Soul Sister 3:16

Happy Halloween! There are lots of things I COULD write about this morning: Martin Luther and his 95 theses How Halloween has morphed from a fun "dress-up" holiday to something more sinister Ghosts, Goblins and Boogeymen But it is a story Jim told this morning that has me thinking... He says when he was a younger boy his classroom of kids always used to dress up.  And since he lived close to the school, that meant on Halloween (and every other day), he walked to class.   But he remembers a time when ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL in the morning - he decided he had a little extra time, and so he went from house to house ringing doorbells and crying "Trick or Treat!" As he recounted the story this morning he said, "Imagine the surprise of the women who came to the door dressed in their robes - cup of coffee in hand!"  The story makes me laugh... And it also makes me think.   It seems to me that little boy Jim was acting on impulses which are common to humans regardles...

A few years ago Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy were part of a thing they called the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour".  If you can find it "on demand" watch it - it's a hoot. Anyway, for me, Ron White and Bill Engvall stood out with their sharp and witty comedy.  And it was Bill's " Here's Your Sign " schtick I really enjoyed.   Bill says people who ask silly questions should have to wear a sign so we all know what we're dealing with when we interact with them.  And t he premise of his jokes is always that  in response to something that should have been absolutely obvious someone ask a silly question that, if they'd thought about it, they wouldn't have asked...then in response, another person points out the absurdity by offering a smart alec response and then says, "Here's Your Sign". For example - Bill tells a story of a time when his son came into the room and said, "Hey Dad, I want to p...

Throughout the ages a lot has been said about the "holy grail" - the cup Jesus used at the last supper.  Movies have been made about it.  Books have been written about it.  Searches parties have been formed for it... And often, more often than not - the depictions of this cup shows it as a bejeweled gold challis fit for a king. But that wouldn't have been the case would it?  I mean unless the last supper had been held in the upper room of a palace - which it was not - it was more likely a simple earthenware cup, the type of which was found in every home near Jerusalem at the time. This morning God has me thinking about that cup, and these thoughts are what are rumbling about in my head.. As Christians many of us often wish that we could have been at that last supper with Jesus; to listen to him preach and to share a meal with him.  But in the Revelation - the apostle John tells us that Jesus says, "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone ...

This morning I got out of bed and pretty immediately started making soup.  You see Jim and I have been invited to a Halloween party - but we're also planning to go to church and I knew that if I wanted to bring soup to the party (which is what I'd been asked to do), I had better get started. Then, after the soup was made, and the kitchen was cleaned up - I sat down in my little blue recliner with my blanket and my coffee and decided to begin my day in earnest.  But then Jim called from the office saying, "You know, this is the first time in a long time you haven't posted in your blog" Poop! In the frantic rhythm of the morning - I had neglected to do it.  And unlike some days, I didn't have a post prepared, nor had God event prompted me to think about something.   And in that moment - my thought was, "who really reads it anyway?" But then Spock (yep that pointy-eared guy from Star Trek) came to mind... Most notably, the time in the movie where he put...

Last night Jim and I went to see the new movie, After Death .  It is one I had really looked forward to seeing, however while Jim liked it - I found it to be rather boring. BUT...I was fascinated by the fact that most (if not all) of the people the movie interviewed about their "after death experiences" each came back to write a book. Don Piper - 90 Minutes in Heaven Mary Neal - To Heaven and Back John Burke - Imagine Heaven Howard Storm - My Descent Into Death Dean Braxton - In Heaven!:  Experiencing the Throne of God Steve Kang - From Hell to Heaven:  Buddhism to Christianity through the Gospel of Jesus and a Near Death Experience Anita Onarecker Wood - Divine Appointment:  Our Journey to the Bridge Eva Piper - A Walk Through the Dark These are people who, before dying, had not been writers.  However after experiencing what they did - they all felt the NEED to come back and write about it.  To tell people.  To warn people. Some of their stories seeme...

