Well, at least there’s that...

Some people are just a  “sucker for punishment“, or so I’ve heard it said. I guess that’s a way of explaining why people will make the same mistake over and over again. However, there is a flaw to that thinking. What if we do the same thing, but do it differently each time? Are we still a "sucker for punishment", or are we growing? So, here's a story of a time when I fell off my horse and you decide whether I was a "glutton for punishment" or did I gain something that can never be taken from me? I've never owned a horse in my entire life, but I've loved them beyond reason. Charlie was the last horse that I had the privilege to know. He was awesome! He was amazing! He was...as stubborn as a mule. There was this three mile trail ride and I wanted to go really bad, but I didn't have a horse. So, I was instructed that if I could get Charlie ridable I could go. Charlie was a cart horse and had raced in his earlier days of life, but at age 25 he ...

Spiritual warfare is the most worlds most ridiculous plan.  I mean, where else do you hear someone tell you to take authority, pick up your weapons and hide? In case you're not familiar with the term Spiritual Warfare, let me edumecate you. Have you ever felt like you were facing unreasonable circumstances? You were either overly tired or in a fog or all your "buttons" had been pushed? Have you been busy doing The Lord's work? Have you been setting people free from darkness by shining the Light of Jesus on them? Have you been taking care of others and helping the helpless? Well, the enemy doesn't like it! The Bible tells us that our warfare is not of this world, so surrendering to God in the midst of a battle makes no earthly sense. So, in case you are a new Christian, let me tell you how to surrender to God and how to pick up your weapons. You may not even know that you have weapons. Look up Ephesians chapter 6, this is where the Bible describes our weapons...

Just imagine. You’re driving down the road one day to check on a rental property. The divorce is over and you’re trying to getting up and go on with your life.   You wouldn’t even have to be on this road except your last tenant left the water on after they turned off the electricity. Ok. Hands raised. How many of you know that if it’s January and you’re moving out you should let the landlord know the day the heat is being turned off? Plus it’s probably a good idea to have the water turned off first. Yeah, I thought so.  Well, obviously this renter lacked the education or common sense or... just did not care. Either way I had to meet the plumber at the property to have the water turned off.  It had been a very long day and I was pretty tired. But grateful that this tenant had vacated the property. She didn’t seem to be respectful of me or the property and there were plenty of other people willing to take care of this home.  I laid down to take...

Living in the Midwest has taught me a very valuable lesson. How to manage time. Now, I don't mean how to manage my life, although I am working on that. But I mean time...as in clocks. Digital clocks are pretty much worthless here in Oklahoma. People joke about hating the time change. I have grown to hate setting the time...over and over and over...did I mention over again?  I get all the clocks to agree on the same time, then comes a thunder storm. Suddenly all the digital clocks decide it is 12:00. Why is 12:00 the default time? And is it the middle of the night (12:00), or the middle of the day (12:00)? I go to bed at night and all the clocks agree on the time. I get up and the digital ones are blinking in confusion even though the battery operated clocks have kept the time. Do you ever feel like that? Maybe you go to bed knowing who  you are, what your purpose is and what you need to do the next day, then in the middle of the night something changes and the world is...

Well , at least  there 's that Everyone has a story to tell; welcome to mine. Barjeana...who would have thought up that name? That name alone should give you pause, it gives me pause... I never know how people are going to pronounce it. They'll wonder if I'm male or female, they'll make reference to a long lost language, they might even say it's a hillbilly name. Oh and they'll also wonder about my ethnicity. My favorite is when they ask how I got such a name? I reply with my best made up answer. "Back when they used to highly drug women during the birthing process my mother woke up, mumbled this word and someone wrote it down." My mother isn't too keen on that one. So, let's explain this mystery. How do you pronounce it? Surely those letters don't go together. I've heard it all. I was born in the 60's which was a time famous for "self expression."  My mother wanted to name me Barbara, my dad wasn't ...

All of my children are extremely talented. My son is an excellent musician. I went to one of his concerts and he had written out his own drum part on unlined paper. Wow! We were all impressed. He can pick up many instruments and just play them. Makes me sick! Lol. When my first daughter picked up the trumpet and started playing it I was like;  no way! My youngest daughter picked up the clarinet and then the alto sax and I was blown away. All of these instruments have one thing in common, they are loud!  Xman didn’t really appreciate the volume as they were learning their instruments, it was hard, but I was impressed that they were trying. So, the answer was to have them practice in the garage. I could still hear them but it wasn’t aimed at my ears.  Talent takes practice and I’m sure there were many times they wished I could move the piano into the garage...😊 As my first daughter got better she moved her instrument into the house. She put a mute on her horn ...

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...