Anna Billingsley

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.“ Galatians 3:28

We just returned from Aruba. While the trip was wonderful, and we accomplished our primary goal of seeing flamingos up close and personal, I was struck by something else: Borders are insignificant.

We were amazed by the kinship we felt toward Arubians and folks from all over, really. The World Cup soccer competition was going on, and there was tremendous fervor regardless of where we were from or which team we supported. In fact, as we were standing among a throng watching a finals match on a big-screen outdoor TV, a Dutchman gave us an American flag!

This reminded me of Christmas Day 2014. The strains of “O Come Let Us Adore Him” reverberated as we sat down in folding chairs with about 40 other worshippers in a hotel meeting room. As I observed a variety of skin colors and heard numerous accents, I thought to myself: What brings all these people to a vacation destination on what is arguably the most sacred day of the year for Christians?

For our family of four, it was our desire for an escape from the trappings and traditions of Christmas. During the previous months, we had lost two trunks of our family tree – my dad and my father-in-law. Plus, one of my closest friends had lost her hard-fought battle against breast cancer.

Were others there trying to escape? I don’t know. But of this I am sure: On that December 25^th, families from all walks of life and nationalities were united and joy prevailed as we all engaged in a shared experience – celebration of our Savior’s birth.

The same realization came upon me as we stood shoulder to shoulder with men and women of all ages and cultures to cheer on young men kicking a ball.

Shared experiences help us transcend political and ethnic barriers. Who knew that by traveling to an island and eschewing cultural traditions I would draw closer to the meaning of community – and Christmas?

God knew.

O come let us adore Him!

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…. be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:11-18

I worked out for an hour the other day and left my fitness tracker behind. Darn! So all those burpees, squats, kettle ball swings, and sit-ups were to no avail – right?

That’s how millions of us look at it. We are consumed by meeting our fitness goals – walking 10,000 steps or closing our Apple Watch rings.

What if we went out and forgot to put on our armor of God? What if we failed to measure acts of grace?

Take a look at Ephesians 6:11-18:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all flaming arrows. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…. be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

I may make sure I fasten a fitness tracker around my wrist every day, but I certainly don’t adorn a breastplate, shield, helmet, and sword. The passage makes me stop and think, though.

God knows what we’re doing. I don’t have to wear an Apple Watch to measure my steps or activity level. In the same way, I have no need to count the times I smile at someone, write a kind note, take a casserole to a neighbor, or contribute to a Go Fund Me for church members who experienced a house fire or other tragedy.

In fact, God would rather us NOT keep track of such things. Remember in Matthew 6:2 when we are told to never announce our good deeds “with trumpet fanfare.”

Praying is always a good exercise, and we can do it quietly and without fanfare. The best part is that the more we do it, the more spiritually fit we become. We should strive – privately – to close by bedtime these three rings: Faith. Hope. Love. In other words, we should remember each day to be in God’s word, to pray, and to count our blessings.

Let’s not forget that tracker!

“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” Exodus 15:26

You may go to the ER because you have a gaping, jagged cut from a rusty pipe. You’re in need of stitches, a tetanus shot, and an antibiotic.

But such visits do not dominate the Dallas area. Hospitals there, where emergency rooms are traditionally filled day and night, decided several years ago to find out why so many people regularly visit, costing tax payers millions of dollars a year. The researchers identified 80 patients, who collectively went to four Dallas-area emergency rooms 5,139 times during a 12-month period. 

The No. 1 reason? Loneliness. These habitual ER users often lack relationships, connections, support structures – and a personal Savior.

What a cold and inhospitable place for them to go! Like emergency rooms, Sweet Monday will accept anyone, no questions asked. And the door is always open.

No – Sweet Monday cannot address fevers, cuts, or gall stones. But it CAN connect lonely, hurting women in a warm, inviting environment. And it provides contacts to help combat loneliness.

Most important, Sweet Monday opens the door for many hurting folks to meet someone that has not been a part of their lives: Jesus Christ. They can leave, not with doctor’s orders and prescriptions, but with a fullness. They leave filled with a sweet treat and the word of God.

Let us pray that as Sweet Monday spreads in Dallas and other cities, visits to the ER will diminish, friendships will increase, and love of the Lord will soar.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

I just learned that Lisa, a good friend of mine from high school, founded the marketing firm my institution has been working with for three years. I had no idea! How did I find out?

