🎬Aesop’s Fables Month: The Two Travelers and the Plane Tree 🧳🌳
Shabbat Shalom! Welcome into the quiet beauty of God-ordained rest. I’m thrilled to share this fable of two travelers looking at the same tree in two opposite ways. It reminds me of all the different ways we humans can look at the abundant gifts of God that surround us.
One of those gifts is Shabbat (Sabbath) rest. When I’m at my best, I’m looking at Sabbath through completely different eyes than when it’s yet another biblical behavior I’m just trying to get right. When you watch the embedded video from The Bible Project and see the amazing gift that God shared with us from creation, I hope you will also see Sabbath through eyes of gratefulness as you receive one of the first gifts He offered to His new creations.
In a world consumed by output, deadlines, and measurable return on investment, if an hour doesn’t yield a tangible result, culture labels it “wasted time.” Even when our bodies plead for relief, our minds often pace back and forth, feeling guilty for pausing. But what if the very rest we dismiss as unproductive is actually one of God’s greatest sanctuaries of grace?
Aesop captured this peculiar human blindness in an ancient, often-overlooked fable about an afternoon pause under a roadside tree.
The Classic Fable Retold: The Two Travelers and the Plane Tree
Two weary wanderers trudged along a dusty, sun-bleached road at midday. The summer heat pressed down like a heavy furnace, shimmering in waves off the cracked dirt. Parched and dizzy with exhaustion, they scanned the horizon for any sign of relief.
Just off the path stood a magnificent Oriental Plane tree, its broad leaves stretching outward in an immense, emerald arch. Rushing from the glare into its shelter, both men collapsed upon the cool earth beneath the wide canopy.
The first traveler leaned back against the ancient trunk, unbuckled his heavy pack, let his walking staff fall into the grass, and closed his eyes. He exhaled a long breath of relief, letting the cool breeze and dappled shade revive his parched spirit in silent thanksgiving.
The second traveler, however, could not be still. As soon as his breath returned, he sat upright and began scrutinizing the branches overhead. Looking up through the lush green foliage, he scoffed with open hands of complaint: “What a completely useless tree! It bears no figs, produces no olives, yields no nuts, and offers no fruit for a hungry stomach. It just takes up space along the road, serving no purpose at all!”
A sudden breeze rustled through the boughs, and the plane tree answered in a quiet whisper: “Ungrateful soul! You sprawl in the cool sanctuary of my leaves, shielded from the very sun that would have struck you down, yet you call me useless because I bear you no fruit to consume?”
The Sacred Sanctuary of “Useless” Rest
What the tree says here brings me to tears. How often do we sit squarely under God’s protective canopy of comfort, rejuvenations, and rest while complaining that He isn’t handing us more “blessings” to consume? In our restless hurry, we treat rest as a nuisance—a barren tree that fails to produce a tangible product.
Yet Scripture reminds us that the shelter itself is the blessing:
“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.”
— Psalm 121:5–6
When YahShua (Jesus) confronted the rigid religious authorities who turned the Sabbath into a checklist of anxious burdens, He restored its foundational heart:
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’”
— Mark 2:27
Sabbath was never designed as another field to plow or a quota to meet; it was created as a hospitable shade tree. It is an intentional sanctuary in time where we stop measuring ourselves by what we produce, trusting instead that the Creator is already sustaining the world without our frantic effort to add to creation by our own contributions and power.
The Seventh Day: Entering God’s Rest
In this insightful short film, the team at BibleProject unpacks the sweeping biblical story of Sabbath—from the unending seventh day of creation to Jesus inviting every weary, heavy-laden soul to rest under His finished work:
Today, lay down your walking staff. Let your pack drop from your shoulders. Stop demanding that every sacred moment justify itself with immediate worldly fruit, and simply rest in the faithful shade of your Keeper. May you find Shalom (peace that passes understanding) today and everyday as you walk in the shelter of God’s creation.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
— Matthew 11:28–30
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🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Have you ever been truly fooled by someone? Worse, were you fooled because the liar was a great actor that looked and sounded exactly like someone or something you would naturally trust? Maybe the sheep would not be fooled by a fake shepherd (since YahShua said His sheep know His voice and won’t follow another shepherd), but who’s looking at the sheep right next to us? Aesop put it into a classic fable you’ll likely recognize.
Most of us grew up hearing a version of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing that ended in sheer carnage—a helpless flock devoured from the inside out. Yet the oldest classical renderings of Aesop’s fable carry a very different, deeply ironic twist: a story not of predator victory, but of poetic justice, where the deceiver is ensnared by the very costume he crafted to fool others.
The Classic Fable Retold from Aesop’s Point of View
Frustrated by the watchful shepherd, the barking hounds, and the stone walls of the pasture, a hungry wolf realized that direct force would never win him a meal. Cunning would work far better than brute strength.
The Masquerade
Prowling the edges of the farm, the wolf discovered a thick, fluffy sheep’s fleece left drying over a split-rail fence after a sheep had been prepared for the farm table. Slipping the woolly skin over his back, he tucked in his sharp muzzle, concealed his dark paws, and flattened his bushy tail beneath the disguise.
The Infiltration
Ambling into the open meadow, the wolf mimicked the slow, quiet grazing of an ordinary ewe. The disguise worked flawlessly. The sheep paid him no attention, the shepherds conversed leaning against their staves, and the farm dog slept lazily in the grass without a flicker of suspicion. When dusk gathered, the shepherd whistled the flock together, leading every sheep—and the masquerading beast—safely into the stout stone fold, bolting the heavy gate for the night.
The Reckoning
The wolf chuckled in the darkness, waiting for the farm to fall asleep so he could feast. But late that night, the shepherd re-entered the fold holding a dim lantern, needing to supply meat for the coming day’s provisions. Reaching into the quiet pen in the dark, his hand clamped onto the thickest, heaviest wool in the flock. Before the trapped predator could shed his borrowed coat or bare a claw, the butcher’s blade fell. The deceiver met the very fate he had planned for the sheep.
~ ~ ~
The Snare of the Disguise
YahShua (Jesus) told us to watch carefully, and He gave us the timeless warning about deadly enemies masking their true intentions:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
— Matthew 7:15
Jude sounded the exact same alarm about those who slip into the assembly wearing innocent disguises:
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness...”
— Jude 1:4
It shouldn’t take us by surprise that everyone who claims to be one of us (A Christian believer) is not so just because they say it. We have multiple warnings to protect ourselves from the prowling enemy looking for any trusting souls to devour. It’s hard, because we don’t want to believe in the possibility of someone who seems so nice actually being a trickster, but it’s their good acting ability that makes them strong deceivers. Pray for open eyes and for discernment like we talked about in yesterday’s post.
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14–15
Spiritual predators rarely show up with fangs bared and horns blaring. They borrow the gentle language, peaceful posture, and familiar outward appearance of the flock to creep in unawares. Yet Aesop’s ancient ending adds a reassuring truth for those who trust the Shepherd—deceit always carries its own undoing:
“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”
— Proverbs 26:27
No matter how clever the camouflage appears, the Chief Shepherd knows who belongs to Him. The deceiver’s trap ultimately collapses back upon himself, but the flock is called to remain alert, watchful, and standing firm in the Lord’s strength.
Christian, Dost Thou See Them?
Written by St. Andrew of Crete in the 8th century and translated by John Mason Neale, this solemn, dramatic hymn confronts the subtle, disguised forces of darkness that circle the soul—and summons the Christian to unrelenting spiritual vigilance:
– SZABO MUSIC (Hymn & Singalong) (with lyrics)
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Aesop’s Fables Month: The Cat and the Hens 🐈🐔🐔
There is an old, simple punchline that plays out in everyday life more often than we’d care to admit: someone knocks on the door offering help that sounds remarkably convenient, but everything in your spirit tells you to leave the latch bolted.
Aesop captured this comedic standoff centuries ago in a lively little encounter between a hungry feline and a coop of sharp-eyed hens.
The Classic Fable Retold
Knock Knock
Hearing that the hens down at the farm were feeling a bit under the weather, a sly tomcat devised an ingenious scheme to secure a hearty feast. Dressing himself in the dignified attire of a Victorian physician—complete with round wire-rimmed spectacles, a top hat, and a long frock coat—he tucked a medical bag beneath his arm and strutted up to the chicken coop. With a polite rap on the weathered wood, he inquired with deep theatrical concern after their health, announcing that he had brought the very medicine to cure their ailments.
Who’s There?
Peeking through the narrow wooden slats, the hens surveyed the distinguished “doctor.” They took note of the coat and the spectacles, but they also didn’t miss the whiskers, the flicking tail, or the sharp claws clutching the bag. With deadpan resolve, they replied through the locked door: “We will all do very well indeed, sir, if you will kindly leave us alone and be on your way!”
~ ~ ~
Spotting the Disguise: The Gift of Discernment
The humor in the story lies in how ridiculous the disguise really is to anyone paying attention. Yet how often do we drop our guard in life simply because something arrives wearing polite language, flattering promises, or an appearance of good intentions?
To avoid falling for these disguises, we need to see more deeply by using the gift of discernment as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. An article at Bible Proclaimer written by Rev. Ian M. Thomas covers it very well in only a 6-minute read. Here’s a quote from the article:
Paul lists this gift among the manifestations of the Spirit given “for the common good” in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, and the phrase he uses is diakriseis pneumaton, literally the distinguishing of spirits. That plural matters more than most people notice when they read past it quickly.
Discernment isn’t something that happens by accident; Scripture teaches that spiritual wisdom grows sharp through daily practice and spiritual maturity:
“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.”
— Hebrews 5:14
Those hens had their senses trained—they didn’t let a stethoscope and spectacles confuse their eyes. In the same way, we are instructed not to give our trust away cheaply, but to test what comes knocking at our door.
Spiritual discernment isn’t cynicism or paranoia; it is holy wisdom guided by the Holy Spirit. It is the quiet inner caution that tells us not every flattering voice deserves an open door into our lives, our homes, or our peace of mind. As Scripture instructs us:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God...”
— 1 John 4:1
When the enemy or the world comes knocking with a counterfeit remedy, we don’t have to entertain the conversation. Sometimes the wisest, most godly response is keeping the latch firmly in place and declaring: “We are doing just fine, thank you!”
Here’s a wonderful old hymn I’d never heard before that Gemini found as a suitable match to the subject of this post. It’s got great lyrics and a simple, very singable tune.
by CFC Songs & Hymns (with lyrics)
And now, just for fun, this post totally calls for this funny YouTube video from The Eric and Joe Show, a great comic team I got to see when they performed for The Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. It’s less than three minutes, and it’s adorable:
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🎵 Aesop’s Fables Month: The Rose and the Amaranth 🌹🥀
I sat on the worn but comfy couch and listened to stories from years of God’s faithfulness. Sister Loudermilk, as she was respectfully called by other members of the church, could recall with precision the moments hard times threatened and were answered by God showing up bigger than the problems. Her tender heart made sure she told these stories with passion that welled up tears in her eyes—and mine.
I visited this lovely elderly woman, and others like her, for the comfort and experience age gave her to share. When I spotted a framed picture on the wall, and saw a younger but familiar face tinted in sepia tones, I asked if it was her and, with her nod, exclaimed, “You were beautiful!” I didn’t fault her now-aged skin and gray hair, but rather a shocking realization of how time can change someone. But I wasn’t visiting her for that youthful beauty, I was visiting for the practiced and earned wisdom brought to her by the same age that now dimmed the external beauty.
All life and nature on this earth have the same fading properties. Every summer garden eventually tells the same bittersweet story. We tend to our prized rosebushes with devotion—watching eagerly as tight buds open into velvety, fragrant petals that steal everyone’s attention. Yet just as quickly, the summer sun scorches the blooms, the petals wither, and they drift to the ground in decay.
Aesop captured this fragile reality centuries ago in his dialogue between two very different garden dwellers: the dazzling rose and the humble, enduring amaranth.
The Classic Fable Retold—In 4 Parts
Part 1: Standing Tall
Along a quiet garden path, a sturdy amaranth grew firm and straight toward the sunlight. Unassuming and resilient, its dense, textured plumes showed no dramatic blossoms or perfumed fragrance, yet it held its deep color unyielding against the midday heat.
Part 2: Radiant Beauty
Beside it bloomed a magnificent rose in her prime. Glistening with morning dew, her layered petals commanded the admiration of every passerby. Praised by poets and cherished for her sweet aroma, she was the undisputed queen of the garden, radiant in all her earthly splendor.
Part 3: Lamenting
Looking over at the rose’s glorious bloom, the amaranth sighed with admiration: “How blessed you are, dear Rose! Your beauty and sweet fragrance bring joy to everyone who sees you.” But the drooping rose bowed her head with a heavy heart. “Ah, gentle Amaranth,” she lamented as her first petals loosened and tumbled into the dirt. “My splendor lasts only a fleeting moment. A few hot days, and I am withered and cast aside. But your blossoms never lose their form; you endure long after my beauty has turned to dust.”
Part 4: Eternal Blooms
Aesop ended his tale with earthly sorrow, but the Gospel rewrites the garden’s ending. In the celestial city beside living waters, earthly decay has no power. The rose is restored to flawless perfection that will never wither and never fade, and the amaranth stands tall beside her under eternal skies—blooming forever in unmarred praise.
~ ~ ~
Fleeting Glory and Unfading Grace
The world constantly chases the fleeting prime of the rose—youth, outward renown, and temporary acclaim that inevitably fades with time. But Scripture reminds us that what is built on worldly flesh is destined to pass away, while the promises of God endure forever:
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
1 Peter 1:24-25 (B.S.B.)
Do you see that word ALL next to flesh like grass? I’m getting to an age now where people will be shocked when they see the images of my youth, and my first daily looks in the mirror greet me with puffiness under my eyes that betrays my tiredness. But I’m praying the outward signs are also signs of wisdom born from experience and ready to be shared. May this blog be that comfy couch for you, dear reader.
See, we don’t have to despair when our strength flags or when our earthly seasons change. In Christ, our hope is anchored in a heavenly inheritance that does not perish, spoil, or fade away.
Where the Roses Never Fade
I’ve shared this since recently (in June), but it’s so fitting with the words “Here they bloom but for a season, then their beauty is decayed,” that I must share it again. Celebrate our awesome heavenly promise with this timeless classic on acoustic guitars:
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🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: The Ant and the Dove 🐜🕊️
Most of us grew up hearing the timeless proverb: “One good turn deserves another.” In Aesop’s classic telling, that truth plays out between two creatures who couldn’t be further apart in stature—a delicate dove perched high in the branches and a tiny ant swept away in the rapids below.
Modern culture often looks at this circle of kindness and mislabels it as “karma.” But karma, at its root, is a cold, transactional ledger. It waits for cosmic payback, score-settling, and universal retribution. Worse, these paybacks are often weaponized by our own desire to see someone “get what’s coming to them,” and then paybacks are paid back, and suddenly there’s a full-blown war.
So, nope, karma is not the answer. The Golden Rule calls us to something radically different: uncalculated grace, active mercy, and stepping into the gap before harm can fall—what people today often label as pay it forward.
The Classic Fable Retold—In 4 Parts
Part 1: Help!
A thirsty little ant crawled down to the edge of a rushing woodland stream to drink. Reaching too far into the swift current, his footing slipped, and he was violently tossed into the foaming rapids. Thrashing his tiny legs against the swirling whirlpool, he was entirely powerless to save himself from drowning.
Part 2: Grace
High above on an overhanging branch, a gentle white dove looked down with pity. She didn’t calculate what an insect could ever do for her in return. Plucking a broad leaf from the bough with her beak, she dropped it straight into the churning foam beside the ant. With his last bit of strength, the drenched little traveler scrambled aboard, finding safe harbor upon an unearned raft.
Part 3: Danger
Soon after, a rustic birdcatcher crept stealthily through the ferns. Spotting the peaceful dove resting quietly in the canopy, he unrolled his snare net. Raising his mesh into the air, he prepared to cast it over the unsuspecting bird, whose life hung by a thread.
Part 4: Salvation!
