Abigail and Dolley is a record of the ponderings and interests of a Modern Woman. From faith, to hobbies, to political and social commentary; I share with you whatever is brewing around in my brain at the time. Thanks for reading!
Whenever I stumble upon a Christian writer, I try to determine early on what they believe, this is prudent. Here at Abigail and Dolley we believe in the inerrancy of the Scripture (Protestant), that the word of God is inspired and infallible, that all Scripture is useful in the teaching and reproofing of the people. We don't pick and choose which Scriptures we like, we take the Word as it was given to us. We are pretribulation Rapture dispensationalist and believe in a literal Second Coming and Millennial Reign. We believe in crucifixion of the flesh and reject the tenants of the Word of Faith heresy. We believe the age of Grace is rapidly coming to an end at that the Church will be called home to meet the Lord soon, from there a 7 year Tribulation will descend upon the World. Maranantha.
Abigail and Dolley readers I have been thinking a lot about my career lately. Where I want to go from here and what I want to do. I rose to the highest local position in my industry a scant eight years into my career and I never wanted much more than that, until now. I realize that I have been somewhat stunted in my career because I have refused to relocate, I have refused to travel; I have put my family above my career aspirations.
I meet others in my field who have risen well above me in positions of power and they have a couple of things in common - mainly, they have been in the vicinity of power throughout their careers AND they have been willing to move. They have been willing to uproot and go from one assignment to the next, I have not.
I have begun to question whether this was indeed the right move and perhaps second guessing something I have been committed to my whole life. Tonight, though, I hung out with my Mom and one of my Sisters and then came home to see my Son off to a Middle School Madness Kick off. There he stood with his buddies, the same buddies he has had his whole life, his life long companions, these boys that have become part of our family, and I thought, "Money, Power, and Position can't buy this, you've made the right choice, Dolley."
Abigail and Dolley readers patience is not something I was born with.... In the First Grade, my teacher sent home a note that read, "Dolley needs to learn patience with others." This impatience is not accompanied by anger or malice but born of the fact that I am a quick study. All of my teachers, after Mrs. Bowman, will attest to the fact that I can be an exasperating student, I ask questions well before the teacher has reached that point in the lesson. Usually three steps ahead of the instruction and impatient to grasp the full concept and move on, I get bored waiting for others to catch up.
It has been many years since I was in a classroom but recently spent three weeks in intensive training. To my surprise, I had more patience with others but was still three steps ahead of the teacher and still asked all the questions needed to fully understand the material. I don't memorize, I learn and in that process probe and prod more information than a lesson plan calls for. Alas, I'm not terribly popular with teachers.
I have to restrain myself from answering all of the questions that the teacher asks. I try to be quiet and will always gauge my fellow students to insure that I have not become grating. The majority of the time, my fellow students don't mind and some are even thankful for my questions. I am sure others wish I would just be quiet. A kindred spirit in the class is always a relief and I am more than willing to sit back and let them ask all the questions.
As I sat in my classroom recently, a scene from Harry Potter kept flashing through my mind and I endeavored to do my best, not to be Herminone. I'm am relatively certain that I did not succeed in that regard but equally certain five years from now I will still remember the material. In the weeks ahead, I hope MY students will appreciate the time, effort, and work I put into learning the material even if my teachers would have rather me sat quietly.
Abigail and Dolley readers I have to say, I have never been a fan of Mitt Romney. During the primary and debate season, I developed a distaste form him that was substantial. The smarmy and dirty tactics he used to bury my candidate enraged me and I often proclaimed that I would never vote for the man, ever. Alas, perhaps time heals all wounds and the specter of a Romney Presidency seems far less disastrous than four more years of Obama. Add in the Tea Party favorite, Paul Ryan and all of a sudden pulling the lever for Romney in November seems a bit more palatable. It is eerily like McCain/Palin... I voted for her, not him.
Abigail and Dolley readers I was very blessed this week to spend time with my dearest friend. It has been several years since we have seen each other and we sat and talked into the night about the details of our lives. As we caught up, it was very apparent to both of us that God deals with those He loves in different ways. We each struggle with an area of our lives that keep us on our knees. I think if we didn't, we would never be obedient to do the good works He has laid up for us.
I have had an irrational fear that when I get to Heaven, the Lord will look at me and ask, "What did you do for me?" The terror that strikes my heart is indescribably for I have never really done anything great for the Lord, in my own eyes. I have never gone on a missions trip, I don't take food to the homeless, I don't minister to people in jail... but on further reflection, does this surprise God? Does He expect that when I finally come home that my life will have not reflected His love? Wouldn't a loving God put tasks in front of me that He knows I will do? The Lord doesn't want me to fail, He doesn't want me to get to Heaven and have nothing stored up...
Now, I am not saying we earn our Salvation or that our motivation for doing good works should only be reward but let's get real here. We work for pay, we don't work for altruistic reasons. We are also tremendously short sighted and have no real understanding of eternity, so like a child He must move us along in this life insuring we are placed in situations where we can earn our rewards.
Posts
