G.U.E.S.T. Star Life Coaching

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I wonder if Peter was a mathematician. In his writing from 2 Peter 1:5-8, he assigns six equations. Each equation is to be solved with love.

Effort+ Faith

Faith + Goodness

Goodness+ Knowledge

Knowledge+ Self-Control

 Self-Control+ Godliness

 Godliness+ Mutual Affection

 Love Love Love Love Love Love

God calls me to calculate everything with love. Everything means everything. In practicing His lifelong algorithm, I see multiple steps. Each step builds upon another and if I miss stages of this process, my lifework becomes a fraction of goodness.

Loving God and respecting His creation requires minute-by-minute efforts. Sometimes I wish I had scrap paper to practice these virtues before I can show the world my sincere care. In 2 Peter 1-8, I’m assured that “if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Teacher, please guide me to continually practice life’s equation, solving everything with love.  From a classroom of life, I leap from my lily pad to show effort, faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness, mutual affection.

Ending in love,

Christina

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV).

When face masks became popular, I needed to adjust to socially expected regulations. I recognized I must pay closer attention to details.

There are two grocery store cashiers who’ve become my bi-weekly friends. In the pre-mask era, I could distinguish between these two cashiers and greet each lady by name. With their noses, mouths and chins covered, I needed to look harder to recognize their differences. Part of their unique features was not revealed.

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One of these cashiers began wearing a silvery glitter mask. When I commented on it, she proudly claimed to be a girl who loves glitter and shine, so she chose a mask that represented her personality. That identification helped me easily spot her.

I see that employee naturally shining with her upbeat demeanor and contagious laugh. Her inner smile bypasses the physical veil. This interaction made me wonder if I’ve grown accustomed to a masked version of people, including the one I sometimes wear myself. I ask for increased discernment to discover the “real” person behind the mask.

What does someone enjoy? How does somebody handle adversity? Who matters most to someone? What truly counts?

God knows everyone’s heart. He sees through masks. He created who is behind their veil. He covers us with His protective love.

Lord, grant me courage when I’m tempted to mask the goodness You’ve created in me. Grow me so that others will know me by my spiritual fruit. Guide me to be kind and nurturing to all of your creation.

Freely unmasked,

Christina 

“…deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts” (1 Kings 8:39).

“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!” (Gal. 6:11).

I found biblical proof that Paul used capitalization and large fonts when he wrote to the Galatians in 6:11: “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!”

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In our modern world, I picture his sizable letters as large fonts or all caps. I’m partial toward his appreciation for exclamation marks! Perhaps Paul, being a New Testament writer, originated the Times New Roman script.

I experience an eye condition that requires me to increase font size when I use the computer. There’s limited texting on my flip phone, but thankfully it has an all-caps option so I can read short messages. I can only respond by emoji or voice mail. These eyesight challenges can be faced through physical accommodations. However, it’s vital for me to focus on spiritual vision. God’s 20/20 vision is clearer than my hindsight.

Paul used considerable letters to drive his point home. The scripture that follows Paul’s message to the Galatians says, “Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ” (Gal. 6:12 NIV).

Gratefully, I’ve never undergone circumcision, but my mind and heart need spiritual flesh cutbacks. I require routine vision exams: What motivates my actions? Who do I listen to? What do I allow in my mind?

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Great Opthalmologist, adjust my eyes to see Your perfect vision. Protect me from the world’s glare and help me understand Your writing. Thank you for capitalizing on Paul’s text to see from your lens on life.

WITH RENEWED VISION!

Christina

Last week, I posted the unexpected-to-me change for my electronic marketing. (I’m still grasping this drastic twist). Knee Deep: A 9-Month Whirlpool of Handwritten Letters to the Creator will be published within weeks. My original plan was to post Red Paint’s incredible book cover design and schedule trailer drops. Instead, I am simply offering a sample from my most courageous work so far. Knee Deep is a collection of handwritten letters to my Creator from October 20, 2019 until July 16, 2020.

Reader, you have abundant choices. Thank you for choosing to read my posts and books. Thank you for continuing to hire me as a life coach and guest speaker.

Less is more, even less is even more. Scroll below Ian Turnell’s captivating photo to read an entry from Knee Deep: A 9-Month Whirlpool of Handwritten Letters to the Creator (will be available on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes and Noble).

With a courageous leap,

Christina

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Good morning to my Storm Shelter!  

Thank you for guiding me to quiet this constant stream of input. My mind has become distracted, confused and cluttered.  I’m flooded with information overload and struggling with processing pressure. I agreed with one of my friends when she said, “Sometimes I wish the whole internet would just blow up!”

Thank you for podcasts You’ve brought to my attention. I’ve learned much from Emily P. Freeman’s, “The Next Right Thing.” She teaches how to handle decision fatigue. Regina Brett has begun a Shortcuts version of her “Life’s Little Detours.” Her uplifting ten-minute nuggets are restful treasures to my spirit.

