Picket Fences

Tis the season... And a wonderful season it is. The Christmas Season! Many, many years ago Jesus came down from heaven to earth as a baby. He came to live among us and teach us His loving ways. Then He paid the price that none of us could pay ourselves for our sins. He was crucified and died. On the third day He rose from the dead and whoever believes in Him will be saved and live eternally with Him. He is preparing a place for all of those who make the decision to believe in Him and follow Him. What better reason is there to celebrate! A few years ago, a lot of people's retirement plans went right out the door. They had worked hard to make sure to provide an income for the later years in their lives only to see it dissipate. A large number of people haven't seen their retirement be replaced yet. It's discouraging to give so much of yourself, for your future, only to have it taken away. Yet, our future here is really very short lived. Sometim

I remember, when I got my first pair of contacts, in my twenties. I walked out of the doctor’s office and thought, “Wow! This is fantastic!” Everything looked so vividly clear. And what was really great is the street lights didn’t smear at night. When I’m around my home I can take my contacts out and function just fine, sometimes I even watch television, but out in public, I need them, so I don’t get a headache straining to see all of the different things. Quite a few years ago, I had my second operation on my right ear. Afterward, I struggled to hear and had to pop my ear quite often. It was discovered that for some reason my ear drum would invert instead of staying smooth and round. Part of the reason was due to an Eustachian-tube dysfunction, and also the doctors believed there to be a bone problem in my ear in which exploratory surgery is needed. I’ve learned to live with the problem, although it intensified after a car accident, along with irritating noise from tinnitus.

It's that day again, when we give honor to the veterans who have served our county.  I honestly don't think a person could clap hard enough, cheer loud enough, or do enough things for a Veteran, whether they served in combat or not. Any person, that is willing to go through what it takes, to learn how to protect our country deserves a standing ovation.  Since I was a young girl there has been controversy about the different wars that have happened. Many of the Vietnam vets paid a high price not only overseas, but when they were able to put their feet back on the soil of our country. Even though there was a draft going on, the people who disagreed with the war, took it out on them when they returned. It’s a sad thing when we turn on the very people who fight so our country remains free. I’ve also heard the arguments about peace, not war. That would be so nice if there were no wars to be fought. But even back in Biblical times, there were wars, because there

The very first thing I did this morning was pray about my daughter’s doctor appointment. As I was praying for her a thought went through my mind…how many other mom’s are praying for their children? How many are broken-hearted watching their children suffer because they are hungry, sick, and so on and so on. The last couple of nights I’ve been reading the book Prisoners of Hope by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer with Stacy Mattingly, it’s about two missionary girls who were imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan back in 2001. Before their arrest they interacted with many women who suffered in a war zone, widowed and trying to find a way to feed their children, or deal with their illnesses. I stopped my prayer. The room was dark and the darkness seemed to come between me and God causing my prayer to be blocked. I really wanted to be able to go to God with my daughter’s plight, but I wondered why would He answer when there were so many other moms desperately seeking Him?

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything,   but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   7  And the peace of God,   which transcends all understanding,   will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Yesterday, I woke up feeling anxious. My husband having minor surgery during the morning, to take some cancer out of his leg, may have had something to do with that anxiety. On top of that it was my second day at a new part-time job. And a few of my friends had called with some bad news in their life. It all added to stress I was already feeling. I went for a walk to get some endorphins going and of course, to strengthen my heart, and to make sure my jeans didn’t shrink when I put them on in the morning. At first I just felt anxious, and the annoying crows that are around the neighborhood were getting on my nerves making it hard to enjoy the walk I normally enjoyed. As I walked and prayed, I starte

I closed the front door behind me, leaving the stacks of papers on my desk and unopened emails in my computer behind. I stuck my ear-buds in and turned on the music in my phone. I started walking down the hill toward my favorite neighborhood to walk through. I love looking at the houses, the yards, and I love all of the hills. I finally started to relax after I walked for a few minutes, and focused on the music that played in my ear, instead of on the unending demands that filled my day.  The pressures of unfinished work suddenly didn’t feel so heavy on my shoulders. I struggled to refrain from singing out loud to one of my favorite songs while I strolled through the neighborhood. Instead, I tried to hum, but then decided, I better not… with the ear buds in, even humming might be pretty loud. Now, I’m not a bird lover as those close to me know, but on this walk I actually enjoyed watching the birds flitting from tree to tree. They kept my attention as they tweeted and

1I had a list a mile long today of things I wanted to get done. It’s my first day off where I don’t have a million things other than “my” list calling my name. The Bible verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all of these things will be added to you..” kept going through my mind. So, I sat down and proceeded to read the required reading of the day for our women’s Bible study group. We are in the book of Ezekiel which is hard to read. It’s full of prophecy and warning for the Israelites. I was feeling a bit antsy to finish reading the chapters and get on with my day. I realized I was acting like my daughter does when I’m trying to explain something to her and she has a hard time sitting still. I tried really hard to actually listen to what I was reading and not just speed read the chapters to say, “Ta-dah! I’m done.” The words I heard were distressing. God ca lled out a warning abou t what He was about to do to and they  weren't  listening. In Ezekiel 2

Years ago, I had to deal with driving in the Seattle morning traffic to get to work. One day my car just died in the middle of the freeway. I got over to the side of the road and had to deal with a dead car during traffic AND get to work on time. I brought it to a mechanic who thought he found the problem and after some of my money flew from my pocketbook to his, I was on my way. Well, a few days later, I found myself stuck on the side of a long, lonely road in Seattle because once again, my car died. So I handed over some more money to a mechanic after he believed he fixed the problem, and then I was on my way. I don’t remember exactly how many times this happened, but it was enough times to be exasperating and I began to not trust my car anymore. Finally, a mechanic found a loose wire and the problem was fixed. Whew! Isn’t it frustrating when you have a problem…think you found the solution to the problem, only to discover…you still have the problem?