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Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

I Need a Moment…

Posted on April 24, 2026

I picked up Glenn at the airport last Monday night and we went straight to the church building to meet with some people who needed to talk over some things about their marriage. They were in town, very temporarily, from another state, and we needed to capitalize on the urgency. We had a grandchild with us, too, and we went home and tucked him in. It was midnight. The next day was pretty full, too. I had a zoom meeting at 9 am and another grandchild added to the mix that morning. My neighbor was having a chemo treatment and I really wanted to cook supper for them. When Glenn has been gone, of course, there’s grass to mow and lots of questions and answers from GBN to catch up on. And we were leaving for an appointment in Tennessee at 12:15 pm. “This is insane, “ I thought. “We have to find a different way to live!” 

At some point that day, we got a moment to talk about how his gospel meeting in Oklahoma had gone. I’m glad for that moment. Sometimes, like we all say, “I just need a moment.” When the moment is like this one, I’m pretty much okay, again. 

“Well, I didn’t want to tell you this while I was there,” Glenn began. “I didn’t want you to be frightened.” 

Then he went on. He told me what a great job the family there at the Highland church in Tecumseh, Oklahoma had done with advertising. He said there were yard signs everywhere that advertised the meeting. People were wearing t-shirts with the theme of the meeting highlighted. They had invited and the town knew about the meeting.  The church had, together, planned and executed a 24 hour prayer vigil for the meeting. “But,” he said, “…on the first night there was a man at the entrance of the church driveway holding up signs…trying to dissuade visitors  from attending the meeting.” He went on to describe the very visible place this man had chosen to post his message…”Trust Science—Not the Bible.” Members were stopping to encourage him to just come and listen. Glenn was a little concerned about the influence and intent of this man. One of the advertised hot-button topics was “Five Things about Homosexuality that Cannot be Changed.” Apparently the security team of the congregation was a little “beefed-up” because they kept assuring Glenn that the plan was in place and all possible measures had been taken in case of potential trouble. After all, the members who had stopped to talk with him had passed along that he was upset that Glenn would be giving the Bible’s teaching about homosexuality.

Undaunted and uninterested in hearing the Word, the man was there repeatedly as the meeting progressed. On the second night, Glenn stopped and lowered his driver window to personally meet and invite the man. The man immediately pointed at him and said “You’re Glenn Colley, aren’t you? ”  At this point the man disclosed that he had googled Glenn and had been listening to his teachings on you-tube. (Let me just say here, that, while the ending to the encounters was good, I am glad that I did not know all of this until it was over.) The man was obviously not happy about the teaching of the Word that was occurring each night in that building. 

It was at some point during the weekend when the members of the congregation were assembled in the fellowship hall prior to services for putting together and boxing up their community meals for those in need. The local preacher, Eric, who is bold, yet personable, stopped to engage the protesting man. I believe he had met him previously, and at this juncture the preacher asked the man if he’d just come in…not for worship, not for argumentation, but just to “see what we are about in this community.”  The man walked inside and saw the members of the Highland church putting together one hundred to-go packages with hearty meals for hungry people. 

Unable to hear the word at all and unimpressed by Biblical topics and discussions, this man looked around and said “I’ve not seen anything like this before. This is a great thing you are doing. Could I help with this?” 

The atheist was standing there in the assembly line with the Christians…making meals for those in need. I do not know if this will be the beginning of a great eternal story, but I do know this: 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

Sometimes it is the love of my family in Christ that casts away my fear. Like the wife who is married to the non-believer in 1 Peter 3…sometimes it’s not the preaching that wins over the potential hearer. Sometimes he is “hearing” the behavior. Sometimes, people have to “hear” the love in the fellowship hall before they hear the lesson from the pulpit. 

I just needed that moment. 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: A Paw Patrol Cup

Posted on December 5, 2019

A Paw Patrol cup.  That’s what three-year-old Colleyanna asked Santa to bring her this year. I don’t think she’s ever even watched the show. She has, though, been enamored with those puppies, since she first began seeing them in WalMart and Dollar Tree.  She wanted Paw Patrol panties when she was potty-trained. She has a few little Paw Patrol figures that she carries in her purse. And she always runs to my sippy-cup basket and searches for the one Paw Patrol cup whenever she visits.  But she asked Santa for a Paw Patrol cup when she visited him. And that is ALL she requested that day. 

As we were walking away from Santa that day, we had this little conversation:

Mammy: “What did you ask for, Colleyanna?”

Colleyanna: “A Paw Patrol cup. I wanted a Paw Patrol cup dus wike yours.”

Mammy: “Well, that’s a great idea! You love Paw Patrol!”

