Inspirations

 For My Sweet Mother Your body was tired You had faced many struggles. But lately, just waking up was hard. Yet, you felt the need to go on, Even though all those you once considered friends Had already given up the fight. So when Jesus reached down And gently beckoned you to come and dine with him, You gladly put your hand in his And went with  him to the house He had been preparing for you. Leaving us with a bittersweet ache and joy. We were sad and missed you But we understood your need to leave. So we said, “Go with God” And carried you in our hearts. There were so many people They were waiting for you Cheering for you, Excited to find you there. You spent some time visiting With all those who had gone on before. You settled in to your new eternal home. Happy to be where your heart has longed to be. Everything was better than you had heard Or even imagined. It was the most perfect place you had ever see...

There is a word that means a great deal to me.  It is the word friend.  We use it frequently on social media.  But in real life, I wonder how often we use the word to describe someone.    I have to admit that I don’t use the word very often.  When I was young, I used it all the time.  Now I tend to save it for special people.  I love everyone, and yet, I don’t always feel like I have to right to consider everyone my friend and not everyone wants to be my friend.  There have been a few times in my life when I have used the word “friend to describe someone.   Occasionally, I have had people use the word to describe me.   I have to confess, it made me feel special, wanted, loved.    One lady that I wait on regularly at work will often say, "How is my friend today?"  It makes my heart 10 times lighter when she says that.  It seems that the word “friend” creates a special connection between two people.  It...

I love walking in the summer hearing the birds singing.  Sometimes I can differentiate between different birds by the sounds they make.  I love hearing dogs, as long as they are not chasing me.  If we went to a zoo and walked around blindfolded, most of us could identify some if not all, of the animals by the sound that they make.  Cows moo, snakes hiss, dogs bark, little kitties meow.  I love the creativity of God in creating distinct sounds for each animal.  But, sheep and goats have the same sound.  Crazy, right?  I even listened to their sounds and, they have the same sound .  So, if you were blindfolded, you might not be able to tell a sheep from a goat.  In fact, I just played a sound clip of a sheep and one of a goat for my husband.  Believe it or not, he could not tell one from the other.  We had a good laugh about it.   I find the same principal in my spiritual life as well.  I cannot always di...

We just came home from church.  I was making lunch.  I had my music on and all was right in the world.  Then out of the blue, everything changed.  Why? My son said some mean and hurtful things.  He has mental limitations so I know he didn’t mean them, but they still hurt.  Right then, if there were loveometers to show how much we feel loved, mine would have been flat lined (like I was dead).  In reality, for a moment, I was dead emotionally.  It served as a reminder that every one of us needs a steady supply of love.  Our being thrives on knowing that we are loved. For me, the problem arises when I look to others to supply all the love I need.  I sometimes want people to fill a need that they can’t always fill.   Sometimes, for whatever reason people will let us down emotionally.  They can’t help it. They are human and flawed and broken like me.  I was reminded to cut other some slack and don’t take it personally w...

       Recently I’ve heard more and more people comment on the state of our country.   Violent crimes seem to be at record high; there are shootings at schools, theaters, even churches.   While we can go back and forth about the causes, one thing everyone agrees about is that it seems like it is getting worse every day.  It’s impossible to turn on the news without coming away from the experience defeated and depressed.   Many well-meaning Christians will say that the problem is that God is not allowed in schools.  They site statistics showing a rise in crime corresponding to the time after we removed prayer from our schools.  My goal here is not to dispute those statistics only the hypothesis that our world is in a mess because our kid can no longer pray in school.         I do not think our country is in a mess because kids can no longer pray in school.  Removing God and prayer from our ...

                                                                                                                         Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.  Those were the words Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew, and James and John.  These men were fishermen.  It’s what they did.  I imagine that it might be all they knew.   Imagine the surprise of these men when Jesus called them to follow him.   There was no hesitation.  We read that they immediately left their nets and followed him.   They left their nets and everything to follow the teacher from Galilee.  As I was thinking about this, one thought jum...

Recently, I read a statement supposedly made by Pope Francis.   I won’t lie, it left me with mixed emotions.  It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name. I have checked and cannot verify or disprove whether he made these comments or not.  So let’s give him the benefit of a doubt and say that he did not say these things, and someone else wrote them.  Whether he did or not, I would like to give my perspective on these statements mainly because I believe there is some truth, but there are more lies in these statements.     The first statement, “It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person.”  This statement is true....