What is "NEW"?

We are always confronted with the word NEW. A NEW product. A NEW star in Hollywood. A NEW discovery in science. But are these really new? The new product, could it not be a reworking of something that came before? Same with the discovery? Is it really new or was it always there just out of the realm of visualizing or understanding? Let's take the bible. Are those concepts new or have they been around since the beginning of time? If you do an in-depth study of God's commandments they appear to be the same throughout the bible. Nothing has changed. And according to the writer of Hebrews He will never change. So is anything really new? Probably not, especially not to God. How holy and wonderful that this has all been present since God sang the world into existence!!!

So this is Christmas!!!

This is what Christmas is all about, spending time enjoying the blessings of friendships that God has given and will give you. Spending time enjoying the blessings of God in terms of God's great grace and love. And soaking it all in. Father God invented love, invented peace and in living in all of those breaths of life He loved us enough to send His Son who showed us the way, sending light into this life so that we might know God's love. This is the greatest Christmas present of all... His love...

Still Waiting

When will my business take off? When will I have enough business to supplement my retirement. When will I be able to breath a little easier? How about when God decides? How about when He decides that it is time for business to take off. It is the end of the year and people are dealing with Christmas. They cannot think about their animals While I may be biting my nails deep down I believe it will be taken care of. I know that He is in control and it is all about His timing, not mine. He led me to be in Kentucky, He led me to be a writer. He led me to open this practice, And that gives me the impetus to hang in and hang on. It may be years but I can last. I can do all things with Him...

AT HOME

I must admit, I love being home. I've dreamed of staying home since I started 20 years ago with the federal government and was a relief veterinarian, Home to me, means reading, means walking, means cooking, means photography, means playing and jostling with the kitties. I do like keeping busy and plan to volunteer with various centers for animals and having my practice and I do tote mom around to her doctor's appointments whether or not I think she should go. Let me repeat: whether or not she should go. My mom is in her 90s and there are times she feels the need to see a dermatologist because she is afraid of the "bugs" in my house which are really just her imagination or perhaps a dermatosis brought on by her diabetes,confirmed by the dermatologist by the way. She has no bugs. she is depressed by staying at home. She won't go walking with me, she won't go to the Senior Center, she won't make new friends. Whether or nor it is because she is in her 90s and refuses to be nice, or whether it is she doesn't trust people,I am uncertain. But I do know that she is not physically sick.She is depressed. I on the other hand love being at home. I love going out because I want to. I love not living in hotels.I love being able to have lunch with friends whenever I want to. It is a time for me to grow, and would be a time for mom to grow if she would relax and let it grow. Mom is just afraid and that is not what being at home is all about. It takes a special person to stay at home.One who knows fear and has faced it over and over and not given into it.I pray mom gets her bravery back. I pray I never lose my bravery.

STRESSSS!!!

One of the biggest issues in my life is how I don't deal well with stress. While I am no longer using food to cover what stressful situation needs to be dealt with, I have noticed I get angry and snappy and unpleasant. That is unacceptable too. And it will take me saying "No" God must handle it, because you see when I get angry it is me trying to handle whatever is going on. And I can't, only God can. His grace is sufficient for me. His grace is sufficient for me. His grace is sufficient for me. And He can handle my stress....

Eddies and currents frame time and events in everyone's life. Doesn't matter whether or not those were planned, only God knows what is going to occur when, And it is not for me to do so. I do not have the problematic knowledge of theoretical events nor do I want to. However I do know that I can present myself to God freely and say "Well that's not my favorite thing but if You think it's for the best..." and accept what's happening without liking what's happening. May God always grant me wisdom and understanding enough to say "It's all good" and accept bad circumstances because God is always in control.

History Repeats

We never learn, do we? As a civilization, human beings have come through thousands of years of organized governments. And within those governments have come TNTC incidents of hate and control, even in a society as free as the democracy that was set up by the founding fathers in the US. There have been precedents set, all men being considered free, resulting in the freeing of slaves, ultimately resulting in the formation of even Equal Opportunity laws and nondiscrimination laws in the last century and into this century. But we as individuals maintain our attitudes of discrimination partly because we have the freedom of choice but partially because it is comfortable to be so. When that comes to the point where even in a free society we cannot co-exist without hurting or annihilating each other something must take place and we must come to understand that it becomes necessary to set boundaries even in our dislike. Because everyone, everything HAS the right to co-exist in this universe. May we try to learn about each other and accept who we are rather than demand that we all be alike.