Observing the fowler’s wicked aim, the ant did not stand by and let “fate” take its course. Scurrying across the forest floor, he sank his sharp mandibles deep into the hunter’s bare ankle! The birdcatcher cried out in sudden agony, hopping on one foot and dropping his heavy net into the dirt. Now free, the dove spread her wings and took flight into the open sky—rescued by the very life she had spared.
~ ~ ~
The Golden Rule vs. The Trap of Karma
When Jesus taught the Golden Rule, He inverted the world’s natural instinct to settle scores:
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”
— Luke 6:31
Karma is passive and retrospective; it looks backward at a debt and waits for punishment. The Golden Rule is active and forward-looking; it initiates love without waiting for a guarantee of return. The dove didn’t drop the leaf because the ant was worthy, and the ant didn’t bite the heel out of spite for the hunter—it acted out of protective gratitude for the dove.
When we treat life like a karmic ledger, we secretly hope for revenge dressed up as justice. But when we walk in the rhythm of the Kingdom, we extend grace downward to those who cannot repay us, and we stand up to protect others when danger creeps close. May we be quick with the leaf when someone is drowning, and bold with our small strength when someone we love is about to be snared.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
— Galatians 6:10
~ ~ ~
He Set Me Free
Just like that dove soaring into the open sky the moment the hunter’s snare hit the dirt, true salvation breaks the bonds that were meant to cage and destroy us. Celebrate that sweet deliverance with this timeless classic complete with adorable clips from Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket:
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Aesop’s Fables Month: The Fox and The Grapes
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Grape Sherbet?
Mmm, grapes! 🍇 And did you know there’s supposedly no such thing as real grape flavor? It’s all a combination of other flavors, and it’s the reason it’s so hard to find grape-flavored ice cream. But you know what? I did have grape-flavored ice cream once. I was probably about seven when a sitter walked my sister and I to the Thrifty Drug and Discount Store for a 5-cent ice cream cone, and they had grape sherbet. So yummy! So messy on a hot summer day!! But still, so yummy! And I’ve never been able to find it anywhere since then. I search and search, but like the fox in the middle panel above, I came up short.
You know what, though? At 4’10”, I come up short in a lot of things. Lol 😂 And sadly, I have been known to say, “I hate being short!” But really, I just hate the times when being short prevents me from accomplishing my desired task. Whether it’s dragging out the step stool just to reach the top kitchen cabinet or jumping for something dangling overhead, I know exactly what it feels like to stretch with everything you have and still miss the mark.
Which brings me to an old groaner: What did the grape do when it got stepped on?
…It let out a little wine! 🍷 (Or in my case, a little whine! 😉)
Unlike me whining about my height, however, the fox in Aesop’s classic tale handled his reach with a very different kind of attitude—one that gave birth to an idiom we still use every day.
The Classic Fable Retold—In 3 Parts
Cataloged as Perry Index No. 15, this brief encounter in an ancient vineyard gave us the enduring phrase “sour grapes.”
Part 1: The Sweet Desire
On a sweltering afternoon, a hungry fox strolls beneath a towering garden trellis. Looking up, his eyes widen at a breathtaking sight: heavy, succulent clusters of ripe purple grapes, plump with juice and glistening in the sun. His mouth waters at the prospect of the sweet feast dangling just out of ordinary reach.
Part 2: Springing Into Action
Backing up to get a running start, the fox launches himself upward with all his might. Snapping his jaws, he misses the lowest bunch by mere inches. Refusing to surrender, he crouches, springs, scrambles, and leaps again and again until his legs ache and his breath comes in ragged gasps. Yet no matter how high he vaults, the arbor remains out of reach.
Part 3: The Sour Defeat
Thoroughly exhausted and privately humiliated, the fox realizes the prize is beyond him. But rather than admit his own limitation, his bruised ego takes over. Curving his lip in haughty disdain and lifting his nose high into the air, he struts away scoffing, “I thought those grapes were ripe, but I see now they are completely sour. Why would I waste my time on trash like that?”
Guarding Against “Sour Grapes”
The fox’s reaction is human nature at its most transparent. When life puts something desirable just beyond our reach—a promotion, an unfulfilled dream, or an opportunity that slips through our fingers—our pride hates admitting we came up short. To protect our delicate egos, we change the narrative. We belittle the blessing, mock the goal, or scoff at the people who attained what we could not.
The Deception of Pride
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
— Proverbs 14:12
Self-deception is a subtle poison. When we dismiss good things as “sour” simply because we didn’t get them, we allow bitterness to warp our perspective. Pride convinces us that cynicism is wiser than humility, but it only isolates our hearts. And it’s precisely the attitude Cane had that caused him to hate his brother Abel and take his life. Eventually, it led to him hating God and whining about everything in life. Depression is more likely to happen when you can’t find fulfillment or joy in your tasks.
The Antidote of Contentment
“11...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation...”
— Philippians 4:11-12
Being 4’10” means I will always need a stool or a helpful pair of hands to reach the high shelves, but it doesn’t mean I’ve failed just because I was born vertically challenged. And it doesn’t mean I have to be bitter.
Coming up short in life isn’t a failure of character, either; turning bitter about it is. Paul reminds us that true peace comes from contentment—celebrating the sweet things God places in front of us, admitting our human limits with a smile, and refusing to let our unreachable moments turn into a sour whine.
Just For Fun
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🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: The Four Oxen and the Lion 🐂🦁
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Patriotic Unity from a Devastating Attack
Twenty-five years ago, it wasn’t called “Patriot’s Day.” It was just another day on the calendar in a time when summer was ending and the cooling of autumn was on the way. I was at home taking a solitaire break from my tech school homework, so I didn’t have the TV on. My brother-in-law called from Texas to ask if I knew what was happening and where his brother was at. He was frantic, and I could barely make out something about the Pentagon (I think he said it was bombed) through his tearful voice. When I finally figured out what he said and everything that had just happened, my fears began to bubble up to overflowing. See, both my hubby and his brother were soldiers, so attacks on US soil were acts of war that could mean they’d be called to active fighting zones.
Hubby called from the base when he could and told me to cancel any upcoming medical appointments if they weren’t urgent because gates were going into hard lockdowns. The days were surreal as I heard stories of stranded travelers, and I didn’t hear the noises of overhead aircraft that were normal with a house near an airport. My night classes were unusually still and quiet as people tried to figure out how to talk about the attacks and what it meant for our future.
I don’t recall exactly how long we lived with baited breath, but everything changed with the events on September 11th, 2001, and I don’t believe they have ever gone back fully to what they were before that.
But some good changes came to pass in the aftermath. Mainly, patriotism got a wakeup call. People who were occupied by the division being sown by recent demands for political correctness in the months before 9/11 now became focused on what it meant to unify our country instead. We began to look at news from around the world instead of only in our small worlds because we didn’t want to be surprised like that again. People were ready to fight for the USA and against anyone who declared themselves enemies far more than they were with the first attack eight years earlier when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. And though the unity did not last in everyone, it definitely became stronger than before. Most don’t want to see us going to war, but they’d still be comforted to know we have patriots who love our country with enough passion to fight for it.
The Classic Fable Retold—In 3 Parts
Recorded in ancient collections as Perry Index No. 372, this timeless fable illustrates the foundational truth behind an enduring American rallying cry: United we stand, divided we fall.
Part 1: The Circle of Defense
In a lush, sun-drenched pasture, four oxen graze in unbroken fellowship. From the edge of the distant timberline, a lean, famished lion watches their every move, desperate for an opening. Yet whenever the predator creeps forward, the four companions move as one. Standing rump-to-rump in a tight, impenetrable ring, they lower their massive heads and present an unbroken wall of outward-facing horns to the wilderness. Starving and frustrated, the prowling beast dares not strike, knowing a frontal charge against such unified strength means certain defeat.
Part 2: The Whispered Discord
Realizing brute force cannot pierce their fellowship, the cunning lion abandons direct assault for subtle treachery. Lingering just out of reach, he begins sowing quiet suspicion and jealousy among the herd. He whispers deceit into the ear of one that the others take the finest grass, while feeding pride in another that his companions take his strength for granted. Soon, distrust festers. The defensive ring dissolves as bitter arguments flare, and each proud ox turns his back on his brothers to graze alone in an isolated corner of the field.
Part 3: The Fallen Solitude
With their mutual defense shattered, the lion’s hour arrives. Slinking across the pasture without fear, the beast hunts them down one by one. Trapped against the rocky outcrops with no brothers to guard their flanks and no outward-facing horns to unite against the common foe, every solitary beast is easily overwhelmed. The pasture that once flourished under mutual protection falls silent in the dust of defeat.
The Spiritual Blueprint of Unity
The tragedy in the pasture mirrors the spiritual battles we navigate every day—both as a nation and within the household of faith. Scripture lays out an unmistakable three-part arc regarding the strength, preservation, and vulnerability of our fellowship:
1. The Sacred Design: The Beauty of the Circle
“1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”
— Psalm 133:1 (B.S.B.)
God never designed us to face the wilderness alone. True community is not merely pleasant; it is our primary earthly defense against destruction.
When we stand shoulder-to-shoulder, guarding one another’s blind spots and pooling our strength, an outward enemy has no point of entry. In the wake of national tragedy twenty-five years ago, we need the raw power of this circle, letting petty squabbles vanish as we lock arms beneath one flag. In the church, we must also lock arms beneath the banner of God’s Holy Word—the whole Word applied as written.
2. The Daily Practice: Guarding Against the Whisper
“8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
— 1 Peter 3:8 (B.S.B.)
An impenetrable defense cannot be taken by an external strike; it can only be betrayed from within. Knowing this, Peter urges believers to maintain the exact heart posture required to resist division.
The lion broke the oxen not with claws, but with whispers that stoked self-importance and suspicion. Humility, sympathy, and tenderhearted compassion are the spiritual armor that keeps our circle intact. The moment we prioritize being “right” or nurse personal grudges, we open the gate to discord.
3. The Sober Warning: The Prowling Predator
“8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
— 1 Peter 5:8 (B.S.B.)
When pride separates us from fellowship and unity of purpose, we become prime targets for the enemy.
The adversary rarely assaults a united body; he waits patiently in the shadows for someone to wander off alone. Isolation is the predator’s hunting ground. As we honor the memory of that fateful September morning and the resilience that rose from its ashes, let us remember that our greatest strength lies in refusing the whispers of division. Let us be found standing firm, vigilant, and undivided in faith and love.
Where Were You?
In the days following September 11th, our nation was bound together by shared grief, profound quiet, and a sudden clarity about what truly mattered. Alan Jackson captured that universal stillness and the enduring power of faith, hope, and love with his poignant anthem, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”:
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Aesop’s Fables Month: Androcles and The Lion
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
We often treat kindness as an expense rather than an investment, wondering whether small acts of mercy in a harsh world ever truly matter. When we look at the culture around us, self-preservation shouts the loudest, urging us to guard our resources and steer clear of other people’s wounds. Yet God designs His kingdom to operate on a radically different principle: what we sow in secret inevitably yields a harvest in the open.
He created everything on a “give to get” marketing plan, and if you take a long look at nature, you’ll see it in everything from the sun soaking up water into clouds that later drop the water as rain to the wind blowing seeds around to spread out a harvest. Everything in nature takes with the purpose of giving back. Look at this old 2013 post for a great image with text that poetically describes taking only to give.
The Classic Fable Retold—In 3 Parts
Attributed to Aesop through the ancient Roman records of Aulus Gellius (Perry Index No. 563), this timeless tale demonstrates how an unselfish seed of compassion can return to deliver us in our most desperate hour.
Part 1: The Thorn
Escaping into the sun-scorched desert to flee his master’s relentless cruelty, Androcles takes shelter inside a dark mountain cave. His rest shatters when a massive, groaning lion appears at the entrance. Paralyzed with fear, the young runaway expects immediate death. Instead, the beast limps forward on three legs, whining softly and lifting a swollen, bleeding paw pierced by a festering woodland thorn. Overcoming his panic with deep pity, Androcles steps forward, cradles the heavy paw, and firmly extracts the barb, then gently cleanses the wound. Relieved of its torment, the predator rubs its head against Androcles’ shoulder in quiet gratitude.
Part 2: The Sanctuary
Far beyond the reach of an unforgiving empire, natural enemies dwell together in extraordinary fellowship. For months, man and beast share the cavern shelter. The lion ranges across the rocky hills for food, returning to share its catch, while Androcles tends the hearth. In this desert haven, fear dissolves into a daily rhythm of mutual protection, patient companionship, and unbroken trust.
Part 3: The Arena
Captured at last by imperial patrols, Androcles receives the brutal sentence reserved for runaway slaves: public death beneath the claws of starved beasts. Led into the blazing sand of the Colosseum before thousands of jeering spectators, he clutches a fragile spear. An iron gate clatters open, and a famished lion lunges toward him with a thunderous roar. But as the lion gets close to his prey, the beast skids to an abrupt halt. Recognizing its healer, the ferocious lion drops low and lovingly licks the condemned man’s trembling hands. Stunned by this miraculous spectacle of loyalty, the Emperor pardons Androcles on the spot, liberating both man and beast to walk free.
The Fruit in the Fable
As I read this story, I thought about two things: Daniel in the lions’ den, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in the story’s morals.
- In part 1, Androcles initial encounter with the lion demonstrates spiritual fruit. Facing an apex predator demands self-control over blind panic, while treating a beast’s agony requires genuine kindness, goodness, and gentleness.
- In part 2, in their shared haven, dwelling together in the wilderness blossoms into patience, profound peace, and protective love that casts out fear.
- In part 3, the fruit sown at the beginning of the story prepares a life-saving harvest. Standing in the arena proves unwavering faithfulness and sparks unexpected joy through salvation and pardon.
Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit
The journey of Androcles paints a vivid picture of how God’s character takes root in human lives. The Apostle Paul reminds us that the fruit of the Spirit does not grow in isolation; each trait nurtures the next:
Galatians 5:22-23 (B.S.B.)
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The Law of the Harvest
The law of the harvest works like the law of gravity. Reaping what we sow is not a magic act or something that only works for farmers. It’s what God created to give us encouragement to do the right thing. Androcles did not pull that thorn hoping the lion would rescue him from an arena months later. He acted simply because he saw agony and possessed the hands to bring relief. When we step out in faith to bless, forgive, or comfort those who can offer us nothing in return, we place our lives directly into the sovereign care of the One who never forgets an act of love.
Echoes in the Den: A King’s Vigil
The arena scene in Androcles and the Lion shares a striking spiritual heartbeat with the biblical account of Daniel in the lions’ den. In both narratives, a godly servant faces public execution under the rigid, unyielding law of an empire. Yet what makes Daniel’s account so profoundly moving is King Darius himself. Tricked by deceitful officials into signing an irrevocable decree, the ruler’s heart broke for the man he was forced to condemn.
Scripture tells us that Darius spent the entire night fasting, turning away all court musicians, and pacing his chambers in sleepless agony. At the first light of dawn, the king broke imperial protocol, rushing frantically to the sealed pit to cry out in grief: “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20). Daniel’s unwavering integrity had won the heart of a pagan monarch, just as Androcles’ long-sown mercy transformed an arena of bloodlust into a sanctuary of praise.
I fell asleep trying to find a video of a song called “The King and Daniel” that is supposed to be by The Lewis Family. Since I could not find it, I’ll leave it up to you dear readers. If you find the old hymn with a focus on King Darius, please let me know in the comments. In the meantime, here is the Veggie Tales version of the story of Daniel.
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🎵 Aesop’s Fables Month: The Man, The Boy, and The Donkey 👴🏻👱🏻♂️🫏
“I’m trying to stop people-pleasing—is that okay with you?!”
I stumbled across that hilarious meme on Pinterest, and after laughing out loud, the quiet truth behind it hit home, so I pinned it. It captures the exhausting paradox of trying to make ourselves feel successful by trying to make everyone else happy. The habit runs so deep that even when we finally muster the courage to break free from seeking everyone’s approval, our immediate impulse is still to check the room and ask: “Did I do that right? Are you still happy with me?”
