Mary’s Books:
* For more information on her books, click the pics above
About the Author
Mary has a four-year degree in electro-mechanical engineering from Miami University and a master’s in education from Xavier University. She was fortunate enough to earn a blended online learning certificate from the University of Cincinnati and retains a current teaching certificate in the state of Ohio for 7-12 math.
Having homeschooled her three children, who are all grown up, married, and now providing her with grandchildren, Mary credits God for training her, without her even realizing it, to launch His Vessel Academy, which provides live, online, interactive education. Specifically, the school’s mission is to illuminate the connection between mathematics and the Creator by integrating every mathematical subject, topic, and concept into a framework that glorifies God.
“All the curriculum was created with God’s knowledge and my pen. I can honestly say I had no idea God said so much about math. I have been involved with math most of my life and love it. I am only now learning about math through God’s eyes and I have to admit it is sometimes mind-blowing. He has challenged me to really look for Him in my math curriculum and He has never disappointed in showing me some amazing ideas.” – Mary C. Carroll
We Christians have our own language. We say these strange things and other Christians know what we mean and/or how to respond. Think about the Catholic church, for example. If someone mentions Paul getting knocked off his beast, we know that is when he encountered God. And, how about “God will meet you right where you are”? I understand it on an intellectual level but… What? Where?
I didn’t see heavenly clouds as I mixed the flour and sugar. I didn’t even marvel at the triune nature of our amazing God as I broke the egg shell and separated the egg yolk from the egg white.
Do you have a dry place; a relationship that won’t work, a pain that won’t heal, a struggle that you can’t win? I do, all of them actually. In that bowl I was struggling to make it all come together, arm aching and wondering why it wasn’t working. It was chilly, even though the oven was pre-heating and the kitchen was warming. I don’t know why it took longer than usual but Jesus knew it was just the time I needed to recognize how I was struggling to make some things come together in my life and all the time wonder ‘Am I enough’, “Will Jesus help me get it together’?
VANILLA SCONE RECIPE
Wet Ingredients
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
When it has come together, pick it up and form it into a loose ball shape then place it in the center of an ungreased baking sheet. Pat it down to a uniform thickness of about ½ inch, trying to keep it round.
At first glance, this probably seems like a silly question. Are we drag racing against the Confucians at the closed ramp at the edge of town? Are we meeting with the atheists for a rumble behind the bleachers? I hope not, as I do not race, I certainly do not rumble, and I respect everyone’s belief system. That said, if you chose to challenge a friendly Wiccan to an arm-wrestling match then that’s on you.
I wear my faith in my jewelry selection, prayerfully in my actions, and on display in my car. Sometimes the interaction is as blatant as someone asking me to roll down my car window so they could share a faith moment with me but other times it’s just a lingering look or a finger point to let me know that person acknowledged me on some deeper level. The question is, how do we address the times when other Christians cross our paths and want to engage?
Choosing to display my faith is a constant reminder to rise above the constraints of this world and also to not flip people off in traffic. Whether you wear or display your faith, there is a question that needs contemplating: are you a covert Christian? This is not meant for judgement from the outside but for conviction from the inside. One pastor put it this way to his congregation on a Sunday morning, if he followed them out to the parking lot would he know they were Christians? Would he know they were Christians on Monday morning if he stopped by their place of work?
In the real world it is not always appropriate to declare the Word of God in a board meeting. But the Word should manifest in our demeanor both in that same meeting and throughout the day. If you are in such a close walk with Jesus that someone may ask you how you keep your cool, then maybe it is the right time to let them know that it is the 24/7 influence of Jesus in your life that has you anchored.
As an aside, if you still have some work to do before people start wondering what that special something is about you, rest assured you’re in the same boat as most of us. But what a glorious summit to climb toward? Yes, your goal could be to become the person in your circle with the best hair, the biggest bank account, the whitest smile, the fanciest car or the fittest body. Those are fine goals but, then what? Beauty fades, cars rust, money can’t buy the most important things and bodies age. If we keep striving for that close walk with Jesus then we get to be a beacon to others while making our inner and outer lives amazingly radiant. That is something that will last. That is a goal truly worth striving for.
So, we are to walk like Jesus and to talk like Jesus. But then what? Well, then we need to connect, either with other people on the same journey or maybe with someone who is curious about the journey. Jesus was not a solo act. As we know full well, discipleship was central. There has been a great effort to build small intimate groups in the churches, and that is wonderful, but here we are talking about connecting in the every day.
When you are wearing or displaying your faith and others have a moment to share their experience or just say how they like your cross, then that is clear and meaningful and wonderful. There have been times, just a gesture as someone drove past me, that left me wondering if that person was thanking me for letting them merge or if there was something more significant taking place.
I like the idea of a variation of the ‘Three finger salute’. After a minimal amount of research, I have come to know that there are a number of like salutes already in circulation. So, we need a way to differentiate our salute from the Boy Scouts, the keyboard warriors (Ctrl+Alt+Del which is an old friend of mine) and various others. I like the three fingers and that is because it represents the Holy Trinity, but I’m not married to it in any way. I believe that the main thing is that we Christians have a way to acknowledge and lift each other up in the day to day.
Let’s next take a look at the internal perspective. When you see the cross in your car it should be a reminder, but of what? Other than perhaps the aforementioned stabilization example, I think the answer to this question will be as varied and personal as everyone who ponders it. For some, it might just be a general reminder to drive like you would have others drive; let that person merge, leave that extra room… For some, it will be a constant prayer for intervention in a circumstance of pain in our lives. The silent sound that comes from us may be a song of praise for the favor we enjoy or a wail to Heaven for intercession. Either way, it takes that sound, that song, that wail away from the altar and into the world. That cross in your car can take your prayer show on the road.
Ever felt taken advantage of because of that cross hanging from the rear-view mirror? Yes. I have had that woman wave as she pulled out in front of me and I regrettably intoned “I wasn’t gonna let you in, lady.” For me, that kind of thinking usually just lasts a few seconds until I remember that she saw that cross and made certain assumptions about me. Those assumptions did not make me feel taken advantage of in the long run but instead, as my attitude transformed, made it clear to me that I was spreading the love and the Word. After all, despite my annoyance, I did wave back…with ALL of my fingers.