Great is Thy Faithfulnees

Whenever I hear this phrase, or that God is faithful in all things, or something that talks of God's faith, I am amazed. I never think of God as needing Faith. I never think of Him as being Faithful. Because He knows all, He knows my thoughts, He knows Your thoughts. He knows how things are going to end when time will end. He knew His Son would be sitting on His right side. He knew Adam and Eve were going to sin. So why does God need Faith or even want Faith? Two reasons: 1) I believe that God expects us to be Faithful and because of that He doesn't give us anything He Himself is not willing or doesn't have. So He is Faithful that there are those of His elect that have Faith and love Him enough to walk in Faith. Hence He has mercies every minute of every day as evidence of that Faithfulness, 2) Is not Faith one of the three most important components of any Christian's walk? And that is because Faith is one of the three most important components of God's existence. Paul spoke of these in 1 Corinthians 13 and delineated Faith Hope and Love and the greatest is love. I believe we all have God's love. But we don't automatically give God's love. It is the process that begins with Faith, works in Hope and results in Love. God is teaching us how to love as He loves.

Where did the time go?

Make the most of every opportunity. My business is slow. I am actually glad for the time off, but when it gets going it really gets going. But in the meantime there are spans of time with no client calls. Giving me opportunities to run errands for my mom, take her to her doctor, get things done around the house, and catch up on some much needed medical readings. Make the most of every opportunity. I can serve those who need me. I can help out. Make the most of every opportunity. it's what is expected of a servant of God. Not that He would love me any less if all I did was sit and watch TV  which I have to admit I have done some of that too. But if I am to walk Jesus' walk, it behooves me to make the most of every opportunity.

To dance

What is it like to dance? What is the attraction of human beings to movements of the body, some of which are incredibly difficult but can look so easy by Baryshnikov or Nureyev or Fontaine? It's the beauty that each of us has been endowed with, by a Creator that loves us, a beauty and a fascination that if we jump one way how will it look and another how will that look. I have been dancing all my life, formally trained off and on for about 13-14 years, I have also been to school dances in which we danced rock 'n roll styles and disco as well. And I have never ceased to enjoy and be enthralled by moving with rhythms of music, swaying here and there, emoting often. And I have never ceased to enjoy and be enraptured by those who are dancing, Fun, fun, fun I say. And i say a toast to the dance....long may it fly!!!

COOOLLLL!!!

The weather is changing, this year a bit cooler earlier or so it seems to me. Perhaps not. But I did see some geese leaving a bit early. At any rate, makes me feel like pumpkin spice, and getting candy ready for Halloween and cheering for my perennial favorites as they meet to play football. And it makes me a little sleepy. I think that God has that planned, I think that we in addition to the rest of nature is supposed to slow down...lose our leaves if you will. It was the last mow of the year for me this Saturday, and I also cut back bushes and prepped things for a long winter's nap. What about me? Well I am ready to sleep. I am ready to rest and let body systems regroup and regenerate. It's time to hibernate. Thank You God for seasons!!!

In a galaxy far, far away

In a galaxy far, far away and long ago, I was much younger and able to make decisions albeit not my mother's choices for me, but nonetheless choices that would lead me to where I was in 1990 and to where I eventually wound up in 2015. I had no idea that I would have this past year's history, especially the retirement. But looking back this was a very excellent decision. I have had more time to attend to mom and while we are not buddy buddy she nonetheless needs someone and by no means needs to be in a home. I also have time to start a business which will hopefully blossom into a ministry of sorts for those who love their pets. May God continue to bless my decisions and guide me when I stray from His will.

Are you or aren't you?

Sooner or later and sometimes more often than we would like we are called to take a stand. If you are a Christian, you are often called to take a stand, sometimes in words, sometimes in actions, sometimes both. The students in Oregon were called upon to take a stand, and those that died are now sitting and rejoicing with their Savior. How many of us would do that? How many would give our life for what we believe? Men from all countries in WWII believed that Hitler (maybe not necessarily Germany but the leader) represented evil. And died to defend their ideologies against him. Many times before giving their lives they stood up against this mad man. What we all have to ask ourselves is whether or not we are willing to do that, especially where Christ is concerned. Are we or aren't we?

