We are so painfully divided as a nation. I just want to hang my head and cry. Somehow we must find common ground, So with other Americans we willingly identify. Nothing should separate us from each other, Not race, ethnicity, or political ideology. There must be ways to disagree peacefully, Without hating those who share... Continue Reading →
LET ME EARN MY PAY!
I must learn how to balance my love of writing my blog and a job. I know tens of thousands of you do it every day, but as always, I tend to obsess over getting the teaching right. Therefore, it takes up a lot of my time, even though I only teach two courses. Yet,... Continue Reading →
Teaching Sets My Soul on Fire
Make Today Happy! For the last month, every other Sunday, I have been teaching my Sunday School class, because the regular teacher volunteered to do something with the children. I was somewhat surprised to be asked to substitute teach (actually, I was volunteered). I will admit that I am loquacious in class, sharing other Scriptures... Continue Reading →
The Gift of Health at Christmas
Life doesn't get any more predictable as we age. If anything, you never know what new ache or pain will develop. And although the last 11 days have been difficult ones, I am thankful to enjoy another Christmas season, a season of hope in the midst of the uncertainty and incivility of this world. Today,... Continue Reading →
When Nature Speaks, The Heart Listens
Knocking on the tree. Nature serenades my heart. A woodpecker's song. I thought up this poem as I walked through the woods last week and heard knocking against a tree. I asked Douglas what was the sound, and looking up into the trees, he spotted a red head moving back and forth on a nearby... Continue Reading →
Listen to Your Body: Prayers Desired
Tomorrow, I will have surgery to correct the placement of the defibrillator implanted in May. Hopefully, it will be the climax to seven months of intermittent pain and lack of sleep. It almost didn't happen. Even though I am an educated woman, with a doctorate in Sociology, and I have taught that women are sometimes... Continue Reading →
Freedom Felt So Good: Weekend Writing Prompt #135
Held captive by people who wanted to use his boat to conceal drugs, Alan had to find a way to save himself. What had started as a simple cruise had turned into a nightmare! Thieves had chosen to stage a coup for his boat. He'd resisted their attempts to climb aboard the boat from a... Continue Reading →
Working at No Longer Seeing Myself as a Victim
Seeing oneself as a victim can become addictive! This was the epiphany I had on last Saturday that has rocked me to my core. I was watching a YouTube video of a preacher from a church in Virginia, and his sermon was on Matthew 18:15, wherein Jesus says that if another believer sins against you,... Continue Reading →
Some People are Natural Bridge Burners: First Line Friday
“Never burn a bridge you could push them off later.” That was the ironic advice Janet received from her mother, who was the consummate bridge burner. Mother didn't know how to solve problem with others in ways that allowed her relationships with them to go unharmed. Janet remembered vividly the day when Mother, lamenting her birthday... Continue Reading →
Reconnecting to Humanity: First Line Friday
Photo from Mindlovemisery's Menagerie for First Line Friday. He came down from the mountains as autumn aged, before the paths could pile with snow and the bridges bowed with ice. He had needed time away from people, even well-meaning ones like his family. They wanted to help him grieve the loss of his dear Molly,... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 