Jesus when we have called upon the sick, visited those in prison, helped by bringing food and clothing for the poor. I imagine you and I have done beautiful things to Jesus when we shared financially with causes that benefit the poor. When we love one another! I believe when we do these things willingly, including our tithes and offerings, we are doing a beautiful thing to Jesus! Husbands, love your wives; Wives, be submissive to your husbands, for this is a beautiful thing to Jesus!

The apostles and the disciples did a beautiful thing to Jesus when establishing the church.

When we think of missionaries all over the world who suffer, when we think of the pastors and elders shepherding their flocks, we should see these as beautiful things to Jesus. God refers to these things as a beautiful fragrance! He can smell them! He loves them!

If Jesus could submit to Mary, why is it so hard for us to submit to Jesus, in serving others?

Forgive me, Lord, when I fail you, for the desire of my heart is to serve you! When I am writing Sunday Morning Glory, I never know where it will lead. Today I am at the foot of the cross where Jesus said, Forgive them; they know not what they do! Oh, what a beautiful thing He has done to us! God so loved us He did a beautiful thing by sending His son to save us! That is more than wonderful!

A Grieving Burst

First of all, I still find it hard to think of my brother Lynn being gone almost nine years!

Conversely, wow, he has been in heaven for eight years! I know I have asked this question before, but I want to put it out there again: Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? I heard the professor, Dale Tacket, of the Truth Project ask that question! Profound to say the least! However, I really believe that what I believe is really real; and I pray you do too.

My grief experiences through the past fifty plus years have brought me to the realization that I do not grieve without hope. My hope is in Jesus Christ, and I believe in the promises of our heavenly Father. All is well with my soul! But grief, although not a stranger to me, is still something that I struggle with.

Because Lynn lived 250 plus miles from me, I did not see him often. When I did, it was as though we had never been apart. For many years, Lynn and Kathleen shared in our anniversary celebrations and we in theirs. We married January 27, and they were married on January 28. We had some wonderful experiences together, and I still miss those times as couples! I admit, I didn’t want to let him go; I did not want to experience, once again, the loss of another loved one.

I remember the last time I saw Lynn and how I felt walking away from the hospital. I remember my loud bursts of anguish and loss. I remember Jim and my sister Joyce trying to console me! I didn’t want comfort. I wanted to go back in that room. I wanted to be with Lynn!

The night Lynn died, I had a dream. The dream was so real! I kept repeating over and over, I can’t do this again! I don’t want to do this again! In the morning when I was awake, I felt like I was still in the dream. Jim tried to comfort me, but I could only sob and sob!

In talking with my friend, Iona Kay, she comforted me with You are normal! This is called a grief burst! I don’t entirely understand that concept, but those who have walked through grief and have shared within circles of grief and have attended workshops and conferences have a better understanding of what the body goes through during grief. Iona Kay has been there!

I have tried to control my periods of grief. I have tried to be uplifting and encouraging to those who have and who are still grieving. At this time, I can accept the encouragement from those who love me and understand. I can look back and see my grief, but at the same time, I am comforted, knowing that God’s promises are always true. He has a place for me, and it is the same place that my loved ones are reveling in, right now!

Proverbs is full of pithy sayings that show contrasts. Once in a while, you will find one that says exactly what you need. Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains (Proverbs 14:13, NLT). God helps us to overcome grief, but the loss is still felt!

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Psalm 30:5b, RSV).

Everything looks fresh and new in the morning. As the day begins again, so can you begin again, with a fresh start. A new resolve! With the peace that passes all understanding!

With life comes death! With death comes the awakening! What have you chosen to wake up to? What could be your home when you move from this place? Have you given it much thought? Have you taken it seriously, or is it something you talk about with friends and cross your fingers behind your back? This decision is the most important decision you can make.

Jesus came so that we could come to the Father and live with Him eternally! Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6, RSV).