Walking in Sonlight

Shadows above me, Shadows below me, All along the hills and vales that I traverse. But there is one holy holy King and leader and He never ever lets me down. EVER. And He has provided me and all of His children light, and that comes from Jesus and I praise Him evermore. Thank You Lord for You immeasurable love. You are a holy and majestic Father.May we, all of Your children, walk in Your Son's light always.

DIET OR LIFE STYLE?

I am on the 21 day transformation. At first I thought of it as boot camp, restricting me from bread, chocolate, sodas, potatoes, corn, and some other things. As time has gone by I think I am beginning to realize that yes this is boot camp for a very different reason. Reigning in and practice take discipline and that means we have to do this in all areas in which our lives have been out of control. Whether it's food or alcohol or sex.... whether it's in making choices to do or not do recreational drugs, or porn, or whatever will distract one from God.  So regardless of whether our thinking is that we are dieting, in actuality it is practice for when we are forced to make choices that may mean reigning oneself back in for another period of time. I took piano for 13 years, and mastery of most of the music took practice and time and mostly discipline to obey and do as instructed by the teacher. Food choices are the same way. Am I eating this way because I want to lose weight or because I want to be healthy. Do I exercise because I want to strengthen my muscles or because "Teacher said so"? Either way the choice is the individual's choice. But it is a choice between legalism and freedom. God made us free to choose and to know what is best for us and what we just shouldn't touch. Thanks be to God for His love and grace.

Love

I have from time to time seen love in my mom's kindness toward me. Which makes me wonder if she has an evil twin. But what then is true love. Is it unconditional or it it decided by a child's mistakes and falling down scraping his/her knee? Or is it the "I'm proud of you" even when the child fails miserably? May God show us this answer, it oi not easyto say forgiveness comes in many many forms, even unexpected and certainly unwarranted. May God bless us that we understand one another.

FREEDOM

And so begins my first week of retirement. I am free to practice veterinary medicine and am doing so in the form of petHelper, I am free to teach if I so desire, and free to help my mom in the last years of her life however long that is. It has been an interesting week, laying some ground rules with my mom that she will have to obey and this she knows. She has become dependent and demanding as a two year old and what I have to wrap around my head is that she is a grown woman and is actually quite lucid, lucid enough to still look after her finances, lucid enough to follow football, and lucid enough to wash and dress and function in the real world. She is 92 and with that has come fraility and falls. But it has not decreased her mental capacity and her desire to be independent. I can only hope I have those genes when I am her age.

Memories

I remember graduating high school and being so ready to get out of school, so excited that I was FREE AT LAST. I also remember the apprehension I felt, would I be able to pass my freshman year at Tulane, would I be able to take care of myself if - gasp - I was by myself for the rest of my life. Well I am living proof that I can and did indeed make it through. Now I am at another crossroads and I am excited and apprehensive. It will be interesting. And it's all in God's control!!!

Blowing it

I have blown opportunities many many times in  my life. Relationships too. Some have forgiven me. Some opportunities have returned and been good. Some are lost in cyberspace (figuratively and literally). But there is one opportunity and one relationship that is stable and certain and firm. That with God and Jesus. And I praise them for that,

God's Direction

God told Abraham that He would give Him a son. He told Him that through that son there would be a mighty nation. The only detail God left out was how long it would take. He was teaching Abraham to have faith, and that faith takes patience and waiting on God. I have learned to do this. I do not know what the next chapter holds for me but I do know God will bless me as He always has. I went to see about a job opportunity to be a supplement to what I have but God revealed during the interview this isn't what I wanted at all. So I retire with petHelper and only petHelper. But I know that He will bless me always. ALWAYS!

Blessings beyond blessings

I am an ordinary person. I have no special talents, nor am I particularly gifted. All that I can do is from God. If I am scared that I will fail, I will fail. I will fail. God will not. Whatever I do is dross, whatever He does is gold. I believed that in school. I believe that now. Wherever He wants me to go from here I will follow. I will not move without His guidance, ever again. Many times I moved without Him. Never again.

