Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

      Like I do almost every year, I spent Christmas at my aunt's house. Our family gathering was smaller this year than usual, but it was still just like always in other ways. We had some of the same arguments that we have every Christmas, some of the gifts were loved by the recipients while others missed the mark, we all ate too much of the delicious food, and the kids were the stars of the show. As the day progressed, I did notice one element that is present within my family that is sorely lacking in the world as a whole: acceptance of each other's opinions, particularly regarding the vaccine.     My family runs the entire spectrum when it comes to the vaccine. A few members are fully vaccinated, including their booster shot. Two people are only partially vaccinated because of bad reactions to either the first or second dose. A few of us aren't vaccinated at all for various reasons. Some have medical issues, some don't trust a vaccine created so quickly, and ...

We're living in a world that keeps breaking But if we want to find a way to change it It all comes down to this Love God, love people ~ Danny Gokey, " Love God, Love People " I initially wrote a post based off of this song in August of last year. While much has changed in the 14 months since then, unfortunately, many people are still having trouble loving others the way we are called to. In fact, I feel like some people are less loving now than they were then. As Christians, our priority should always be loving others the way Christ has loved us.  Going back to the roadmap presented in 1 Corinthians 13, here are some of the areas I've noticed still need a bit of work. Love is kind:  The member of our monthly circle group I mentioned in the original post  finally came back to our group in April. Mom and I enjoyed spending time with her and catching up on the last year. That was, of course, until the subject of the shot came up. She asked Mom and me if we had gotten it,...

End of blog post. Well, not really.     Truthfully, I shouldn't have to say more than this, but unfortunately, I do. Increasingly it seems as though some people think the only reason anyone isn't yet vaccinated is because they haven't had the opportunity to be. I've had the opportunity. In fact, I've had many opportunities, but I haven't gotten it, and may never get it.       The reason is quite simple, I am not afraid of Coronavirus. Never have been, and never will be. I take to heart the words of Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." The absolute worst thing that the Coronavirus could do to me is kill me, which is unlikely to happen. Even if it did, my future is secure. In Christ, my death secures me a one-way ticket to Heaven, where pain and disease no longer exist. I'm not in any hurry to get there, and I'd rather not get there because of a ...

 "Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or on the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark." ~Revelation 13:16-17 It's been over a year since the pandemic started, and things are finally starting to get back to normal. Churches are opening up, high school students got to have proms and graduations, and people are once again planning vacations. However, what caused these changes had nothing to do with finally reaching herd immunity or people stepping out in faith and trusting God more than they feared the virus. These changes are coming about because of a rapidly produced, not yet fully tested vaccine. Now, I'm not against vaccines. I have received all the vaccines given to infants, and faithfully receive my tetanus booster. I think vaccines are a great way to help eradicate deadly diseases, but they have to be developed properly. This one went from necessity to dist...

 This Sunday, my church had its first service in the sanctuary in over a year. There are quite a few restrictions we need to follow, such as wearing masks the entire service, using only every other pew, not singing, and not passing out bulletins or the offering plate. Admittedly, I'm not thrilled with the restrictions, especially since the people at my temporary church home have been unmasked and singing with abandon for months. However, it was worth it to me to be around my church family even if it meant dealing with a little inconvenience. While the restrictions are a bit frustrating, there was a certain beauty to be found in them as well. Without having the bulletin, I was less focused on what came next and more on what was currently happening. I also feel like the absence of them made for a more intimate service, despite the distance between congregants. Not singing allowed me to really listen to the words of the songs. (Admittedly, I did mouth along with the words for one song...

     This past year has been horrible in so many ways. Our world has been cowering in the shadow of a pandemic since March, and in some way, its tentacles have seeped into everyone's lives. The deaths of black men and women this spring at the hands of police sparked protests and riots for months. Wildfires burned through Australia, the Atlantic hurricane season spawned so many storms that meteorologists had to dig deep into the Greek alphabet for names, and murder hornets sprang up out of nowhere.      In a year with so much bad, it can be a challenge to remember the good things. I decided to take up the challenge to find 20 good things that happened this year, and while it was hard at first, once I started it was hard to narrow it down to only 20. Here, in no particular order, are 20 things that have been blessings in my life in the year 2020. Performing in  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat :  This was a blessing this year i...

Oh what I would do to have The kind of faith it takes To get out of this boat and Onto the crashing waves To step out of my comfort zone Into the realm of the unknown Where Jesus is And He's holding out His hand ~ " Voice of Truth "-Casting Crowns      Earlier this year in one of the online services, my home church did a sermon about Jesus walking on the water and Peter joining him. Our deacon talked about how important it is for us to step out in faith even when it's hard. Unfortunately,  as proven by a letter we received a couple of weeks ago, she and the other leaders are still firmly in the boat when it comes to reopening the church.     My favorite telling of this Gospel story comes from the song quoted above.  No one really wants to step out of their comfort zone. In the words of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory , "It's called the comfort zone for a reason." However, as the song says, Jesus is standing outside of our comfort zone waiting for...

     Throughout America right now, places are starting to ease back into normal life post-pandemic. However, since the pandemic hasn't been completely eradicated, the CDC recommends wearing masks out in public, and in some places, masks are required. Many people are resisting wearing masks, which has led to a few violent confrontations in places where they are required. While I can understand why people feel like wearing a mask is a control issue, especially when it's not optional, I don't see it this way. Even though I live in a place where masks aren't required, I still choose to wear one for a few reasons.     The main reason I choose to wear a mask out in public is because if I were exposed to the virus, I probably would be an asymptomatic carrier. I am a healthy young woman with a strong immune system. Even if I ended up getting symptoms, they probably would not be severe, so I could easily misinterpret them. I have seasonal allergies, which can cause cough...

It has now been over a month since my life was normal. For some of you, it may be longer, and for some, it may not be as long. Unfortunately, this global pandemic has left few unscathed throughout the world, even if no one they know was affected by the virus itself. This past month has brought some good things, and some not so good. I was reminded a couple of weeks ago of a youth group tradition at my church of sharing pows and wows (bad things and good things), and so here in no particular order are the pows and wows of this last month, starting with a few things that were a bit of both. Pow/Wow- The news:  While it's been good to get information about what's going on, the constant updates get to be a bit much. A few of my friends have decided to not watch the news at all, but I think that's a bit extreme. I have decided to still watch and read some news but limit how much I watch and read. That often means reading only part of long articles and occasionally muting the T...

"For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence ...You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness , or the destruction that wastes at noonday." ~ Psalm 91:3, 5-6, emphasis mine I'm guessing that you already know about the global pandemic of Coronavirus. You are probably suffering some of the effects, not from the virus itself, but from the panic and social distancing its path through our world has caused. Just this past weekend, the cast party for  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , the monthly Kansas Authors' Club meeting, and all services at my church were canceled. Not only that, but I found out yesterday that everything at church is canceled until April 1. I was able to go to Zumba Sunday after being gone for a month and a half while rehearsing for and performing Joseph , but before the day was over, the local YMCAs closed for the next week at l...