A Is for Temper

You can’t tell by looking at me that I once had a quick temper. I started out as a redhead, although I don’t believe that is a root cause of having a temper! Through the years of reading and studying God’s Word, I have learned to, pretty much, control it. I still get angry, but I don’t let it fester, and I don’t let it control me. I remember being so hurt that I felt the anger and wanted to take revenge and hurt them back, so much so I reacted by becoming rebellious. The only one that paid the price was me! Feelings are what anger is made of; it is not a condition.

We feel, and therefore, we become what we feel!

Anger can create circumstances in our lives that either we create by retaliation or we suffer by feeding it. Remember the story of Moses and the rock at Horeb that brought water to the Israelites because they thought they were dying of thirst? God told Moses to strike the rock, and he did, giving God the glory. But later at the rock of Meribah, Moses was so angry at the Israelites that he lost control and yelled at them with great indignation and spitefulness. Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle (Numbers 20:10–11, RSV).

Did Moses pay a price? Absolutely! And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them!’ (Numbers 20:12, RSV).

God’s plan had, in reality, became Moses’s plan. But because of his anger, and disobedience, he did not realize this! How many times has our anger caused us to fail? How many times has our rage interrupted the peace within our own spirit?

The scripture that is most identified with anger is Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil! (Ephesians 4:26–27, RSV).

I hope you notice that it does not say, Do not become angry! We all have feelings, and therefore, we will get angry. When the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, we receive the fruit of the Spirit. They begin with love and end with self-control! Self-control means to control your feelings. If there is no self-control, you will have days of anger, indignation, rage, and the desire to get revenge. Control yourself!

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you! (Ephesians 4:30–32, RSV). To grieve the Holy Spirit is to go counter to the will of the Third Person of the Trinity who dwells within us. Since He is holy, loving, true, and peaceable, sins of unholiness, lack of love, untruthfulness, and harshness grieve Him and interrupt fellowship with God. To grieve the Holy Spirit disturbs communion with Christ and results in the loss of the Spirit’s fullness and power (Harper’s Study Bible Commentary).

We need Christ in our lives in order for us to have joy in all circumstances. In the Psalms, it tells us to rejoice in the Lord! Paul reminds us in his letters to rejoice in the Lord always! If we are not walking with the Lord, how are we going to practice self-control when it comes to anger? Recheck your feelings, use your mind to decide, and don’t let your feelings rule your day! Seek first His kingdom and the joy of the Lord will be yours in all circumstances. And His peace will reign in you, even when you feel the pangs of anger!

A New Normal

When change happens, for most, they become a new normal. We have heard this phrase bantered about these past years because of the recession, the economic decline, and/or the Depression, not to mention the odysseys of those holding office within our government.

Although September 11 seemed to usher in new fears within our country, the local news called it living in the new normal! I didn’t like the idea and didn’t like hearing about America’s new place in time as the new normal! However, since my brother Lynn passed away, I’ve noticed that his family, and his siblings, began another beginning of a new normal.

You can go on the Internet and type in the new normal and learn all about it! New normals are not easy when it happens, especially when you are not ready. When we plan for the change, the new normal is welcomed and we are excited about it. Whether it is getting married, having children, moving to a new place or into a different house, a new job or career, it can all be classified as a new beginning or the new normal! Beginning something new is exciting!

As a child, when we moved from Iowa to California, we began a new normal. When Jim and I moved from California to Oregon, we began a new normal and even more of a new normal when we moved to Klamath Falls. Every day can hold many new experiences that change our lives. We lose and gain weight; our hair begins to show signs of gray. And so it goes!

When I suffered a heart event in March of 2008 and a stint was put in an artery, I became a different person. I was always a blah, morning person! I did what I had to do, but now, I was not only doing what needed to be done but I was on the go, accomplishing the things I never thought about until I had to do it! Neither Jim or I realized it right away, but we both began to take notice of my energy level, especially in the mornings. I was living my new normal and didn’t even know that my normal before was perhaps abnormal.

Have you been there? Abnormal, I mean! Before you became a Christian, you belonged to the world.

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2, RSV)

Almost immediately after my heart event, I began living my new normal! The blood was flowing easier through my arteries, to my heart, giving new strength and energy. When Christ suffered on the cross over two thousand years ago, His shed blood gave us the opportunity to have a new life, which brings us a new normal. We can live free from sin! We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4, RSV).

