Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

"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...

"My God has set me free Opened my eyes, now I can see The devil is a liar And he's not fooling me" ~ " The Devil is a Liar " - We Are Messengers As anyone familiar with my blog probably already knows, my life has not been an easy one. I've dealt with the deaths of people I loved dearly, seen my dream lying shattered at my feet, and at one point saw no purpose left in my life but to end it. The past week has been no exception. I had to deal with a costly repair to my car and students who refused to listen or work. To say that my depression hit me hard on Tuesday would be an understatement. Not only that, but I also developed a headache by the end of the day that lasted well into Wednesday even though I went to bed early that night to try and dispell it. However, I don't tell you these things to try and get you to pity me. Instead, I tell you because these events do not define me, and similar events in your own life don't define you. One of th...

"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 ...

Recently, I asked a friend on Facebook for details about an upcoming event. When he didn't respond right away, I figured that he was still ironing out the details and would let me know when they were finalized. Much to my disappointment, less than a week later I saw pictures of the event and realized that the plans had been finalized but never relayed to me. I sent him a message expressing my disappointment, and his response to that message was full of false accusations and triggers. Though the rational part of my brain said that I likely had just caught him in a bad moment, his words still sent me into a depressive funk that I still am having a hard time shaking. Once I was calm, I forgave him, but I also realized that I needed to do something I had considered doing for quite some time but never got around to: write a post about how to respond to those with depression. So here they are in no particular order, the dos and don'ts of dealing with someone in your life who has depr...