Knowing your limits

Knowing limits is actually basic in mathematics. There is a limit in decision making in probability where one makes a decision with 95% confidence one way, 5% confidence another way. And all decisions and choices come within the bell shaped curve. Sometimes there is an outside chance things are one way. These decisions are represented on the edge. Sometimes you can bet the house that things are one way and these decisions are represented in the middle of the curve. In every day life it is important to know the middle of the curve and the edges and to make our decisions based on knowing those limits. And not to worry if our decisions go to the outside of the larger diameter, because there is the off chance that that decision is correct. No one should ever say something is wrong if it is not done the way most people proceed. No one should ever say something is right if it is done according to the methods which are in the middle of the curve. Does this mean there is no right and wrong? No but that has to do with morality, not decision making and math.Both are from God...and He equips us well to know our limits in both situations.

WAITING ON GOD

Are there things that you are unsure of, the future where you are headed or even if your steps are correct? I am often there, as I am not sure of many things going on now, but one thing I am sure of is that God is a God of glory and truth and He will never steer me wrong. May God bless me in whatever comes in the future and may He always bring blessings on His children.

Changes

Time is drawing near when the day I have planned for for the past 4 years is finally coming. I am running through a mix of emotions as I deal with a mom in failing health, although physically she is fabulous for a 92 year old. I am also dealing with a boss who is only an interim boss and yet she has striven to change and to challenge every thing that came before her. Even though past practices were acceptable, or at least some of them were. I am also dealing with bureaucracy at its most inefficient and yet most demanding. I am scared what will happen when I retire. I am anxious but I know that my Redeemer lives and as such i know He will provide. May God bless all those who are going through changes in their lives.

Get a grip

So the time I have before I retire is growing shorter and as it does it is becoming apparent that I am very, very, very fortunate that I am not hanging with the feds until I am at least not in a position to only to receive a portion of my pension. And the silliness and lunacy is really coming out. I am appalled frequently by the politics that are played at any given level of the government and am glad to be leaving. 25 years ago I started out as a Veterinary Medical Officer. I said "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am". And got things done. Now I am accused of not doing things even if there is evidence that these things are done. Our government is a wonderful thing, making life free for those who are here but it is not for those who are not patient. I am afraid I am reaching that point. It's time to put my resources to work for me instead of to put me to work for a boss that requires jumping two squares when only asked to jump one square.

America

America. What a country! Made up of people of all colors, multiple races, multiple beliefs and yet there are those who forget what this country was founded on. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom....basically, the freedom to be. If you disagree with what the government says feel free to say it. Burning the flag goes a little far for me, but the expression of disillusionment with the country does not. Just as hitting someone because one is angry with that someone is unacceptable behaviour but the expression of anger is not, it should just be done a little more peaceably. Because you see while we have freedom that does not give us the moral right to hurt or harm and burning a flag means that we would burn or shoot or do what it takes to express our displeasure. It deprives someone of the right to love the flag and that is the firewall that blocks any freedom. Will it do harm to someone? Then your freedom is no longer your freedom but it enslaves you to immediate gratification of getting things the way you like them. Praise be to God there is a more excellent way.

What a world!!!

When the Christians first appeared on the scene, it was against the law to be a Christian, punishable by death. When Constantine came on the scene it was illegal not to be a Christian, also punishable by death. There have been slaves throughout history, the Jews in Egypt, the African and people of the Caribbean in America, and it took a long time un America to make it illegal to own slaves. But then it took until the 1960s to make discrimination against race illegal. Our issues now have to deal with LGBT folks. It's always something. We as a world we as a people look to polarize ourselves into one group or another. God looks at each of us as people, not black, not white, not Chinese, not gay. He looks at us and He judges us. HE judges us. That;s not my job. I know the scripture talks against being gay in the old testament. But wasn't that hung up on the cross with Christ? The old testament also talks against wearing tatoos. Interesting that we see those too.

Changes

So many times I think back on the whirlwind of these past few months and realize it is all for a reason. If my mom hadn't fallen I may not have taken the drastic steps to retire, and might have felt stuck in a job that was micromanaging me and controlling what I did even though I do everything by the regulations that are designated in the Code of Federal Regulations for meat inspection. If my mom hadn't fallen, I would not be faced now with putting her in a home or keeping her with me, even though over and over I have said she will be staying with me. Sitters are becoming scarce because the government chooses to waste money on people who could get out and work but are given everything so won't. The elderly suffer. I am amazed.