God has promised us a new normal life when we walk with Him. Accepting Him as our savior brings us into a relationship that changes everything. Our life in Christ is not routine! Our life in Christ changes us. Have you ever felt that your life in Christ was the same as your old life?

Remember the chorus we used to sing as children in Sunday school? Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before! Every day with Jesus, I love Him more and more! Jesus saves and keeps me. He’s the one I’m waiting for. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before! (by Robert Claire Loveless). I don’t know how you feel about the new normal, but the world looks at the Christian and believes they are abnormal. They can’t figure out why we are the way we are! But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him (Romans 6:8, RSV). That life begins when we accept Him as our savior and are buried in the watery grave of baptism and then raised into our new normal! Do you feel it? I believe the new normal is not so bad when you’re living it in Christ!

A Whipped Cream

Kind of Morning

Afew years ago, we made our usual trek to California to visit family. We stayed a few nights with my niece, Leslie, and her husband, Doug. A few years prior to this visit, they received a gift who just appeared in their yard and eventually became a permanent member of their family! It is a beautiful story to be told, but it is their story! However, I want to share with you a daily routine of Kava and his masters.

At the time of our visit, Kava, a malamute-wolf canine of distinction, was about five years old. He was big and masterful! He is fur from head to toe! He watches very shrewdly and misses nothing!

At first, he was to stay in the garage at night because one of his masters had major allergies to felines and canines. Because their yard is small, it was also decided to take Kava on a two-mile walk twice a day.

The masters usually took turns!

While we were there, Doug had taken Kava for his walk. When they returned, Doug fixed Kava’s breakfast. Kava sat in front of his breakfast and waited! Leslie got the can of whipped cream and sprayed it on Kava’s food. Immediately, Kava began to devour his breakfast. This is just one of the ways Kava is shown that his masters adore him! They give him a whipped cream kind of morning!

Apparently, on one of their walks, Doug stopped at their favorite coffee stop and ordered a cappuccino. The barista asked if he wanted a puppuccino for his dog. Not really knowing what that was, she explained further, He will love it! Why not? Doug thought; he was having one! She gave Doug his cup and placed Kava’s in front of him, a cup full of ice with whipped cream on top. She was right; Kava loved it and licked and licked until it was gone and time to move on.

This became a routine for Kava. And so has a can of whipped cream in the refrigerator! Makes sense to me that whipped cream isn’t just for masters anymore! Sometimes my desire is to just have a bowl of whipped cream. Is there anyone else out there like me? I would hate to think it was just Kava and me. If Kava can have his own can of whipped cream, why can’t I!

Interestingly enough, the allergies that are so prevalent in Doug don’t seem to be affected by the presence of Kava. Kava still is put in the garage on occasion but has his place in the house. After all, he is a member of this family! I don’t believe anyone would want to challenge Kava about that! He does not occupy their bed, but he is close to it on the floor.

What I find interesting about this threesome is that, even though the allergies were an issue, they decided to keep Kava anyway. Even though when you would walk into their beautiful home, animals would never cross your mind. It just wouldn’t compute! At least, that is what I see when I visit with Leslie and Doug and Kava!

Many times, we find ourselves going somewhere or doing something that we never would have dreamed we would be going or doing. Sometimes we just stand amazed at where we end up. When Saul started out on the road to Damascus, with authority in his possession to destroy a movement that was sweeping the country, how was he to know that in a moment all that would change and he would be blind? For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything (Acts 9:9, NIV). Try to picture the panic and anguish of this devoutly religious man who suddenly discovered he had been fighting against the very God he loved and served! Try to picture Saul, a man of distinction, humbled before the Lord and broken before the soldiers, who were with him on the road to kill Christians!

How many times have we had a mindset, just as determined, as Saul? Starting out with a conviction, ready to say no to God, by heading down a different path? Saul’s blindness was proof that what happened was real. What is our proof that we are about to flounder?

