Well, at least there’s that...

 “ yeah though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death ”’. Ps 23.  I’ve heard this scripture and totally missed the point.  I had an interesting revelation.  I read it again and realized that the scripture doesn’t say “ yeah though I get over the valley of the shadow of death because death doesn’t matter, it won’t make any difference in your future . “ Jesus never told anyone to “get over it “ He said to go through it, he said not to be afraid only because He’s there.  Wow! Jesus is in the Valley of the shadow of death!  He himself didn’t avoid that valley at the cross. Wow! You know what else he didn’t do?  He didn’t dismiss the Valley, he didn’t tell his disciples it was no big deal! He told them to remember his death, burial and resurrection. Two of the three above mentioned were horrible. If he denied the first two the third wouldn’t have made a difference. What did Jesus do with grief? I was reminded that Jesus, at the tomb of Lazerous wept. Why? He knew he was going to r

https://pin.it/41j24Zw Being raised in church has a lot of advantages. However there is a problem. There are some scriptures that I heard so many times and so many ways that those scriptures became “sayings”.  They sound good, even churchy, but they don’t mean anything. I don’t have televisions. 😱.  It’s not a religious or moral decision. I limit things that terrify me.  Have you read the news lately? Jesus come quickly. Anyway, this gives me more time to just think.   I’ve heard the saying “don’t cast your pearls before swine,” that became a “saying “. Yes it’s a scripture.  This thought never made sense to me.  What are pearls and who the heck are pigs and how do you recognize a pig ? I mean, we’re taking about people, right? The pearls part was always pretty obvious, until I thought about it.  But I missed something very important about oysters and even clams   Do you know how these crustaceans make pearls? Here's the process I read online:   "The formation of a natural pe

 I’ve often heard the saying “ keep the peace”. How do you do that? Recently I encountered an unacceptable situation. One person was disturbing the peace of many. It really made me angry.  I’m 1/2 Irish and 1/2 English. For the most part the English keeps the Irish in check. So, I don’t get angry very often.  When I do get angry it’s best to leave me alone. Anyone else?  Don’t try to talk me out of it and certainly don’t try to prove your point.  This particular situation caused me to get so angry that I wrote a complaint and signed a petition. I know, how horrific… not.  I started thinking what does keeping  the peace mean? I had it in my head that keeping the peace meant keeping quiet; tolerance.  I think our world is full of peace keepers that just don’t cause or point out trouble.   My source for reason is always the Bible.  The beatitudes do not say “blessed are the peace keepers” That was a stunning thought. The blessing comes to the PEACE MAKERS”.  How in the world do you make p

  My new web site is www.barjeana.com. This is my jewelry label. Yeah! Do you know what's funny to me about this? I have searched and searched for an unusual name....?? Duh! I'll share some pictures from the pre published site, but right now I want to talk to you about the process.. I like to say that I haunt the isles of clothing shops and or hobby stores. I look at each piece over and over again until I see "it".  This set used to be a "gawdy" pair of earrings. No, really. I  loved the colors, but the style was "unimaginable" to me. I took this piece apart and made two necklaces and a set of earrings.  These aren't professional pictures (duh) nor are they the finished products, but you get the idea. All of these pieces together were one and a half earrings. Recently I took very pretty earrings that hurt my ears and changed them into necklaces. I don't have a before picture of either, but here's that after of one of the necklaces. Most

I swear I have tried to figure out how to love my enemies. It appears that I'm just not that good. I've met many of my enemies and I find nothing to love in them. Trust me, I've tried. So, today's thoughts center around truth. I'm not talking about the truth of others, or even what I've been told was "God's Truth".  I'm talking about living, breathing, loving truth. I confused intimacy, friendship and vulnerability with the meaning of love, Dear God, how much time have I wasted? So, I've been looking at the Old Testament and the New Testament. I wanted to know what God thought  about his enemies, my enemies. In the Old Testament he pretty much told Israel to "Wipe them out!" Unless he had a reason. When the nation of Israel took the promised land God told them not to wipe out all of the enemies, just yet. He had a great reason. "If you wipe them all out the wild animals and weeds will take over the land. You don't

Own it... or don't. I heard a song on the radio today that I hadn't heard before and it started me thinking. I couldn't tell you who sang it or the title, but I remember this line: "This is my day". Who owns your day? I hear all the religious people saying, "God does?" Okay, if he does, what does he want you to do with it? Easy question. The Bible is pretty clear... 'Love God, love others." That's a wrap... Actually I own my day. I can't give something away that I don't own, that would be stealing. Follow me on this rabbit trail if you will. I've spent a great deal of time waiting. Waiting for...the right time, things to get better, me to be stronger, life to get fair...ha! Guess what? Those are all lies. Honestly, and this is not meant to depress you, but sometimes things do not get better, rarely is life fair and sometimes I don't know how to get stronger. Sometimes life sucks big time. I own it. I own the fact th

I was going to call this edition "Red flags", but I am giving you so much more information than a "warning " flag could convey. Let's talk about online dating scam pattern. As with any scam there is a pattern of behavior. I have experienced these repeatedly. Step 1) question... "How long have you been on this site?" This question is to see how gullible you are and to see if you have been scammed before. It is a test to see if you qualify and even to see how desperate you are to find a suitable companion. If you answer "I am new to this site", then all bets are off. Well, what if you are new to the site. You don't have to tell strangers anything. That's a very important rule to apply to anything done online or even in person. Let's call it the "I do not know you" rule. Step 2) "You are the most beautiful woman/handsome man, I've ever seen." Followed by "Where are you from?" Okay, let's

