Are You Using New Year's Resolutions To Pacify Behaviors and Issues Better Addressed During the Year?

And so we begin today knowing that tomorrow looms etherially on the horizon as the start of a new year waiting to greet us at the midnight chime of the clock.

For centuries, human beings have made the "new year" a holiday to itself. The age old renderings of 'baby New Year' assure us that we humans, we mere mortals, can redirect our lives at that point in time and begin again anew for yet another year.

We Don't Need Your Corporatist Or Progressive Education - The MIDDLE'S Here To Play!

Joy Pullmann at the Federalist wrote a GREAT piece today on why Michelle Rhee should NOT be named as theSecretary of Education. I loved it so much, I'm doubling down on it. 

No, neither Rhee nor anyone else of her 'ilk' should be appointed as head of DOE. 

In case you don't know - or are somehow new to education policy (or heck - just governance in the United States) - there is no middle ground anymore. NONE. Yes, there is supposed to be a gradient of governance that tends to rest somewhere near the middle of the ideological spectrum (ideally) in EVERY area of our lives the government has usurped, yet - particularly in education - what you really have is this: 

The 2016 Election; A Victory for Middle American Values?

The election is over.  Trump has won.  Celebrities are running for the hills, rioting and protests have broken out in major population centers across the country, and I heard from a friend watching, that a talking head at Good Morning America (the Thursday after the election) felt the need to explain the vote as a reality not a nightmare.

To Whom Should We Really Pledge Our Allegiance?

This morning I read with interest yet another article about someone not observing the Pledge of Allegiance and it hit me - why not before I know not, but this morning it hit me - 'allegiance'. 

That's a tricky word, 'allegiance'. 

As a Christian, I owe my 'allegiance' to my father God - not to a flag, as that could be considered idol worship - so I went out to the internet and CAREFULLY found a website (meaning I didn't use Wikipedia or a government or other institution) that had information on the Pledge. 

Being the 'Bad Guy'

It's easy to feel like the "bad guy" today. 

Not only am I the mother of two teens and a 'pre'-teen - a situation which often necessitates starting off statements with words like, "Do not..." or "Let's not..." or the very popular, "No..." - but even more often, when trolling Facebook or reading the news, I find I have an opinion opposite that of 'public' opinion. 

It is NOT the Government's Duty To Provide People With ANYTHING But Liberty

I read the saddest, but most realistic post from what I can only assume – from the pictures on his Facebook page visible to the public – is a millennial-aged guy.  Here are the most important excerpts of that post:

“It’s the government’s duty to provide people with the chance for the pursuit of happiness.  We have this tendency to differentiate between what is a Christian’s individual duty to society and what is a government’s duty.  But, the trust is that it is the duty of both to promote the general welfare of society.”

“Hand-outs are the job of both the Christian and the government.”

I Can't Support Jen Hatmaker's Method of Ministry

A recent blog by Matt Walsh on the Blaze has been making the rounds. I have not previously followed Jen Hatmaker - I'm gonna say that right up front. In fact, I've only heard her name through friends of mine she inspires.

Jesus Was Neither A Pacifist, Nor A Peacenik and Christians Aren't Called To Be Either

"But woe unto you, scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay the tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Matthew 23:23. 

The Section on Democracy From C.S. Lewis', "Screwtape Proposes A Toast"

Recently I finished reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.  So influential a book has this been for me, I have rather made it my heart's desire to make sure everyone read it.

Screwtape and the Matter of False Christianity

Recently, I wrote a post defending the practice of eschewing church. 

Though, as I try to do for each devotional post I write, I cited scripture throughout so as not to lean too heavily on my own opinion, yet it was, unsurprisingly ill-received. 

Church Attendance Is Not A Necessity For Christians

Look out - I'm about to make an argument against attending church. 

I know how unreasonable this might sound, but it's a topic with which I've been struggling lately, so I've got some definite thoughts bubbling up to share here. 

Anthropomorphizing Earthquakes

Oklahoma just had one of the largest earthquakes in recent record. 

Immediately, I began to see Facebook posts pinning the cause of this quake on fracking. 

First, fracking has never been the issue; injection wells (a separate part of the process) have been implicated in the cause of minor, localized earthquakes, but this in no way describes this 5.6 magnitude event felt as far as Wichita, Kansas and Houston, Texas. 

The Reason Behind The Power Of Prayer

Wednesday afternoon, my friend Nancy and I talked about the recovery of our mutual friend Molly, who was hit by a sudden, serious illness which caused her to degenerate into a comatose state in shockingly short order.  Desperately ill and near death in the ICU for nearly two weeks, she was finally diagnosed with and treated for a rare blood disease called HLH (Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis).

Heavy Heart Syndrome...

For the last several weeks I have been suffering from 'heavy heart' syndrome. 

A previously-healthy, sweet friend of mine is in the hospital struggling to regain her health, and her family and friends are concerned for her condition. I hear the prayer list at church and so many of our older members are struggling with health problems or dealing with spouses who have memory issues as well as those affecting their overall health, and they are tired and worn out. 

Storms Roll In

In place of a sunrise this morning, there was this.

I thought maybe I wouldn't capture the scene, as it was significantly uglier than what I see so often in its place, but then I thought about how often our days mirror this sky and not the beautiful, untroubled skies I often see.

So many of us have troubles and struggles and strongholds to hack through every day. Some of us have physical illness or deformity - unwieldy and/or disobedient children that make us wring our hands and cry - issues between spouses that have caused hurt and/or emotional separation - a loss of a job and/or financial struggles - some of us find solace in emotional pain because the familiarity it offers makes it so hard to move forward that we stay mired in the past...whatever the reason, we all have storms in our life and sometimes more often than calm. There is an answer, however.