Are you happy? I think it is a legitimate question in a country where "happiness" is often pursued with an all consuming zeal. We buy a new house and fill our garages with "toys" - thinking that will make us happy. We train for a new job thinking maybe that is what will finally do it. We trade in our partners thinking the NEXT one will be "THE one." We spend millions of dollars feeding the entertainment and sports industries looking for an hour or two of "happiness" We go to the gyms, and get botox and "lifts", new boobs and genders - thinking one of those changes MIGHT make us happy. But IF after doing any one of these things - we say that we're "happy," that happiness typically only lasts a little while and then we're off in search of the next thing. What I've found is:  HAPPY is different than JOYFUL - and if you are looking for happiness, you are looking for the WRONG thing. Take a look at the picture above.  T...

Yesterday was Jim’s birthday…and he turned 60.  To help start his day off on the right foot I made him breakfast in bed, noting that even though it was after 7:30 it was STILL dark outside!  I thought, "the days are getting shorter…" and then WOW!!!!  That correlation struck me hard. Right now, our kids are in their 20s.  They are at the top of the “funnel” with their whole lives ahead of them.  We try to counsel them that the choices and actions they are making now are ones that will form the direction of their lives.  I wonder if they’re listening. But the thing is - even at 60 (or later), even if EVERY CHOICE you’ve made up until this point has been a bad one, even if you feel that your days are getting shorter and the darkness has crowded out the light - God’s mercy and grace are still available.  What a wonderful thing!   For those who wish to see the light - all it takes is turning toward the Son. 1 Timothy 1:16 - “But for that very reason I...

Today, is Jim's birthday - and he is 60.  (I find it hard to believe I am married to a man THAT old!!!  Actually, I find it hard to believe that I AM THAT OLD!) On Monday, the staff of Frego and Associates had a surprise party for Jim.  To keep him from leaving the office early they told him there was a difficult case coming in at 5pm and they asked if he could take it.   Knowing that Jim likes a challenge, and that he doesn't shy away from difficult cases, it was the perfect ruse to get him to stay. Maybe this will surprise you - but when Jim was younger, he was quite egotistical. In fact he often told me that when we "grew up" he was going to be the President.  I'm certain he envisioned himself behind a big desk in the Oval Office - Commander in Chief and Leader of the Free World!  To him I suppose, that seemed the only job BIG ENOUGH for his talent!  Years later however, when we reconnected, such was NOT the case. Instead, Jim was working as a...

Sunday,  Schindler's List was on Showtime.  It started at 9pm, and although I thought I remembered it was a LONG movie, Jim and I started watching it. In life, Oskar Schindler was not a saint - he cheated on his wife, he drank excessively and he spied for the Abwehr while living in Czechoslovakia.   As a German Industrialist, and member of the Nazi party during WW2, Schindler initially saw the plight of the Jews living in the ghettos of Krakow as a way to make money, employing them to work in a enamelware factory.   However, every saint was once a sinner, and God often uses those the world might condemn for His own purposes. For as time went on Oskar grew to care about his Jewish workers and helping them became a way for Schindler to fight against what he viewed to be disastrous and brutal policies emanating from Adolf Hitler and the SS.  As I watched the movie, the Bible book of Esther - and the phrase her Uncle Mordecai utters as she goes to plead f...

...Try, Try Again! That's a saying I head a lot as a kid, and it made me think I should try something AT LEAST 3x before giving up. And do you know what?  Today I found that's a sentiment echoed even in the Bible. In Genesis we read the story of the man named Noah.  Now at that time "the world was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence and "God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.  So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of the.  I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress word; make rooms in it, and coat it with pitch inside and out...You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.  Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive....

Today I saw an interesting news clip.  It was of a bunch of protestors, and when the newsman asked one of the young students WHY he was protesting, the kid could NOT articulate an answer, and in watching him I thought "he's a sheeple!" There term "SHEEPLE" is defined in Miriam Webster's dictionary as those who behave like sheep and are docile, compliant and easily influenced.   I think a lot of people in the world are sheeple these days.  A website titled sheep101info talks about "sheepish" behavior, and as I read it I can see where the term might be accurate.  For example Sheep tend to "follow the leader" even if the leader does not make good choices.  The site says sheep will follow one another to slaughter, and if the lead sheep were to jump off a cliff, chances are others would follow.  SHEEPLE tend to do the same.  They will let what someone else does, what is "popular" in terms of morals and values, dictate their own. Shee...