Living to satisfy the crowd is an impossible, moving target. Shifting opinions swirl like the wind, and when we let public consensus hold the reins of our lives, we quickly become anxious pack mules carrying burdens God never asked us to shoulder.
The Classic Fable Retold
Aesop captured this ridiculous trap centuries ago in his classic fable of an elderly father and his young son traveling down a dusty road with their donkey. Desiring only to reach the market peacefully, they begin their journey with the father riding while the boy leads the beast. But the moment they pass a group of townsfolk by a well, the unsolicited critiques begin.
“Look at that selfish old man,” the crowd jeers, pointing accusing fingers. “Lounging in comfort while his poor young boy trudges through the dust!”
Embarrassed and determined to make things right, the father dismounts and places the boy on the donkey’s back while he walks alongside. But just down the road, a woman steps out of her doorway, wagging her finger in sharp rebuke: “Shame on that lazy boy, riding high while his gray-haired elder wears out his weary feet!”
Desperate to satisfy both critics, father and son cram together onto the donkey’s back. Yet the next passersby throw up their hands in mock horror, openly ridiculing the absurdity of two riders overburdening a poor beast. Someone even says, “They should not make the donkey carry all their goods and both of them. Rather, they should carry the donkey.”
Driven to total absurdity by their attempts to silence every critic, they both dismount and try to carry the donkey between them. When they reach a narrow wooden footbridge spanning a rocky stream, the father and son lose their footing, and it terrifies the donkey. It thrashes wildly out of their grip, sending all their belongings flying as it bucks and tumbles over the railing into the churning water below. In striving to satisfy everyone, they lose everything.
Whose Approval Are We Seeking?
That bridge mishap is an example of what can happen when we trade God’s direction for human ideas and approval. But when we are caring people with a lot of empathy, it’s very easy to let that steer us into being like the characters in the story. We desperately want to please others simply because we want them to be happy. But we often mistake our own positions in the happiness of others. Here are some quotes about people-pleasing…
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Aristotle
“Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner.” – Lao Tzu
“Pleasing everybody is never a responsibility. If they like you for who you are, good. If not, it’s their problem not yours.” – Unknown
“People pleasing hides the real you” – Unknown
“Let your light shine today, and let your personality blossom, too. You don’t have to be a people-pleaser, just a people-lover.” – Beth Moore
The Apostle Paul understood that navigating cultural pressure, legalistic critiques, and the shifting demands of the crowd is entirely incompatible with genuine discipleship.
Galatians 1:10 (B.S.B.)
10 Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
And biblical wisdom says it this way:
Proverbs 29:25 (B.S.B.)
25 The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
When we surrender to the fear of man, we tie ourselves in knots and cross precarious bridges just to avoid someone’s scowl. But when our ears are tuned exclusively to the Father’s voice, the noise of the crowd fades into the background, and we can finally walk peacefully along the road He prepared for us.
John 10:27 (B.S.B.)
27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
Singing for the Audience of One
Breaking free from the exhausting cycle of crowd-pleasing requires a deliberate choice of allegiance. When we stop frantically adjusting our lives to appease every passerby along the road, we discover the quiet freedom of walking for the only approval that truly counts.
The timeless hymn “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” strips away the need for human consensus with a single, unbending line: “Though none go with me, still I will follow.” It reminds us that following Christ often means leaving the crowd and their fickle applause behind. Though I’ve shared the song before, this one includes an amazing missionary story.
I found this version of “An Audience of One” by Greg Ferguson with amazing lyrics like I want to hear “well done” from an Audience of One. Totally anthem worthy song I’d never heard before. It tackles that same truth from the perspective of our real purpose. Instead of exhausting ourselves to earn the fleeting approval of the room, our song, our walk, and our obedience are meant for a Single Listener.
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🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: The Oak and The Reeds
The Illusion of Strength
There is a dangerous illusion that rigidity equals strength. We admire the towering, ancient oak that refuses to budge an inch before the wind, and we easily despise the slender reeds by the riverbank that bend low at every passing breeze. Yet when the true tempest arrives, the illusion of strength shatters and breaks. Last month, I shared the song “Strong Enough to Bend” in my post about the cliché Soft as a Kitten’s Ear. It fits this post as well, but I’m going with different music because the other side of breaking is when God Himself holds up a stop sign before you’ve consigned yourself to breakable rigidity.
Preventative Grace
“Oh my! How did you know that was my daddy’s favorite song?”
The tearful question came from family members of a man I had never met but whose daughter was a new friend who’d asked me to sing at her daddy’s funeral. Without knowing anything about the man, and out of hundreds of timeless hymns, I simply felt drawn to choose “In the Garden.” My song was not about applause or career advancement, it was about ministering to a grieving family huddled in sorrow in a small funeral home.
Looking back, that quiet holy moment revealed the true beauty of divine redirection. God had not wasted my voice when worldly stages slammed shut after failed auditions; He had simply preserved it to bring as a gift of comfort to the brokenhearted.
Over the years, there were multiple roadblocks whenever I came close to stepping into performance art as a career choice. Auditions derailed, opportunities vanished, and invisible walls went up suddenly. In the moment, those shut doors felt like bitter disappointment. But looking through the lens of preventative grace, I realize God was building a hedge of thorns around me. The entertainment world demands that you plant your roots deep like an unyielding oak, chasing applause and feeding an ego that eventually faces storms eager to snap it in two. God spared me from destruction by keeping me out of that harsh spotlight.
The Classic Fable Retold
In Aesop’s celebrated fable, an immense oak tree stood proudly along a riverbank, looking down with disdain upon the slender reeds growing in the shallows. “How pitiable you are,” mocked the mighty oak. “The faintest breeze forces you to bow in submission, while I stand unshakeable against the wildest gales of heaven.”
The quiet reeds made no defense. Soon after, a ferocious tempest tore across the valley. The proud oak dug in its roots and stiffened its massive boughs, determined to conquer the gale through sheer defiance. But the storm blew with unstoppable fury. Rigid and unable to yield, the ancient trunk splintered with a deafening crack, crashing violently into the mud. When the wind subsided, the fragile reeds gently rose upright along the water’s edge—soaked, yet completely unbroken because they had yielded to the storm.
The Broken Oak and Joseph’s Brothers
That shattered oak in the second panel of my artwork (The Result) finds its direct spiritual counterpart in the final frame (The Fulfillment): the prostrate brothers of Joseph. When young Joseph innocently shared his prophetic dreams of bowing sheaves, his brothers stiffened their necks in bitter defiance. Their towering pride refused to bend to God’s sovereign design, driving them to cast Joseph into a pit and sell him into Egyptian chains.
They believed their stubborn defiance had won. Yet decades later, when the fierce storm of famine swept the earth, their self-reliant strength snapped like that hollowed oak trunk. Brought to their knees by desperate hunger, they found themselves face-down on the cold stone floor of Pharaoh’s palace, bowing before the very brother they tried to destroy.
For them, pride went before their destruction. For Joseph, preventative grace held him back a few times—from going back to his father when his brothers sold him, from staying in his job at the palace when Pharaoh’s wife falsely accused him, and from getting out of prison when the other prisoners forgot to mention what they’d learned about him when they dwelt together. Yet, God’s providential hand turned Joseph’s brothers’ shattered rebellion into preservation after He raised Joseph higher at the perfect time. I blogged about this back in 2013 in my studies and commentary of the five books of Torah. That post is called The Cream Always Rises to the Top.
What God’s Word Has to Say…
Proverbs 16:18 (Berean Standard Bible)
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
James 4:6 (Berean Standard Bible)
6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Genesis 50:20 (Berean Standard Bible)
20 As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
Songs of a Yielded Voice
When we yield our gifts to God instead of demanding our own stage, He uses our voices for eternal comfort rather than temporary applause. Listen to these two songs that speak to the beauty of a humble walk with The Lord and of singing solely for His glory.
This presentation of “In The Garden” is beautiful and their YouTube page includes a link to a site called Music is God’s Gift. I don’t think I could’ve found a better version for this post even though I’ve shared the song before by other artists.
When I Sing for Him – Written by Dolly Parton and performed by Rydel Hernandez. I’ve never heard of her, but she does a mostly-good job. This was the only video I could find with the full lyrics, and there are some powerful ones in this song.
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🎵Aesop’s Fables Month: The Farmer and His Sons 🍇
This Fable Brought an Old Song to my Mind
Ever since I first heard the haunting ballad “One Tin Soldier”—famously featured in the 1971 movie Billy Jack (written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter; originally sung by the Canadian band Original Caste)—the moral has stayed deep in my bones. My mom and I both sang it often, and it brought tears whether we were singing or just listening to the 45 record. Its lyrics read like a raw, modern fable set to music: a peaceful mountain people willing to share a treasure hidden beneath a stone, and the greedy valley folk obsessed with taking it by force.
There were rumors of buried gold, and the valley wanted it all, and only for themselves. They waged war, slaughtered the peaceful mountain folk, and overturned the stone with high expectations:
“Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain dark and red;
Turned the stone and looked beneath it…
PEACE ON EARTH was all it said.”
They destroyed the innocent, compromised their souls, and threw away true peace in their pursuit of the illusion of sudden earthly riches. They were blind to the real treasure right before their eyes—a people who would welcome them as brethren with whom they would freely share. And while I know that every culture does not automatically welcome others into their fold like the people in the song, the murderous greed the valley people chose has always broken my spirit.
That tragic ballad touches on an urge as old as humanity: the destructive desire for easy, unearned shortcuts. Long before folk-rock warned us against the blinding madness of greed, Aesop gave us his own brilliant twist on the myth of buried gold. And from an article at the “American Literature” website (where you can find many Aesop’s Fables and other great stories), it may have come from Socrates originally.
The Fable: A Father’s Dying Secret
An aging farmer, nearing the end of his days, looked out over his sprawling vineyard. More than the failing vines, his heart ached for his two sons, who spent their days lounging in idle comfort, dreaming of effortless windfalls rather than engaging in honest toil. Knowing his time was short, he gathered them to his bedside.
“My sons,” the old man whispered, “there is a great treasure buried somewhere within the vineyard. Dig diligently, and you will find it.”
As soon as their father was laid to rest, the sons grabbed their spades. Spurred by visions of iron-bound chests and glittering gold coins, they attacked the hard, neglected ground. They overturned every clod of earth, cut trenches around the roots of every vine, and combed the hillside from corner to corner. Not a single coin appeared. Exhausted, blistered, and crestfallen, they dropped their tools, convinced their father had deceived them in his final breath.
Then autumn arrived. Because the hardened soil had been so thoroughly broken, aerated, and cultivated, the once-barren vineyard blossomed to life. Heavy clusters of grapes filled every formerly-empty trellis and produced a record-breaking harvest. Selling the abundant vintage at market, the brothers filled their pockets with honest coin. Only then did their father’s trickery reveal its quiet genius: the labor itself was the real treasure.
The Biblical Echo: Wealth by Steady Cultivation
Scripture consistently exposes the empty promise of sudden windfalls, pointing us instead toward the quiet honor of steady stewardship. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon cuts straight through the illusion:
Proverbs 13:11 BSB
11 Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.
Proverbs 14:23 BSB
23 There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
God didn’t create the world to operate on lottery-ticket-style spirituality or get-rich-quick shortcuts to “blessings and prosperity.” That desire is fueled by the spirit of greed behind the love of money that Scripture says is the root of all evil. Instead, the “Peace on Earth” found beneath the mountain stone in the song is the prize of Godly contentment which Scripture says is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6, 9 BSB
6 Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
A final note on the song: There are all kinds of opinions about who the “One Tin Soldier” actually is. The song was originally written for Woodstock before the Billy Jack movie, so I don’t think it was for that character. But growing up, I always thought it was about Jesus after He destroyed the wicked during the Battle of Armageddon. The words saying no trumpets would be blowing made me think it was because the ones that blew when Messiah returned were already done. And I saw that soldier as the one who would destroy the very greed that killed the mountain folk. Take a listen to the classic ballad with lyrics below to hear it for yourself and comment what you think the writers meant.
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Aesop’s Fables Month: The Crow and the Pitcher
If you know anything about me as a writer, you know I have a lot of dream projects—and a lot of words—waiting in the wings. I WANT to write them all at once, but that is simply not possible, so I’m forced to create one (often slow) word at a time. And like the crow in the story, it will be my thirst for success that keeps me writing even when staring at the sheer volume of unfinished drafts can feel paralyzing. I love how this ancient wisdom offers a quiet, enduring reminder of how seemingly impossible tasks can be conquered with a lot of determination and a little ingenuity.
The Classic Fable Retold
Parched and exhausted from a long dry spell, a solitary crow flew over scorched fields in search of water. Spotting a tall clay pitcher resting on the ground, he landed eagerly on the rim. Peering down, his heart sank. A small pool of cool water rested at the very bottom, but the narrow neck of the jug was far too slender for his head to reach.
He pecked stubbornly at the clay, but it would not crack. He threw his small weight against the side, but the heavy vessel did not budge. Desperation whispered that relief was right in front of him yet utterly out of reach. Then the crow paused. Scattered across the dry ground were small, smooth pebbles. Gathering one in his beak, he dropped it into the dark depths of the jar. A tiny splash answered, and the water shifted upward by a fraction of an inch.
He retrieved another stone, and then another. Flight by flight, drop by drop, he repeated the steady labor. He did not flood the vessel in a single sudden miracle; he simply refused to abandon the process. Slowly, the water climbed the narrow neck until it reached the brim, and the crow drank his fill.
Nature Proves the Legend
For generations, readers assumed most of Aesop’s tales were pure allegorical folklore. Modern science, however, proved that, in this fable, the ancient storyteller had captured real-world genius. In a famous laboratory study, animal behaviorists tested rooks—members of the corvid family alongside crows and ravens—with tall tubes of water containing floating treats just beyond their reach.
Without coaching, the birds immediately began selecting heavy stones and dropping them into the cylinders. They understood water displacement, deliberately choosing larger pebbles over smaller ones to raise the water level faster. What seemed like a charming fable turned out to be nature’s own blueprint for deliberate, calculated persistence when brute force fails.
Five Smooth Stones
Scripture records some famous moments of determination and ingenuity that brought powerful victory to God’s kingdom. We have the amazing craftsmen Bezalel and then Oholiab who God gifted with every ability they would need to create the wilderness tabernacle. We have the obedient and determined carpenter Noah who continued to build the ark despite many attacks and a very long timeline. (Beyond the Bible, the attraction in Williamstown, Kentucky, The Ark Encounter, is a great place to learn about everything that went into this feat of ingenuity.)
And then there’s the battle where small, smooth stones were prepared for an immovable barrier. When young David stepped into the Valley of Elah to face Goliath, King Saul tried to weigh him down with heavy armor and an oversized sword. David rejected the clumsy tools of conventional might. Instead, he knelt by the brook and carefully chose five smooth stones for his shepherd’s pouch.
I’ve heard many theories about why he chose five stones, including that Goliath had 4 brothers, but whatever his reasoning, David only needed one stone. With a thirst to see God honored and the disrespectful giant of Gath silenced, David stepped forward with a trust and a declaration of God’s might. It took only one well-aimed stone from his sling to bring Goliath crashing into the dirt.
One Word at a Time
Overcoming life’s towering giants demands unyielding faith, deliberate preparation, and the tenacity to follow through to the very end—even if we only fly with one stone at a time. And sometimes, it simply comes down to applying the fable’s classic moral: that our wits can accomplish what brute force never could, proving once again that “necessity truly is the mother of invention.”
When I sit down at my laptop, the blank page with its flashing cursor can loom like that narrow-necked pitcher. Impatience tells me that unless thousands of words pour out effortlessly in an afternoon, I am failing the call. But books are rarely written in a single sweep of lightning. They are built stone by stone, line by line, one steady sentence at a time.
Each quiet session at the keyboard is a pebble dropped into the jar. Every disciplined paragraph raises the waterline. When we silence the frantic urge to finish everything today and instead stay faithful to the single stone in front of us, the impossible barrier inevitably yields.