Peter reminds us (1st Peter 5:7) to 'cast' all your care upon him (Jesus) for He careth for you. Jesus himself promised,

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." Following Jesus can be hard. Often, it's easier - more human feeling - to struggle; to feel depressed, to cry and wail and gnash our teeth - but Jesus promises we needn't have to waste our days in this way.

All we need to do is pray,

"Lord, take my burden, ease my woe, bring your peace in place of my misery and show me the way." I've done this more than once (after much personal struggle!) and it works! If you truly want your burden lifted and heart healed, and you pray this prayer with real sincerity, you will feel lighter and see a path through your storm. Don't be afraid. Don't stay stuck. Jesus, as always, is the answer!

The Importance of Evangelism

This morning as I was doing my farm chores, I chose to fertilize some of my berry bushes with water from the duck pond.

To Everything A Season

Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that: 

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." 

(The Byrds also told us that, when songs about Jesus used to be commonplace on the radio, but few of us remember that anymore...) 

Training Children Is Like Training Tomato Plants!

These are but two rows of my tomato plants. I grow about 12 different varieties. Some are the same from year to year, but others are new and I can't wait to see what the fruit will look and taste like.

This year, my husband Dave suggested I grow them on a wire trellis system rather than trying to put cages around them because those take up so much room and we have so many plants. I gladly accepted his advice and assistance and we got the plants training along the wires, adding new ones above as the vines grew.

Stop Complaining, Start Counting Blessings

Solomon tells us [Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)]

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven". He then goes on to enumerate all the things for which there are seasons.

Nature Reflects The Glory Of God

 

I awoke this morning a bit before 5am. The windows are open, not only because the giant white puppies - Great Pyrenees and cattle dog mix - chewed the ignition wire on the air conditioner and we can't turn it on, but because there is nothing like the sounds of the country in the morning. 

Prayer For A New Day

It's 6am. I'm at the top of my driveway looking east after carting the garbage cans to the road. 

After depositing my charge at the blacktop, I stop to take in all that's going on around me. It's impossible not to notice because as the fire in the sky slowly grows, so do the sounds.

Late Bloomer

I was a later bloomer. Well, that's not quite accurate - I was an early starter, it just took me a really long time to capitalize on life. I was married at 19, had a baby by 20 and divorced when I was 27. I started college at 26 because, as with everything else in my life, I knew pretty much all there was to know, so what could college offer?

The Beauty of Nature Often Calls Us to God

A light coating of raindrops drip through the trees and cascade to the mat of dead leaves below making snapping sounds as though nature giving itself a round of applause for its effort. What can only be described as a cacophony of bird calls bounce off the canyon walls, amplifying their conversations to Heaven. Frequently, the haunting trill of a lone whippoorwill rises to distinction above the din.

We Are The "Fragrance" of Christ To Others

I read this morning's devotion with much conviction. First, it was Friday's study that I'd not made time to read Friday and, second, because it reminded me that it's not just the people we meet on the street to whom we are the Bible. Above all, we are the Bible to our family.

Miracles Do Happen - They've Happened To Me!

The other night, our family watched the movie "Miracles From Heaven" with Jennifer Garner. 

The editing and story were excellent and by the time the daughter experiences her miracle, you're either POSITIVE it was a miracle, or a bit more hardhearted and cynical than I think you probably aught to be - even today! 

Hear With Your Heart

I was an atheist while pursuing my degrees in Biology.

Because I was studying field Biology and not applied Biology, I had lots and lots of courses with 'field' components - meaning a part of the course included trips into nature to study. I remember one trip west of Altus to study Hispid cotton rats (you know them as 'pack' rats). We literally camped in a cow pasture with cows milling around just outside the perimeter in which we had set up our tents.

A Band-Aid For the Soul

My husband and I are early risers. We've never gotten up past 7am - unless we're sick - and we're rarely to bed past 10. Weekday mornings Dave is up at 4:30am and I'm up at 5:30. Even on Sunday mornings when we'll be off to church by 9, we're still up at 6, preparing to go out and plant a few things that didn't get in the garden, taking care of animals, fence lines or other chores, before coming in to get ready for church.

Donald Trump And The Horror That Is Independence Day

These were my musings from last July 4th. As you can see, it became quite melancholy for me, and really couldn't be represented by happy, smiling children holding sparklers in one hand and apple pie in the other.

No, that July 4th was more representative of the movie Independence Day and all that implies - the death of a society caused by interlopers - not from outer space - but right out from under our own noses. These alien interlopers are the kids our generation - and subsequent ones - raised to care nothing for the country, its Constitution, its customs, its morals; its actions of decency played out on the world stage. These aliens love the concept of Bernie Sanders and his redistribution of wealth plan because they're too ignorant to understand what it means; that once the government hand goes into someone else's pocket, it'll sure as the world go into their own as well.

Without The Cornerstone, Trump Will Be The Least Of Our Divisions

This has been one of the most - if not the most - divisive election season I've ever witnessed - particularly among Christians. I mean, I've been unfriended and yelled at - we've even had one woman quit coming to our church because we didn't extol the virtues of her candidate. We've had Christian leaders come out for different candidates, all claiming different reasons for their decisions.

The Riddle Of The Sphynx? Old Body, Rockin' Brain?

Waxing too philosophical this morning - too - something else - a better descriptor - but I can't remember the word; which brings me to the heart of the matter.