New Project

February 10, 2025


Cue the Foo Fighters, “I have a little confession to make…” 


But seriously, since the election, I’ve been working on this very personal project and as much as I hate for our current political systems to have anything to do with my personal life, here we are. 


I’ve felt this pulling to establish myself firmly on the Word of God. Since January 1st, I have been reading it almost daily. A friend mentioned doing the Bible chronologically this year and I jumped on board. I prayed that God would help me want to read it. I know, it sounds kind of stupid to those that aren’t Christians. I mean, shouldn’t you be reading the book that is supposed to be the holy and inspired word of your God? Yes, but do you know how hard it is to commit to something these days? 


Everything is expected to be completed at breakneck speeds because we live in this microwave age. We watch reels on the ‘gram and if they are more than a few seconds, you've lost me. It’s like I’m so used to short bouts of information, that I honestly can’t focus on anything more. It’s sad, really. 


The age of patience is not the age we live in. I can see the difference in the different generations of my children. The teenagers are used to doing long division and estimating to figure out the factors in their math problems, while my preteens, who grew up with a tablet in hand, are appalled that I would suggest doing the problem without a calculator. They think I’m suggesting they be tortured! Forget about the wifi being down for even a day! They just can't hack it. 


All jokes aside, it’s a shame that so many of us are so quick to give up on something if it takes any amount of time. I have my own theories for who is responsible for our current impatient state, but that’s not the point I’m wanting to drive in this piece today. The point I’m wishing to make is that for the last decade, I’ve been one of those Christians who just doesn’t understand what it is about the multi-bankruptcy billionaire that has some of my Christian friends and family saying, “Yes, that’s our guy.” I’ve been scratching my head on that one for a while now. Now, before you come at me, hear my heart. I’ve not said that there was a definitive Democratic candidate that had me saying, “Woo hoo! Jesus, incarnate,” either, because there definitely wasn’t. Our presidential picks for the past few decades have been unfortunate, in my humble opinion.


I’ve heard all the jabs too. The one about how you "couldn’t vote democrat and be a Christian,” and the “snowflake, baby murderer,” ones too. It’s all just so polarizing. I’d be willing to bet that we aren’t so different across the aisle, as we are all human beings. Democrats aren’t all monsters no more than Republicans are all fascists and I remember a time, where elections weren’t so loudly admonished and revered. We voted and kept our mouths shut about it afterwards. We expressed our freedom and moved on with our lives. Simply put, it wasn’t like it is now. 


I grew up in church. I taught Sunday School. I taught adult women and children and I’ve read the Bible before, but I’ve never studied it in its entirety. I never really had this longing to get to the bottom of it. I never really allowed the Holy Spirit to guide me into a complete understanding of it. I’ve sat in countless studies and have had pastors preach it and so many of my peers just knew where all these verses are and I don’t. Not off the top of my head anyway. I have such a limited understanding of who God is past my own experience, and yet I have personally experienced God’s healing, provision, and redemption in my life.  


Chronologically, I’ve made it to Numbers, but I’ve also skipped around a bit and read Ecclesiastes and I’m currently working through Proverbs. I’ve already learned so much and am excited about this project. 


I don’t know what it is about this moment, except for this urgency that I feel is necessary. So few know Jesus and what they see is this Christian Nationalist version and that’s not all that we are. We are so much more than our political preferences. There is a whole world version bigger than our small America-first goal oriented minds. My goal in this conviction is to be Jesus-centered in EVERYTHING. 


Things I would like to understand better: 


This is an ongoing list and I will add to it as I go along. 


Also, I’m not asking for advice in these areas from any of my readers. These are questions I have that I am seeking out with this special time that I’m committing to studying God’s Word. I don’t care what the Southern Baptist Convention, Presbyterian USA, or the International Pentecostal Holiness Church’s position is on it (or any other denomination, for that matter). I'm kindly embarking on this journey with God and Him alone. If I have questions, I will ask them of several different denominational friends, pastors, and family that I have in my orbit. 


I think we speak before we really hear the questions being asked. We just hear a buzzword and all hell breaks loose. We fear things we don’t understand or that aren’t the norm in our little bubbles of belief. We rely heavily on other’s opinions and thoughts and many of us lack critical thinking skills. I’m approaching this project with an open mind. I don’t know where it will lead. I’ve got no expectations here. It will be what it will be. I just hate to be the type of Christian that finally turned to the Word of God, when it seemed the world was absolutely losing its mind, because we shouldn’t just run to Him in times of trouble and even though I am an avid praiser, this is where we are. Girlfriend needs to read her Bible. It is what it is. 


I know that some of you will read this excerpt this month and think I’ve possibly lost my mind or wonder if I ever had my faculties in the first place, and that’s okay. My hope is that you come alongside me on this journey with your own questions and we’ll collectively collaborate and even if we reach the end and we still don’t agree on all the things, we can still say that between us, we share the very real redeeming love of Jesus Christ and that’s enough similarity for me. That’s all that matters in the end anyway. 


I just want the love of Christ to fill every centimeter of my being and I want to be that woman in Christ with no questions to who I serve. So, I’m going to lean into this conviction. For His glory, forever amen.❤️