I Believe

I’ve been told my whole life I am “opinionated.” I believe that I was born that way. I spent most of my childhood pushing the boundaries and making sure that what I had to say was heard. I stayed in trouble with my dad because I always had to have the last word. I can’t tell you how many nights my mother kicked my shins under the table trying to get me to keep my mouth shut. I don’t take offense to being labeled “opinionated,” but I have to admit that it carries a somewhat negative connotation. Though there are times when “opinionated” probably applies, I prefer to consider myself as someone willing to say what needs to be said. Sometimes it works out and then there are the times that I end up with my foot in my mouth. I’m still a work in progress.


I have strong opinions about many issues. Believe it or not, there are some opinions that I keep to myself but there are others that I willingly share. One of my strongest and deeply held beliefs is that we have a choice in how we live the life that we have been given. We can choose to live in the light and presence of God, manifesting His love for us wherever we go and whatever we do and take the risks, or we can choose to hide in the shadow of doubt and fear, never risking to venture into the journeys life has to offer. I believe that the only answer is to take the risks.

I believe a lot of things and I know that others have the ability to express those beliefs far more articulately than I. Consider the following “I Believe” statements:

I Believe…

That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words; it may be the last time you see them.
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
That we are responsible for what we do; no matter how we feel.
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and still have the best time.
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
That no matter how bad your heart is broken; the world doesn't stop for your grief.
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything they have.

                                                                                                                                              (Source: Inspirational Email)

I believe that you should find a friend and begin a series of thoughtful conversations around some of the “I Believe” statements. I have and though I have enjoyed the quality and depth of the conversations, I have also enjoyed rediscovering that what I believe not only ads value to who I am, but why I am. I believe in myself,

Copyright © 2011 Judith Bell

Resolving Resolutions

Everyone is talking about them. Yahoo, MSN and Bing wrote about them. Local newscasters ran a story about them. Most people considered them. I don’t like them.

People have started the New Year by making resolutions. The root word of “resolution” is “resolve” which webster.com defines as; “to deal with successfully; to find an answer to; to make clear or understandable.” How is it that we believe that on January 1st of each year that the problems, issues or behaviors that have plagued us for years can all of a sudden be resolved by making a resolution? Interesting. However, interesting as that may be it is even more interesting, at least to me, that “resolution” is defined as “the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones.” Now, there’s a thought…before determining to resolve something perhaps some analysis is called for.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions years ago. I was one of those people that set unrealistic goals in January, thought about them in February and forgot about them by March. Resolutions didn’t work for me. Instead, for the last couple of years, I have chosen to use the first two weeks in January to spend some time reflecting on the last year, analyzing if you prefer, the events – both the good and the bad – that were significant and meaningful and write a “life lesson” about what I learned as a result of the experience. I still have a week to go, but I thought I’d share a few of my life lessons from 2010.

1. There really is opportunity in everything if I take the time to slow down and appreciate the experience.
2. Life is much easier lived with a “get over it” attitude.
3. Receiving graciously isn’t selfish. Gracious receiving is an act of believing in the giver, appreciating the moment and fully
    enjoying what is given.
4. Asking for help won’t kill me.
5. It is impossible to stay mad at someone if I laugh.
6. Even when I don’t get what I want, I get something.
7. Sometimes a little is a lot.
8. There is always a story waiting to unfold. My job isn’t to write the ending; my job is to enjoy the story.
9. The GPS lady makes mistakes and MapQuest isn’t always right. Knowing where I am going makes for a shorter trip. Updating  
    my route is always a good thing.
10. My plan, as good as it may be, isn’t always the only plan before me.
11. Every choice has a consequence.
12. There is a good reason and a real reason for everything I do.
13. If I don’t want to get stung, it is best not to whack the hornet’s nest.
14. There are benefits of letting go of the things I don’t want to let go of.

At the end of the second week I’ll pick the ten most meaningful life lessons, print them on business cards and keep them on my computer desk to remind me throughout the year that a lesson has already been learned. I’ve already been there and learned from it. I recently ran across the following quote. “It doesn’t matter where you have been; it only matters where you are going”. (Brian Tracy)

I don’t believe that. It does matter where you have been. It is an experience that has influenced where you are now and will, more than likely, influence how you move forward. Past experiences, if and when we let them, help move us toward new destinations – both literally and figuratively. Martin Burber got it right when he said, “It serves me well to remember that all journeys have a secret destination of which the traveler is unaware.”

Life lessons help prepare me for new journeys and destinations. They help me remember where I have been, what I have already learned and help prepare me to start each day looking for the opportunity that awaits me.

