The One Person You Can’t Live A Successful Life Without! (Me!?)

a little girl sitting on the steps of a building

The more astute of you1 will have noticed that my post-publishing frequency has decreased lately from a profusion of three times per week to a paltry two times per week!

I hope you will be comforted by the following reason for this significant decline.2

I need to do lots and lots of “Research” this summer so I can write my book!3

To update you on my book writing progress, I am currently in the process of choosing a perfect title. How, you ask?

Good question.

With my astute perception that easily grasps current cultural trends and fads, as definitely proven HEREHERE, and HERE, I have noticed that many of the best-selling books in the bookstores have the *F* word and other terrible words in them that would never be uttered by me or by my homeschooled children.

For example, check out this book I recently purchased.4

Disclaimer: This book has a bad word in its subtitle!

OUTRAGEOUS!

And yet, since shocking words in the titles, subtitles, and text is currently the magic formula that ensures a book’s success5, I plan to spend the summer (in addition to lazing at a nearby lake, of course) writing a list all the bad words I know and combining them with less inflammatory words (to moderate the shock) and therefore, to write the perfect book tittle!

I recommend the same approach for other would-be writers! As I always say, follow the crowd! There will undoubtedly be success somewhere in a big group!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

I am only slightly dumbfounded about what to write on all the pages of the book itself, but one step at a time!

To finish today’s writing, which is meant to encourage and refresh you, I must inform you that given the sudden decrease of my writing frequency, I herewith remove myself of all liabilities of the consequences of your life decisions due to the impact of my sudden relative absence in my writing, which of course, impacts how and what decisions you make in life.6

Don’t worry. I’ll return to writing with increased frequency soon to show you the correct paths for abundant living!

And if you need help and I’m not immediately available – Why not try God, friend?7

God said, “My presence will go with you . . .”

The Message


Photo Credit: Child Looking Up To Someone by Cardia Gong on Unsplash

1 Those who hang off of every word I write and, thus clearly the most intelligent of readers

2 Yes! The weather has suddenly gotten much lovelier, but I’m sure that has nothing to do with it!

3 The only trouble is that I’ve used the excuse of writing a book the last two summers, and I’ve looked all around for the book that I wrote, but I can’t find it!

4 I meant to say- this is an example of a terrible book that I would NEVER purchase myself!

5 Visit your local bookstore for many examples in the “Recent Bestsellers” section of books with bad words in them. DISCLAIMER – These books have bad words in them!

6 Now, what should I make for dinner and do for the rest of my evening and the rest of my life, I wonder? My life is so much more complicated when I don’t have people to guide every moment! I feel almost lost!

7 You never know! He may even have something valuable to say that could help you or be able to guide you like a Shepherd leading a lamb to living water to satisfy your unquenchable thirst or to encourage you to follow Him into a new adventure if you find you don’t have anything better to do this summer and figure you might as well spend a few minutes learning to quiet yourself and have some of the greatest moments of your life encountering the God who loves you and is waiting for you. And may your soul find the Source of peace, friend.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

We Need To Open Eyes To The Terrors Foreigners Are Exposed To For One Powerful Reason

close-up photo of persons eye

So I seized the homeless kid by the neck and violently shook him because he tried to grab my dime when I wasn’t looking at it for a moment.

Well, not exactly.

As proven HERE, you can’t trust EVERYTHING you read online!

The true story is HERE.

The summary of this event is:

  • We were on the other side of having relational connections that could help us (we were travelling)
  • We didn’t have a place to stay or some food either (we were robbed)
  • We were in a hostile situation (teen females travelling in a country that believed women brought trouble on ourselves for having the nerve to travel alone)
  • We were below being helped (the police wouldn’t let us use their phone to call our embassy!)
  • We were up the creek without a paddle (as the saying goes).

After the local police pushed us out of their office and told us to solve our problems ourselves, we looked around, stunned.

What do we do next?

“I know!” I announced energetically, my Ned Flanders optimism in high gear, even back then, more than twenty-five years ago. “Let’s return to our lodge and read what to do in our “Let’s Go, Europe!” guide!