You know, once upon a time - I used to feel like I understood the world and that I had a good handle on it. Back then we watched the news for one hour in the morning and one in the evening, and men like Walter Cronkite reported it without editorializing at all.  In those days, people born with XX chromosomes competed in women's sports, while those with XY pairs competed in men's.   It was a time when children didn't have to pass through metal detectors before going to school, and in the classroom they pledged their allegiance to our flag and country.  They were taught reading, writing and arithmetic, and the books in the library were  Dick and Jane , and  Charlotte's Web , not  Heather Has Two Mommies  and  Flamer . Back when I understood the world, people weren't glued to their cell phones or silly enough to believe that "truth" was something that could be individualized.  They didn't rant at each other via social media or shoot at each...

For whatever reason, this morning has me thinking about a Bible story in the book of 1 Kings.  In the story, King Ahab does not obey the Lord.  His wife, Jezebel worships other Gods and together, this unholy couple lead their people astray. When the prophet Elijah confronts King Ahab, Ahab accuses him of making trouble for Israel.  Elijah replies that it is Ahab who has made the trouble and he asks that all of the people of Israel and the 450 false prophets of Baal be gathered together to meet on Mount Carmel. Once everyone is there, Elijah asks the people to choose whom they would serve saying, "If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (from 1:Kings 18:21) Uncommitted or afraid, the people say nothing. Elijah tells them he is the only one of the Lord's prophets left, yet there are 450 prophets of Baal.  He suggests that two bulls be prepared for sacrifice - and that the prophets of Baal call on the name of their God, and that he would call on...

The past 4 mornings I've woken up with the song, " I Can't Get No Satisfaction " on my brain.  And since I don't like the Rolling Stones (Jim dear, I am sorry for that admission - really, truly sorry)...I finally figured out that I think God wants me to write about it. This morning I read the lyrics of the song and I realized there is NOTHING there... But then THIS phrase popped into my head: " He has put eternity in their hearts " (from Ecclesiastes 3:11) and now, everything is starting to make sense... The entire verse in Ecclesiastes is this: "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." To me, what this is saying is - that no matter how beautiful our world is, no matter how many things we acquire while we are here, no matter how much fame, success, money or toys, we will ALWAYS feel a sense of longing and want - becaus...

  At church this past weekend the pastor talked about sin.  I'm sure he'll get letters because he went into some topics that are taboo in our society these days, things like: Integrity (do not cheat, steal or lie) - he pointed out that even those pens that came from the office, or the venmo money we fail to report on taxes, or the little lies we tell people to excuse our behavior - are all sins. Sexual Purity (yep, he went here...and he talked about sex before marriage, lust for those who are not our married partner and homosexuality) - he noted that the "God made me that way so it must be okay..." is the same thing we can say to forgive ANY of our sins, e.g. "God made me wish for nicer things so I steal", or "God made me really sexual, so I had sex with lots of people before I got married, and now that I'm married I just look at porn but I'm not harming anyone"...  He called the excuse a "red herring" and pointed out that God mad...

As a kid I loved the game of "Simon Says" where one person (the leader) gets to call out commands that the others obey - but ONLY if the words are preceded by "Simon Says".  For example:  "Simon Says Sit..." would cause all those playing to sit.  Whereas just "Sit" would not. Okay, so now that you know the jist of the game - let's play! Here are some things that Simon Peter (know also as Peter the apostle - the one who walked on water, denied Jesus 3x, and then went on to be one of the largest supporters of the Gospel - defending the risen Jesus even to the point of martyrdom...) says -  Simon Says: "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) - The truth is - Christians lead a different life, one full of hope and joy even in the face of difficulty.  Being able to share your testimony about how the knowledge of a risen Lord has changed your life, for is often...

If you study computer engineering, you know the symbol above is an OR logic gate. "OR" Such a simple little word - OR.   Just two letters.   Two. Tiny. Little. Letters... But as my pastor pointed out yesterday, that tiny two letter word will determine the entire direction and quality of our lives both now, and in the hereafter. His way OR (there's that word!) my way. Life to the full - or life full of shame, hurt, and regret. Both the Old and New Testament talk about the wisdom of living life in submission to God. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." - Psalm 1:1-2 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wises man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not f...

