Elizabeth George - Creating a Beautiful Life: A Womans Guide to Good-Better-Best Decision Making

Elizabeth George is a CBA and ECPA bestselling author of more than 100 books and Bible studies (more than 11 million sold). As a writer and speaker, her passion is to teach the Bible in a way that changes womens lives. For information about Elizabeths books and to sign up for her newsletter and blogs, please contact Elizabeth at:

www.ElizabethGeorge.com

I n the books Ive read that have an epilogue, the events that occur in that add-on chapter entitled Epilogue usually take place later in timesix months later, or five years later. Its the authors way of wrapping things up, of tying up all the loose ends and I wonders the reader may have with a nice, appealing bow.

Well, here in this epilogue of this book, I want to go back in timeback to a choice I had made. I opened this book with a scene of me working in the kitchen when my Jim arrived home from work. (What is it about kitchens that causes everyone to eventually congregate there?) As I said, that was a momentous dayand a momentous choice I madewhen Jim and I discussed the merits of me tiptoeing into the waters of teaching the Bible, of testing out this new kind of ministry.

That was a rosy time in my life. I felt like I had everything in order. Thanks to Gods Word to me as a wife and mom, I had been working on my marriage and family for a good ten years. There were no flashing lights warning me that any one of my brood was suffering or nearing a calamity. There seemed to be no significant issues in need of my attention.

So, with my husbands encouragement and full support, I said yes to my churchs invitation to share a workshop in our newly formed womens ministry. And, oh, how I grew. And in oh-so-many ways! And how God used that hesitant, whispered, Yes, Lord, followed quickly by a plea to God with my very next breath, Lord, help me!

It was definitely a dramatic, but subtle, turning point in my life and ministry.

Well, now let me back up to another scene ten years earlierto another choice I had made.

I was in the same house, the same kitchen.

Only this incident occurred during my days of darknesswhat I now refer to as the dark days. Yes, I was a Christian, albeit a baby one. But I struggled relentlessly against depression. Even though I lived in sunny Southern California, the inside of our little house on Friar Street was murky. I cried daily as I worked in that kitchen with no dishwasher. I cried as I made the beds each day, wishing I could lie down in one of them and pull the covers up over my head, thinking maybe then the grey fog that covered my day and my thoughts would go away.

But, praise God, one day as I stood washing dishes in that kitchen, I fought back. Instead of sliding down the black hole of depression once again, I grasped at one thing I had heard at a recent Christian conference. The speaker had simply stated, You should all be memorizing Scripture.

With good intentions, I had already purchased a packet of verses designed to help Christians strengthen their faith and trust in God. And even in the clutter that defined my homeand homemakingI knew where that little packet was. I dried my hands, grabbed the tiny bundle out of a cubbyhole in my rolltop desk, ripped off the cellophane wrapping, and pulled out verse #1.

Back in the kitchen, I propped the little card up on the windowsill over the sink and began hiding that one verse in my heart. I said the verse out loud, then broke it down into phrases, and kept repeating those phrases to myself one by one as I finished up the dishes.

If I had known more about the Bible and its contents, I might have looked at that versewhich happened to be Philippians 4:8and thought, My, thats a l-o-n-g verse! And it looks a little complicated. I think Ill choose another one, a short one. After all, Im just a beginner at this.

But no. Ignorance is bliss. I continued marching my way through that verse. And without any drumroll or lightning-and-thunder theatrics, that verse became my breakthrough verse. Yes, this verse contains eight qualifications God desires for our thoughts to meet. And I struck gold on the first quality, which the apostle Paul had written to friends who were suffering: Finally, brethren, whatever things are truethink on these things ( KJV ).

As I went over and overand over!these eight wordswhatever things are truethink on these thingsGod used His Word to show me the way through my darkness and out of my dark thoughts. I was to think only on what is true.

All I can say is Im soooo glad I chose to reach for that life-line, that little life-saving packet of verses that led to a monumentally life-changing explosion in my Christian growth and my spiritual mental health. To this day, I still recite this first-ever memorized verse when I find my thoughts headed downward.

Im sure youre not surprised to learn that I then made another choiceto continue to memorize Scripture as a habit for life.

Now lets fast-forward to today. At this season in my life, Jim and I reside part-time in the Seattle area, near one of our daughters, whose family lives in Vancouver, BC, and part-time in Hawaii, near our other daughter, whose family lives in Honolulu, where her US Navy husband is based.

Of course, if youve read any of my other books, you know how Jim and I adore living in Washington, hidden and lost among our giant cedar, fir, and pine trees and looking out over the Hood Canal while working at warp speed, taking in the majestic and eternally snowcapped Mount Rainier, catching glimpses of eagles soaring by, salmon jumping, and seals cruising. Were surrounded by unbelievable beauty in a tranquil settingperfect for two writers!

But Hawaii couldnt be more opposite. It is the land of green, craggy volcanic slopes, mist on the mountains, abundant sun, warm tropical breezes, swaying palms, white sandy beaches, and a variegated blue ocean lined with white-capped tumbling surges of surf. Like Washington, Hawaii is also a place of peace, offering a more laid-back island style of livingalso perfect for two creative writers!

Needless to say, we have been learning much about Hawaiian culture and customs. The one Im thinking about right now is the tradition of greeting guests who are arriving to the Islands with a lei. A lei is a flower-woven garland placed over the head and around the neck of a special recipient, always followed with a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and an Aloha greeting, which means, Hello and welcome.

Its such a delightful, loving tradition that Jim and I have adopted it when welcoming friends and family who arrive for an island visit. On the way to the Honolulu Airport, one slight turn to the left takes us to a famous row of outdoor lei stands. Inside these stalls, island women sit all day with baskets of fresh-cut exotic tropical blossoms at their feet. A lei is a work of art and is never quickly or thoughtlessly slapped together. Each single blossom is chosen for a purposeto add a special color, to compliment another color, to indicate whether the lei is for a male or female, to interject fragrance, or to form an intricate pattern.

My friend, think about yourself. I want you to carry this imagery of creating an intricate lei in your mind as you go through your days of decision making. I want you to think of yourself as making your choices as carefully, deliberately, and purposefully as these ladies choose each individual blossom that they sew into their awe-inspiring flower leis.