I’d love to hear how you can apply this task to your own life or spiritual walk. What are some dreams that seem impossible to reach, and what stones can you carry to raise the waterline?
Here are a few Bible verses that fit today’s theme of getting over those obstacles:
2 Corinthians 4:17 BSB
[17] For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
James 1:3-4 BSB
[3] because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
[4] Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Sometimes, it’s just some well-thought, spoken words that turn the tide on the seemingly impossible:
Matthew 15:27-28 BSB
[27] “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
[28] “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
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Aesop’s Fables Month: The Lion and the Mouse
Being small, I’ve often been encouraged by idioms such as “Dynamite comes in small packages,” or “Big things come in little packages.” I may even have heard these as reminders after reading about the tiny but mighty mouse in tonight’s Aesop’s Fable. And to encourage you, dear reader, I’ve included some great events in history where individually small components came together to create huge victories.
See, we are conditioned to look upward when seeking rescue. We scan the horizon for anything massive and strong to deliver us. Deep pockets, big shoulders, or grand miracles. Yet time and again, the ancient wisdom of Aesop reminds us that the cords binding the mighty are rarely severed by giants; they are cut strand by strand by those the world deems too small to count.
The Classic Fable Retold
Dozing in the warmth of the afternoon sun, a great lion was startled awake when a tiny field mouse scurried across his nose. Annoyed, the king of the forest pinned the creature beneath a heavy paw, baring his teeth. The trembling mouse pleaded for mercy, crying, “Spare my life, great King, and one day I may repay the favor.” Amused by the sheer absurdity that a helpless rodent could ever aid the ruler of the wild, the lion laughed and let him go.
Days later, the lion found himself cornered. Snared in a heavy rope net that was set by hunters, his struggle and mighty roars only tightened the cords. Thrashing in vain against the coarse hemp, his pride and power collapsed into helpless exhaustion. Hearing those familiar, desperate bellows echoing through the brush, the tiny mouse returned. Setting his sharp teeth against the thickest knot, the little creature began to gnaw. Fiber by fiber, strand by strand, the mouse chewed until the mesh frayed, snapped, and set the mighty predator free.
Dunkirk: When Battleships Needed Dinghies
History proved Aesop’s point along the cold surf of France in the early summer of 1940. Over three hundred thousand elite Allied soldiers—the armored fist of an empire—were pinned against the beaches of Dunkirk. Behind them advanced the full fury of the German blitzkrieg; ahead of them lay the English Channel.
The mighty Royal Navy was paralyzed. Giant battleships and destroyers could not safely navigate the shallow, mine-choked waters, so it left them sitting ducks for aerial bombardment. The lion was cornered in a deadly net of geography and fire.
The rescue did not arrive in the form of a grand naval fleet. It came in a quiet, ragtag swarm of civilian wooden dinghies, weekend pleasure craft, paddle steamers, and shallow fishing boats. Manned by shopkeepers, elderly fishermen, and teenage boys, these little wooden “mice” crossed the smoking channel again and again. Reaching directly into the shallows where the war machines could not tread, they ferried hundreds of thousands to safety and altered the trajectory of the free world.
The March of Dimes: Deliverance in Pocket Change
A continent away, another towering giant was brought to its knees by an invisible predator. Polio was the scourge of summer, terrorizing communities and leaving thousands of children paralyzed in iron lungs. The full weight of modern medicine struggled in the dark, desperate for resources to unlock a viable vaccine.
The breakthrough was not bankrolled by a single corporate titan or a massive federal windfall. It was built by children. Across America, millions of ordinary families and school kids gave up their ice-cream money to mail single ten-cent coins directly to the White House. The mailrooms filled to overflowing, buried under mountains of tiny, silver offerings.
Those millions of individual, humble dimes funded Jonas Salk’s laboratory, broke the back of the epidemic, and eradicated the disease for generations to come. A nation’s crisis was resolved. And it wasn’t by a single strike of mighty power, but by the quiet power of the collective small.
Never Despise the Small Things
It is easy to look at the immense problems of our world, or even the heavy trials in our own lives, and feel hopelessly inadequate. We might convince ourselves that unless we possess immense wealth, high office, or grand influence, we have nothing valuable to bring to the fight.
Yet God rarely chooses the mighty to accomplish His deepest deliverances. He calls the willing. And, as the saying goes, “God doesn’t always call the equipped, but He always equips the called.” When circumstances leave the strong helpless and entangled, a quiet word of encouragement, a single small sacrifice, or steady, faithful labor can cut the very knot that held a giant bound.
Zechariah 4:10 BSB
[10] For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the Lord, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-27 BSB
[26] Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. [27] But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
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Aesop’s Fables Month: The Tortoise and The Hare 🐢🐇
The lesson of the Tortoise and the Hare is often told to children as a sweet reminder to be patient. Yet for those who have walked the disjointed roads of life with burdens strapped to their backs, the fable is far more than a moral on pacing—it is an anthem of stubborn, quiet endurance.
The Classic Fable Retold
In Aesop’s well-known contest, an arrogant Hare openly mocked the deliberate, plodding gait of the Tortoise. Amused by the idea of a mismatch, the Hare challenged him to a footrace across the country path. Confident that his natural gifts guaranteed an effortless win, the Hare sprinted far ahead, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Certain that his competitor could never close the gap, he stretched out under the cool shade of a tree to sleep off his complacency.
The Tortoise possessed neither swift legs nor a cheering section. He simply understood the road before him and refused to stop. Step by deliberate step, bearing the weight of his shell, he pressed forward. When the Hare finally woke and bolted toward the finish line, he discovered that quiet, relentless perseverance had already claimed the prize.
The Fast Track and the Outsider
High school culture is built for the sprinters. The crowd naturally watches the teenagers who have the luxury of unbroken continuity—those who grow up on paved tracks with intact homes, long-standing neighborhood cliques, and the effortless momentum that carries them into student council, homecoming courts, and letterman jackets. For them, moving through the grades is as natural as running a straight line.
For a foster child, there is no paved track. Bouncing between homes meant bouncing between schools. Every transfer meant walking into unfamiliar hallways midway through the term, trying to catch up on lessons taught differently elsewhere, and knowing deep down that I didn’t fit into any of the tight-knit circles already established. My education became a patchwork of fragmented pieces gathered here and there.
Missing Records and the Weight of the Shell
The heaviest burden arrived through bureaucracy. When you are shifted through the system, paperwork doesn’t always follow. Key academic records were lost in transit, threatening to hold me back and force me to repeat ground I had already fought to cover. Following the standard track was no longer an advantage; it was an anchor designed to keep me behind.
I realized that waiting for the system to fix itself would only cost me time. So, like the tortoise carrying the weight of textbooks on its back, I stepped off their path and chose the self-directed route: studying for the GED.
There was no classroom support or guidance counselor paving the way. In the dry heat of Arizona, with the distant mountains framing the horizon, it was just me and a single tutor, multiple books, and the daily decision to keep going. I sat down and studied the material both with the tutor and late at night after moving to the safe space of my grandparents’ desert home. Subject by subject, we pre-tested until I was confident I’d pass.
Crossing the Line Early
When the test results arrived, the outcome shattered the expectations of the conventional track. While the passing requirement is 60-70%, and the average students barely scrape by with the minimum, my composite score across all subjects was 91%. The tutor was impressed yet unsurprised and encouraged me to believe in whatever I could become. More than that, taking ownership of my education allowed me to graduate six full months ahead of the very peers who had started with every social and systemic advantage. Sadly, GED on a job application doesn’t get many callbacks even with a great score.
But as a funny aside here: One of the schools I attended was while I was at the girls’ home I’ve talked about before. Now, it’s called “Aviva Center” but then it was called “Hamburger Home.” And, yes, I applied to a McDonald’s for work, and yes I listed last high school attended as “Hamburger High School.” And, no, they never called me. 🤣
The race of life is rarely won by unearned speed or easy starts. Privilege may offer a sprint out of the gate, but character, grit, and faith are forged by the plodders who refuse to quit when the hill gets steep. I’m still on that hill in many ways, and I’m thankful for the tutors and encouragers I’ve had along the path. Someday, I hope you’ll all share the joy of the finish line with me when I publish at least two children’s books, two novels, a memoir, and a book of poetry. 📚
Ecclesiastes 9:11 BSB
[11] I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
Hebrews 12:1 BSB
[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
2 Timothy 4:7 BSB
[7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
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Cliché Month: Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch 🐣
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
We can’t have a post about chickens and eggs without asking the age old question, right? So what do you think came first?
The babysitter I mentioned in the “Giddy Goat” post also had chickens. It was the first time I ever saw eggs sort of x-rayed (called egg candling). They had this tray they’d put all the eggs in and shine light through it, so they knew which eggs had baby chicks in them. I love to eat eggs, and I’m really glad they have a way to not harm a growing baby in the shell just so I can have breakfast.
The Peril of Premature Calculations
But having one of those egg lights still isn’t a guarantee of what you’ll be getting when the eggs hatch because not all of them make it. And if any get dropped and break, then no matter what’s inside, it’s no longer new life or breakfast.
But haven’t we all caught ourselves doing that at least once—mentally spending a tax refund before the return is filed, rehearsing an acceptance speech before the judges deliberate, or daydreaming about any number of things before we know what reality will bring? Apparently, this happened a whole lot during the California gold rush in the mid 1800s. While many “forty-niners” began their journeys with big dreams, more often than not, they were just hard workers earning very little profit.
But a few really did strike it rich, so it continually fueled hope for others. Human nature loves to dream ahead because hope is a powerful driver, but when optimism borders on certainty, the enduring English proverb steps in: “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
I hadn’t realized it until writing this post, but I sort of acted this cliché out in a literal sense when I was a very young adult. I was living in a super small apartment and working part-time for minimum wage. Each week, I had about $10 to spend on groceries. I would push my cart around the supermarket once to put everything in I thought I might want, and then go around a second time to remove everything I couldn’t afford. At least I didn’t wait to calculate until I was at the register, but just putting more than I could afford into my cart was counting my chickens in a way.
From Tudor Proverb to Aesop’s Fable
While calculating in grocery aisles or dreaming of gold strikes is universally human, the literal poultry phrasing took root in 16th-century England. English writer Thomas Howell recorded the earliest known version in his 1570 collection New Sonets and Pretie Pamphlets, cautioning: “Counte not thy Chickens that vnhatched be.” A few years later, in 1579, Thomas North used it in The Diall of Princes, writing that it was foolish to “make reconyng before the chickens were hatched.”
Nearly a century later, in 1664, poet Samuel Butler immortalized the lines in his famous mock-heroic epic Hudibras:
“To count their chickens, ere they’re hatch’d;
— Samuel Butler, Hudibras (1664)
And calculate what they’re worth.”
Long before English poets turned it into a rhyming warning, the moral core of this cliché was born in the world of Aesop’s Fables. The concept comes directly from the classic tale “The Milkmaid and Her Pail.” As the young farm girl walks along with a pail of milk on her head, she daydreams about selling the milk to buy eggs, hatching those eggs into a flock of chickens, and selling the birds to buy a fancy gown. But when she tosses her head in pride, the pail crashes down—leaving her with no milk and no chickens to count.
Balancing Vision with Wisdom
There is a sizable difference between having visionary faith and making presumptuous plans. Scripture actually addresses this balance in James 4, reminding us to hold our timelines with humility:
James 4:13-15 BSB
[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” [14] You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
Proverbs 27:1 echoes a similar encouragement:
Proverbs 27:1 BSB
[1] Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Where Have You “Counted Your Chicks”?
Think back on your own experiences:
- Maybe you headed out for the day without preparing for getting back home by making sure you had enough gas or maybe return bus fare.
- Or you celebrated a game-night lead just minutes before an opponent pulled off a surprise comeback.
- Or, maybe like me, you filled a shopping cart with wish-list items before doing the math at the checkout. I know I’m not alone there from the people I’ve seen digging in pockets and purses for change.
Share your favorite near-misses in the comments below.
Looking Ahead: Stepping into Aesop’s Fables for September!
This post officially brings our daily August journey through clichés and idioms to a close! But my love for timeless wisdom is just getting started.
Starting tomorrow, September 1st, I’m dedicating the entire month to Aesop’s Fables. I’ll be expanding on the full story behind that daydreaming milkmaid, kicking off day one by exploring the fable’s other famous takeaway: why it does no good to cry over spilled milk! 🥛✨
Thank you for following along every day in August. Get ready for talking animals, clever twists, and rich moral lessons all through September!
A Parting Riddle
To send August out with a chuckle…
Why do baby chickens make terrible secret agents?
Because they always crack under pressure! 🐣🔍
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🎵Cliché Month: Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill🌋
Sometimes, It IS a Mountain
Too many times, this cliché has been used to make people feel like their issues are small or unimportant. Like the time when I was nine and had to go to the ER for a tetanus shot because we thought I stepped on a rusty map pin. Apparently, at least one sewing needle got mixed with the spilled map pins, so it turned out that I had a full-size sewing needle in my little girl foot.
Had they done an X-ray instead of deciding I was making something out of nothing (another way to state this cliché), I wouldn’t have needed surgery six weeks later to clean out the beginnings of gangrene. The doctor told us that if we had waited just three more days before coming in, he would have been gone on a three-week vacation and returned only to amputate my foot. It wasn’t a molehill at all; it was a very real mountain.
Making Everything into Mountains
The extended problem of not being listened to way back then created a lifetime of fearing that little things were bigger than they appeared. It held me back from sharing my true feelings because I anticipated bigger or worse reactions. And it intimidated me into missing out on who knows how many experiences because I was worried about outcomes that may never have come to pass.
When you learn early on that a real crisis can be brushed aside, you naturally start holding a magnifying glass up to every bump in the road, bracing for the worst.
The Real Meaning and Use of This Cliché
The phrase itself has ancient roots. Long before English speakers talked about moles, ancient Greeks and Romans warned against “making an elephant out of a fly” (ex musca elephantem facis). The English idiom emerged in the 16th century, appearing in Nicholas Udall’s 1548 translation of Erasmus and John Foxe’s 1570 Acts and Monuments as a reminder not to “make of a molehyll a mountayne.”
The true wisdom of the proverb was never meant to invalidate legitimate pain or silence genuine warnings. It is simply a reminder to examine our perspective when anxiety rises and tries to rob us of peace. It’s to bring us to a stop, look, and listen moment because fear exaggerates reality. With a few deep breaths and a second look at our situation, we can avoid turning everyday friction into insurmountable peaks.
God’s Word Brings Peace (And Boldness)
The following verse uses the word fear in almost every translation, but a better word for its original meaning would be timidity. God is not the one who holds us back and makes us doubt moving forward. He actually wants us to be bold and strong.
2 Timothy 1:7 Berean Standard Bible
[7] For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2 Tim 1:7 (BSB)
To help us have confidence to boldly assess our hills (and mountains), He gives us soundness of mind and the clarity to discern the difference—acknowledging real mountains when faith is needed to climb them, while having the peace to step over the everyday molehills without fear.
And even if we are facing a true mountain, we never face it alone.
Isaiah 41:10 Berean Standard Bible
[10] Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (BSB)
And the very best way to avoid turning the molehills in life into mountains that seem insurmountable is to look away from the dirt and look up to Our Savior and Creator. This song is a wonderful worship song for refocusing:
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Cliché Month: A Bird in the Hand (is Worth two in the Bush)
The first time I saw the letters “FOMO,” I remember thinking how it seemed impossible for enough people to clamor for a coveted thing to be worthy of its own acronym. As a mostly-contented person, it didn’t feel like I could ever fear missing out. But I was only basing that on “stuff,” so I hadn’t realized all the fears that come into play over missing out on things like attention, approval, acceptance, etc. And social media, with all its reactions and love hearts is only making it worse.
But Scripture says it this way…
[6] Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
[7] For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. [8] But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
1 Tim 6.6-8 (BSB)
But how to be content with what we have in both tangible and intangible items is its own battle. And it is an old battle based on the history of this cliché.