Yesterday Facebook gave me a memory from 4 years ago.  In it, I had recorded the following story: I was in Dollar Tree last night and there was a lady and two kids behind me in the long line.  One was a big kid, one was a toddler.  The bigger one had a pack of glow sticks and the baby was screaming for them.  So the Mom opened the pack and gave him one, which stopped his tears.  He walked around with it smiling, but then the bigger boy took it and the baby started screaming again.   Just as the Mom was about to fuss at the older child, the bent the glow stick and handed it back to the baby.  The baby noticed the stick was now glowing and his brother said, "I had to break it so you could get the full effect!" I almost started crying right then because I could hear God saying to me, "I had to break you to show you why I created you.  You had to go through it so you could fulfill your purpose." That little baby had been perfectly content just sw...

The book of 2nd Chronicles ends with the fall of Jerusalem.   All of the articles from the temple which had been built by King Solomon (son of David of David and Goliath fame) had been removed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the temple was set on fire.  The walls of the city were torn down, and the people were taken into what would be a 70 year captivity which had all been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. But in Ezra Chapter 1, the Lord moves King Cyrus - King of Persia (Iran) to decree the following: "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah  Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.  And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock...

Spooky season is officially here, but when Friday the 13th falls in October, then you know those suffering from paraskeidekatriaphobia are sure to go a bit wiggy.   I googled the history of Friday the 13th this morning but could find real answer to the origin of the superstition that surrounds the date.  Some believe the fear has its roots in Norse Mythology in which the evil Loki is said to have crashed a party with 12 guests and tricked the god Hod into killing his brother Balder the god of light, joy and reconciliation.  Some say it is because there were 13 people at the last supper and on Friday Jesus was crucified.  And a final though has the origins in 1306 when King Philip of France arrested the Knights Templar and began torturing them.  Whatever the origin, superstition often rules behavior, and superstition has definitely taken hold.   For me superstition is not something I easily give in to, but with a "global day of Jihad" looming, this day ...

The Bible tells us that the end times will come “like a thief in the night”… But my house has an alarm system, one that is very  loud and will give warning to anyone who is listening.   I feel that way about the war raging in Israel right now. To me it feels like a loud alarm system, a warning that we are moving closer…ever closer. This morning I saw a video recorded in December last year.  In it Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar claims that “ in the Battle of the Promise of the Hereafter, Israel will only be the first target.”  He said “ we are not talking about liberating our land alone, but the entire Earth will come under a system where there is no injustice, no oppression, no treachery, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity….” Hamas is a terrorist organization funded by Iran. A spokesman for Iran, Gahzi Hamad, told the BBC that the terrorist group had received funding for the attack.  This is the same Iran, who recently received money from the U.S. and who ha...

There is a little app on my phone called “Find My” which enables me to find connected devices.  Today,  it allowed me to check to be sure Max and Ally made it back after coming to spend Dad’s birthday dinner with mom and me. I could also see that Mom, Jim and Mindy are at their homes in Kalamazoo, Saline and Northville, and Emma is in Harbert, MI. And while Jim doesn’t like the “stalker” nature of the app…knowing where my people are gives me a great sense of comfort and peace.   For me, the hope of heaven is real, but wouldn’t it be awesome if I could “Find my” Dad, Mr. Glendening, Mr. Conner and Mrs. Garzelloni there.  Wouldn’t it have been cool if yesterday on Dad’s birthday I could have zoomed in and seen they were all having dinner together in one of the rooms of God’s house? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if, after seeing them I could hit the “directions” button, and know exactly how to get to where they are? John 14 is as close as I can get to a roadmap.  It is ...

This morning before I got my coffee and got prepared to write this blog, I took my dog outside so that he could do his business.  Holy smokes, it's nippy out there! Soon it will be winter.  And while I do not know the exact day we'll see our first snow, the chill tells me it is coming. As I surveyed my yard, I could see trees that were already shades of yellow, orange and red.  A few of the trees had even dropped some of their leaves, and as I looked at those leaves that had fallen to the ground, I marveled at the fact that most were a combination of colors.  No longer green - they were not fully yellow, orange or red before they fell either.  And now, as they rested on the ground - their ability to change is forever lost because they are no longer connected to the tree. This all got me thinking about the end of the world and the return of Jesus.   The Bible tells us it WILL happen, and some of the "signs" are already here.  But just like those le...