Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

 As anyone who regularly reads my blog might have noticed, this is my first post in a while, with my last one being over a year and a half ago. Now it's not that I didn't have ideas of things to write. In fact, I was reminded of two partial posts as I sat down to write this one, and those don't even count my planned analysis of the Lenten scarf pattern I completed last year. I've had ideas for sure, but unfortunately, life got in the way of them coming to fruition. My husband, Jon, spent most of 2024 on medical leave. He was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome in February, and his job wouldn't accommodate the restrictions he needed to work safely. He had surgery in June to implant an internal defibrillator, and he recovered quite nicely. Within a week, he was back to doing DoorDash and making Spark deliveries, with me occasionally tagging along to help. We moved in August into a bigger place with a nice yard for our dogs, and although the rent was a bit of a stretch, we...

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 "      These past few months have been crazy. A pandemic has been working its way through almost every country in the world. Churches and schools have closed, and many are not opening again anytime soon.  "Essential services" has been defined in such a way that abortion is allowed while important surgeries and therapies are put on hold. Many people are without work with no end in sight. Mask mandates have led to violent confrontations between employees and customers. Tragic deaths of blacks at the hands of police have led to protests and riots. Governments throughout the country come up with mandates to help curb the spread of the virus for people's physical health without giving a second thought to their mental and spiritual health.      All these things can make our situat...

My entire life, I have had no desire to smoke. My maternal grandfather died six years before I was born from the one-two punch of emphysema and lung cancer caused by years of smoking. From what I have heard about him, he and I would have gotten along very well because I am so much like him. With each thing I learn about him, I become even more resolved to never let the butt of a cigarette touch my lips. However, there was one day I desperately craved a cigarette. It had been a stressful day at work, as many of them are. The field of special education is not for the faint of heart. As I began my drive home, I craved something to release the tension flowing through me, and a cigarette seemed like a viable option. After all, many people turn to them for the same reason. My promise to myself to never smoke was the only thing holding me back. Now, I easily could have just given in, but that option seemed almost too easy. Instead, I prayed and asked God why I was feeling that pull toward...

"Who have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on Earth I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."-Psalm 73:25-26 In high school and college, one of my favorite bands was Barlowgirl, and a song of theirs I really enjoyed was Psalm 73 (My God's Enough) , which is based on the verses quoted above. Since hearing the song for the first time, I have listened to and sang along with it too many times to count. However, I have not always lived up to the challenge of actually letting God be enough in my life. About two months ago, I was reminded of one of those times, although it occurred before I had ever heard the song. My parents and I had to put my beloved cat Angel to sleep on March 13th after having her for almost 14 years. We got her because following Grandma's death, I searched for anything I could to fill the void in my heart, and I was sure a kitten would do the trick. While I loved h...

"When the stress is on the rise, in my heart I feel You say, 'Just breathe.'"~" Breathe "-Jonny Diaz Monday morning at work, we got an announcement that the internet was down. Later, it was revealed that a cable had been cut, and we were going to be without internet all day. While we were initially feeling a bit stressed, since our 21st century classrooms rely heavily on technology, we were able to adapt, and actually ended the day feeling surprisingly calm. As one of my coworkers put it, since there was no possibility of checking emails every time she had a break, she felt freer. She didn't realize how dependent she was on checking e-mails until she couldn't, and she found that she didn't miss it. I myself felt a bit lighter, and wondered if maybe being plugged in isn't actually all it's cracked up to be. Last Sunday's sermon at my church was about spending time in silence, and how hard that can be for us. We fill our days with l...