Purse-sue the Gospel

I love the brand name “Women of Purpose.” We ARE truly women with a purpose, never drifting from our calling, our passion or our direction. I was telling a friend of mine how excited I was to be heading to New York for the Women of Purpose event with about a thousand women attending. We must have had a bad phone connection because she immediately started convulsing in laughter and I couldn’t get her to stop. I said, “What’s so funny about a thousand women coming to a Christian conference? I think it’s pretty awesome, if I say so myself.” I could hear her rolling with belly laughter. I was becoming defensive and confused. (What did I say? Or better yet, what did she hear?)
Finally I interrupted her and said, “Judy, what in the world are you laughing about?”
She responded, giggling and stumbling through her words, “I thought you said, ‘Women of Purses’ and I immediately pictured fanatical women, storming the registration tables, yelling and screaming, raising their designer bags and fancy Bibles like a scene from a chaotic Black Friday news report!”

Once she settled down and we gained composure, she said, “You know, come to think of it, I’m in the market for a new purse but I just can’t seem to find anything I like or can afford these days.”
I told her matter-of-factly, “Goodness Judy, that’s your problem. Get out of the ‘market’ and go to an outlet or a mall or something. I’ve never seen a purse in a grocery store that I’d want either.” The laughter resumed all over again!

My mother was a purse collector-hoarder. I quit counting her clutch arsenal at about eighty. I didn’t inherit the fashionista handbag gene. My daughter, who is more like her grandmother than her own mother, buys into this purse-driven way of life. As for me, I actually have a total of four handbags…I think. Four. That’s right. And three of them were gifts. I know. You probably can’t imagine this, but I’d rather carry a small card/money wallet in my back pocket (and I do!).

At a retreat I attended recently, we played a game where we all threw our handbags in the middle of the room and at the count of three, we all launched out and grabbed one! It was both hilarious and invading to think of going through the sacred purse space of another woman’s belongings. But it was an incredibly humbling crowd-breaker and a fun way to see what your friends carry in their handbags! Some of my favorite findings that day were a pair of pink handled pliers, a TV remote, travel size Charmin toilet seat covers, a Pennsylvania Deer Hunting License, and a fork.

SO what’s in YOUR wallet? (Here are some staples to carry)

1. Hand sanitizer. A must these days…
2. A multi-use object, like a mini pen and tool/screwdriver/tweezers gadget. It’s not just for the boys! I found this handy when needing a small Allen wrench on a bike trip.
3. Those single use mini-toothbrushes (Colgate Wisp®) with toothpaste for on-the- go! A great invention. Wish I had the patent on that one.
4. Allergy medicine. Just in case you have a bad reaction or come in contact with something offensive.
5. An extra car key and house key.


Now for a spiritual purse review:

1. How about sanitizing yourself too, keeping yourself pure?
2. A small pocket Bible is the best multi-use tool of all!
3. Every fresh breath of God is a reminder of His presence in our lives. “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4 NIV)
4. When having a bad reaction to someone who needs forgiveness, think on this: "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.” (Matt. 6:14 The Message).
5. And the extra car and house key? Besides salvation, they are a lifesaver!

Laugh Lines is featured on the National Women's Ministries site.