Colleyanna: “Yes, but I want a Paw Patrol cup so we can match!”

May I live my life so that blessedness always comes to sweet souls who aspire to “match” me. 

Have a happy holiday time today and try to be “match-worthy” for all the little people in your world!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: I’m Getting a New Battery

Posted on May 25, 2015

images-10I took my time. I took my time through the aisles at Target last Wednesday afternoon. I called my daughter, Hannah, when I found the diapers on clearance. I wondered why she sounded like they were already traveling to evening Bible class. It was only 6:20 and they’re hardly ever early anywhere.  I talked with her a bit and then went over to pick up a box of Kleenex, the last item on my list. Placing it in my cart, I glanced down at my Bama watch and realized it was only 6:25. I even had time to breeze through the clearance clothing before checking out and making the five minute trek to the church building. I’d even be early!

When I did arrive there, I still had lots of time. It was ten till 7. I went around to the back of my car and went through Target bags till I found the little gift card and M&Ms I had bought for my secret “adopt-a-college-student” friend. I had plenty of time to hide those where he would find them.

And then, while I was “lolly-gagging” in my trunk there, my friend Brandy drove up and parked beside me. That sweet girl was hurrying her two babies out of the car and getting her Bible and diaper bag and…

“Hey Brandy. How are you?”

“Hey, Mrs. Cindy. We’re good. Just running a little late.”

“Aw…you’re not late. You’re just on time.” I said, still looking through the stash for that gift card.

“Well, just a couple minutes behind…” she said.

After a few comments about the boys and how that little one is already walking, she scurried on in. I found the stuff I was looking for  and started walking toward the entrance. Then, as I looked around the parking lot, which was full of cars, but completely desolate of people, I thought, “Well that’s kind of weird.” I walked in and saw that the giant wooden doors that separated the large fellowship hall class from the offices and fifth grade classroom…were closed.

“Am I late?”…I thought. “But my watch says it’s seven minutes till seven…Has it stopped?…Well,  no…that second hand is ticking…They just closed those doors a bit early tonight.”

I unlocked the office doors and went in there to look for a piece of ribbon to tie the M&Ms to the gift card. And then I glanced up at Mrs. Patsy’s office clock. AHHH!…It’s 7:10!

Moments later, stumbling over the women in the ladies class, I glanced up at the board where Lindsey, who was teaching, was listing the ways we evangelize within our homes. She already had a long list going. Cindy Colley was very late! I was now sitting beside a visitor…sweet Lori Lynn Rives, the young “hero mom” who had originated the idea that has now turned into the international Digging Deep study. I hugged her, but I was thinking…”What must she think of me, “Mrs. Let’s-all-be-deep-Bible-students!”…tripping over her at 7: 10 to…well…Bible study?

Seriously, I know it probably didn’t matter so much to anyone but me, but I kept thinking about that Bama watch. I love that watch, but if that thing had been running right, I would have been on time. If it had completely stopped, I would have still been on time. I would have figured out that it had stopped hours ago. But because it was running, but losing time, it had totally thrown me off my game. (I know, I should have been looking at my phone.…)

It reminded me of what the Spirit gave us in Revelation 3 to the church in Laodicea:

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

It’s not the people who have totally stopped (working, running, ticking…those who have stopped even pretending that they are accurate representations of what God wants them to be).…And it’s surely not the people who are the real thing: who are aligning themselves as nearly as humanly possible to the standard.…It’s neither of these groups that make God most nauseated. It’s the people who are still ticking a bit; they are still pretending they are doing the job. These are the people that God will just spit out of His mouth.

Now, we’ve put those people through two analogies. They are the lukewarm liquid that nauseates God. They are the ticking watch that is totally inaccurate. They have just enough Christianity to “throw people off”. They are pretending they are getting it right, but their batteries are weak and they don’t really have their hearts in what they are doing anymore. And, just like the Bama watch threw me off my game, they are influencing others to miss the mark.

If the watch had told me it was 7:00, when it was truly 7:00, I would have been right on time. If the watch had said, say…2:30, I would have known there was a problem, and looked elsewhere for my standard.  But because it was still in the proximity of being right, I trusted it. That’s how it is with lukewarm Christians. If they would only get out of the proximity of faithfulness, we could easily see that we cannot count on them and that we should not be trusting their examples. But because they have one foot in the church, sometimes we fail to see that other foot, dangerously sliding around in the world! We trust them. We are influenced by them. Outsiders take them for examples of Christianity…and when the judgment day comes, those big doors will be closed…for them and for those who trusted them.

I’m mad at that watch. But I think I will get a new battery, and give it one more chance (because it is a Bama watch, after all.) Maybe some people need to get a new battery and give it another go.