Swimming Upstream

Christian women aren’t cut out cardboard paper dolls w/ smiles painted on.  There are times we go 59 instead of 55 mph (trying to be in two places at once). Times when we don’t clean the grout in the tub and yes, days when we yell at our kids. We are real.  We live real lives with problems and needs and partial solutions.
We do try.  Every day we pray to be stable, stronger, and wiser.  We yearn to be considered a “Proverbs Woman”.  We exercise our spirits, our minds, and sometimes our bodies.  If in the midst of our tiring long journey we may remember to stop and look up – we see the sun- whether glimpsed behind the clouds of trials or gloriously shining and turning the water of our lives into refreshing joy.
But most of our lives are filled with difficulties.  We, like ‘fish’ everywhere spend life “swimming upstream” going against the world’s currents, threading our way between the rocks of stress, crisis, everyday life, and the occasional disaster.  We try to avoid the backwaters where we grow stagnate – simply treading water, and we almost never bite at temptation’s hook (well, we try really hard not to bite, unless its chocolate.)
We face many issues as Christian women today whether as parents, as spouses, as teachers, employees, leaders, community members, in church or outside in the secular world.  We see ourselves constantly in action trying to do what is best for all.  But, sometimes we go so fast that we make no progress towards our goals.
So, I’d like to offer some assistance in our swim.  After all with a name like Troutman….. Did I mention I was a ‘bait boy’ for five years as a teenager: or that we canned over 1200 pounds of tuna last year?  Yup.  I’ve smelled like a fish for years.  I want to share some ideas I’ve found helpful in my swim.  Most of us have common issues and I feel we can best address them with a blend of humor and grace.

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