Most of all, mom's personality traits have really been coming out. The selfishness, the passive aggressiveness, the OCD and the lack of hope. She has had several good days though and it has had a positive effect on her. She went to the Arboreteum by University of Kentucky and loved it. She spent time with a dear sweet woman. It seems though that mom and I bring the worst out in the both of us. She insists on long dissertations to explain what she needs, I have this habit of calling her to her face a drama queen. Even though I took her with me to deliver information about my upcoming practice she insisted we go to eat and wouldn't brave the rain (which I cannot blame her) even though she wanted "a substantial meal", so settled on a sandwich place. She only ate part of it. Then later ate the rest which I thought was her dinner. Although she later got hungry and insisted she needed a substantial meal, BUT....she insisted on saying in dramatic fashion "I am weak".

At any rate, and regardless of whatever our relationship is, the next few months I will be able to spend more time as the new venture is an in-home venture. And there is always the Senior Center. Hopefully we can grow closer together because after all we are God's gift to one another.

Here goes!!!!

This weekend kicks off my business. I have one client Saturday and one Sunday. God is a blessing indeed. I am scared, nervous, unsure but I know that I am led by my God and He knows the outcome of things... all I have to do is go in and do things,,, knowing and praising him all the day long. I love God. He has provided for me and He will provide for all those who call on Him in His will and purpose.

STRESSS!!!!!

Well life is full of stressors.... work....people one works with... a mom that is 92 in years and 12 in emotions at the moment. She is sitting in an easy chair pouting about me not bringing her her computer because I am busy which she thinks I am playing. And then she drums her fingers and says, "Well?".... I am beginning a new business.... and while I am excited I am just not sure it's the right thing to do even if God did tell me to retire and do this. Stressors can make me feel choked more than anything but God knows what I have been through and I love Him for that. For all the struggles, for all the micromanagement of jobs, all the impatience of our elderly people, all the unknown I love Him. Desparately....

Aging gracefully?

You know, getting old is not fun. My mom has been through the Great Depression in the 1930s. She lived through WWII as an interpreter with the precursor to the CIA. She married a man who served during WWII in the Coast Guard. The Korean War, the Vietnam war, the wild and crazy 1960s, the era of disco, big hair, and Bill Clinton. And she is not aging gracefully. This past week she ran her sitter out of the house. She is probably bipolar, definitely wants to be on her own (which she can no longer), and when you first meet her is kind and genteel and you would never ever expect her to lash out on anyone. And it's no fun leaving your home to be in company of strangers and her adjustment was not smooth because life was so different from what she expected.My prayer is not only that she adjust but that I not have those issues for adjustment.

Patience

What does patience mean? what does it mean to have patience? What most Christians fail to realize is that patience doesn't just mean saying "That's OK dear". It's riding through the rough patches even without complaining about look at what happened to you today. We are in a trial and God repeatedly tells us just how important we are to Him that if we trust in Him He guides us over the rough patches.May God love us and hold us close always.

I found it!!!

One of the things that God has made me very good at is being a good hunter....I can find anything that is lost for a time. God is much much much better than me though. He finds and blesses lost souls with the opportunity to be His children through living His will. God is awesome, and such a gift. I am glad that the blessing that He gave me led me to Him, finding my Lord and Savior....may I never leave Him.

Here's to beginnings

So it's time to end an era. After 25 years in the federal government I am calling it quits and going to go it into the private sector. What will life hold? I have no clue but I have been told I am a failure and that is pushing me to work harder. When it's time to leave it's time to leave folks so hang in there.

Bumps in the road

Traffic delays, traffic accidents, falls, spills, electrical fires, forest fires, tornados, hurricanes....no wonder people get depressed over daily lives. The bumps in the road can sometimes be more than annoyance, they can downright be devastating. We ask why, what did we do to cause this... and then we forget this world is not our home...it's not even reality although we think it is. God's life is reality, our life with Him, that's reality....all those storms or rather the disastrous outcome of bumps in the road that was the result of the fall of Adam....and the presence of Satan....and the glory of God who sees us through in ways we can never imagine... May God bless us with bumps and paths over those bumps...

