FAMILY MOBILES

Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11

 

Have you ever tried to put together a mobile? I did once, for an art class. Using a coat hanger, I began to hang various objects from fish line in differing lengths. But as I got two of the objects balanced, I discovered that each additional object caused everything to tilt! By the time I got all seven objects hung, I was ready to tear my hair out. It took hours just to get them all reasonably balanced so the mobile hung somewhat straight without all the fish line getting tangled. I think I got a D on the project!

 

Families are much like mobiles. When a couple marry, it’s pretty easy to get the “balance” just right. There is enough “honeymoon factor” and love to get things started and keep it going in a positive direction. But as any young couple can tell you, the minute you add that first child, all the tried and true “dynamics” go out the window. A whole new set of principles applies, and it takes extra effort on the part of the parents to maintain that precious “balance.” Keep adding children, maybe a dog, cat and goldfish, and the dynamics change again each time a new “element” (aka living, breathing entity) is introduced. This isn’t even taking into consideration a full-time job for each parent, childcare, school, activities, sports—and whew! That mobile is spinning!

 

Jesus said in Matthew 7 that good parents want to give their children what they need and ask for, just as our heavenly Father knows and gives us what we need. But if that good parent finds him or herself financially strapped, or someone gets sick, or fighting addiction, it’s not hard to wander from that “good provider” role. Keeping Jesus as the family’s main focus and having a strong, loving church community can help in times when the family mobile tips off balance.

 

Good Father, keep us close to you when life gets out of balance. Sustain us in times of need. Amen

 

Both candid and humorous, insightful and ponderous, Meg Blaine Corrigan’s memoir, Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child, takes the reader through her chaotic childhood with an alcoholic mother and enabling father to a violent assault that nearly ended her life. She populates her tale with vivid descriptions of her parents, other influential adults, the attacker, and her disastrous first marriage. But this story has a happy ending, when Meg finds solace in a God she didn’t think she’d ever believe in, when He gently helps her heal from her past lives and move into the best times of her life. Meg has also written a novel, Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist, about said first marriage, as well as a Christian devotional, Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian, comprised of blogs from this site. Stay tuned for sequels to her last two books! All of her works may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

HITCH YOUR WAGON TO A STAR

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher and poet who greatly influenced society during his lifetime. He and his close friend, Henry David Thoreau, both proposed (among many other ideas) that man’s relationship to nature was of paramount importance. “Philosophically considered,” Emerson said simply, “the universe is composed of Nature and the Soul.” He rejected the idea that God was separate from the world, that He lives in some far away heaven that mortal man cannot see, touch or feel. Emerson’s and Thoreau’s thinking was radical at the time but many of their followers embraced the idea that exposure to nature was inherent to individual peace and tranquility. Many today still believe God is closest when people stay close to nature. Indeed, I find great solace in spending time among this world’s beautiful scenery and wildlife.

 

One of Emerson’s most famous quotes was, “Hitch your wagon to a star.” The saying has been used in all sorts of ways in the two hundred-some years since Emerson wrote it. A simple explanation of his meaning might be for us to “aim high, set our sights on a lofty goal.” Its meaning for me makes me think of aligning ourselves with a lifestyle that closely reflects our most basic values. A good list of the values I hold dear is the “Fruit of the Spirit” set forth by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. It is interesting to note that not one of the “fruits” Paul lists— love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—names a particular person, place, object or thing, fame or fortune, or political party. Paul’s list, which embodies all of Christ’s teaching in a few well-chosen words, is about what is inside of us, what gives us integrity. Webster defines “integrity” in two ways: (1) the quality of being honest and fair, and (2) the state of being complete or whole. What better way to maintain our integrity and find wholeness than to live out God’s “spiritual fruits.” Hitch your wagon to the “Morning Star”—a reference to Jesus in Revelation 21—and see the Son shine brightly in your earthly life!

 

Morning Star, let me “hitch” myself to You and soar to great heights! Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan tells stories of wisdom, strength, fear, joy and risk-taking. Daughter of a raging alcoholic mother, and survivor of sexual assault at gunpoint, Corrigan has shaken a dismal past and flung herself into the arms of Christ, Who sustains her in her daily walk of grace. She shares with her listeners her incredible story of surviving and thriving through many trials during her seven decades walking this fragile earth. She has been described as a Renaissance Woman, integrating her formal training in psychology and counseling, an enlightening experience as a percussionist for a Polynesian show troupe, and most recently as an inspirational author and blogger. Her exposure to many life experiences has enriched her passion for spreading Christ’s word and helping other trauma survivors. She has a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling and thirty-plus years of experience in the field of counseling and social work.  She lives in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, with the love of her life, Patrick, and their formerly disenfranchised rescue dog Ginger. www.MegCorrigan.com    MegCorrigan@comcast.net

