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I'm not sure whether i still know how to do this, but i'm going to give it a shot. I saw this meme recently, and it inspired me to say some stuff. A quick disclaimer:  i didn't take this picture, and i didn't create this meme, and i don't know who did.  I do know that i have seen this picture with various captions in various places on the internet, so i don't think it's under copyright, but if it is, i will be happy to give credit to whom it is due.  It's a great picture! Let me ask you something.  Do you think that the tall dog is a more praise-worthy dog than the little dog? I mean, the tall dog can probably run faster, jump higher, and obviously wade through mud puddles with less-overwhelming mud-staining than the little dog.  So obviously the tall dog is a better, harder-working, better trained, dog, right?  You can tell because he's taller than the little dog, right? Does that sound silly? Let me ask you something else.  Do you ever

I have read Proverbs 16:9, approximately 1.4 gabatrillion times (or something like that).  I remember posting it on my bedroom wall as a teenager, not entirely understanding what it meant.  But then, when do we entirely understand the meaning of any scripture? This morning, i opened the Bible reading app on my phone, and the verse of the day was Proverbs 16:9, " the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps ." And then i burst out laughing. If you've read my blog (back when i wrote it in more than twice a year), you know that the super hero and i have had lots of plans that haven't exactly come to fruition. I imagine in my mind, a child of God who has prayed things like, "Lord please have your way in my life," and "please make me more like Jesus," in their walk of life, going to God for direction, and the Lord pointing His child down what appears to be a fairly enjoyable path, knowing full well (because God knows everythin

Before i say anything, i want to say that what i am about to say is not meant to be a slight or an insult toward anyone in the whole world. Here goes... Today is Mother's Day. I have always loved Mother's Day because it is a great time for me to give special shout-outs to one of my absolute favorite people in the universe, my mom. The impact that my mom has had on my life is profound.  But i'll get all gushy and snotty nosed if i go into that right now, so i'll forego for the time being. In recent years, Mother's Day has taken on a throbbing pain sort of element for me, as i am advancing on my mid-forties and am childless, and as my husband's mother has gone from this life to the next. But this is about me, not her.  Not right now anyway. Really wonderful, nice, kind, people don't want you to feel left out about anything.  So when you're not actually a mom, and Mother's Day rolls around, and they want to be able to tell you, "Happy

I need to tell you a story.  It's important.  (and i should really be getting ready for work right now, so please excuse the typos.) Anyone who knows me could probably tell you that i am a pretty positive person.  Some people might tell you that i am a sickeningly positive person.  The name Pollyanna comes to mind.  I'm very very optimistic as a general rule. Interestingly, last week, and in recent weeks, i have spent a lot of energy encouraging a specific friend who has been going through some very tough circumstances, to "focus on the Lord," instead of those circumstances and to trust Him and believe Him instead of believing the very convincing negative messages that have been being forced into my friends attention.  I think that a couple of times, my friend really wanted to tell me to go mind my own business for a while and let people be angry and depressed if they want to be.  But i didn't. Stay with me...i little more prep work here... In recent mon

I recently read someone say that one of the reasons that we don't do the really courageous things is because we are afraid of death.  (really loose translation from a small portion of a book called The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton) If you are a Christian, you believe, at least in your mind, that this life is not the end of your life, and hopefully that what you do in this life contributes to God's bigger picture and plan for mankind. But each of us...especially in the United States...we want a nice house and white picket fence, 2.5 kids and dog....and to live happily ever after. Or something like that. Our picture of a life of success is all about us.  And not about anyone else.  Certainly, not really even for Christians, about God.  It's kind of more about God and how He makes MY life better. And i'm not even entirely dampening all of that...God cares about people and loves people and wants good things for us....no good thin

It has been a couple of weeks now, since one of several groups of violent storms that came to my area of the world, bringing flooding and winds and electric poles broken in two, and other wind, rain, and lightning-born natural demonstrations of destruction, began at approximately 5pm, just as work let out, on a day that has come to be referred to in conversation, as "that Thursday."  Everybody has a story about that Thursday  And everybody who's hearing those stories, knows which Thursday  that Thursday  was, because they have a story too...as do I... That Thursday  was not, as you might expect, a dark and stormy night. Not at all. I was in the office all day, but i remember it to be a cool and sunny day. Imagine that. Our area had been weathering and recovering from the effects of very generous rainfall for more than a month, and since the weather had been so nice for a couple of days, I was caught completely by surprise when the sky turned dark at about 4:30 on