The proof was there before Leslie and Doug, but it came after they decided to keep Kava. The allergies really were not an issue! So many times, I start planning and even begin working my plan before I stop to ask God’s direction. I ask when the project has already started. My question at that point is God, am I on the right track? However, when my hands are clean and my heart is pure, God gives me answers that blow my socks off!

I believe having a whipped cream kind of morning can open the door for all kinds of possibilities! While man’s mind plans his way, the Lord will direct his steps (Proverbs 16:9, RSV). How about joining me for a whipped cream kind of day? Please say yes!

A Worldly Disease

When I was a child, my mother would give instructions on how not to get sick! We were to wash our hands, never sit on a public toilet, never use a friend’s comb, and to never chew someone else’s gum. There were probably more than that, but these are the ones I remember. You can still catch a cold, but washing your hands often helps to defend yourself. If you don’t use another’s comb, you have less chance of getting lice. It was a good thing when papers were given for toilet seats because I ended up with edema because I would not use a public toilet. According to Mom, public toilets came with worms or a venereal disease. And chewing someone else’s gum was just plain nasty.

In this world, we have many diseases. Some are curable or can be managed with medicines.

The most dreaded are deadly! No matter what medicines you take, and even when there is a remission, you know in your heart that you will probably succumb to it. Medicines vary in cost, and many times, a patient cannot afford to buy it. The world vendors, of medicine, make big bucks on illnesses. This is the way of the world!

God’s Word says His children are in the world but not a part of the world.

In my old age, I have come to think about worldly diseases in an entirely different way. I call it worldly fluenza. You all have heard of influenza? You may have even had it! Usually, it is considered an epidemic because it is passed around. It is sort of like a cold, which affects the throat and results in headaches and muscle aches. No one wants to have the flu! But worldly fluenza is something we all start out with. I believe that we all end up with a light case, off and on throughout our lives.

When we first learn about God’s creation, we learn about His place in the world, His plan from the beginning, and especially sin. Our eyes and ears are opened to the causes, symptoms, and remedies.

Those who are called Christian have watched and listened. They decided to believe in God and accept His son! They received a medicine that can cure this worldly disease! Those who have refused remain under the health conditions, and the remedies, of worldly fluenza. How sad!

Jesus prayed for His disciples. He says that He did not pray for the world but for those His Father had given Him. I believe the cure for worldly fluenza is Jesus Christ! He is the medicine that is offered by God! I started taking small doses as a child but took more and more as I grew older. Today, I can’t get enough of this godly medicine. How about you?

I do not pray only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one, Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me (John 17:20–21, GN). Jesus prayed for us when He was here as the God-man; He prayed for you and me! He wanted us to not just believe but to remain in Him to be healthy, wealthy, and wise!

God did not cause the sins of man. God allowed sin when He allowed man to be free to choose Him or not! Ever since God created the world, His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen. Men can perceive them in the things that God has made. So they have no excuse at all! (Romans 1:20, GN).

Many people know there is a God, but they do not give Him the honor and glory due Him because they want to remain in the world, with…no do’s and no don’ts! Some may have chosen God early on in life but have developed a case of the worldly fluenza again. The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good (Psalm 14:1, RSV). God doesn’t keep anyone from making a fool of themselves!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is His faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him (Lamentations 3:22–24, RSV). It is not all that hard to live in this world and not become a part of it. It is not all that difficult to choose the ways of God and to follow after His son Jesus! It is just a matter of purposing with your mind, and in your heart, to become all that God has created you to become…that is…His child! His beloved child!

Again I Say Rejoice

Ihave heard many times how Paul must have disliked women. The Word doesn’t indicate he was ever married or that he had a following of women, but I am here to tell you that he understood women almost as much as Jesus did! I love the position that Paul describes for a man and a woman. I love how he has taken the burden off me and placed it upon Jim’s shoulders. It has not taken anything from me but has given me freedom!

I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent (1 Timothy 2:12, RSV). When the church was first beginning, many conditions had to be put into place so there would be order. God placed men in authority, not only in submission to Christ as the head of the church but over the women in his life and the women of the church. As the church began to move, women became more prominent, and Paul was there, when some became teachers. He knew women were fully capable of teaching and serving in leadership.