The Best of Times

Mom and I had a conversation about being a difference in times between the 1960s and 2010s. As indeed there is. Technology boomed. The economy fell then took off then fell again and is beginning to get better. Medical practice and knowledge has increased and in most cases more helpful to people. Mom had a dear friend that committed suicide in the early 1970s. I explained that it was probably due to her depression and back then all that was done was to put them into a mental institution until the symptoms subsided and then released the patient. Now there are many many many therapies for depression. But is this the best of times? Older people cannot get proper care, insurance controls what procedures and what items are available for patients, there are hackers, looters, angry people over and over and over. And we turn from God more and more. We should be turning to Him and praising Him for the many blessings in our lives. Instead we like to blame Him for our shortcomings. May God always show us mercy.

The Joy of the Lord

One of the best books I have ever read is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. I read it as a senior in high school as part of our assignment for religion class. A friend from church brought up the book again during Sunday night class, It is a book that tells that the only way to make it through any situation, whether "suffering" through a hangnail or enduring prison of any sort is to have a will to always find meaning in one's life, whether it is to return to family, or planning on changing one's lifestyle because of what one has done. Only way to do this is through a belief that one's wisdom and knowledge and morals originate in God, according to Christ. Our will for existence is that this world is not our home. Not with it's disappointments and trial and diseases. We're all just passing through.

God's plan

What is God's plan for our lives? How do we know when to move and when to stay? How do we know it's from God? When I was a freshman at Tulane in 1977 I was struggling with Chemistry. I studied, I had a tutor, I did everything I thought to do but hit a stone wall every single time. I even failed the first exam, I was studying one afternoon and cried out to God, "Alright, if you want me to be a veterinarian I have to pass Chemistry". And not only did I pass the next two tests but I made 95 on one and 103 (bonus points) on the last test before the final. I couldn't have done it on my own. In 1982 I applied for but did not make it into Veterinary College at LSU. So I went to Kentucky to study to be a veterinary technician. And was promptly adopted by the sweetest, warmest family I'd ever known, I was trained in red meat in Kentucky and now live in Lexington, KY. I believe it was part of God's plan for me to get me to Kentucky in addition to making sure I knew I was His daughter. What an awesome God we serve.

When God says to wait

When God says to wait, wait. When God says go, go. How do we know? That's what a silent period during prayer time is for. I love the yogis who instruct the yoga students when meditating to absolutely clear their minds out, thinking of nothing. There is no negativity, but there is no positivity either. It just is. And in this universe we as God's children have to accept that there is not only positive and negative aspects, there are just aspects. It's when we accept that that we truly know God is in control. He is in complete and total control. God says wait, God says go, God says follow Him.

Yay for God's promises!!

God promises us many blessings. Most important is that if we remain in Him He will be in us. He has a house prepared for us.He promises us we have the privilege of being His children. He promised Abraham to make a great nation out of him, He promised Moses freedom for His people, He promised Ruth comfort, and so forth, But He also promised that if His people didn't follow Him or forgot Him, He would not tolerate sin. At all. May we remember His promises and be satisfied with that and not want more, which often results in sin.

Things happen, don't they...

This week could not have been drawn up better in a Hollywood drama. I woke up Sunday and quickly became best friends with my bathroom while not being able to walk two inches without losing balance and finding sea legs. That relationship and that condition lasted until Tuesday morning when I began to be able to eat a little, My mom had been caring for me because I felt as though I was strapped to the bed. On Tuesday mom fell breaking her pelvic bone. But the bright spot was that I was home. On Tuesday while I was by no means 100%, I could still call the ambulance, have them transport her to the ER and then drive her home when done. I was home. Had I not been home she would not have been able to get off the floor.Amazing how things work out. Amazing how God knows timing better than we do!

Here comes the sun...

I love the Beatles song, "Here comes the sun"... So much so I sing it to the words of "Here comes the Son" because He did after all create the sun... As well as flowers... As well as all the universe... I am so grateful that He indeed loves us to brighten our day when it looks most dim...

Zen

Zen like other religions has sayings very similar to what Jesus taught, except for one thing... Buddha was a man, granted one that claimed to have been spiritually transformed into God, but still a man. Other religions such as Islam, Taoism, Confuscianism, etc are the same way. The main person involved with spreading the message of whatever particular religion was the being professed was just a man. Only Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. Hard to wrap our limited human intelligence around but if He wasn't who He claimed He was then He died for nothing and we have the most squalid existence and we are all living as He lived for nothing. On the other hand if He is who He says He is, then we have the most wonderful, most perfect existence waiting for us. May God lead us and guide us along the way He wants us to walk, and not the way any man does.