“This is the worst thing that could have happened to us!” my friend yelled. “Nothing in that book tells us what to do next!” The truth of our situation was dawning on me, like a light bulb on a dimmer, slowly illuminating.

We sat on the curb, watching the street kids, whose faces had more grime than ours, though all our faces were marked with tear stains. They had bare feet, but otherwise, our hearts entwined as one as we experienced the beginnings of the emotions any other human would have felt in a similar situation – despair, alienation from “the rest” of culture, and fear. A few short hours had erased much of the divide between “us” and “them”.

“What now?” my friend and I asked each other silently. We were sitting curbside outside our motel. Despite our protests, the motel owner told us to get our stuff and ourselves out onto the streets where we belonged.

And then she came.

A local woman arrived bringing a tray of fruit and local bread to share.

She had heard about our “misfortune” from her daughter.

The one hiccup in this story of rescue is that her daughter was the one who immediately told us NOT to chase after the guy who robbed us. Was she an accomplice? Was her mother? Were they all working together as one terrifying mob? We didn’t have many choices, and so after inhaling the food, our eyes still wide with fear, we begged this stranger to let us stay at her home that night.

And she opened her home to us.

And she shared the Gospel with us.


In the years that followed, I had often wondered, did Jesus prompt her compassion so she would want to show up and check on us?

Maybe.

But opening her home to two teenage strangers until the embassy representative could arrive after Spain’s long weekend holiday altered the trajectory of my life.

What would my life have been like had I been tossed out onto the violent streets of the city for a week instead, I have often wondered.

This woman, obeying the inner voice of God, or perhaps the outer voice of a Pastor, or the words of a Sacred Text, saved my life from physical, emotional and/or spiritual trauma.

Oh, and so, why do we choose to open our eyes to dangers foreigners are susceptible to being exposed to?

But for the grace of God, that foreigner could be you or one of YOUR loved ones.

When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. . . Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. . . . Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

The Message

And so now I can put myself in more dangerous and stupid situations because I KNOW that you will help me!

Thank you!

And you’re welcome for the advice!

Good luck!


Seriously though – Who is God asking you to remember in prayer, or what is He asking you to do this morning as you open your eyes to another? Who can you share your measly lunch with? Who could use a heart of compassion and an “I see you” smile?

And I wonder at the joy unveiled, like the opening of a present, when we meet the people in Heaven who credit us as those who were the hands and feet of Jesus through listening and obeying and changing the trajectory of their lives for the better.

How much future joy are you stockpiling? Got your heart open to the promptings of Holy Spirit? Oh, and thanks from those of us who appreciate your open eyes.

a row of gold bars sitting on top of a shelf

Photo Credits: Eyes Open by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash, Gold Stockpiled by Yana Hurska on Unsplash

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The Truth About Your What Happens To Your Heart In This Situation – You’d Never Believe It

white arrow through red heart road signage

I realized with terror when I stepped back and surveyed my heart weeks after the event that I would have strangled that kid if he stole my quarter.

He was a homeless kid trying to survive.

So was I.

In one moment, I dropped precipitously off the other side of the cliff of privilege.

low-angle photography of rock formation under cloudy sky

The day before, I was swinging my handbag, contemplating digging out a quarter to give to the poor homeless child with his hand out toward me.

The next day, I was on the same side of the divide of privilege as him.

This is what happened.

And more importantly, this is what I learned.


I was a teenager, traveling in Spain with a friend the same age. This was the 1990s, when our “Let’s Go!” travelers information book read that “Women travelling alone in Spain are assumed to be seeking sexual adventure.”

We weren’t.

We were high school students on a Rotary exchange, testing our wings a bit by stepping out on a one-week travelling adventure without the Rotary families responsible for keeping us alive as the fledgling birds that we were.

After the guy slowly extracted our backpack from within my astonished arms and strolled away, I yelled, “There he is! I’m going after him!”