I sit in many Bible studies. Jim is usually there with me! Open discussion is always part of the program. Even though I have a verse on my office wall that reads Set a guard over my mouth, O lord; keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3, RSV), I still have a tendency to need to be heard. I want others to know that either I agree or I don’t. Jim is patient. Jim is kind. Jim is loving, and I have to admit for the most part, he allows me to be me! On occasion, his hand touches me, softly, as to say, Enough! I can’t say I always respond as I should.

One of my favorite New Testament stories is about Priscilla and Aquila. Paul developed a relationship with these two. They shared the same business, tent making, and so they spent a lot of time together. When Apollos comes into the picture, the scripture says, He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:26, ESV). Here, Priscilla is seen giving instruction along with her husband, Aquila. It does not say that she was held back from teaching!

Paul did not find this contrary to his teaching of a woman’s place in the church. For one thing, she was acting under the authority of her husband. God had blessed her with boldness and proper instructions. She was confident and capable. I don’t align myself with Priscilla, but I have a need to do what I do. God gives me the desire, and Jim gives me the authority. As long as God is willing and Jim is supportive, I will keep on keeping on!

I have a friend; her name is Donna. I met her around the time I began writing. I learned from her how to pray positively. It is so simple and yet refined! I am reminded of her every time I read Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6, RSV). A familiar passage that most have memorized. It says, Pray with thanksgiving! Does that mean to anticipate God’s answer?

Donna would end every prayer with And thank you, God, for what you are going to do! God says to give thanks up front! God says make it personal today! God says when you pray in my will, my will will be done! Believers are to pray with thanksgiving, for the perfect answer they know God will give them. We are then to anticipate His answer!

An effective prayer must be accompanied by thanksgiving, which means that we thank God for the answer as soon as we have asked. This kind of prayer brings a peace which passes all understanding because it is independent of circumstances and rests upon the perfection and love of God Himself. Ever since I began to take my time in prayer by walking and talking to God, my prayer life has taken on a new dimension. It is true that God is continuing a good work in every one of us.

However, we must pay attention! Paul says, Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:9, RSV).

Having men in our lives who love the Lord helps us to rejoice in the Lord always. Having women in our lives that know and understand the ways of God keep us unafraid to become all that God has created us to be! I love to be among the saints in fellowship, where God is, and feel His pleasure!

Also-ran

In one of my favorite books, Why You Say It , I’ve learned that in the horse racing business the first three horses across the finish line were always recognized as the winner, place or show. The newspapers of the nineteenth century would publish the results of the first three horses by describing their times, owners, and winnings. Other horses would be mentioned, but many were mentioned just as also-ran. The presidential elections become more and more like a horse race.

The party candidates come out to play and the field is crowded with many parties. In reporting results of an election, newspapers dismissed many aspirants for the White House as also-ran.

This is one who was so far back in the field that his place in the finish line isn’t even computed.

By the turn of the century, the horse and political terms were being applied to a person badly beaten in any competition (author, Webb Garrison).

Have you ever known someone who would be considered an also-ran? Several times, I voted for Jim as governor of Oregon. Once, I voted for Ronald Reagan before he ever ran. I always felt that if I couldn’t find something in the person running for office that I could approve, I would write in a name of someone I could approve. I guess my off-the-cuff votes, if they were tallied, would have been considered also-ran! Not a good policy!

I have never like running for office. When I decided I wanted to be the Sunday school superintendent, I went to the elders and suggested, with the help of God, I could transform their Sunday school. I wanted to be approved by the elders and not by an election. In our women’s ministry, I hated running for office, but when I did, I would run only if I didn’t care how the election turned out. Not a good policy!

To me, elections are sort of like being chosen to play on a ball team, where I was usually last; I hated that! I wanted to play, so I suffered the humiliation! These feelings have kept me from doing many things that I would like to have been a part of. Was it pride or low self-esteem?

However, I sure didn’t want to be classified as an also-ran! Now that I am old and can look back on my idiotic ways, I think I