Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

"Maybe it's okay If I'm not okay 'Cause the one who holds the stars Is holding on to me" ~ We Are Messengers-" Maybe It's Okay " There may be some people who see the name of my blog and assume I have it all together. After all, Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life sounds like it was written by a well-studied theologian, someone whose faithful leadership guides others to know Christ as well. While it is true that others have come to know Christ through my faithful witness, I am still far from perfect. As I mentioned in my earlier post " Haven't Seen it Yet ", I struggle with doubts about many things. I also suffer from anxiety that at times can be almost crippling, and often that anxiety will morph itself into depression. The most recent instance of this was a little over a week ago when I participated in a local small business fair. Before the event, I worked hard to make new items to display, worried that I might run out ...

This last month has been a blast, and I wanted to share the highlights with you, my loyal readers. So here, in chronological order, are the events that made my October a great one. Kansas Authors' Club Convention:  This took place the first weekend of the month right here in my hometown. Even though I have been a member for a few years, this was the first convention I had been to, mainly because I didn't want to pay for the convention and a hotel room. I am so glad I went, and I enjoyed it so much that I'll probably keep going every year even if it involves travel and a hotel. I learned so much from the sessions I went to about honing my craft that I came home eager to write more often. I also met some awesome fellow writers including the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Kansas. He was very fun to talk to and loves to eat bread, a fact I later wrote a poem about. One of the sessions I participated in was a poetry and music event. Each poet read their piece once, then two jaz...

Last month, I hosted a Compassion Sunday at my church. For all my readers who don't attend my church and those of my church friends who couldn't be there that day, I wanted to share a bit about my sponsorship experience and what I like about Compassion International. My Experience as a Sponsor I began my sponsorship experience on October 28, 2012, at a For King and Country concert. As Luke (one of the members of the group) shared his family's experience being Compassion sponsors, I felt called to help. When he asked who was interested in becoming a sponsor, my hand immediately shot up, and a volunteer handed me a packet. Luke told us where the table was, and that we could choose another child there if we wanted. The thing is, I didn't want to. The moment I saw Momo's picture, I knew I was meant to be his sponsor. In the seven years since I have been amazed at how much of a blessing it has been. Each time a letter arrives, I open it as soon as I can, eager to re...

"Cause you are the devil and the devil is bad You are the devil and the devil is bad You are the devil and the devil is bad You are the devil, and you are bad" ~ The Ws, " The Devil is Bad " Recently, there have been a lot of mass shootings, and therefore a lot of media coverage about mass shootings. Each time we hear of another senseless tragedy, there are always people clamoring for stricter gun control laws, as though criminals actually obey laws. (For my theory of what should actually be controlled to fix this scenario, please see my post SHUT IT OFF! ) What nobody seems to talk about, but everyone should, is that the true issue lies far deeper. Gun laws aren't the problem. Mental health care (or lack thereof) is not the problem. Not even overexcessive media coverage is actually the problem. The real problem is evil, and that comes straight from the Devil himself. We run a dangerous risk when we refuse to acknowledge Satan's presence in our live...

"All His promises Are just up ahead Maybe you just haven't seen it Just haven't seen it yet" ~ Danny Gokey, " Haven't Seen it Yet " Have you ever questioned God? I know I have. My life has not always been an easy one, and I have struggled with many doubts throughout different stages. There was even a time recently where I questioned him about the name of this very blog. I sometimes wonder if there are people who read the name of my blog and shy away from it because it sounds like it's deeply theological. Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life  sounds more like the title of a book written by one of today's top theologians than a blog written by a special ed para from Kansas. For a while, I considered changing it to something that sounded more relateable. However, I couldn't ever come up with a name that seemed more appropriate. I soon began to realize that the beauty of the name is that it honestly looks at how to follow God among the...

"For it was You who formed my inward parts You knit me together in my mother's womb" ~ Psalm 139:13 The verse quoted above is from a Psalm that beautifully depicts just how well we are known and loved by God. I particularly like this verse because it depicts not only God's provision for us before we were born, but also how He intricately formed us in His image. As a knitter myself, I am well aware of the time commitment and focus required to do it well, and it speaks of a God who cares enough about all of humanity to work so hard to create each one of us. My knowledge of knitting and the words of this passage are also the reason I am against two things that unfortunately are embraced by society, including some of my fellow Christians: abortion and transgenderism. Abortion:  My pro-life stance has been well documented in my posts " Choose Life " and " Unplanned " so I won't go into it much further here. How this verse relates to my stance i...

"What if tomorrow What if today Faced with the question What would you say?" ~ Michael W. Smith, " This is Your Time " Last month marked 20 years since the deadly school shooting at Columbine High School. To some, this was just the first in an epidemic of mass shootings that is beginning to spread farther and farther. While this is unfortunately very true, that day means something different for me. What I heard about in the aftermath of that day caused me to question the strength of my faith for the first time in my young life. At the time of the shooting, I was 11 years old, and though I grew up in the church, had only really been a Christian for about a year. When I first heard about Cassie Bernall being shot after admitting to being a Christian, I was shocked. The thought of someone being killed for faith in Christ was completely foreign to me. At that point in my life, everyone I knew was a Christian, so it was hard for me to understand that anyone wasn...

"As long as my God holds the world in His hands, I know that there's no such thing as unplanned." ~ Matthew West, " Unplanned " At the end of last month, the movie Unplanned  hit theaters, and I went to see it on opening weekend. It tells the true story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who switched sides after witnessing an ultrasound guided abortion. While I enjoyed the movie immensely and would highly recommend it, I must confess, it is a bit hard to watch. The movie is rated R for violent and disturbing images, which refers to three specific scenes. Other than those three scenes, this is a PG movie, but those three scenes are quite intense. This movie is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, but if you are neither of those things, than I would suggest you see it. After seeing the movie, I was interested to know more of the story, so I got the book from the library and read it. There really wasn't more in the book t...

"Forget the lies you heard Rise above the hurt And listen to these words You are beloved" ~ " Beloved "-Jordan Feliz When I listened to this song one day last month and decided to use it for a blog post, my plan was to reach out to all those who were feeling unloved for one reason or another. There have been times when I myself needed that reminder, and my first name is derived from the old French word for beloved, so naturally this song is one that is very meaningful to me. I knew it could be that way for anyone who needed a reminder of God's love for them. However, the events of last month's special General Conference of the United Methodist Church has caused me to narrow my focus to one specific group. For those unfamiliar with what happened, the conference was called in order to address issues relating to human sexuality, specifically whether or not to allow practicing homosexuals to be ordained as clergy, and whether or not same-sex weddings can ...

Last fall, I did a study on the book The Anatomy of Peace. The book tells the story of parents whose kids were at a youth rehabilitation camp, and who were in a two day meeting to try and help their children when they returned home in two months. The leader of the camp taught the parents how to have a heart of peace toward their children rather than a heart of war. In our meetings during the study, we talked about practical ways that we could cultivate a heart of peace in our own relationships. After learning about the difference between a heart of war and a heart of peace, I began to notice in interactions with others where their hearts were in that moment. Coworkers that had trouble getting kids to listen to them were the ones whose hearts were at war with them, and I found that sometimes I also interacted with kids with the same heart and got the same results. Relationships that I had struggled to improve were hampered by the wrong motivations, and they have improved now that my h...