KEEPING OUR TANKS FULL

I will praise the Lord, Who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:7-8

 

My husband and I are on a road trip, to escape the cold weather in our home state of Minnesota. We are taking mostly back roads, on our way to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Since we aren’t near any major highways, we are on the lookout for smaller, clean gas stations with reasonably priced fuel. We won’t take a chance on letting our tank approach empty since we are not sure where we might find the next gas station. This is also true of our own personal energy tanks: we want to make sure we have something to eat before we get too cranky, and we want to find a decent motel with a comfortable bed to lay our heads down before we become so exhausted we are a danger to each other and our dog.

 

Why is it that we can think so rationally about what we need to make our cars operate properly, to keep our stomachs full and our physical bodies rested—but we often abandon our efforts to stay spiritually nourished when we are away from home? In our defense, we bring along two daily devotional booklets, and we each have a Bible “app” on our phones. We read these devotions every day and we always pray before meals. But we will be on the road for the two Sundays we are on the trip, so church is out. So how can we remain spiritually fed while we are travelling?

 

The Psalmist says that the Lord is always with us; He gives us instructions, even when we sleep (Psalm 16:7). I have a choice, as we are driving down these beautiful, rolling, back country roads: I can ponder the problems in my everyday life, and all the sorrow and sadness in this world, or I can say as the Psalmist does, “my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure” (v. 9) I can praise God for this wonderful trip and the peace it is giving my husband and me.

 

Thank You, God! The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance! (v. 6) Amen

Meg Blaine Corrigan is the author of three books: Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child; Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico and has over thirty years’ experience working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, war veterans, and other trauma survivors.  Her books may be purchased through her website, www.MegCorrigan.com or from www.amazon.com .

GREAT GRATITUDE

Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. Psalm 147:7

 

Writer and television host Ben Stein once said, “Be grateful….It’s the only reliable get-rich-quick scheme.” This is a good reminder for me, not because I have made an exhaustive search of “get-rich-quick schemes,” but because I don’t trust anyone or anybody who tells me I can get rich quick! I’ve certainly had my share of moments when I thought, “Money isn’t everything…but I’d sure like to have some, just to check that premise out!” I’m a creative person, and I appreciate beautiful things: clothes, jewelry, houses, furniture, cars, food, you name it! But I am grateful that I don’t have the kind of money or lifestyle where I can purchase any thing I want any time I want. Getting rich just to get rich seems like an awful waste of time!

 

Instead, tonight I’m thinking of all the things for which I am grateful that don’t cost a lot of money. I’m grateful for this fifteen-year-old computer that still lets me type my devotional posts. I’m grateful for the friend who helped me set up my devotional blog (almost) for free, and I’m certainly grateful that I know how to post on my blog (at my age). I’m grateful every day for the ideas God gives me for my devotions. He has never let me down, when I wrote a blog a day a few years ago, and still now when I write one a week. The snippets of Scripture or quotes from people like Ben Stein have me scrambling to get them down before I forget them. Sometimes all I get down is a word or a phrase, but I’m grateful it’s enough to go back and expand on that idea. The process makes me read things more carefully and notice the world around me more fully than I would if I wasn’t always writing about my world. What a blessing to view everything I see, hear and read as potential material for a special devotional! To think I could be stumbling through this world not noticing all the “little” things that really are not so “little” after all.

 

Lord of All Good Gifts, I’m grateful that I have my senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling, and even caring about the world You have provided around me! Amen

 

Meg Blaine Corrigan finds ideas for her devotional blogs in everyday places and events, from comic strips to magazines and books, comments on the fly from people she meets, ancient memories of her childhood, and nigglings from God. To date, she has written nearly 700 different devotions, filling one book of daily readings, Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian, published in 2015. Meg is working on a second book (Saints TWO) which she had hoped would be completed by now. She posts once a week, which means in seven years, she will have enough entries to fill a second book. Sometimes life gets in the way of writing, so Meg is pacing herself, enjoying spending time with her husband, their four daughters and spouses, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, as well as their rescue dog, Bassett/Beagle mix Ginger. Meg is involved in volunteer work at her church, Christ Lutheran in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and also with sexual violence/sex trafficking prevention and education. She speaks to groups whenever she if offered the opportunity. She is a voracious reader of other people’s writing, which gives her lots of ideas for more devotional blogs. Read more about her at www.MegCorrigan.com or contact her at MegCorrigan@comcast.net .