It's So Easy to Get on a Hobby Horse!

Sometimes I have to laugh—not that they’re necessarily funny, you understand—at the hobby horses some people ride. Here are a few I’ve noticed recently:

• The Confederate flag—and "The Dukes of Hazzard"
• Hillary Clinton
• President Obama
• Same-sex marriage
• Donald Trump
• Patriotism
• Sharks
• Backyard chicken coops
• Yoga and mindfulness

I could probably list ten more.

It’s so easy to get on these hobby horses and it's sometimes very entertaining to read articles by those who do! You find every angle, every kind of dirt, and all kinds of trivia you’ve never dreamed of.

This last week, I listened to a funny video. A woman about my age was warning people not to swim in “the shark’s house.” She said, “When you go to the beach, you go to the beach. You don’t go in the ocean ‘cause that’s the shark’s house.” It was hilarious. She was hilarious. But, she has a point; those who go swimming in shark-infested waters might get bitten. Those who only sunbathe won’t.

Common sense, I’d say.

I also saw schools of sharks photos that were supposedly photographed from a helicopter off the coast of North Carolina. Or was that South Carolina? Or Florida? Then, I saw a little article that said those pictures were hoaxes.

But . . . the truth is that eleven people have been attacked by sharks off the coasts of North and South Carolina this year.

So, all the hype has a thread of truth to it. If you swim in the “shark’s house,” you risk getting bitten.

Oh yes, I’m rambling on, and this post is really about hobby horses.

What kind of hobby horse do I want to get on? It’s so easy to climb on any of the subjects I listed and rock and rock and rock them. As Christian women, it’s easy to get on top of one topic and rock it to death, too. I think of some of them:

• Marriage relationships
• Motherhood and parenting
• Modesty
• Doctrinal issues

It’s easy to climb up and rock them. It’s easy to opine on and on and on.

It’s important to stick to a purpose statement. As you know—just look at the tabs at the top of my blog—I write about most of these subjects from time to time. I hope, though, that I’m sticking to the Bible when I do. I hope I portray balance and don't judge un-biblically. I hope I don’t overly ride any one subject. I really and truly don’t want to be rocking a hobby horse.

I want to encourage.

I want to point people to Jesus.

I want to share the gospel.

I want to help women find their God-given role. I want to encourage both singles and marrieds. I want young women to be challenged to serve God all their lives. I want to challenge older Christian women to mentor younger women. I want to give women the tools.

I’d like to think that my sharing something from the Bible might bless a heart.

And so, I turn to you, my faithful readers. If you ever sense that I’m rocking a hobby horse to death, please let me know. If you’re encouraged by a post, please leave a comment and let me know.

Now, I’ll climb off and put my feet back down on the ground . . . and hopefully keep them there. (And you won’t find me swimming in “the shark’s house” any time soon!)

Thank you for reading "In the Way." May the Lord bless you!

 Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.

(Romans 15:2)

The funny "shark's house" video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKuYgIBnqEA (For the record, I don't endorse everything she says. By the way, I had no idea it was "Shark Week" when I wrote this. Fun coincidence!)