A nearby stranger put her arm on my shoulder and quickly consoled me, “Don’t chase after him. He has a knife.” Was she an accomplice? Was she right? My brain raced, and my body tensed in a flight, fight, or freeze stance. What should I do? I searched my friend’s eyes, wondering her thoughts, and her eyes were already downcast.

And in that millisecond, the decision of what we should do was made for us because he had already disappeared into the crowd, enclosing around him.

That bag contained all of our “Traveler’s cheques” (which is how we did money back then before those nice little ATMs spit out bills in the local currency), our passports and everything else we needed to survive and travel in a foreign country. We had to wait until after the long weekend and “Spain’s national boat day” holiday before we could expect help from our local embassy representatives.

We were up the creek without a paddle, as the saying goes.

Where would the river take us?

The rest of this story is for next time, but fast forward to a few days later when I shakily put the remaining quarters into the “Take your photo!” machine to make emergency passports. I was shaking so much that I dropped the quarter. Thoughts like, “Where would we sleep tonight?” were churning like waves of a violent sea inside my mind. We hadn’t eaten anything except wormy cabbage in three days.

“What are you DOING!?” my friend angrily admonished at my failed attempt to put a coin into the little slot. “That’s all the money we have!” she yelled angrily.

Grabbing the remaining coin from my hands, she glared at me before attempting to deposit it.

Drop, roll . . .

She was also shaking so severely that her fingers wouldn’t cooperate with her brain. Another coin rolled down the street as we both frantically lunged for it. At the same time, the homeless child ran with outstretched, desperate fingers towards the money.


“My kind, gentle demeanor is only a façade,” I realized with horror as I sipped an ice tea poolside months later and contemplated this event from the comfortable distance opulence and security affords.

I seriously thought I might strangle that street kid if he stole my quarter, an amount of money I would have gladly given a dozen times over the day before, as I looked down my nose at this “other” and prided myself arrogantly for this generous act of “Goodwill.”

“I am an animal with bared fangs, drooling and ready to rip another to shreds from one breath and the next,” I realized with terror in the weeks, months and years following this event.

And your civility may be a façade too, covered with a freezer full of excess food, keys to a warm house to sleep in tonight, and relationships in your town that will open the doors for you when you need help.

But what if you look into your bag one day and find it empty of these advantages?

Welcome to who you really are.

Stay tuned next time to discover why this truth, though terrifying, has the power to set us free.


Photo Credits – Heart Arrow by Nick Fewings on Unsplash, The Other Side Of The Cliff by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

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Surprise! A Little Extra Joy Is The Thing That Can Be Extracted After Porcupines Quill Us!

a hedgehog on the ground

Today’s newsletter consists of two parts:

Part 1 – A story (about ME!!!) – Written by my daughter, Esther!

Part 2 – An explanation (also by ME!) of why I randomly thought of porcupines after reading this!

Additional profound extrapolations of the text (by ME! – Of course!) are in the footnotes!

You’re welcome!

Good luck!


Part 1: Story by Esther

Sparse and invisible rain floats gently from the sky, sometimes merging on the skin or the pavement as several droplets.

The speckled street gives way to the cars that cruise amiably down it.

There is no rush in this town; there is a sense of welcome and leisure despite busy schedules and people filled with excitement for the day. Everyone knows everyone else by name, and even if one wanted to stay anonymous, one could not. The small businesses are like people; each one has their personality.

Or perhaps it is due to the lack of stores that each of them stands out all the more brightly.

One couple meanders down the street, hand in hand.

He is tall and strong, but his face radiates gentleness, and his laughter shows not only on his face but also in his eyes. The woman1 mirrors many of the same features, but her eyes gleam with a fire of intensity not commonly found. Despite this, her kindness (See Footnote 1) is evident in the smile lines around her mouth and her loving (See Footnote 1) eyes.

Woe unto the person who stumbles across the man’s path while he is hungry.

And woe unto the person who stumbles across the woman’s path when the woman is tired.2 Yet, they grow together. They challenge each other. They fight the battles of life together, side by side. They complement each other (See Footnote 1) with a bond made one of the strongest in the world.