Please help me to quickly turn down (or off!) the pressure to post, share, read and listen to the abundant information. Ironically, as an author and guest speaker, Lord, this sounds like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth. (there’s already too many mouths speaking into this world! ha ha).

Thank You for the gift of laughter. Thank You for Your time to listen to my inner podcast. Thank You for reading over 40 years of my journals and musings. Guide me to hear Your voice first, share it, like it, and quietly post it wherever you want. Place people in my path who want and need the encouraging spirit you have gifted me. Let me not grow weary by processing fatigue.

Love, Your Daughter, Christina

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I heard “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor this morning and one song line stuck out. “You trade your passion for glory.” Bullseye!

I left my career in June 2018 to become a literary pastor for the Lord. I lived that year with intent, pursuing what God called me to do. Write. Life’s Too Short for Dull Razors, Cheap Pens and Worn-Out Underwear was published April 1, 2019 and the first book in the FROG Blog series published May 5.

During that 5 weeks, a team created my first Facebook page and website. Online education ensued. A sharp learning curve grounded me to the computer. Thanks to the “2020 universal “intervention” I practiced bartering service-for-service. This required more screen time.

In 18 months, through this Eye of the Tiger song, I realize I’ve traded my writing passion for glory. Not egocentrically, but in a scope of a production wordsmith.  Quotas, deadlines, increased connections wanting faster response time.

I write about God’s teaching, but there’s an underlying restlessness behind my writing that wasn’t present in 2018. A team of creative warriors join me to finish three books in the FROG blog series in 2021.

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In May, I’ll return to a figurative boxing arena. Unlike my first books, I will not use mass media to promote Knee Deep, Tadpoles and Poetry Pod. This may sound naïve or unwise to the marketing world. I receive daily pushback and disagreement from literary experts and authors. However, God has guided me with instructions that make perfect sense to Him.

FROG. Fully Rely On God. If I’m not Fully relying on God, I’m trading my personal passions for His glory. That’s a bartering system that is not going to end well in His eyes.

In His eye of the tiger with my heart of a lamb,

Christina

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Eccl. 9:10 NKJV).

“But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten” (Eccl 9:4-5 Gideon Bible).

I perk up when there are dog references, especially when the bible features canines. Ecclesiastes 9:4 grabbed my attention by the collar when I read, “for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”

Solomon wrote about wisdom from people who are alive in Christ. Like Jesus, I know my body will expire but I have immortal redemption if I keep my hope in Him. When I wonder, “What if this is it? What if everything I represent really ends when I die? What happens if I devote my mortal mission toward eternal life, only to discover that there is no heaven?

When I temporarily turn skeptic, I remember to live for the greater good now. Fortunately, logic eventually kicks in: “Christina, if you’re fully dead, how will you know? How will your misgivings matter?” I won’t be alive to discover cultural doubts.

If the world’s objections to heaven’s existence reign true, my qualms become silenced. John 14:2 provides sound truth in quoting Jesus, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

Philippians 3:20 teaches, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

When I see creation’s intricacies, I believe that Someone cherished who and what He created. I serve a Creator who handcrafts everything, everyone. I want to be like that living dog that Solomon wrote about, working my earth assignments with purpose.

Just as a canine eagerly awaits his owner, I anticipate my Master’s return. My heavenly Father adopted me, and I trust that He’s preparing my place in heaven. I live to be like a hopeful dog, not a dead lion.

Wagging my tail, no lyin’😉

Christina

We’ve had intermittent power outages over the past week for various reasons. During one of these darkened moments, I sat by candlelight to discover a brighter light.

I utilized the lack of lights, heat, machines, etc. to practice my word of the year 2021: abundance. I willed myself to focus on abundant gratitude. I realized that in the “less,” I have more than I acknowledge.

What if today I woke up with only what I said thank you for what I got (or didn’t get) yesterday? I recognized that this power outage happened after I had showered, after I had coffee, after I got ready for work, after the sun had risen. I imagined how my morning would have materialized if the power had gone down before my electric bedside clock alarm had sounded. Instead of abundant grace, I pictured abundant gross! 😉

I chose to use the downtime to write everything that I appreciated. I vowed myself to sit through however long it took to say thank you until the power was restored. Wait! Who said anything about the power returning? Who was I to presume that electricity would be restored? It was another lesson about what I’ve come to expect and rely on.

This is an abbreviated list from that January day’s gratitude:

*candles (more than one)

*blankets (again, more than one)

*clean sweaters

*comfy chair and couch

*washer & dryer (I visualized washing and hanging laundry outside in 20’ weather)

*hot coffee

*microwave

*wool-blend socks

*soft neck scarf

*flashlight with working batteries

*many windows

Thank you, Jesus for generating your powerful provision!

Much to ponder so I’m signing off with abundant simplicity,

Christina