Happy New Year!

Copyright © 2011 Judith Bell

Six Letters

I love brain teasers. I like word mysteries, puzzles and 3-D and other optical illusions. More likely than not, I have to read the cheat sheet to be able to solve them, but I still enjoy the challenge. Here are a couple of my favorites.

“A cab driver is going the wrong way down a one way street. Two policemen see him but don’t stop him. Why?  Or: “In the following line of letters, cross out six letters so that the remaining letters, without altering their sequence, will spell a familiar English word.”

Believe it or not there is reason to my seemingly unrelated thought processes. I was cleaning off my desk when I found my folder of icebreakers. The cross out six letters brain teaser was on top and it made me think about crossing Christ out of Christmas, therefore shortening it to Xmas. It just so happened that on the same day, yahoo.com ran a story about the origins of using “X” to replace Christ in Christmas -- therefore the jump from brain teasers to Christmas.

Admittedly I am one of those who cringe when I see “Xmas.” Not ever having taken Greek, I had not, until after reading the article, made the connection that our “X” is the Greek ‘chi’ which, when combined with ‘rho’ symbolizes Christ. Below is the article from connectamarillo.com.

“In the first story, we look at the abbreviation commonly referred to as Xmas. How did the word Christ come to be replaced by the letter “X”? Turns out it goes back to the very beginnings of Christianity. “Using the symbol “X” for Christ is a tradition that dates far back into the history of Christianity and into the first few centuries. That’s because our letter “X” is identical to the Greek letter ‘chi,” which is the first letter for Christos in Greek, and so early Christians many times would see the letter “X” or combine that with the letter ‘rho’ in Greek to symbolize Christ,” says Father Robert Busch, PhD, Amarillo Diocese Schools Director. Xmas therefore means, “Christ’s Mass,” so in many ways, the “X” stands for Christ. But some people unaware of the Greek origin of this “X” often mistakenly interpret the Xmas as an informal shortening pronounced (eks-mas). Many therefore frown upon the term Xmas because it seems to them a commercial convenience that omits Christ from Christmas. It’s also important to note that it is a written abbreviation, and should not be pronounced “X”mas, but instead as “Christmas.” Another interesting fact, in olden times when paper and ink were precious commodities, the “X” was used to save space when printing.” (connectamarillo.com))

A little Greek goes a long way but I suspect that most of us, even after a brief lesson in word origin, still prefer to see Christ in Christmas; after all, He is the reason for the season.

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

P.S. Let me know if you can’t figure out why the cabbie wasn’t stopped.

Evil Momma

They finally did it! They pushed me too far. They have to learn that “every choice has a consequence.” They of course are those young men living in my house.


I’ve been on a tear for the last two weeks. It all started with a sink full of dirty dishes. I thought I could wait them out. I was wrong. The same dishes sat in the sink Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I was patient. I asked repeatedly who left the dishes in the sink only to learn that a fourth person going by the name, “I don’t know”, had moved in without me knowing about it.

I didn’t get mad. I didn’t threaten certain death if they weren’t washed and put away. I did decide there were consequences. Friday morning I got up, cleaned out the gun closet and outside freezer and put all the dishes, glasses, pots, pans, forks, spoons, bowls, knives and cooking utensils in one or the other. I locked the doors and hid the keys. I left paper plates, plastic cups, plastic forks and spoons, one cookie sheet, one small pot, one small pan, a wooden spoon and a spatula. I figured they had everything they needed to survive. Yup, every choice has a consequence.

Needless to say they are not very happy right now. Lee got mad and wouldn’t talk to me. David asked if he had to wash the paper plates. Reid left challenging messages on yellow sticky notes in the cabinet and refrigerator. The one in the cabinet read “Bring it on big dawg” and the one in the refrigerator read “Evil momma is back.”

Of all the notes that he left, the most meaningful was “Evil momma is back.” During their elementary years, while other mom’s were referred to as Ryan’s mom or Mrs. Dee Dee, Reid and all of his friends called me “Evil Momma.” Evil Momma was special; it set me apart from the other moms; and let me say, that was a name I wore with honor. There was something about that label that let me know that somewhere along the way I had done what I was supposed to do. It set me apart from the other moms.

The name Evil Momma means something and so does Christmas; “…She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

Back in the Manger

Christmas always takes us back to the manager; to the night when Christ was born.