Few proverbs have stood the test of human history quite like the timeless reminder that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. For centuries, this folk wisdom has warned us against abandoning the blessings right in front of us to chase elusive prizes rustling just out of reach. While its roots trace through ancient fables and medieval falconry, the deeper spiritual truth it touches on is one our restless hearts constantly need: the power of present contentment.
From Falconry Gloves to Faithful Hearts
In medieval England, the phrase held a literal meaning for falconers. The “bird in the hand” was the trained raptor perched securely on the hunter’s leather glove—a prized, reliable partner. The “two in the bush” were the wild game birds hiding in the brambles. To risk the valuable bird already secured for the mere chance at wild quarry was pure folly. In 1546, John Heywood recorded the sentiment in print, cementing the idea that what is held and nurtured is always worth more than the illusion of the unknown.
In our daily lives, however, human nature tends to do the exact opposite. We focus on the rustling in the bushes—the opportunities we missed, the resources we wish we had, or the uncertain future we cannot control—while neglecting the quiet blessings resting right in our open palms.
“What Is That in Your Hand?”
When Moses stood before the burning bush in Exodus 4, full of fear and insecurity about the massive calling ahead of him, God did not hand him a grand army or an elaborate new treasure. Instead, the Lord asked a simple question: “What is that in your hand?”
All Moses held was an ordinary, weathered shepherd’s staff. A stick! In Moses’ view, it was just a humble tool of daily labor. It wasn’t anything flashy or extraordinary, yet God demonstrated amazing power when He touched that staff and Moses obeyed God’s direction.
When we stop obsessing over what we lack and instead surrender what is already in our grip, He can do the same for us; turn the ordinary into an instrument of His power and grace. Faithful stewardship begins when we look at what God has already entrusted to our care and commit to using it according to His will and plans.
Resting in the Watchful Eye
In Matthew 6, YahShua (Jesus) points us directly to the birds of the air to teach us the antidote to anxiety. They don’t sow or reap. They don’t have storehouses full of provisions. Yet their heavenly Father feeds every single one and never takes His watchful eye off of them—even when they fall. If God interacts this way with the sparrows among the branches, we can be confident that He will do even greater things in His interactions with us. After all, YahShua Himself said we are worth more than many sparrows.
King Solomon, in Proverbs 15, says it this way…
Proverbs 15:16-17 Berean Standard Bible:
[16] Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with turmoil.
[17] Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.
Prov 15:16-17 (BSB)
True peace is not found in owning everything or scrambling after every bird in every tree. It is found in cupping our hands in gratitude as God sends provision our direction. Cherishing the daily blessings God has placed before us will allow His peace to fill the spaces where worry used to dwell. A bird or an education; a typewriter or a pencil; multiple talents or just one thing you do with heart: God can take what He has given you and make it exceedingly abundant above all you can ask or even think. So, for this day, look at what’s in your hand from The Lord with total focus; more than on all the desires outside of your grasp. He can and will do more than whatever you can imagine.
1 Corinthians 2:9 BSB
[9] Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
1 Cor 2:9(BSB)
As I put this together, I couldn’t help but think of the following hymn:
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Cliché Month: Quit Waffling (And You’ll be Peachy Keen) 🧇🧡
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
This has been a long day of research. That’s not a bad thing, though, and I learned a bunch of stuff I’ll need for future posts and websites. However, all that time and learning meant I kinda wore out my brain for the day and couldn’t think of a good cliché to write on. So I went to the calendar for the special events associated with August 24th and found a great reason to do a mashup of clichés—because I really need to quit waffling on a number of things, so I can be peachy keen. 😁
How about you, Reader? Are you like me with a ton of undecided actions holding you back? If so, enjoy this info on two unrelated clichés that go together like peaches on waffles. 😋 Mostly created by Gemini, it’s getting harder to edit into my own words because the AI is taking what I share and learning my style, so it’s written a lot like I would write it. Still, I promise I’m not just gonna be lazy and leave it as given without editing and examining it well.
So, every August 24th, two completely unrelated food holidays collide on the same date: National Waffle Day and National Peach Pie Day. At first glance, a golden grid drenched in syrup has very little in common with a sweet summer fruit pie other than both of them being sweet and yummy. But, when you pair their accompanying folk sayings together into a single breakfast-table pep talk—Quit waffling, and you’ll be peachy keen—you end up with a surprisingly profound guide to living a joyful life.
A Tale of Two Waffles
Most people think the verb “to waffle” (meaning to vacillate or hesitate endlessly) comes from flipping a pancake back and forth on a hot waffle iron. I actually thought it could be related to how a waffle sort of looks like a loom with weavings in crisscross directions. But language history reveals a clever case of accidental linguistic twins.
The breakfast waffle traces back to the late 12th-century Middle Dutch word wafel, rooted in ancient terms for honeycombs and woven webs, before officially entering English print in 1725 courtesy of Dutch settlers. By 1744, English cookbooks solidified the familiar double-f spelling we know and use today.
The slang verb arrived via a totally different road. As early as the 1440s, Middle Scots and Northern English used the dialect word waff to describe a weak puppy’s yelp, a fluttering gust of wind, or a waving motion. By the late 1600s, it meant fluctuating aimlessly, and the 1800s formalized the verb “to waffle.” Over time, English speakers blended the fluttering, wind-tossed indecision with the griddle cake. Eventually, to waffle became the universal shorthand for someone stuck in the middle, shifting weight from one foot to the other without ever making a solid choice.
From Ripe Fruit to Retro Cheer
On the flip side of hesitation sits the delightfully upbeat promise of being “peachy keen.” Long before 1950s teenagers turned it into a bouncy bobby-sox anthem, a “peach” was late-19th-century American slang for anything exceptionally fine, lovely, or sweet. A ripe, unblemished peach was considered nature’s peak perfection, so if a situation was sweet and smooth, “peachy” was a great way to describe its perfection.
Of course, it was also a way to sarcastically describe the opposite. A friend might ask a troubled friend how they are doing and get the answer, “Oh, just peachy!” But we’re talking about the sweet side today. 🍑
Adding “keen,” which was an old word for sharp, eager, and enthusiastic, created the ultimate mid-century seal of approval. To be peachy keen is to experience the smooth, uncomplicated sweetness that comes when things fall into proper order. It represents the peace and satisfaction waiting for us on the other side of deliberate action instead of sitting on the fence like we talked about in yesterday’s post.
Finding Spiritual Sweetness Beyond the Hesitation
Spiritual paralysis often disguises itself as caution. We spend endless energy waffling over decisions—wondering if we’re walking in God’s will or planting seeds that will reap the whirlwind. We impatiently wait for answers, overthinking the risks, while we hop anxiously between two or more opinions.
While there are times, according to Scripture, that we should stop and wait, or be still and let God fight the battles, God’s Word also reminds us that double-mindedness robs us of stability, like a wave tossed back and forth on the sea. So we want to pray for God’s unmistakable direction and follow Him as He leads—waiting but not hesitating.
Isaiah 40:31 BSB
[31] But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.40.31.BSB
Psalm 27:14 BSB
[14] Wait patiently for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the Lord!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.27.14.BSB
2 Chronicles 20:17a BSB
[17] You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2ch.20.17.BSB
Clarity and contentment rarely arrive while we are standing frozen at the crossroads. They unfold when we step forward with faith, make our move, and trust that Our Heavenly Father is leading our steps.
Hebrews 11:6 BSB
[6] And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.6.BSB
The next time you find yourself fluttering in the breeze of indecision, take a lesson from the breakfast table: God can take those “what if” thoughts and bring you through the Valley of Decision to sweetness on the other side. Step back from the waffle iron and let your Abba do the cooking.
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🎬Cliché Month: (don’t) Follow Your Heart 💓
Follow Your Heart?
Have you ever followed your heart only to have it lead you someplace you didn’t expect to go? Maybe you thought you were following true love. Maybe a religious experience turned out to be a little too much like a cult instead of being Bible based. Maybe you were totally certain you were supposed to go to a certain school, job, or address and all the promises fell flat.
Few platitudes are as universally celebrated as “follow your heart.” You’ll find it in graduation cards, you’ll hear animated heroines speak it as a mantra, and Hollywood pushes it as the way to fulfill your dreams. On the surface, it sounds empowering. But beneath the romanticism, there’s an uncomfortable truth: our hearts (emotions) are fickle, easily swayed, and often terrible navigators. Even God’s Word says our hearts are so deceitful that we can’t even know them ourselves.
Jeremiah 17:9 WEBUS
[9] The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?
https://bible.com/bible/206/jer.17.9.WEBUS
Danger and Deceit
This is the danger of following your heart. Even though we’re told things like, “The heart knows what it wants,” or “Listen to your heart,” those efforts often lead us to a broken heart or into hopeless depression. And why? Because they mix up emotional desires with being led through this life by our loving Creator. Only the Spirit of The One who made us can lead to the places He planned and designed for us. Every other direction is hit and miss. Maybe it will lead to someplace great; maybe not. John Bevere speaks on this in his message: “Breaking Intimidation.” He says things of the soul can imitate things of The Spirit.
The affiliate link above is for the book at Amazon, and I’m not certain if that portion is in the book or only on CD, so I asked Microsoft Copilot for a summary of that portion of the message. Here’s that summary…
John Bevere warns that the soul (mind/will/emotions) can imitate the Spirit, creating impulses that feel right, sound noble, and even look “spiritual,” yet still come from human desire rather than God. He uses John the Baptist as the example: everything about his priestly family line suggested a respectable ministry path, but the Spirit led him into the wilderness instead—camel hair, locusts, and a calling no one expected. Bevere’s point is simple and sharp: following your heart is often just following your soul, and the soul, no matter how sincere, “cannot receive the things of the Spirit.” True direction comes from the Spirit, even when it contradicts what seems good.
1 Corinthians 2:14 BSB
[14] The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1co.2.14.BSB
The Romantic Rebellion
The belief that our inner feelings are the ultimate moral compass took root during the late 18th-century Romantic Era. Poets and philosophers, who reacted against the cold rationality of the Industrial Age, argued that personal passion and raw emotion were inherently pure. Over the 20th century, pop psychology and modern individualism cemented the idea that it was unhealthy to suppress our desires. They suggested that trusting immediate emotional impulses was the highest form of self-discovery.
An Ancient Warning
Long before modern cinema made the human heart into the hero of every story, ancient wisdom urged caution with yielding to wild emotions. In classical philosophy, Plato illustrated the human soul as a charioteer (Reason) struggling to manage two horses—one noble, and the other a wild, rebellious appetite that was “the mate of insolence and pride… hardly yielding to whip and spur.”
Scripture provides more anchors against letting blind, emotional trust lead us to places of destruction or depression:
Proverbs 4:23 BSB
[23] Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.4.23.BSB
Proverbs 3:5-6 BSB
[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.3.5-6.BSB
Rather than letting unchecked desires drag us toward a fire, wisdom calls us to tether our hearts to truth, discernment, and sound guidance.
Leading Your Heart
In the 2008 film Fireproof, there is a pivotal conversation between Caleb and his friend (and boss) Michael that perfectly dismantles this platitude. When Caleb tells Michael he is “in” with The Lord and wants some faith advice, Michael gets very excited. He calls Caleb his brother (but you gotta hear how he says it 😁) and then gives great big-brother-type advice:
“And don’t just follow your heart, man, because your heart can be deceived; but you’ve got to lead your heart.”
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🎵Cliché Month: Soft as a Kitten’s Ear 🐯
Whispers, Paws, and Unexpected Comfort
There is an unmatched texture in the natural world that immediately melts away tension: the delicate, velvety warmth of a kitten’s ear. It isn’t just soft like fabric, it’s alive and pulsing with gentle warmth. Pair that with the low, rhythmic hum of a cat’s purr—a soothing frequency that scientists say closely mimics the calming auditory comfort a baby hears in utero—and your defenses don’t stand a chance.
Our feline companions have an uncanny intuition for when our hearts are tender. Years ago, I had a sweet boy who was my constant shadow. Charlie always curled tight against my side whenever I would lie down. But there was great comfort in being pinned into place while we both slept.
When liver failure took him from me, my grief sent me to bed in the early afternoon. But then something remarkable happened. As I laid down, our other cat Abbie, who had always been a bit aloof with me and attached to my husband, walked quietly into the room, hopped up, and settled into the exact spot beside me where Charlie used to rest. I mean, the exact posture and everything! It’s like she knew I needed that spot filled just exactly the way Charlie used to fill it, and she held that quiet vigil until I fell asleep. Animals simply know when to offer grace without saying a single word.
From the Dry Goods Counter to the Nursery
We often treat toughness and tenderness as opposing forces, but true strength is almost always anchored in love. When we look back at the grit of the historic night riders from yesterday’s post—like my GG Great Grandfather John Wisdom, “The Paul Revere of the South”—it’s easy to focus solely on the sheer endurance of galloping sixty-seven miles through the dark. But the driving motivation behind that ride wasn’t just cold military duty; it was personal. His mother lived in Rome Georgia, and a son’s fierce love for his mama fueled every mile of that daring journey.
That is why the old idiom “soft as a kitten’s ear” carries deeper feeling than phrases like “soft as silk” or “soft as velvet.” Before the creation of synthetic microfibers, people measured comfort against the living world around them. While high-society writers favored imported silks, everyday speech favored the warmth of the hearth; the down on a baby chick; the fleece of a lamb; and the delicate fur of a newborn kitten.
By the early-to-mid 20th century, American department stores and textile mills grabbed the phrase for their advertising. Print ads for blanket makers like Chatham and St. Marys frequently pitched virgin-wool crib blankets and layette flannels as “soft as a kitten’s ear and warm as a mother’s hug.” Copywriters knew that comparing a fabric to an animal’s ear evoked something a bolt of woven silk never could: living, breathing warmth, gentle vulnerability, and total safety.
The Courage to Remain Tender
Living in this harsh, fast-paced world tempts us to build thick walls around our hearts. After enough disappointments and griefs, it feels safer to become distant and untouchable. But God never intended for our souls to become frozen. In Ezekiel 36:26, He makes the beautiful promise to remove our hearts of stone and give us responsive, living hearts of flesh—soft, beating, and capable of deep empathy.
Ezekiel 36:26 BSB
[26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ezk.36.26.BSB
It takes real spiritual courage to stay tenderhearted because it means being willing to feel deeply and to let God’s gentle peace soothe our rough edges. While we need the spiritual equivalent of the layered oak hull of Old Ironsides to navigate life’s stormy seas, we must make sure the Holy Spirit is the most important layer. Never lose the warmth within. Make your convictions firm, but keep your spirit soft as a kitten’s ear.
In closing, if I haven’t mentioned it before (or if I have) I am really getting a lot from the book Bold and Broken by David and Jason Benham. (Affiliate link included.) And there’s an older country song that carries this message beautifully called Strong Enough to Bend by Tanya Tucker…
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Cliché Month: Tough As Old Ironsides
Boston Echoes
Over 35 years ago, the company I worked for assigned me within an hour of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Standing in the historic heart of Boston has a way of resetting your perspective on the American story. When I took a tour of the city, history stopped being a hard-to-recall page in a textbook and became something real and memorable. I learned that the famous Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought mostly on Breed’s Hill, and I got up close to the USS Constitution, the ship later dubbed Old Ironsides because of its resilience in battle. And because August 19th is “Old Ironsides Day,” it seemed the perfect day for this cliché.
Later, I stood captivated inside the Old North Church, where the acoustics let the soaring notes of a live violin echo right into my soul. That was part of the tour because of the famous Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Most of us picture Revere sitting in the window swinging lanterns, but he was actually the strategist on the ground! It was church sexton Robert Newman who crept up all 154 stairs to hang the two lanterns—”one if by land, two if by sea” —sending Revere galloping into the night.
That kind of courage has found its way into other historical events, and in my family, into our genealogy. In my family tree, my ancestor John Wisdom became known as “The Paul Revere of The South.” In May 1863, he rode nearly 67 miles through the dark from Gadsden, Alabama, to Rome, Georgia—swapping out exhausted horses along the way—to sound the alarm and save the city’s vital bridges and ironworks. Whether in Massachusetts or Georgia, history is forged by people willing to ride into battle and risk their own safety to protect others.
