It is a natural response to want to defend yourself. I don’t mean physically, like from a shark attack (good luck with that), or with a shield and sword. I’m talking about defending your character, your reputation, your religion, your political ideology, your sense of direction. Continue reading “What Would Jesus Do?”
I secretly loved being scared when I was a kid. We’d watch the old monster movies – Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, Werewolf – they were awesome, and provided just enough fear to give you a thrill. When I got a little older, the movies got a little scarier. To get to my best friend Julie’s house, I had to travel down a stretch of road where some large, old trees hovered over the street. There were very few street lights in this part of town, and it was pretty eerie. Julie and I were always a bit apprehensive about traversing this stretch to reach the house at the end of our destination – if it was dark. At some point, we convinced ourselves that we were perfectly safe…as long as we didn’t hear the theme music from Friday the 13th. You know…the dreaded, “Che che che che che. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.” Continue reading “Satan’s Secret Weapon”
I was raised near the South Canadian River in a small town in Oklahoma. My family spent a lot of time on that river, noodling and swimming and searching for morels. I have always understood the power of its raging waters after the spring floods. A fact that was made all too clear to me when my brother, Robin, took me with him one day to hunt for arrowheads. There had just been a heavy rain, and he knew this was a great time to find them. Farmers had just plowed their fields for the spring planting, and the rain would help expose any treasure we sought. Continue reading “He Will Come to Us Like the Rain”
I came across a little chart recently, that had a break-down of about 9 well-known religious leaders in the world today. I won’t name any names here. It doesn’t really matter the who…it’s the what that I’m more concerned with. I’ll get to that in a minute. The chart showed the amount of money each of these leaders and their ministries earned in a year. Let’s just say it was quite a bit more than the teacher’s salary I earn in Missouri. I can’t adequately assess these leaders solely based on how much they earn because I have no information as to how much of that money they give to God – and there is the what. Continue reading “The Deliberate Life of Jesus Christ”
I saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time when I was about 3 years old. The movie had a powerful impact on me. I was mesmerized by it. I loved the singing, adventure, and friendships. So many scenes captivated me. I remember being very upset when Dorothy was trapped in the witch’s castle and the hour glass was almost empty. I was crying from fear she was going to die. I also cried, a time after this, when I watched The Cowboys and John Wayne was killed. I thought he was really dead. It was a relief to learn we don’t really kill people in movies; they’re just acting. So many things about The Wizard of Oz impacted my life, including the overarching theme: there’s no place like home. Continue reading “Life Lessons from The Wizard of Oz”
One of my favorite stories to share with my history students in class has always been that of the Prussian ruler, Frederick the Great. Frederick ruled in the 1700s. He didn’t have a good relationship with his father. I like to tell this story because a lot of teenagers can relate to difficult times in their relationships with their own fathers. It also helps me connect with them the fact that they cannot blame their behavior on their past. Regardless of the circumstances in which they were raised, or of any event they may have experienced, the decision is theirs, and theirs alone, how they behave. They are 100% responsible for their actions. End. Of. Story. Continue reading “A Divine Choice”
For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
I’ve seen a lot of houses in my life. There are even shows on TV celebrating everything from the most over-the-top luxurious to the latest craze…tiny houses. My own experience ranged from the stately 3-story home of my grandparents (dad’s side) to the little more than a shack that my Mamaw & Papaw (mom’s side) lived in. My grandparents house is something I still dream about. It was so big! There were so many things to do and see. Visiting there was like a wonderland adventure. Continue reading “My Dream Home”
This past summer, my husband and I went on a little vacation, and by that I mean I went with him to work for a few days. He travels a lot with his job. We spent a couple of those days in Kansas City and were able to attend a Royals baseball game. We hadn’t been anywhere in quite a while, and even though it was a “working holiday”, I was pretty excited about getting to spend time with my husband and laying out at the hotel pool while he worked. The day we departed, he asked if there was anything particular I wanted to do while we were in Kansas City. I had been wanting to go to the IKEA that had opened there for a while so I told him about that. He didn’t really know what IKEA was and thought this was a questionable request. No more was said about IKEA for the next two days, and I figured by his dismissive response earlier that we would not be making a visit. Continue reading “The Labyrinth of Life”
Mrs. Jones, my kindergarten teacher, had just explained to us what “Show & Tell Day” was. This was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing, and I was very excited about it. All the students were going to get to bring things from home, show them off, and tell about the item. Such a great way to get to know my classmates a little better, and a great way to let them know more about myself. We were all, pretty much, new to each other. I quickly began to look around the room and wonder, “What will Julie bring? Ooh, what will Tammy bring? Shane, what will Shane bring?” It was very exciting, and then I focused back on myself. What would I bring? How would I decide what was the best item to bring? This provided endless possibilities for me. I really wanted to “wow” the crowd. So, I decided on the best, most amazing, most interesting thing I had in my house…the brain. Continue reading “If I Only Had A Brain”
I had my sigmoid colon removed after suffering with chronic diverticulitis in August of 2014. The nine months prior had been filled with numerous trips to the emergency room, CT scans, antibiotics, painkillers, and a five-day hospital stay. While my time in the hospital was about as lovely as it could be, it was my second hospital stay since I had been diagnosed with diverticulitis three years earlier. I was tired of being sick and tired. The sigmoidectomy had been done through a laparoscopic procedure and I was recovering quite nicely at home. About eight days after the surgery, I began to notice some discomfort in my upper abdomen. The pain became unbearable just after midnight on August 31st. I had developed a blood clot in my portal vein. Continue reading “Sewing Stitches and Sowing Seeds of God”
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