One of the most familiar reminders of that night is the nativity. Nativity scenes have served as a reminder of Christ’s humble birth since the Dark Ages. However, it‘s Saint Francis Assisi that gets the credit for popularizing the most treasured display of Christmas. Though it was undoubtedly rustic in design and construction, scholars believe that it was a live nativity and most likely biblically correct, portraying on those that were present in Luke’s telling of the birth. Luke’s account is vague, giving no specific details about the setting of Christ’s birth, other than it was a structure used for stabling animals and that only Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the shepherds were present. The details weren’t important to Luke because the focus was totally on the birth of Jesus.

I have several nativities, but my favorite is a very simple wooden scene of the first Christmas. The last three years the set has been missing a piece because three years ago Lucy, the Airedale puppy from the dark side, ate baby Jesus. One night the baby was lying in the manger and the next morning it was nothing but splintered pieces of wood.

It has taken three years, but my Dad has finally managed to craft a replacement; baby Jesus is back in the manger! I felt a sense of completeness this year as I removed the cherished pieces from the box and placed them on the table. As I put the baby in the manger I was reminded, as I am each year, that Christmas is a time of preparation and anticipation. It is a time to purposefully prepare our hearts to receive God’s perfect gift of love.

Nativities have undergone drastic changes since 1223. Regardless of how extravagantly or garishly crafted today’s nativities are, they serve to remind us that the focus of Christmas remains on the baby lying in the manger.

Tonight as I look across the room I see a complete nativity. The scene is complete. The splintered pieces have been replaced and baby Jesus is back in the manger.

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12)

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

Not Enough Stars

Between 1840 and the mid 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. At the height of the polio epidemic in 1952, there were nearly 60,000 cases with more than 3,000 deaths reported in the United States alone. Polio often resulted in partial or full paralysis and common treatments included the use of body casts and other supportive devices.


In his Thanksgiving sermon, entitled Deep Thanks, Dr. Don Webb recounted a story told to him as a young man beginning his first pastorate in Ohio. The pastor had spent time visiting a young girl hospitalized with polio. She spent her days and nights in bed, strapped to a board with little else to do but to gaze out the window. When the pastor asked her what she did to pass the time, the girl replied, “I play with the stars.” She went on to tell about how she picked out a star and then said what she was thankful for; she picked the brightest star for her mother and the twinkliest star for her brother. She also thanked the stars for the flowers, the trees, family and so on. When she finished listing what she was thankful for, she looked at the pastor and said, “God didn’t make enough stars.” Considering there are over 30 billion trillion stars in the observable universe; that is deep thanks.

I have much for which to be thankful; family, health, work, friends, and quality of life. If I were to stand outside tonight and begin labeling stars, those would easily be the brightest and easiest stars to point out and whisper a silent prayer of gratitude. However, as I go through my list, I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians; “…be thankful in all circumstances.” The part about “in all circumstances” makes the task of thankfulness somewhat more difficult. Yet, a thankful spirit is what I am called to offer unto the Lord.

Tonight I plan to take some time, stand in my front yard and play with the stars. I plan on thanking God for the times I’ve laughed until I’ve cried. I plan on thanking God for the time I’ve spent with loved ones. I plan on thanking God for the long line at the grocery store that made me slow down, take a deep breath and realize that there was no need to rush. I plan on thanking God for the challenging week that I’ve had and that I’ve been able to move through it without a complete emotional breakdown.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I plan on thanking God.

Psalm 100

A Psalm for grateful praise

Shout to the Lord, all the earth

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

*Story written with permission of Dr. Don Webb


Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell

God's Canvas

Opening the text message with the attached photo was one of those “take your breath away moments.” I immediately sent back the reply; “Beautiful! It is now my new screen saver.” My immediate thought was “God’s canvas.”

My next thought was that of a preschool classroom. One of my fondest memories of being a preschool teacher is that of watching two- and three-year-olds stand at an easel with paint brush in hand. They always approach the blank piece of paper the same way; wet paint brush palmed and held at one of the top corners of the easel. When they are ready to make the first colorful stroke, they use their entire body as the paint brush; making broad, slashing strokes as they fill the paper with color. Their enthusiasm for creating is contagious. If I close my eyes and let my imagination go, I can picture God, the Creator, dipping His brush into the majestic colors of the universe and using the sky as His canvas, and using broad, slashing strokes to fill the sky with color.

I went searching for Scripture that captured the essence of the sunset and found Psalm 19 verses 1-6 -

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.” (Psalm 19: 1-6)

The photo and the words of David reminded me of three very important things.

1. At the end of the day, regardless of what happens, God is going to be there.
2. God has made my life a canvas and it is my responsibility to create something.
3. God has a plan for me and all I have to do is follow the course.



This is a day that the Lord has made!

Copyright © 2010 Judith Bell