The Oak, the Copper, and the Broadside
That same resilience brings us to the harbor, where the USS Constitution still rests. On August 19, 1812, during a fierce battle against the British frigate HMS Guerriere, sailors watched in disbelief as 18-pound cannonballs shot by the enemy struck her hull and bounced harmlessly into the water. A sailor famously shouted, “Huzza! Her sides are made of iron!”—and the nickname “Old Ironsides” was born.
Her sides weren’t iron, of course; they were three dense layers of resilient white oak and southern live oak. But what held that indestructible wooden fortress together? None other than Paul Revere’s foundry, which forged the heavy copper bolts and spikes that pinned her hull planks tight under fire. Decades later, when the ship was slated for scrapping, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. penned his stirring poem Old Ironsides, rallying the public and cementing “Tough as Old Ironsides” into American slang for anyone built to take life’s hardest hits without breaking.
Taking the Hit and Standing Fast
Life has a habit of firing unexpected volleys. Hard news, sudden changes, and emotional friction can feel like a heavy iron shot headed straight for our hearts. Our natural instinct is often to retreat or fracture under the impact, but God designed us with holy durability as long as He is part of the layering.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 BSB
[7] Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
[8] We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
[9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.4.7-9.BSB
But spiritual toughness isn’t about being cold or unfeeling; it’s about what holds your frame together when the sea gets rough. When your life is anchored in faith and covered in grace, the enemy’s fiery darts and the world’s heavy blows simply bounce off. Hold fast to your course, stand firm in His strength, and trust that in Christ, you really are like the companion cliché to the one above: Tough As Nails. 🛠️
My thanks to Google’s Gemini for much of this history, and to Ancestry for the connections to my Great Great Great Grandfather.
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Cliché Month: When the Cat’s Away, the Mice Will Play 🐈⬛🐁
We Love Our Black “Galaxy” Kitty
In honor of National Black Cat Appreciation Day, I couldn’t help but think about how our sleek, shadowed feline companions get a bad reputation—mostly as symbols of superstition. But if you’ve ever known a black cat, especially a tuxedo cat, you know how not-scary they actually are.
Currently, we have a black feral who won’t come in the house, won’t sit on our laps, and gets a bit haughty if she sees us feed another neighborhood cat, but she lives here most of the time. We call her Galaxy because of the white cluster of fur on her chest, sort of like a spinning space galaxy. She likes to be scritched, and sometimes, she will even jump up on the front porch glider and sit close (but not too close) while “making biscuits” in the air. We feel a strong victory when we get her to enjoy our company like that.
But When The Cat’s Away…
The core sentiment of this cliché originated in medieval Latin: “Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsilit antro” (“When the cat sleeps, the mouse leaves its hole, rejoicing”). By the early 14th century, the French had framed it as “Ou chat na rat regne” (“Where there is no cat, the rat is king”), emphasizing the immediate shift in control. In 1599, William Shakespeare referenced the concept in Henry V, pointing out that an unguarded territory invites chaos by “playing the mouse in absence of the cat.”
The common denominator is, of course, that the mouse is very happy to have the house (or castle) all to itself. And after our last indoor cat left to cross the rainbow bridge in January of 2023, we experienced exactly what happens when you have no cats and a closed storage room with a window. (Actually, we still don’t know where they got in.)
After that experience, I’ve thought very strongly about getting another indoor cat to dissuade any new critters from moving in during the cold winter, but thankfully, we haven’t seen evidence of them for awhile.
What Kinds of People Play Cat and Mouse Games?
Real character isn’t proven when authority is standing in the room taking notes; it’s proven in the unchecked moments when nobody is looking over our shoulder. What we are on the inside will eventually come out in our words and our behaviors. Scripture says…
Luke 6:45 BSB
[45] The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.6.45.BSB
Mice may be small, but they make big choices to invade, chew, nest, and poop (yuck) when they think they can get away with it. Some people also make big choices in the abundance of little things they do without caring how they affect the big picture. I think it’s actually that big-picture care that speaks most about the integrity of a person.
I found so many quotes about integrity and character, that I could never share them all with you. But here are a few I like:
“Character is built by thousands of small choices.”
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” — Thomas Paine
“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.
The Apostle Paul spoke of character to the Ephesian slaves (working class) in how they should obey their bosses…
Ephesians 6:6-7 BSB
[6] And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
[7] Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men,
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.6.6-7.BSB
But God Even Loves the Mice
My annual Bible study has had me in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah this week, and I’ve been amazed at the progression of the people as they learn about God’s law and about His grace. They’ve been in bondage due to sin and ignorance, so someone finds the Torah and begins reading it to the people. Many are moved to begin obeying it. This is followed by testimony of all the ways the people have abandoned The Lord and how, when things went bad, they would come back to Him. And what did He do? Over and over again, He forgave them and provided ways for them to come back into His holy presence.
There were some that just refused to be changed, whether by the law or by grace, and they made the prophet so angry that he beat them. But that’s an effect a person with no integrity can have on a person with integrity. They can push your buttons until you feel like pulling your hair out, or doing like the prophet and pulling out their hair. And when their lack of caring causes them to reject The Almighty, it feels even worse.
In case you want to see what The Bible Project says about these 2 Bible books, here’s their message on that subject:
But the goal of personal and spiritual growth is self-governance: deciding for and in ourselves that we WANT to do the right thing simply because it IS the right thing. We move beyond the fear of whether the “cat” is home or away, and we treat every moment as if we want to make the “cat” happy and proud. And we grasp the reality that God knows our (mouse) form and yet He still loves and forgives us. Now that’s a reason to get excited that we have freedom and time to play.
Psalm 103:14 BSB
[14] For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.103.14.BSB
I’ll wrap up with these encouraging words from Hebrews…
Hebrews 4:14-16 BSB
[14] Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. [16] Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.4.14-16.BSB
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Cliché Month: A Walk in the Park
Sometimes, a day or an effort may seem super easy. Other times, what we’re asked to do can be excruciatingly difficult. But no matter how easy or difficult it is, the one thing we don’t want is for someone else to think it will work the same for us as it does for them.
For example, an experienced baker may be asked to do something that, for them, is literally as easy as pie. If you asked me to bake a pie, I could do it, but it may or may not be easy. If I make an easy pie, it is usually a no bake something with a cream cheese filling and a graham cracker crust. 😋
Still, most of us have had moments that could be called a walk in the park. We often use that phrase to describe something effortless, easy, and free of any stress at all. We can see ourselves skipping through the task like we would skip through a park filled with greenery, beauty, sunshine, and even a light Spring breeze. 🏞️
Where Did “A Walk in the Park” Come From?
The idiom emerged in American English during the early-to-mid 20th century. Urban public parks were originally designed as tranquil, landscaped escapes from crowded, noisy industrial city streets. Because strolling down a level, paved park path required virtually no exertion or hazard, the phrase naturally evolved into slang for any task that was delightfully easy or uncomplicated.
The Path of Real Peace
Though our daily responsibilities are rarely effortless, we don’t have to carry the fatigue alone. 1 Peter, Chapter 5, puts it this way:
1 Peter 5:7 BSB
[7] Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1pe.5.7.BSB
Stepping onto God’s path and walking with Him allows us to trade our striving for His steady guidance and true restoration:
Psalm 23:2-3 BSB
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
[3] He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.23.2-3.BSB
May your steps be light, unhurried, and peaceful today. 🕊️👣
I’m a little sleepy today, so I got a little more help from Gemini. It’s starting to write more like me, but I still read and edit carefully like I would do in a human collaboration. Still, it was very helpful tonight.
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🎵Cliché Month: Stop and Smell the Roses 🌹
It seems like everything is a rush and a hurry these days. The chaos of trying to do all, be all, and have all keeps us striving on a regular basis. But does it bring the results we truly long for, like contentment and peace and happiness? And if not, how do we get there?
I think taking a detour that leads to someplace beautiful could be a great start.
Where Did “Stop and Smell the Roses” Come From?
While the sentiment feels timeless and like we’ve been hearing it forever, this modern idiom is often traced—not so far back—to professional golfer Walter Hagen. In his 1956 autobiography, The Walter Hagen Story, he wrote a famous piece of advice: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”
I guess many people’s favorite flowers are roses, so over the decades, popular culture refined “the flowers” into “the roses.” Eventually, it turned into a universal shorthand for slowing down to appreciate the blessing of the present and whatever is going on in the moment. Even though my favorite flower is the carnation, somehow Stop and smell the carnations doesn’t have the same ring to it. 😉
It’s a Blessing to Focus on What Matters
When the pace of life becomes overwhelming, stopping isn’t just about freezing in place; it is an intentional act of redirecting our thoughts toward sensing all the goodness around us. Thinking, seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling all take just enough time to help us focus on the moment. King David needed a break like this during his time of exile:
Psalm 143:5-6 BSB
[5] I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. [6] I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.143.5-6.BSB
Taking that mental detour allows us to shift our gaze from the chaos of our schedules to the steady faithfulness of our Almighty Creator.
Releasing the Worry of the Rush
Much of our rushing is driven by the anxious belief that if we don’t hold everything together ourselves, things will fall apart. Anxiety isn’t just a topic on commercials advertising some new pharmaceutical relief; it’s a very real part of many lives. Even Christians with all the reasons in life to be at peace often struggle.
I don’t think I’ve shared yet about my diagnosis of severe PTSD (found when I was tested for Adult ADHD), but it has had effects on my health and in getting things done more than once. At the same time, I feel that God has given me experiences to recall and meditate on to bring balance. One of those was a trip to Niagara Falls almost 30 years ago. And it’s a story about the falls themselves that builds my peace and trust in The Lord.
Niagara Falls Erosion and Geology tells about the cracks that led to a couple major collapses at the American Falls with the major one in 1954 taking chunks of the viewing platform and railings at Prospect Point.
On my visit, I heard the story, so when I looked over the edges and saw the piled chunks of cement with pieces of the old railings sticking out, it made it very real for me. What makes it have balance is knowing how the falls became so much stronger as that collapse leaned against the crestline of the American Falls that still stands firm. And not only strength, but white water beauty was added to the scene as well.
Jesus reminds us that He is The One who governs our lives and plans to bring strength and beauty from them as well. And He gives us reason to lean into Him instead of collapsing into worry and grasping with white knuckles a railing that may not promise the safety we seek. He says…
Luke 12:25-27 BSB
[25] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? [26] So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? [27] Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.12.25-27.BSB
If God clothes the delicate petals of a bloom with such care, we can safely pause our striving and trust Him with our days and our moments—and with our whole lives.
An Invitation to Rest in YahShua
Ultimately, pausing to notice beauty clears away the mental clutter at least long enough to hear our Savior speak. He speaks most in His written Word, so while you’re stopped to sense the blessings around you, pick up a Bible and find great and precious promises to give you new strength:
Matthew 11:28 BSB
[28] Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.11.28.BSB
Whether it is literally taking a beat to stop and breathe deeply while you walk in a garden, or simply turning your heart toward quiet gratitude in the middle of a busy week, don’t forget to take a pause today. What is one small, beautiful thing you can stop and appreciate right now?
Something I appreciate is really good song lyrics. This song by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family came from a cave-in (loss of a baby by miscarriage) in her own life. May the lyrics speak to you, readers, as you need them.
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🎵Cliché Month: The Left Hand Didn’t Know What the Right Hand was Doing
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
I didn’t grow up attending a parochial school where students had their knuckles slapped for writing with their left hands, though even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered for me since I’m thoroughly right-handed. In fact, I only crossed paths with a few left-handers throughout my life until I met my husband, a born-and-bred southpaw. (And, no, right-handers are not called northpaws.🤔)
With August 13th marking International Left-Handers Day, it felt like the perfect opportunity to celebrate him and his unique trait that belongs to only about 10 to 12 percent of the world’s population. It also got me thinking about how much strange, unfair baggage has been historically tied to the left side—and the famous clichés and idioms that followed.
In everyday work and planning, we all know the frustration when the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. Tasks stall, wires cross, and you end up in a full-blown tug-of-war with your own to-do list. Scripture even reminds us of the practical necessity of coordination—nobody builds a tower without first sitting down to count the cost and make sure all efforts pull in the same direction.
“For which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was unable to finish.’”
Luke 14:28–30 (BSB)
Yet Scripture also offers a brilliant paradox in Matthew: when it comes to quiet generosity, we are instructed not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. In character, humility means doing good without staging a self-congratulatory parade.
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”
Matthew 6:3 (BSB)
We truly need both: the intentional coordination where both hands work as a unified team, and the quiet integrity where one hand acts without demanding applause from the other.
Here’s to giving our left hands a little extra appreciation—and making sure both hands stay in sync. How about you: are you a left-hander, or married to one like me? Or maybe both? 🤲
P.S. A fun FYI for you: There’s an old trick I learned from a kid’s album many (many) years ago. If you hold your hands out in front of you with the palms facing away, when you extend your thumb to a ninety-degree angle, your left hand will create the letter “L.” Is that cool, or what?
This is a fun song with a catchy chorus, but I couldn’t find it with lyrics. Still, this is a pretty amazing ensemble singing in this video.
with Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, Kris Kristopherson, and Willie Nelson
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🎵Cliché Month: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
A Stitch in Time Saves Nine—Or Ten, or Eleven…
It’s one of those old-school clichés we’ve heard a thousand times, usually repeated when we’re putting something off or just at the beginning of a problem when someone is warning us to stop things before they get any worse.
🪡Originating back in the early 18th century, the wisdom was pure and practical common sense: fix a tiny tear in a garment right when it appears. Then, it only takes a single thread. But if it is left to unravel, the cost is greater in multiple ways. It means spending exponentially more time, and it means many times the stitches or patching a massive rip later on.
Folk Origins
The first recorded printing of this idiom was in 1732. Thomas Fuller, an English physician and writer, used the phrase in his 1732 compilation titled Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British. In the original phrasing, Fuller actually recorded it as: “A stitch in time may save nine.”
Because Gnomologia was a collection of existing regional sayings and folk wisdom, we know Fuller didn’t invent the phrase himself—he collected it from oral tradition. Like most classic proverbs, it emerged organically from daily working-class speech rather than from a single famous author.
Why Nine?
“Nine” wasn’t chosen for exact mathematical precision—it serves two specific functions:
Rhyme & Rhythm (Mnemonic Device): The slant rhyme between “time” and “nine” was intentionally used to make the advice catchier and easier to remember.
Exaggeration/Scale: In English folklore and proverb traditions, “nine” frequently represented a substantial or magical multiplier (e.g., a cat has nine lives, cloud nine, a nine days’ wonder). It simply signified “a whole lot more effort later.”
The High Cost of Clothing
In the 18th century, textiles and garments were completely handmade. That meant they were extremely labor-intensive—and costly. Most people owned very few clothing items, and keeping them usable for as long as possible was a necessity.
The Mechanics of Fabric: Hand-woven fabrics under tension (like work clothes) can unravel quickly once a single thread breaks. Catching that loose thread right away required just one quick stitch—hence the literal advice to act before the entire seam gave way.
Simple Advice
It’s brilliant, simple advice… that almost none of us actually follow on the first try.
Enter procrastination. The word itself stems from the Latin procrastinare—combining pro- (“forward”) and crastinus (“belonging to tomorrow,” from cras). It literally means pushing today’s responsibilities into tomorrow’s territory. But let’s be real: just because the word starts with “pro,” doesn’t mean it’s a pro-level life strategy! 😁
Many of us play that familiar mental game of handing off today’s small, tedious tasks to our future selves. We convince ourselves that “Tomorrow Me” will magically possess boundless energy, pristine focus, and unlimited motivation. So we leave the box in the hallway, skip the small errand, or ignore the growing pile in the corner.
In reality, though, procrastination is just high-interest debt we charge to our future selves. What starts as a minor, easy-to-ignore delay slowly compounds over time. Before you know it, those few skipped “stitches” snowball into a full-scale, all-hands-on-deck effort like I’ve previously described as my Operation Cleanout.
So, what about you? What small “stitches” are you currently leaving for “Tomorrow You”—and why?