The couple passes by the library, a place steeped in magic.

It is a chest that holds the secrets of life and beauty, and its key is given generously, though not many take it. Those who deem it ridiculous are those who refuse the key, but to the one who graciously takes it, wonders are in store. The couple’s two children are currently there, for the couple sees their melancholy dog sitting patiently outside, waiting for someone to pet him. He gets up and furiously wags his tail, assured that this means he is finally going home. After reassuring the dog that they would be back soon and trying to ignore the forsaken and betrayed look in his eyes, the couple wanders up the steps and into the library.

There they find a friend and exchange greetings. The man is asked about his work. His hands, though gentle and unassuming, have ministered to and helped thousands, but by his humble3 nature, he never boasts.

His wife, who stands beside him, is just as accomplished (See Footnote 1), with a heart for the betterment of people’s lives (See Footnote 1) and a passion for the preservation of the planet (See Footnote 1).

She sacrificed her career (See Footnote 1) for her children’s careers, homeschooling and helping them find what interests and motivates them. Sometimes, they drive her crazy. Well, maybe it’s a lot of the time. And sometimes she drives them crazy, too (See Footnote 2). Perhaps it is God growing everyone’s patience4.

The couple breaks away from the conversation and finds their children immersed in their books and hesitant to leave.

The family checks out their stacks of literature and heads to the car, picking up the relieved5 dog on the way. The car slowly pulls out and heads leisurely home. There’s no rush. Or, maybe there is because now the man is hungry.

Part 2: Random Thoughts Including: Porcupine Quills Can Eventually Bring Joy! by Me

I think of porcupines who quill each other when I think of this story. For example, I am mad at my daughter for writing things that are BLATANT lies about me and that don’t make me look as stupendous as I know I am deep down! Anyway, we (for example – HER) each come with our own set of quills, like porcupines, and we accidentally and purposefully (sometimes) quill each other and even ourselves. I.e., Remember when “the man” in the story above gets hungry? Watch out!

However, being quilled by porcupines (ironically) promotes our healing.

Why?

Because in our inevitable relational pain (that THEY cause), we finally draw near to God, who has been calling out and wooing us our entire lives.

And so, as we bring our faces full of another’s (and our own?) quills, God can use this situation to heal US, as He lovingly tends to each quill, sometimes removing it immediately and sometimes giving us healing oil and the strength to persevere.

And we can rest in the confidence of knowing that we are loved by each other (They HAVE TO love you!) and by God.

And this is where we find joy.

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy

Ancient Text

Photo Credit – Porcupine by Derek Otway on Unsplash


Footnotes

1 Author of this blog’s note – This is ME! She is talking about ME in this story! That’s how you know I’m famous and important, by the way!!!

2 WAIT – WHA…? I thought she only said NICE stuff about me in public! I’m going to ground her to her room for a month! But wait – she’s flying back to her job and University tomorrow!

3 WHY didn’t she call ME humble? Now I’m even madder! I thought she knew me SO well! (See Footnote 1). Obviously, I see now that she understands NOTHING about me!

4 AMEN!

5 Does she mean “about to pee?”

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How To Find Solutions To Global Crises: Ask And Pray – One Inspiring Example

a large field of dead plants in the middle of the day

I suddenly realized I was not Little Red Riding Hood or whoever that hooded girl who carries her lunch to grandma is, stopping to smell flowers.

I’m the wolf.

I sometimes wear a Little Red Riding Hood cape because I want to go about my life, enjoy my kids, and laugh while we enjoy a day beside the lake. But more and more often now, I feel constrained like old caterpillar skin that needs to be shed. And I’m afraid of what may come out of me. It seems I am a caterpillar about to transition into a fire-breathing dragon.

And I don’t know what to do or where to put the fear and anger that has been stirring quietly under the surface for so many years that sooner or later, it’s bound to come out as an explosion.

I would sort of rather not do that.

I would rather be a butterfly fluttering about and minding my own business.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

The Lord Of the Rings

And is there hope for these situations in the news and our lives that threaten to overwhelm us with darkness?

