Well, at least there’s that...

I grew up in a VERY Christian home. I mean my mom was so intent on playing the piano at church that the pastor had to beg her to go to the hospital when she was having me. I jokingly say that I was born under the piano. She just knew that she could finish the service.  Well  thank God for common sense. As I was growing up I admired my mothers ability to play the piano. I found out that while I was an infant she would put me under the piano while she played for the service.  Doomed from the start to be a musician! Thank God she didn’t milk cows or race cars, who knows what I would have become. Maybe the first cow baby or the first race car baby? I mean my mother is definitely committed to whatever she’s doing. Very project and purpose oriented. While growing up she used to sew our clothes, dresses, hats, coats, etc. SUPER MOM. Until one day... I’ll never forget it. She was sewing away and I was young enough to be home and hear her scream and tell me to go get...

“If you aren’t ready to be criticized by people, You’re not ready to be used by God.” Craig Groeschel. Wow, when I heard that I thought, "I can't handle it!" Then I realized, "Wait, that already happened!" People will only criticize you for doing two things: Something or Nothing. Yep, if you do something you will offend someone. Like if you write a blog about your life someone will get upset about it. Tada! If you don't do anything...you just sit around and exist...then you're lazy and worthless. Don't you ever want to look people in the eye and say, "WHAT?" Remember that old saying... "damned if you do, damned if you don't". It's true. Oh by the way...this message is brought to you by a mind that is being saved through knowing Christ. So, disclaimer...not perfect! Wow, now that we got that over with. I'm going to make you a promise. I will offend you. Will I do it intentionally, probably  not? Will I do it anyw...

Oh you think that’s funny do you? So do I. I’ll turn one year older when this is published. I have a new perspective and I thought I’d share it with you for my birthday.🎂 All of my life I thought birthdays were a secret. It was kind of like a game. If I didn’t tell you it was my birthday, but you remembered it... tada! You have proven that you love me. It’s funny how things sound when said aloud instead of just in your head. A birthday card doesn’t make me any more or any less loved by the one who made me in the first place. You don’t win a prize if someone remembers and it doesn’t make you less alive if someone forgets. So, for this.... insert number here...birthday... ha! I’m taking it back. This is my birthday! Wow! Mine!  God gave it to me! He gave me a life all those years ago today. He trusted me with it. He trusted me to find Him and then tell you about me finding Him. So, in order to honor the giver of all life and to celebrate the trust He has in me... let me tell...

The title of this blog comes from the old TV show “ Different Strokes”. Frequently said by Gary Coleman. On the show  "Good Times".J.J. Walker would say.”.Dynomite!” Google it. Lol So, I've been thinking about this blog and I had all sorts of different titles come to my mind. In case you haven't noticed, I have a very interesting  mind...yep. I own it! It makes me happy, others, not so much sometimes, but that's okay. I wrote a previous blog about salvation and asking Jesus to come into a persons life. But I didn't mention the X factor. There are many X factors in this world. There's; generation X, X-mas (uh oh), Cross roads (X). X's are everywhere. Of course I use the word X-man. My X is literal and it keeps that person anonymous. But I forgot to mention the biggest X in the world! Sin! Oh no! Sin? Yep. You see, I thought about mentioning sin and repentance, but then I thought...oh why? Won't that turn people off from Jesus? Really? Really? ...

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 ...