On December 5, Mary Jo was privileged to be the guest speaker at the Guild of HBU’s annual Christmas luncheon. The Guild is a group of civic-minded Christian women who serve HBU by providing women in the Houston area an opportunity to participate in the ongoing development of Houston Baptist University, filling needs which are not being met at the present time by any other University support group.

This year’s luncheon theme was “A Brilliant Star.” Mary Jo shared her own struggle of questioning the truth of Christianity because of the hypocrisy she encountered early in her faith journey. She encouraged the attendees to reflect God’s truth in their own lives by being thoughtful, engaged and trusting. As Mary Jo said, “We are the lights that are supposed to reflect a radiant testimony of the Light. We are the mirrors with which God has decorated His world to reflect His own character.”

After her talk, Dr. Robert Sloan, President of HBU, honored Mary Jo by presenting her with a Pre-1650 leaf of Job 28. He explained that the reason he chose this specific passage is because of what Mary Jo does as a professor; she searches for wisdom, which is far more valuable than silver and gold. Where can true wisdom be found? As Job 28:28 says, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”