My Take
We’ve all heard the golden rule of organization: “Never touch an item twice—deal with it immediately.”
That sounds great on paper, right? But if I’m being completely honest, that rule has never worked for me, no matter how hard I’ve tried. Picking something up only to realize I don’t have the time or energy (or desire) to handle it right now just leads to moving it from one surface to another; one pile to another; or one room (or closet) to another. That’s when you begin to feel like your stuff is more in control of you than you are of it
The real secret isn’t learning how to handle things instantly; it’s learning not to pick them up in the first place until you’re actually ready to act on them.
That’s easier said than done in the digital age. While our digital devices are fantastic at compiling all those previously forgotten thoughts into one place, they are equally great at adding unwanted extra layers to every piece. The digital services mix all the ingredients into a lovely cake, but the notifications pile on so much extra icing that you can barely find the slice underneath!
This is the world for most of us now: Constant pings, live notifications, social media updates, and endless emails. We get pulled into opening messages and checking alerts out of curiosity or habit. The next thing you know, we’ve accumulated a mental inbox of things we want to know about but simply don’t have the emotional bandwidth to act on in that moment. Our FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) makes every read-wait-read notification become another thread pulling on our already tense and worn attention span.
Don’t Lose Hope
The positive turnaround isn’t about beating yourself up over a growing pile or an overflowing inbox. It’s about adding small, deliberate tasks that you know you can accomplish to reduce the overwhelm of so many tasks that feel impossible. When we protect our attention, by refusing to “pick up” an email or task until we actually have the time to process it, we stop generating false stitches that need fixing later. Getting a friend—like the wonderful friend I’ve been blessed with—to help you refocus on one pile or box at a time makes more of a difference than I can put into words. And I never knew just how much I needed her until she volunteered her time and her heart to partner with me in getting victory over my unravelling seams.
Some One Stitch Ideas You Can Use (Compliments of Google’s Gemini)
- Audit Your Digital Gateways: Turn off non-essential social media and app notifications so you aren’t continually tempted to “pick up” messages before you have the time and desire to process them.
- The Two-Minute Rule: If a task takes under two minutes (like hanging up a coat, replying to a quick text, or rinsing a plate), do it immediately before it enters your “tomorrow” pile.
- Process Inboxes in Batches: Schedule specific, dedicated windows during the day to check and respond to email rather than leaving your inbox open continuously as a distraction engine.
- Leave Things “Ready to Act”: If you know you aren’t ready to address a physical project or document, leave it completely untouched at its origin point rather than moving it halfway into your active workspace.
- The Nightly Five-Minute Reset: Spend five minutes before bed clearing off just one primary surface (like your desk or kitchen counter) so you start the next day with clean momentum instead of leftover debt.
- (My addition) Forgive yourself even while not excusing yourself. It’s okay to be an imperfect human. Just learn which imperfections create more chaos than peace, and gift yourself the effort it takes to get victory over them.
Biblical Wisdom on Diligence & Today’s Actions
Scripture frequently reminds us of the value of stewardship of our time, prompt actions, and the subtle dangers of letting small delays accumulate into overwhelming burdens:
Proverbs 27:1 BSB
[1] Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.27.1.BSB
That Proverb reminds us that “Tomorrow You” is built on an illusion of guaranteed time, encouraging us to honor the moments and capacity we have right now.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 BSB
[10] Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.9.10.BSB
This Ecclesiastes verse emphasizes wholehearted focus when we choose to engage with a task. Doing it with intentional energy prevents half-hearted efforts that require fixing later on.
Proverbs 24:33-34 BSB
[33] A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, [34] and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.24.33-34.BSB
Solomon’s classic warning here highlights how overwhelming chaos and clutter rarely arrive in a single huge event; they creep in quietly through a series of tiny, repeated delays—the exact “unraveled seam” our cliché warns against.
One Day at a Time
I’ll close with this music I feel is totally perfect for all the stitches we may need to do in life. Whether it’s the stitch that saves nine, or the stitches to repair the torn seams, we still only have today to take care of them. And this version changed the lyrics on one line and made it even more fitting. Where the original says “violence and crime,” this one says, “crowding my mind.”
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Cliché Month: Beauty is Only Skin Deep; plus Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
I’m bringing you two related clichés today because they are parts along the same line of looking at real beauty vs false beauty. I write from the point of view of someone who’s never really liked what she saw in the mirror, though I haven’t hated what I see either. It just always seemed like most others were prettier than me. There have been moments where I fixed myself up into something I was more pleased with, but even those never made me feel gorgeous or beautiful.
On the other hand, my acceptance of being more plain than those “real” beauties in my life has driven me to develop inner beauty. Caring how others feel, trying to be helpful to almost everyone, and freely talking about my various failures in life to make sure no one feels like I think I’m better than them has always been among my goals. Even with winning behaviors or skills, if they made someone else feel loss, it took the wind right out of my sails. (Hmm, that’s another cliché, huh?)
Sometime during my travels with the photo studio, a TV was on with a show called Monsters. The episode I watched back then (around 1990) has stuck with me for years even though I didn’t actually know the show or what the episode was called until a few weeks of deep searching gave me the result: Season 2, episode 23, called “The Bargain.” I’ve linked to it on YouTube, but the summary goes like this:
A woman owns a bookstore and has feelings for a customer who doesn’t seem to feel the same. She decides it’s because she’s plain, so when she sees an ad for a new face, she calls the number. Her new face is beautiful but comes with a few prices. In the end, the woman with her old face gets the guy who’d been in love with her inner beauty all along, so she lost everything by focusing on the outer shell. I guess this actually goes a little with yesterday’s cliché to not judge a book by its cover as well.
Now, the second cliché makes a similar point, and the illustration of it is shown perfectly in the old Twilight Zone episode called Eye of the Beholder from season 1, episode 39. But I was unable to find that in a full original episode without commentary. I have linked to the unveiling moment in the remake from 2002 since the point is still shown, and the videography still pulls off some of the tricks of the original.
If you haven’t seen it, I don’t want to spoil this one, so I’ll just tell you that it’s an episode about a woman who has plastic surgery to “fix” her face to give her the beauty of those around her. The surgery fails and the lights come on to reveal that beauty—both hers and others—is not exactly what most expect it to be.
On a side note, if you watch (or rewatch) this full episode, pay attention to the amazing use of shadows and camera angles that hide the actual faces of the cast until the reveal at about 16 minutes in. The strength of the film is in the audio until the lights come on, and you never realize something is being purposely hidden from the audience. It’s done brilliantly.
So how do we look at the world when we’ve been so trained to judge on outward appearances and yet somehow know they are not the answer? The Bible speaks to this in three different ways.
Proverbs 31:30 BSB
[30] Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.31.30.BSB
1 Samuel 16:7 BSB
[7] But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the Lord does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1sa.16.7.BSB
1 Peter 3:3-4 BSB
[3] Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, [4] but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1pe.3.3-4.BSB
Each of us should work on our inner beauty, and we should also strive to see the inner beauty of others. It is that true beauty that will allow us to make genuine connections to each other; connections so strong that they supercede any abundance or lack of external beauty.
This message is portrayed beautifully in the Pure Flix movie called “A Hot Cocoa Christmas” (formerly called “Much Ado About Christmas”) and one I highly recommend is worth renting. I wish I could find the karaoke scene that shows the connection between the couple, but here’s the trailer for the whole movie:
Just imagine a world where the insides truly mean more than the outsides to most people. No more harming others because they’re wearing the shoes someone else thinks they deserve; no more attacking people because of any outward display (age, race, gender, etc.) someone dislikes; no more graffiti and damage to the outsides of buildings or cars or wherever people feel their appearances need to be made; and people dedicated to bringing out the best in others, so their inner beauty can shine. All that would be Heavenly. Dream with me, and let your own inner beauty sparkle. ✨🤩
Shout out to both Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot for helping me find the info for that old show and for pointing out the symmetry arc my mind naturally found by looking at these three sources to present my points.
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Cliché Month: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
That’s the classic advice we celebrate for National Book Lovers Day on August 9th of each year since 1995. Note: The link goes to a page for 2023, but it’s the only one that gave a history. It also has some great quotes about reading like…
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin
Appearances can be deceiving, though, and the true value of any story lies within the content of its pages. I agree… especially if that book happens to be a recipe book.
That makes my mind immediately jump to that classic Twilight Zone episode, “To Serve Man.” The Earth welcomed nine-foot-tall alien visitors called the Kanamits with open arms, largely because of a book they left behind with that noble-sounding title. Humanity judged the book entirely by its cover! Spoiler alert: If anyone had taken the time to actually peruse the pages inside—and decode a bit of the Kanamit language first—they would have realized long before it was too late that it wasn’t a manual for goodwill… it was a cookbook, and humans were the main course. 🙃 Here’s a quick clip from the episode:
The Proof in the Pudding
Thankfully, the recipe books in my home don’t require a government cryptographer to decipher, and their intentions are far more wholesome!
Whether it’s a cookbook, an instruction book, or a novel, every bookworm knows that the proof isn’t just in the reading—it’s in the application. What do you do with the words you read? A quote I’ve always liked says…
If all else fails, read the instructions — attributed to Agnes Allen.
When I first saw that quote over 40 years ago, it was appended by the followup instruction: And if that doesn’t work, follow them. That’s great advice since all the pretty recipe pictures and yummy ingredients won’t mean nearly as much if they’re never matched with a bowl and a mixing spoon. The Bible puts it this way:
James 1:22 BSB
[22] Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.1.22.BSB
Once you make a cozy bowl from a trusted set of instructions, the true value of that book is undeniably in the taste. As another idiom says, The proof is in the pudding. (Which is wonderfully convenient, since August 9th is also National Rice Pudding Day!)
Turning the Page with Comfort Food
This is actually a perfect mashup of holidays—nourishment for the soul and nourishment for the body. One of the many “Today is special because…” sites I visited mentioned that most bibliophiles have more unread books than read books. I resemble that remark. 😁 And that even includes recipe books. That’s partly because I’m more apt to play in the kitchen and try to create something than I am to follow a detailed recipe.
For example, I’ve never made rice pudding, but one of my favorite experiments while looking for ways to sweeten food without sugar resulted in making fried apples with banana. Here’s a picture:
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
By caramelizing the bananas and butter directly into apples already sizzling with butter and cinnamon, you get the absolute perfect sweetness without needing added sugar. (Just a tiny touch from the vanilla bean paste!)
Tasty Fried Apples with Banana
- Apples ( I Prefer Honeycrisp Plus One Fuji or Gala; Peeled and Sliced)
- Banana (Mashed)
- Butter (Generous Amount Based on How Many Apples)
- Ground Cinnamon (To Taste; I Recommend Ceylon over Cassia)
- Vanilla Bean Paste (To Taste/About ¼ TSP)
- Optional Misc Spices Like Nutmeg and Allspice (To Taste)
- Optional Topping (Toasted Oats, Flax, Toasted Pecans, etc.)
Instructions: Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced apples, cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla bean paste, and a little water for steam. Cover and simmer until the apples begin to soften and caramelize. In another skillet, add the bananas and mash them with butter until they create a puree. Mix the puree with the caramelized apples and allow the whole mix to brown and caramelize a little more.
Serving Suggestion: Spoon into oven-safe bowls and sprinkle with your chosen topping. Put in a warm oven until time to serve. In my picture, you’ll notice I decorated the bowls with some thin slices of banana before adding the topping. But it was fine without the banana slices or crunchy topping. I think I was just trying to get a fancier picture like my efforts using 2 cutting boards. Whatever your method, please come back and add a comment to let me know you’ve tried them and what you think. Hubby used to like them better than most of those served in restaurants, but he cannot have any banana anymore. (Potassium is a no-no without kidneys.)
And with that, I bid you good reading and good eating. 📚🍮
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🎵 Cliché Month: Any Port in a Storm 🛟
As August 7th celebrates National Lighthouse Day, I thought about the first time I heard this cliché. It was after I was married to my military husband. We were discussing some of the bad decisions people make when they are searching for answers. Even though he was in the Army, he still knew this cliché as a description for ports in life that aren’t good but are better than sinking. That’s why I asked the AI to make the dock in the above image have broken planks.
Driven by Desperation
Dating back a few centuries to the age of wooden sail ships, “Any port in a storm” was a mariner’s literal reality. When pitch-black skies and violent storms threatened to overwhelm a vessel on the tossing sea, a captain couldn’t be picky about where he docked. He couldn’t wait for his home harbor or a pristine coastal resort. He had to steer into whatever harbor or rough wooden dock was closest—even if it was known for rocky shores, thieves, or dangerous currents—because a risky harbor was still better than a watery grave.
In everyday life, the phrase has come to mean taking whatever makeshift solution or shelter is available during a crisis, even if it carries its own set of risks. But as my husband noted, settling for a broken port out of fear often leads to a whole new set of troubles once the storm passes.
I’ve selected my share of dangerous ports during the storms of my life. As a teenager, a friend and I got lost while touring The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Our house parent left without us, and we had to take city buses at night to an apartment of someone she knew and sleep on the floor until someone could come get us the next day. Anything was better than staying out all night in the dark and dangerous city. And when I was homeless, crawling under the overhang of a building that sat behind a casino in Las Vegas was better than sleeping in a park and watching a gang beat someone up. (That happened on my first night of homelessness, so no park felt like a safe harbor after that.)
Sadly, some people select a port because it looks safe enough, or maybe the person throwing the “rope” seems genuinely helpful, but the next thing these people know, they are roped into addictions or trafficking they never saw coming. Once there, they don’t trust any lighthouse they see because they don’t know if it could be another trick. We must remember this when we reach out to minister to those who’ve made bad choices but truly want to be free.
The Rest of the Story: A Living Lighthouse
On a lighter note, I’ve got a wonderful short video for you as a quick version of a Paul Harvey episode of The Rest of the Story. It’s a fun radio throwback on the maritime legend in the story below! While Paul weaves in the American folklore of ‘Hatteras Jack’—the selfless helper who appeared at the sound of a foghorn—the real-life history of the protective law and the SS Penguin belongs to New Zealand’s famous Pelorus Jack.
The Rest of The Rest of The Story…
(Thank you to Google’s Gemini for this amazing and true story.) Sometimes, the first moments of safety don’t come from a port at all, but from an unexpected guide who will get you to the port. Between 1888 and 1912, ships navigating the treacherous, rock-strewn waters of French Pass off the coast of New Zealand relied on a famous Risso’s dolphin named Pelorus Jack.
For twenty-four years, Jack would leap through the waves, riding the bow waves of oncoming vessels and swimming ahead to lead them safely past the razor-sharp reefs. Not a single ship ever ran aground while following his lead.
In 1904, a passenger aboard the SS Penguin shot at Jack, injuring the beloved creature. Outraged, the New Zealand government passed a historic law specifically to protect Jack by name. After two weeks of healing, the dolphin returned to his post—guiding ships safely through the storm—with one legendary exception: he never guided the SS Penguin again. Whenever that ship approached, Jack vanished. Years later, while trying to navigate without their guide, the SS Penguin struck a reef and sank.
The Only True Harbor
When the tempests and trials of life hit us, it’s so easy to feel tempted to just tie up to the nearest broken dock. But while the world offers many makeshift “ports,” there is only one True Harbor of safety when the crashing waves threaten to pull us under. That safe harbor is also our Lighthouse, YahShua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ).
When you’ve docked in dangerous storms and you suddenly realize the planks beneath your feet are giving way, remember that He is the True Light shining over the rough waters, and He’s ready to guide you all the way home. Here’s what God’s Word says about His Light:
Matthew 4:16 BSB
[16] the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.4.16.BSB
John had only met Him when they were each in their mother’s wombs, but he knew who would soon be bringing salvation to the world.
John 1:9 BSB
[9] The true Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jhn.1.9.BSB
And I love this verse I found in the Psalms about God Himself guiding us into safe harbor.