Yep, you read that right.  I’ve been bell ringing for the Salvation Army in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Good times! I really enjoy it.  I’ve  been singing throughout my whole shift and have seen great results. I bet you’ve seen your share of “bell ringers” let’s talk about a few. No one was harmed in the writing of this blog!  Ha! Ok. So I’ve seen the “scared to death” br (bell ringer). They don’t make eye contact, they look like they are embarrassed to give out candy. I had one lady hand me the whole strip of candy canes. Almost apologetically. I didn’t take any of them and I gave anyway. I’ve seen br’s stand in the corner , away from the door and basically hide. I’ve seen them sit behind tables as if to protect themselves. Realistically, I can understand their concerns. They are probably introverted souls that have given their time out of love.  Anytime you give with love it’s amazing! I’ve also run into a couple of “hostile takeover” br’s. Nobody is supposed to do this, I mean i

We’ll call this “Ownership.” When a person is in a new relationship before the observer or participant role is clarified, there is an element of pause...a discovery of sorts. I’ve realized that I have to ask myself, “What am I willing to give, or give up, in this new relationship?” It’s a difficult thing to do. It sounds so simple. You know, build a wall of support and don’t let anyone in unless they are safe. What about those relationships that sneak up on you. Let’s talk about love interests. So, this person is new in your life and seems to have an interest in you. What do you do next? Honestly,  If you aren’t careful you’ll fall back into an old routine of thinking; Am I worthy of this persons time? Am I worthy of their love? Do I have anything to give in this relationship? Unfortunately I have realized that I can not afford those questions. Hence the title. If I’m in a relationship and I’m doubting myself, who’s in charge? Well, it isn’t me. I’ve just given power to the othe

You thought this was going to be about sex didn’t you? Well, it might be. I guess you’ll have to read more to find out. But, before (if) we get that far...let’s take a step back. Why do most people get married? I may be misinformed, but I think it’s because they don’t want to be alone. “Uh oh”. By the way, that’s my new name given to me by my granddaughters! Love it! Well, if that’s true....why don’t people like to be alone? I mean, I get it. Sometimes it sucks to go to a movie by yourself, it really sucks to eat dinner alone. BUT what if you liked your own company? Can you list five things that you like about yourself? NO that’s not arrogance...again. It’s confidence. I like being around me because I’m funny (at least I am to me). I like being around me because sometimes I’m unpredictable. I like being around me because people smile back at me. Do you see? I know me. How well do you know you? Are you waiting for someone to introduce yourself to you through validation? Am I

I’m reading a book called, “Boundaries “. I recommend it. You know how you think some things are just, “Captain Obvious “...turns out they aren’t.  “No!” Is learned behavior. It isn’t a natural response. Do you know why your child says, “No!” It’s because you taught them to. Yep...bet that’s not too popular. I have good news though. You should teach your children to say “No!”  They should have complete power over their choices throughout their life. The Book “Boundaries” brings out this point very well when it describes a child that refuses to go to the dentist. The parent doesn’t argue, they simply offer another choice. If you choose not to go to the dentist, then you choose not to go to XXX’s party later today. The child in the books response was, “Okay, but I’m not going because you made me.” The child is absolutely correct. She was free to choose. So, I’ve been thinking a lot about grace. Did you know that Grace allows you to say NO! to...God???? I bet your mind just blew up a

There is a story in the Bible that is an awesome illustration of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Hebrews had been slaves for 400 years. They didn’t start out that way. Joseph was the second highest ruler in all of Egypt when the children of Israel moved there. However, as they grew in number, the Egyptians became afraid of the them as a people. The blessings of the Lord were overtaking the children of Israel and the Jews were seen as a threat. This scenario has  replayed itself over and over again throughout history. But for now let’s look at the “great escape” as I like to call it. Pharaoh had released the people, then changed his mind. The children of Israel saw pharaoh coming and were afraid. After all they’d been slaves for such a long time. They probably had a very difficult time thinking of themselves as free. So, as I said, pharaoh and his full army were approaching a nation of slaves. I wonder if they were afraid that pharaoh would just kill them instead of takin

Relationships are funny creatures. They usually start off well, or they don’t. You like each other, or you don’t. You fall in love, unless...you don’t! Yep. Relationships are an Oxymoron.  There are three phases that most good relationships go through and two key ingredients that make a successful relationship.. They are related to each other. If you dont have the two ingredients you won’t survive the three phases. Phase 1) The Honeymoon phase We use phrases like, “ we talked for hours,” “ it’s like we’ve known each other our entire lives,” etc...  We become inseparable, until we aren’t. I mean, for a while we want to do everything together. “Ler’s be spontaneous!” “ I can’t wait for her/him to call!” I say, give it a year. Yep...365 days. If you can still be in each other’s presence without throwing up, there may be hope. Gross, but true. You see during those 365 days things change. You might find out that Mr. Wonderful doesn’t like to brush his teeth everyday. Or, maybe Ms, W

Who knew there were rules to blogging? I mean don't you just talk from your heart or head remembering experiences or talking about things you've learned? I've journalled for years. I didn't have to edit my thoughts. Good, bad or indifferent they were my thoughts. There was one key factor that I didn't realize: People read blogs, they don't read journals. I once joked with my kids about burning my journals, but then I went back to read them and nope I couldn't read my own handwriting. When you journal you basically write about how you feel about something at that particular moment with disregard for anyone else's feelings. Journalling is very personal as it should be. Blogging however is a different animal entirely. I found out that my kids were reading my blog, my sister was reading it and my x-husband was reading it. So, what I was writing in jest wasn't so funny to them. I have since apologized and hope that my future writings will convey