The One and only God

I am reading a book on Zen and am fascinated that principles of Zen are reflective of Christianity up to a point. Where it misses the mark is that there is nothing above the philosophizing although it would not deny that there is no "is" nor is there an "is not". This indicates, at least to me, that there is a truth beyond what we see and that our judgment is not always the best thing to go by. So whose judgment do we go by except God? And why are we afraid to acknowledge that we were created by Him. Yes I understand that evolution exists, but it is a tool. God definitely created all things, knows all things and has control over all things. He is a mighty and a wonderful God!!!

Satori

Satori in Japanese can be translated to newness. It's something that Jesus says when you are reborn then there is a new way of looking at something...much as Jesus says that He did not come to destroy the law but fulfill it. May we see our lives in Christ in the newness it was intended.

Don't be so sure

There is supposed to be a huge winter storm coming down. As good as our forecasters are, God is still greater and indeed knows what goes on. My prayer is that He keeps us all safe and warm and loving one another as He is love.

Valentines Day

Valentine's Day has always fascinated me. Originally for married couples it's actually for spreading love, tolerance, peace. May God put that on all our hearts. May we truly "Let our love show, like a bird on a wing, let our love grow to all living things".

Time Marches Onward

The older I get the faster time goes. Not really, but relatively speaking. Time is going at the same speed it always has, with the same number of seconds per minute, the same number of minutes per hour, etc., etc. But because none of us have chronometers or at least chronometers built in so that we become increasingly aware that our time is short and that we will never ever have the fascination with snow globes or pony rides we once had when we could really spend time with those items. I love the poet Longfellow who never ever lost fascination with being a child, even as an adult. Time doesn't move quite so fast then. I hope I never lose that fascination either.

White nights!!!

The whiteness of snow does something to me, make me want to capture it, make it into little ornaments and keep them in a glass case. I love snow. I love the coolness, the purity, the quietness of snow. Drove home one night with mom in the car and went to dinner with mom and to pick up her medicine and then home all the while the snow was showering big huge flakes of whiteness. To me it's like a shaking of confectioner's sugar all over the place. May we always thank God for His creation even if we don't care for it. For His creation was made for us!!! Thank you God.

Que Bella!!!

Isn't it fun speaking in another language with people who are fluent in both the language you speak and your second language? A dear lady at church is from Germany and speaks fluent English and I try (though it's been at least 30 years since college) to speak German and she loves it and I love it. I feel as though it is another form of acceptance, of trying to empathize and sympathize with her. I love being with her and having conversations in German and English, simple though they are. I am so glad God gives us the ability to traverse language barriers and make many friends.

Living in Peace

We are only human, right? We worry, we gripe, we hurt, we miss. We also fight back, we file grievances, lawsuits, complaints. Not saying this isn't permissible. Paul said everything is permissible. But he also said not everything is beneficial. So does that mean we should not fight back if our life is threatened? Nope, not at all. Paul said not everything, he didn't say, nothing is beneficial that is deemed permissible. He also said live in peace as much as possible. He didn't say peace at all cost. But as much as humanly possible. He didn't excuse barbs aimed back at a perp either....it's kind of like Karate. Karate is a martial art based in peace, the primary aim is maintaining peace. And for that you need the wisdom of God. There was an older gentleman ahead of me at a pharmacy that moved his cart to the side. I pulled up along side of him and then asked him if he was in line. He handed me several barbs and I chose not to fight him, because it wasn't worth it. It's not. He might have been having a bad day, he might have had a hard time in the cold weather. Who knows? But at that juncture, it would have served no purpose to have argued. I think I grew up a little today, because I really would have argued with him, like I do with  my mom. Although of late I have been conceding more arguments to mom lately because it serves not purpose. Live in peace. That serves a purpose.

NEW!!!

Many legends exist where the hero is reborn, made fresh, being given a new life. Brand new. That's what we want. We want to start our personal lives a new, a new weight loss regimen, a new relationship, perhaps like me 3 years ago, a new city. Perhaps we are returning to a life we felt comfortable and unjudged (again like me) or perhaps we just need a new perspective. We really do need to be reborn. Each of us according to Christ need this before we can enter heaven. And I believe this. We need to consider ourselves and look at ourselves in newness before we can ever hope to raise to the height that our Creator wants us to go. May we be blessed in this and find this newness in everyday life.