COUNTING TO TEN WHILE PRAYING

Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

 

I have a great marriage. This does not mean things go smoothly all the time, as anyone who has been or still is married can tell you. Some days, it takes all I’ve got to remember the wonderful reasons I fell in love with him. He is good looking, smart, sensible, trustworthy, kind, practical, and he loves dogs. He could probably come up with a similar list for why he chose me too, and on a good day, our good lists are all we see. But throw in a sleepless night, a bunch of things in life going wrong when they were expected to go right, and dinner getting burned, and we become less compatible. That’s the nature of a long-term relationship, the nature of life. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trials, but I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

 

Counting to ten while praying saves me. I have learned that doing both together can get me out of an awful mood and make me more willing to forgive. The results are even better if I also list the reasons I chose my husband while I am praying and counting to ten. It’s a package deal. The more you work it, the better the outcome.

 

So does love cover (or excuse) a multitude of sins? I believe it does. But obviously no one deserves to be physically or emotionally battered to the point where people are in danger of getting seriously hurt. Ephesians 5:21-33 describes an ideal marriage. But the passage is often misinterpreted to mean that a woman must obey her husband no matter what. The 21^st verse clearly says, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The remaining verses provide a standard to live up to: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church” (v. 25) and  ^“Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord” (v. 22). Both of these statements compare marriage to our individual relationships with God. We are to strive to have the same relationship with life partners—and everyone else—that we have with our Lord. And counting to ten while praying helps all of us!

 

Jesus, help us model all our relationships after our relationship with You. Amen

WISDOM AND JUSTICE

My child, if you accept My words and treasure up My commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding….then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-2,5

 

King Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs, with insight from God, advising how people should live among each other. Verses 6 through 8 remind us that “the Lord gives wisdom…knowledge and understanding…. guarding the paths of justice and preserving the ways of his faithful ones.” We obtain the wisdom of God by seeking, reading, and studying His holy Word.

 

God’s wisdom, when applied to our lives, leads to integrity, which has been defined as doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Integrity requires us to care about other people, sometimes more than we care about ourselves. Christ called this “laying down one’s life” for others (John 13:38). He didn’t mean so much that we must actually die for others (which we could only do once), but that we must be willing to consider the needs of others whom we routinely encounter. Justice is what occurs when we act out the principle of performing the right action at the right time. And that seems to bring us back full circle, to having knowledge about what is happening to our fellow human beings, using that knowledge to make wise decisions with integrity about how we can serve God in our lives.

 

It is hard for most people, as it is for me, to watch the nightly news and be bombarded with the “shock and awe” in those broadcasts. The broken world is on full display, in very real and lightning fast time, relentlessly streaming into our homes and our lives every minute of every day, if we choose to watch and listen. How can we sort it all out and determine what each of us should do—each small, single human being with brokenness of our own to resolve? What are we to do about the sad state of affairs in our world? The answer is not necessarily to go out and “save” the whole world. The answer lies in listening carefully to God and using our knowledge, wisdom, faith, and ability to do the next right thing where we are now.

 

Jesus, Redeemer, show us how to help where we are able. 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

KEY WORDS

Let My teaching fall like rain and My words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. Deuteronomy 32:2

 

In this day and age, most of us are familiar with the concept of “key words.” Searching Google is possible because, for almost any topic known to humans, key words have been linked on the Internet to that subject in a logical way. If you want to learn about climate change, for example, you can enter a few words you already know about that topic—such as global warming, ice melt, rising sea level and greenhouse gases—and you will find a long list of resources about the subject. Enter words like tropical paradise, warm weather destinations and winter getaway to begin planning your next cold weather vacation. As an author, I use key words to interest people in reading my weekly Christian blog. Courage, daily living, faith, grace, gratitude and humility are just a few of the words people might search to land on my blog site. Key words are a marketing tool, but they are also an easy way to help us navigate the vast information highway and find answers that used to take us many hours perusing the Encyclopedia Britannica or the card catalog at our local library.

