Well, at least there’s that...

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 t...

Jesus faced the phenomenon of people who thought they were healthy and didn’t need His brand of medicine,  He even stated that He didn’t come for the healthy. He came for the broken. He came for the woman at the well,(John 4:4-26) he came for the 10 lepers,(Luke 17:11-19) he came for the woman caught in adultery,(John 8:1-11) he came for 12 broken men that He called disciples. He interupted their brokenness and brought healing. When Jesus recognized the brokenness of people they had a choice. Each of the people I mentioned recognized their brokenness and chose to receive from Him the thing they needed: Him. We have the same choice everyday. The Pharisees refused to believe there was anything broken about them. They were well in their point of view. They didn’t need Him. There is no condemnation in Christ. If we don’t believe we are broken Jesus will not cross our boundaries and force His medicine upon us. He is a gentleman. He respects our wills. He gave us the ability to c...

Have you heard the song, "Oceans" by Hillsong?  https://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw Right  before I moved from where I lived to where I would attend Mount Olive University I heard Oceans" (see link above) I was so excited! I had a theme song! Some of the lyrics include these words..."Keep my eyes above the waves..."  It also says, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me." I thought, "Wow! That's what I need." I was endeavoring to finish my Bachelors degree in music and I was in a place where I was pretty much isolated. I was struggling physically, but I was determined to complete what I believed I was destined to do. It was hard. The song also says, "My faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior." I thought that enduring the hardships of school at my ...um..age... and completing a lifelong dream had to be where testing the waters would present the most ...

Most of my life I've relied on other people to tell me who I was. According to them I was a victim, I was tiring, I was complicated, I wasn't good enough, I was wrong, I was depressed, and nothing good would ever happen for me. Sounds pretty hopeless doesn't it? Well it was... But "Not today!"(Hillsong United). The song tells the devil that he isn't going to win today. I, however, am telling all the voices that have been programmed in my mind through repetition, "NOT TODAY!" I made a list of who I am. Man, we have some verb confusion going on....please bear with me. Someone asked me last week who I was (am)? I said, with all the confidence in the world and all the tears of a broken heart.... "I am a victim." I believed it. I was a victim of anyone who disagreed with me. I was a victim of anyone who didn't appreciate me. I was a victim of people not telling me what I did wrong and holding it over my head. I was a victim of abuse...

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, ma...

I was chaplain of the choir in college for a semester. I really enjoyed that. I think outside of the box... No way! 😁. So one day I decided that we all needed a little shock factor. I wanted to get their attention and encourage them at the same time. So, I cane up with this question? We all have it..." are you ever afraid to fail?" Most people said they were. I had to agree, fear of failure is a very real thing. I paused and said very frankly , well stop worrying about it because you will fail. You could have heard a pin drop, except that the room was carpeted. Then I gave them a list of the greatest failures in history. My list included Einstein, Dr, Seuss, President Lincoln and even Oprah Winfrey. Yep, everyone of them failed miserably. Not just once, but many times. For example, Dr Seuss tried to get his books published 26 times. He got 26 rejections. I’m sure that publishers looked at it and said, well that’s just nonsense. Yep, nonsense that would go down in history a...

I don’t write about a God that I don’t know. I don’t use flowery words to talk about a detached being that knows everything and feels nothing. He is not made of paper, plastic or even metal. He was and still is flesh and bone. He is all God, but He is also all man. I have met Him in my everyday life. I have felt His hand touch my cheek, I’ve heard Him whisper to me in my darkest hour. If that sounds strange to you just read the way David wrote about Him in the Bible. I’ve felt His tears roll down my face as we wept for those who do not know Him. I’ve felt Him weep for those that claim to know Him. The world calls us hypocrites. If we portray ourselves as perfect or beyond reproach, of better than...then they are right. Jesus must be disturbed when He sees one of us  hurt the other.  His love is so great...amazing. I have paid a price to tell you this. The price has been very high. Living for Him is not easy. I think that dying for Him would be easier. Only if I could com...

You look pretty good for 70 Have you ever had someone give you a compliment only to realize it was back handed? Sometimes they intend to be cruel and other times their mouths just  spit out unfiltered words. This has happened to me a few times. I usually just laugh. What else can you do? I am a musician, among other things. I have a Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance with a concentration in piano. I’ve been singing most of my life. It all began when I was 2 years old. We were in church a lot and I just had this urge to participate. Some people may call it vanity, but I just loved the way it felt to open my mouth and hear music come out. So, as I’ve mentioned previously my mother is an excellent pianist. She also sings. She can play the accordion, calliope, pipe organ and regular organ. So, when I was young I had a full time accompanist. She would play and sing and I couldn’t help but join her....good times. When I was two I got my first chance to sing solo. It wa...

Do you ever wake up and consider it, “The day after?” It could be the day after a bout with depression where the world is just not right,  Maybe the day after a difficult blow to your budget. Or the day after a failure.  What about a day after a stupid fight? Let’s narrow it down. Have you ever experienced a “moment after”? You know, when you go, “ wow, just put my foot in my mouth and it stinks?” I think everyone has days after and moments after trivial events that cause excessive aggravation. I’ve had my share. I remember one day, I was working at a fast food restaurant... talk about stress. Oh man, you take an order, make an order, call out an order and do it all over again hoping you can be faster the next time. The next time someone gets your order wrong try a little kindness. Take the order back and smile and say “oops, something is not quite right”. People will be more likely to fix their mistakes when pointed out in kindness. Go ahead and make somebody’s day. As ...

I have always had little dogs. Big dogs weren’t welcome inside the house and I couldn’t stand them being lonely outside. But in truth, I’m not really crazy about little dogs. Well, because I think their brains are bigger than their heads. So, to compensate they bark constantly. Come on,you know it’s true. Those little babies are cute and cuddly, but...the noise! Just a personal opinion. So, in the midst of my divorce, not the best of times, I prayed and told the Lord that I needed three things. Coming in at number one was: a big dog. The number two contender was: a GPS.  Finally coming in third place was: a handyman that knew what he was doing and actually did the work. Maybe all of that sounds strange to you, but I had very good reasons to be that specific. Big dog; comfort and protection. I had last lived as a single adult back in the...well, that’s just too much information. I needed a GPS because I’m directionally challenged. Yes, I admit it. When someone tells me to go...