First comes hope.
Hope leads to testing.
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Stuck
Changing the Narrative
We can’t always control the events in our life. Sometimes we are mere players. What we are told and reminded of is we can control our reaction to events. Easier said than done. It may feel at times that we are swept downstream in a fast moving river and our reactions are little more than instinct. If that is the case and our reaction comes before we have time to think maybe we have to revisit the situation and if possible change the story. It is our story, after all, we are in charge of the narrative. Sometimes we need to do a rewrite, an edit. We revisit the pain in order to find beauty. We change the narrative.
Continue readingThe Tree in the Cemetery
The tree in the cemetery that
died a wintry death
will come back to life
with spring’s reviving breath.
Continue readingThe Worst Trial
A life is made
and when we look we see
valley and hill
times of blessing
times of adversity.
Continue readingBuried Testimony
With You Again
My Faith Garden
I do not have a green thumb. I don’t even have a plastic one. Seriously, I have a vase with fake flowers that I have knocked over so many times one blossom now sits at a perpetual 90 degree angle. So, my expertise in gardening is lacking somewhat. But I do have what I call a faith garden that I’d like to tell you about.
Stick with me on this analogy and I hope it will all come together.
Continue readingThe lesson of the sunflower
I recently read a cute little post about how sunflowers use each other for support on cloudy days. According to the post, when the sun isn’t out the flowers nod to each other for support. Of course, it was supposed to be a lesson about us needing each other. I thought it was cool but two seconds of checking on it led me to believe it is not true. Sunflowers do not tilt toward each other on cloudy days. What they do instead is still a lesson to us, just not the intended lesson the post suggested.
Continue readingLevels of obedience
We are all probably familiar with the 10 Commandments. Whether we believe that they are from God, guidelines to a better life, or a nuisance is up to each of us. As I thought about the commandments God has given us I realized none of us are on the same path. There are at least four different levels of obedience. Let’s use the example of taking cookies out of a cookie jar to demonstrate each level.
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ck's days 