 

One might say that every single word in the Bible is one of God’s key words. In the Deuteronomy passage I used today, I love the visual of God’s teaching falling “like rain” and His words “descending like dew, like showers on new grass” or “rain on tender plants.” I just searched through Google for Isaiah 55:11 by entering the words, “My word will not return to me.” I didn’t know the entire verse, but a Bible commentary showed this: “My word will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” In this passage, God clearly says that His word will find its mark, in many unpredictable ways and for many divine purposes. Those who study Scripture find that there is a message for everyone, in every circumstance, and not one of God’s words is wasted. The Bible is more than just a “marketing tool” for God; the Good Book has just the right “key words” for each of us.

 

Lord, we marvel at Your book of key words! 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 .

YOUR BRAIN ON JESUS

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

 

This Is Your Brain on Drugs was an anti-narcotics campaign launched in the United States in 1987. According to Wikipedia, the first public service announcement (PSA) shows a man in a kitchen asking if anyone out there still doesn’t understand the dangers of drug abuse. He takes an egg and says, “This is your brain,” raises a frying pan, adding, “This is drugs.” He cracks open the egg, fries the contents, and says, “This is your brain on drugs.” After a pause, he says, “Any questions?” The campaign was revived, with modifications in 1997 (“This is your brain on heroin,” showing not only the egg being fried, but the entire kitchen being destroyed by repeated blows from the frying pan.); 2016 (After the narrator says, “Any questions?” teens mount several queries, prompting the narrator to say, “They’re going to ask; be ready.”); and finally a 2018 version about the brain on cannabis (followed by a montage of skillful chopping and advanced chef techniques, prior to a reveal of a gourmet egg dish).

 

The campaign’s impact was mixed. “This is your brain on drugs” became part of the American lexicon, but parodies abounded. Homer Simpson declared, “This is your brain on donuts.” Saturday Night Live produced a “This is your brain on drugs, with a side of bacon” skit, winning the Fifty Best Commercials of All Time Award in 1997. And who could forget the Beverly Hills 90210 episode with the friends acting out the PSA in their favorite diner, with Jason Priestley delivered a serious anti-drug message of his own.

 

Why not a “This Is Your Brain On Jesus” PSA? Romans 12:2 says we should abandon our fascination with worldly things and allow Christ to transform our minds. Then we would understand the Lord’s “good, perfect and pleasing will.” Instead of the image of an egg dropping into a pan, how about a brain growing and morphing into a perfectly formed, intricate flower? Or a brain becoming a beautiful sunset or mountain scene? Can you write your own PSA depicting your brain as Jesus would transform it?

 

Lord, transform our brains…and the rest of us too! Amen

 

Alone on a Colorado mountain, Meg Corrigan faced the unthinkable, a situation that almost ended her life. Hear the details of her astounding rescue from the hands of a gun-wielding attacker and how she walked off that mountain. Hers is a story of tragedy turned holy, a journey of sorrow and healing, a powerful message of hope in the darkest hour. In her memoir, Then I Am Strong: Moving From My Mother’s Daughter to God’s Child, Meg credits her resilience to the grace of God. She is also the author of Perils of a Polynesian Percussionist, tales based on her years as a drummer in a Hawaiian show band; and Saints With Slingshots: Daily Devotions for the Slightly Tarnished But Perpetually Forgiven Christian. The sequel, Saints With Slingshots TWO, will be released by the end of 2020. Meg is a retired college counselor, author, speaker, trainer and sexual assault survivor. She speaks to churches, civic groups, college students, mental health professionals and law enforcement personnel, as well as youth in juvenile facilities. Corrigan lives in Lake Elmo, Minnesota with her husband, Patrick and their formerly disenfranchised rescue dog Ginger. She loves to coax seemingly dead plants out of the soil in her yard. The couple have four daughters, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Contact her at MegCorrigan@comcast.net or www.MegCorrigan.com .