From her obituary.

I learned so much about my former classmate, with whom I had lost touch decades earlier, after another member of our class posted a tribute to her. I learned that she was brilliant, feisty, fun loving and extremely creative. I learned we both were very active in our respective churches. I learned our careers followed similar paths, but hundreds of miles apart. And I learned she never let ovarian cancer get the best of her.

Oh…the conversations we could have had! If only I had known.

How many times do we say that to ourselves: If only…?

God never intended for us to live with regret. Ecclesiastes 3 speaks to that. We have different seasons in our lives. A time to lead Bible School, a time to spend time with our own family. A time to work, a time to retire. A time to mourn, a time to rejoice. A time to participate in activities, a time to remember that participation. A time to host Sweet Monday, a time to let someone else host. A time for old friends, a time for new.

Right now, I am grappling with the last item. If only I had stayed in touch with Lisa, I keep repeating to myself. However, had I done so, I would not have had time to develop and focus on new relationships. Neither would she.

Yes – she was a big part of my life during a season. I laughed with her, I crammed for tests with her, and I had sleepovers with her. But we moved on, and we went our separate ways. We both have had rich, full lives. God knows our lives would not necessarily have been better had the other been in them.

It was special that we intersected at all. I had a wonderful season with Lisa, and who knows? Maybe I was drawn to the firm she founded – despite my not knowing – because of the indelible and incredible marks she had made upon it.

As I make new friends and forge new paths, I am resurrecting and hanging onto my fond memories of a season with Lisa.

We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. Acts 15:11

I once heard a pastor from New York talk about ordering breakfast in Atlanta. When his plate of eggs and sausage arrived, it contained a blob of white mush.

“I didn’t order this stuff,” the pastor told the waitress. “Oh,” she replied, “grits come on every plate, whether you order them or not.”

Grits are just like the grace of God – available to us, in Sweet Monday parlance, free of charge and with no strings attached.

I, of course, am very familiar with grits — the “ice cream of the South” as my father always said.  Being a good South Carolinian, I have grown up eating this porridge made from boiled cornmeal.

I just never associated grits with God’s grace – a concept with which I have grappled.

Why would I be given a gift for no reason and on no special occasion? It’s available every day – not just my birthday or Christmas.

It’s hard to conceive of a totally unmerited gift. God’s grace is truly amazing! Grace is God’s gift to us through the death of his son on the cross. The idea is that by providing us with this gift, God works to effect change in our hearts and lives.

I don’t deserve this gift from God. None of us do. We all are sinners in thought, word, and deed. But through grace, God forgives us Christians and continues offering this gift to all of us, no matter who we are or where we are or what we have done.

What a blessing! Though I need not repay God’s gift of grace, I want to extend it to others. Acts of grace need not be all that lofty – and need not be requested or expected. Such an act can be a cool drink on a hot day. A note to a friend in need. An invitation to church. An act of hospitality. A lessening of a burden. A phone call. A compliment. A smile.

It can even be a breakfast invitation that includes grits, ordered or not!

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. William Shakespeare

For me, two minutes and 30 seconds made the whole world kin! That was the amount of time I, along with my family and thousands of others, experienced a total eclipse of the sun.

WOW! That’s the only way to describe hearing crickets chirp, seeing stars appear, and being enveloped in total darkness at 2:45 in the afternoon. Wow, wow, wow!

Those of us in the zone of totality exulted in God’s majestic splendor. And for a few moments, in a world rife with political division, civil unrest, sin and violence, we all came together. And we all looked heavenward.

It was magical. We put our differences aside and shared a common vision – an almost inexplicable and totally awesome act of nature. No matter our race, our party affiliation, our gender orientation or age, we stood side by side and witnessed in unison what was for most of us a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Lord, you reveal yourself every day in more subtle ways – a cleansing rain shower, a gorgeous flower blossom, or a towering tree. I pray that your children here on earth can bond over less spectacular signs of your omnipotence.

Thank you for drawing our eyes skyward for a brief shining moment. Cardboard glasses with special lens were essential that day. On a daily basis in the grittiness of life, we need to look all around us through your holy lens.

As Ephesians 1:18 so eloquently states it: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling.”