This is God’s Word on the subject: . . . I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

The Message

Yep.

I was so startled by a surprising story of hope at a prayer group meeting that I burst into tears unexpectedly.

There, we learned the remarkable true story of a group of people praying together over issues today that bothered them. One person recounted that in that prayer group, he felt God giving him an idea of how to help clean up plastic from the ocean. I know this way to get new ideas sounds far-fetched, but stay with me1 before you snap your laptop closed.

And then this guy from the prayer meeting went out with his company and built the thing that is another piece in the puzzle of our astonishing plastics problem.

And therein (listening to God and responding ) is our hope.

What global or personal problem threatens to suffocate you, friend?

For me, lately, it’s climate change. But the good news is that God holds a part of the solution for every difficulty we face. He offers different jewels, different parts of the solution to different ones who listen to him and obey his promptings.

Will we humble ourselves and ask him to help us clean up this mess we’re leaving on Earth?

If . . . my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you . . . I’ll restore their land to health.

The Message

As the song below plays, can we sing together that we, too, together are “aching for the yield for you to harvest from this hurt?”


Photo Credit: Land Needing Restoration by Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel on Unsplash


Footnotes:

1 Chemist August Kekulé and Physicist Albert Einstein discovered the shape of the benzene ring, and theory of relativity, respectively, after insights gleaned from their dreams at night and many similar examples abound.

In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds—God opens their ears

The Message

And to mess with your mind a bit more, the entire scientific process is only possible with a Christian understanding of the world that God values and is the TRUTH. Think about it. If EVOLUTION were to underlie the scientific process, TRUTH wouldn’t matter and couldn’t be trusted – Only things that helped propagate your genes could be relied upon accurately, not TRUTH. More on this another time.

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Demonic Art Might Look Like A Fantastic Thing! 3 Reasons Why Jesus Is Even Better!

brown cross on brown rock during daytime

Now, I have been compared to Ned Flanders. I’m not sure why because, of course, we all know I am very cool! For example, check out my fashion and modern decor advice HEREHERE and HERE!

As mentioned HERE, I’ve noticed a disturbing rise in pretty young restaurant servers and other seemingly normal people1 enjoying tattooing their bodies with overtly demonic art.

Why?

That’s my question.

I struggled with this question for a while, which means I thought and thought about it without doing any research or talking to anyone else about it, when it suddenly occurred to me that course, if we want to know the answer to ANYTHING, we only need to ask AI!

AI explains that demonic art is increasingly popular in modern culture for the following reasons:

Satanic symbolism [can be used] to explore moral dilemmas and question power and corruption, [and is] . . . a powerful emblem of change and resistance

Politics And Rights Review

And hey! These themes are very healthy to pursue and are topics I agree should be thought deeply about! My friend Ned told me not to get a demon tattoo, so I won’t, but the spirit behind what people are looking for when embracing this art is something I agree with, too!

But here’s the thing- Jesus has a way cooler way of talking about these themes!

For example, Jesus talked to a DEAD person, too!

Have you ever thought about that?

Of course, when Jesus talked to the dead person, he returned to life, one of the (more than!) three reasons Jesus is so much cooler than demons! Spiritual, intellectual, emotional and sometimes even physical LIFE happens when we hang around a guy like Jesus!

The second reason Jesus is cooler than demons is that when we align ourselves with Jesus, all kinds of great things come into our lives. When we align ourselves with the demonic, we’re very quickly over our heads, as this Exorcist Files Podcast is documenting is happening more and more in Western culture.

The third reason why Jesus is cooler than demons is because Jesus is all about love, and demons are all about hate. For example, think about all the great heroes of the movies you love best, and all of them gave up something so that someone else could flourish. (Sounds a lot like Jesus!2) Demons devour you for their advantage. For example, think about all the bad guys in movies.

And wouldn’t you rather be a good guy than a bad guy?

So try Jesus instead.

You’re welcome!

Good luck!


Photo Credit – Cross by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash


1 It’s not just Hells Angels members who are tattooing themselves with demons anymore. Hells Angels members are definitely not normal, but NO OFFENCE if you are a Hells Angels member, of course! We like you! Or we don’t like you, I mean, because maybe you don’t want to be liked! Whatever! (Who wouldn’t like to be liked? I thought that being liked gives our lives meaning and purpose! So Hells Angels are definitely whacked!) Note to Editor- I DID say that respectfully! And yes, I DID update my Life Insurance Policy. Why do you ask?

2 Another time, we’ll talk about the book all Disney Writers are encouraged to read so their content has a theme of self-sacrifice to help another flourish (Sounds like Jesus!).

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

How To Wake Up To Divine Moments – Treasure The Clues

I was stretched recently in my travels to California. I have been spiritually stretched before. The gift of being stretched can spiral outward to others if they, too, say, “If God touched that person’s life, He could touch my life, too!”

So below is a previously published article about another of those stretching moments.

Click HERE to continue reading.

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To Become Strong At The Gym, Look Down On These 3 Types Of People!

topless man holding black and white ceramic mug

Most people fail at the gym because they look down on the wrong people at the wrong time.

The proper way to be successful at the gym is to choose WHO EXACTLY to look down on, and WHEN. Let me explain. A new guy in our gym class worked out using too much weight and bad form.

I saw him nursing a sore bicep immediately following this exercise.

The reason why so many people pump too much weight at the beginning before they have strength or skill in lifting is because, of course, they don’t want others to look down on them.

But here’s the little twist of fate that makes all that sweat at the gym worthwhile after a few months:

If you can suffer through the humility of having others at the gym looking down on you for just a short season then . . .

You can be the one looking down on others VERY soon because you will have a strong physique, and someone new will show up at the gym, so you can (therefore, of course!) look down on the latest people in just a few months!

So the trick then, as mentioned in my opening sentence, is to:

CHOOSE CAREFULLY WHO EXACTLY YOU WANT TO LOOK DOWN ON AND WHEN.

However, MAYBE you’re one of those morally superior people who NEVER looks down on others or tells others that you think you are morally superior! Well GOOD for you! But since I’ve never met anyone like that, let’s keep discussing these points for the rest of us, “not-so-amazing ones”.

  1. The first type of people you CAN make fun of are those who think they are SO amazing.1 See the preceding paragraph. That is a given in any circumstance and irrelevant to the topic of the gym, but is worth reminding each other of, anyway. You’re welcome! Who else can you feel superior to?
  2. You can feel superior to people who DON’T go to the gym! “I went to the gym today,” you can drop, as a casual comment. That sentence is enough to garner respect from everyone you know! You MUST be, therefore: Accomplished!, Disciplined! Skilled! Try not to mention this in front of someone you ACTUALLY go to the gym with, lest they snicker when they remember you forgot to put the little stopper on the large barbell thing so the weight doesn’t fall off again or that you accidentally reached for your water bottle under the guy who was weightlifting, and he smacked the thing on your head (True story). Such details ruin the effects you are after.
  3. Not only is it wise to CHOOSE SPECIFIC PEOPLE you are aiming to feel superior to, but it is also wise to choose WHEN you will feel superior them! For example, you can feel superior to MANY people even AT the gym once you’ve gone there for a while!

And then we’ve come full circle, and now YOU are the one making fun of the new people at the gym!

PS – As an aside, I know this may be surprising to you, but I recently read a book that has a chapter about humility in it, and in fact, on reflection, the definition below from this book fits in perfectly with this Newsletter:

Humility (Definition): “The simple and freeing . . . assessment of who God is and who I am. It is rooted in our belovedness and adoption of the Father, so we aren’t tricked into timidity or start feeing like a worm.”

Lower by Zach Meerkreebs

So as another strategy, you could also get fit by going to the gym, working out, and not noticing or caring whether others are judging you or not, because you already found your self-esteem somewhere else!

However, this strategy seems impossible, so I don’t recommend the approach.

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

1 Try to do this humbly.

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