Psalm 107:29-30 BSB
[29] He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
[30] They rejoiced in the silence, and He guided them to the harbor they desired.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.107.29-30.BSB
Now enjoy this beautiful a capella version of I Thank God for The Lighthouse by Vocal Union…
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Cliché Month: Toe The Line 👣
Boundaries With Purpose…
Aren’t you glad the toes in this image stay lined up exactly on the line rather than crossing into the text and creating unreadable chaos? That neon yellow boundary keeps order and allows the text message to remain crisp, visible, and perfectly legible. When things cross the line, structure (even digital structure) can collapse into a messy blur.
P.S. A quick spelling alert: Because we often talk about “towing” a heavy load, many people mistakenly write this idiom as “Tow the line.” But as you can see from our neon friends above, it is strictly Toe the line—as in physically placing your feet against a boundary!
And that physical boundary is exactly where tonight’s cliché story begins…
From Deck Seams to Track Meets
While we use “toe the line” today to describe following group rules or conforming to expectations, its literal roots come from strict physical discipline.
The most widely accepted origin comes from 18th-century wooden warships. The wooden decks of Royal Navy vessels were built with long planks sealed together using black pitch and tar. When the crew was called for morning inspection or disciplinary roll call, barefoot sailors were ordered to stand in a row with their toes touching the dark seam line running along the deck.
Standing still with your toes precisely on that mark meant you were paying attention and doing exactly as told. And since obedience to command in the military is necessary for victories and to save lives, most sailors did, in fact, toe the line. Here’s an image I found at archive.org depicting an inspection of hands and feet by The Royal Navy.
by Major W. O. Carlile, published in the Illustrated London News (1873).
Public Domain.
Interestingly, Captain Basil Hall was one of the first Royal Navy officers to write down the phrase “toeing the line” in his 1831 memoirs, describing how boys on the ship were made to stand at the deck seams as a routine discipline drill or punishment.
As time went on, the practice spread:
- In Schools: children were made to line up with their toes touching a floorboard or painted stripe before entering class or answering roll call.
- In Sports: Early runners placed their shoe tips right at the starting mark. Stepping over meant instant disqualification.
In every scenario, the lesson is identical: get as close to the line as required, but don’t step over it.
A Little Wiggle Room
Which brings us to the annual August 6th celebration of National Wiggle Your Toes Day. As one website reminds us, it’s one of the easiest holidays to celebrate because it doesn’t require any special equipment or dress code. Personally, I think wiggling barefoot is best, though. 🐻🦶😁
Really, there is a fun irony in celebrating toe freedom right next to an idiom about strict obedience. Toeing the line requires keeping your feet anchored and perfectly still. But once the inspection is over, the race is run, or the school day or work is done, there’s nothing quite like kicking off your shoes and giving your toes some room to wiggle.
Sometimes, learning how to toe the line is what earns us the freedom to relax when the day is done! Apparently, it’s even a treatment for anxiety, so don’t wait for just one day a year. Free up those “piggies” and get wiggling.
And don’t forget how much obedience is mixed with blessings in God’s order of things. Here’s a message from God through Joshua to the Children of Israel…
Joshua 1:7 BSB
[7] Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jos.1.7.BSB
Plus…
Psalm 37:23 BSB
[23] The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord who takes delight in his journey.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.37.23.BSB
This one took quite a bit of research between Google, Gemini, and Archive. Big thanks to both models of Google Gemini for their collaborative help.
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Cliché Month: Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Can you see that smug little grin on that sneaky raccoon’s face? He knows he tricked the dog into thinking he’s treed, but I’m sure the chase will be back on again shortly.
If you’ve ever put all your energy into a goal or project and suddenly realized you were far off base, you have experienced barking up the wrong tree. But don’t worry because you’re in good company. Humans, and even their four-legged hunting companions, have been doing that very thing for centuries.
The Frontier Origins…
The phrase “barking up the wrong tree” is a uniquely American phrase born on the early 1800s frontier. Settlers at the time relied on trained hounds to hunt raccoons at night. When cornered, a raccoon’s go-to defense was to scurry up a tree to get away from the chase. The dogs would then surround the trunk and bark furiously—a behavior known as “treeing”—to signal the hunter.
Raccoons, though, are super clever. A smart raccoon would often climb one tree and leap through the upper canopy into a neighboring tree. From there, it could sneakily slip away while the eager hounds would be left at the base of the first tree. Their noisy barking at a completely empty tree was just the distraction needed for the critter to get away before the hunters arrived. (Sneaky little smirking things. 😏)
I think I was about 14 years old the one and only time I went hunting for raccoons with my dad when we lived in Kansas. I only remember three things about it: it was too early in the morning and super dark outside, it was freezing and wet, and my little brother Jason was adorable when he would say, “We gon go coo hun” in his cute 4-year-old voice. Oh, and I remember the big gray Weimaraner he took hunting with us, but I don’t recall if he ever treed any raccoons.
Beyond the Hunt…
It didn’t take long for the phrase to move from describing a factual event between dogs and raccoons to becoming a statement about anyone in pursuit of an illusion. By the 1830s, the phrase leaped into popular print as a shortcut for misdirected energy, mistaken accusations or assumptions, or chasing a false lead. A person didn’t have to be running from a pursuit to confront a pursuer with a firm rejection and the notice that, if they thought they would get their way, they were barking up the wrong tree.
Barking Up the Right Tree…
Many years ago, a visiting young minister used the song “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones to illustrate the search for real satisfaction. He talked of how the songwriter had experienced fame and fortune and tried who knows how many diversions, and yet sang about trying over and over to be satisfied without ever getting there. Many of us exhaust ourselves barking up all kinds of worldly trees—status, approval, material success—only to find they leave us empty-handed.
In Isaiah 55:1-2, the prophet calls out to the unsatisfied who are barking up all the wrong trees. He calls them to a free and satisfying feast and then asks them to look at the real value of what they have been spending their money on and their work accumulating.
Isaiah 55:1-2 BSB
[1] “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
[2] Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.55.1-2.BSB
When we change our focus from the empty branches and look to The God and Creator who knows our true needs, we can feast on those things that truly satisfy. We can stop wasting our time barking up the wrong trees and instead bark up the True Vine and receive fruit from The Tree of Life. 🌳🧬
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Cliché Month: Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Most of us are familiar with the old advice to not put all your eggs in one basket. But do most of us know what it means or where it began?
The phrase as we know it today was famously popularized in 1605 by Miguel de Cervantes in his novel, Don Quixote. In the story, the sidekick Sancho Panza offers this bit of pragmatic wisdom: “it is the part of a wise man not to venture all his eggs in one basket.” It was a bit of cautious advice offered to Don Quixote, a knight who notoriously chased wild dreams and battled windmills, thinking they were monsters.
Not having read the novel myself, I asked Gemini for a summary around this part of the story. In case you don’t know it, Quixote was apparently a man of knightly bravado and chivalry (declaring that a single knight was worth a hundred ordinary men). His quest for vengeance resulted in both him and Sancho being beaten. Sancho’s advice was to remind Quixote that bravado without considering the odds is a quick way to have your gallant dreams completely shattered.
A funny note here: I don’t think I ever knew the setting for Don Quixote. I just knew there was a windmill on the book cover and that the main character was known for tilting at windmills. After finding out it was set in Spain, and learning that Spanish windmills are different from Dutch windmills (my childhood trips to Solvang, California, had me thinking all windmills were Dutch), I decided you shouldn’t keep all your windmills in one country, either. 🤔😁
As the phrase is used today, it’s often related to either finance or to hopes and dreams. Whether you’re managing investments, planning your career or other future ventures, or simply navigating the daily twists and turns of life, Cervantes’ advice is still good over four centuries later. Spread your risks, plan your options, and always have a safety net. Because, if that single plan (basket) tips, you could go hungry—and have a big mess to clean up.
And speaking of going hungry, I just have to tell you about what I think is one of the most pleasant ways to have eggs prepared. It’s called “Eggs in a Basket” and many restaurants will prepare your eggs this way by request. (Cracker Barrel no longer has it on the menu, but they can still do this.) The cook will take two halves of your choice of bread and cut out a hole in the center of each. The bread is then griddled, and one egg is broken into each slice of bread where it cooks along with the toast. I prefer mine over medium since the runny parts absorb perfectly into the griddled bread that surrounds the egg. If you like eggs and toast, I highly recommend this preparation method.
I’ll close with a biblical way to look at this cliché: Asking The Lord for multiple ways to minister to others is prudent. Not everyone needs to be fed or clothed. Some just need to know someone cares enough to listen. Others need prayer. And some may need biblical wisdom to guide and direct their lives. Because only God knows the depths of people’s hearts, He is the best One to guide us in how to spend our human investments to bring about the best returns.
James 1:5 BSB
[5] Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.1.5.BSB
Isaiah 30:21 BSB
[21] And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.30.21.BSB
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Cliché Month: Actions Speak Louder than Words
I almost added an ellipsis at the end of the word “speak” in the above illustration. I forgot to ask for it in the prompt, so when Nano Banana created it, I was pleasantly surprised to see this powerful message of “Action Speaks” jump right out at me. Even without the remaining words of the cliché, it’s a solid and true message.
I realized after writing all of this that it’s almost an argument against yesterday’s cliché that the pen is mightier than the sword. I mean, if you’re taking action by a sword, that would definitely be louder than threatening words. But today’s message is more about the actions that must follow the life-changing words of the pen.
Has anyone ever told you they loved you and then made you doubt their words by their behaviors? Or have you ever had someone promise you something from the bottom of their heart with a pinky promise and, no matter how strongly they swore its truthfulness at the time, never fulfilled that promise?
If you answered yes to either of those questions (and I’d think most people could,) you’ve had a demonstration of words being weaker than actions. If the bad behaviors or broken promises have broken something in you, then you’ve truly understood the louder language of actions.
Of course, this also works the opposite way. Like when I moved in with my grandparents at 12-years-old and fell in love with a neighborhood kitty cat that started hanging around our house. When she showed up pregnant, I asked my grandfather if we could bring her inside to have her kittens, and he vehemently said no to my pleas.
One afternoon, a few days later, I got home from school to find a box in my room. Not only was it perfect for Mama Cat, but Grandpa had added some cushiony towels and cut a little area in the front of the box shorter to make sure she could get her oversized belly in there. Those actions were not only a gift to the cat and her kittens, they were a precious gift from my grandfather to me that stayed with me forever.
Actions speak! AND they speak louder than any words—no matter how true and passionate those words may sound. It’s why real Christianity is far more than an emotional confession during fleeting moments of fear or conviction. What you do after you stand back up from your knees makes all the difference. It’s why baptism is one of the first things offered to new converts. More than a ritual, it’s an action that speaks of your plans to turn away from your sins by literally washing them away in the figurative blood of Christ. Your old self, along with the actions you engaged in while in bondage to sin, is buried with YahShua (Jesus) in baptism, so your new self can rise up like He did in resurrection and perform new actions that imitate Him.
What would Jesus do? is much more powerful than What would Jesus say? (Though, in His case, what He said was pretty important as well. 😊)
Even the Bible has strong words about the importance of actions over words. When shallow actions performed by habit spoke to The Messiah that people didn’t really care about Him as much as they did their rituals, He called them hypocrites.
Matthew 15:8 BSB
[8] ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.15.8.BSB
Action that springs from the action of listening with our hearts brings blessings when we act on what we have learned:
James 1:25 BSB
[25] But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so — not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer — he will be blessed in what he does. (Emphasis added by me.)
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.1.25.BSB
YahShua says it’s our good deeds that shine a light and glorify God:
Matthew 5:16 BSB
[16] In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.5.16.BSB
In First John, we’re reminded of the power of action and truth:
1 John 3:18 BSB
[18] Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1jn.3.18.BSB
And in Colossians, we’re reminded how important our focus is whether we are speaking words or doing actions:
Colossians 3:17 BSB
[17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/col.3.17.BSB
And I’ll close with a parable of YahShua that perfectly demonstrates today’s cliché. It’s called “The Parable of the Two Sons” and says:
Matthew 21:28-32 BSB
[28] But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ [29] ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went. [30] Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go. [31] Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. [32] For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.21.28-32.BSB
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Cliche Month: The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword
I know, I know… If you’re a writer, you’ve been told to “avoid clichés like the plague” (the ultimate cliché in itself!) So why am I planning a month of posts all about clichés?
Though the publisher’s advice to avoid using clichés is not empty advice, totally dismissing them ignores a crucial fact: clichés are clichés for a reason. They are successful linguistic vessels that earned their status by capturing universal truths and vivid imagery so perfectly, they had to be repeated—and repeated again.
While clichés can be efficient methods for driving home a point without launching into a wordy diatribe, overused phrases can make writing feel lazy and flat. Still, a bit of clichéd shorthand to convey a warning or some sage advice is powerful when used correctly.
Throughout August, we’re going to take a deep dive into the paradoxical world of clichés to learn the DNA of persuasive language. We will peel back their layers to expose the colorful, often surprising history and background behind phrases that still bring important punches of truth and deep thought to our prose. We will learn how to transform them from lazy shorthand back into powerful tools of expression.
For example, the exact phrase highlighted in neon text above was coined in 1839 by the writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton for his play Richelieu. Beyond the play, it became the ultimate rallying cry for persuasion over force and freedom of speech.
We see the power of the pen throughout Scripture as well. Way back in Deuteronomy, God told the children of Israel to write His commands where they would see and remember them:
Deuteronomy 11:20 BSB
[20] Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.11.20.BSB
In the book of First John, the authors use the pen to share what they have seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands to those who read their words. In verse 4, they share their purpose:
1 John 1:4 BSB
[4] We write these things so that our joy may be complete.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1jn.1.4.BSB
God told Habakkuk to write clearly on stone tablets where a herald could pick them up and carry the penned words to others.
Habakkuk 2:2 BSB
[2] Then the Lord answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/hab.2.2.BSB
Paul told the Corinthians that he used the power of his pen to write things in ways he knew they would understand:
2 Corinthians 1:13 BSB
[13] For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.1.13.BSB
And God Himself told Moses to chisel out 2 stone tablets (more than once), so He could use the power of the written word, though He didn’t need pen and ink since He was God and could use His own hand.
Deuteronomy 10:2, 4 BSB
[2] "And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.”
[4] And the Lord wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The Lord gave them to me.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.10.2-4.BSB
So whether it’s the finger of God, a chisel, a paintbrush, an antique pen or feather, a modern roller ball, or a printing press (physical or digital), the power of words conveyed by a writing instrument is significant. The Holy Bible is the most amazing collection of words ever penned, and it still has soul-changing power.
Let’s take this month to learn the power of words, even as used in the form of a cliché, and undo the negative definition of the word cliché. Let’s learn to master the principals that made these succinct moral lessons powerful before they became relegated to the weakness of cliché, ensuring our own words resonate with equal weight and authority.
Many thanks to Google’s Gemini AI for the cool neon word art, the history of today’s cliché, and some inspirational words and editing for putting this all together.
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One More Patriotic Colored Collage 🇺🇸
I spent too much time searching for an old post to make sure there would not be a duplicate, so I’ll work on that one tomorrow. For today, since the month of July is almost over, here’s a collage from the unused patriotic candle images from the 4th.
Even with the same prompts, different AI tools and different filters in each tool can make such a vast array of creations that my extra storage in Google Photos comes in really handy. In case you want to try the prompt in your favorite AI creation tool, (and now you can put prompts right into many search engines,) here’s exactly what I used…
2 patriotic Candles with red and white stripes plus white stars on blue like the USA flag. They are in ornate golden candlesticks burning with a soft glow that illuminates the air around them with sparkling fireworks. The candlesticks should be sitting on a beautifully polished high quality marble table and some silky patriotic flowers of red white and blue should be sitting on the table near the candles. The walls in the room should be gray granite stonework and festive patriotic decorations. The candle flames are peaceful and beautiful.
And I’ll close with one more image just because I really like the knitted pictures Wombo makes. (Even if yarn is not the best material to make candles from, lol 🤣.) Also, I didn’t ask for the eyes, but their training model for the knitted filter must include something about being cute. 😁
Some Bible Verses About Freedom
Galatians 5:1 BSB
[1] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/gal.5.1.BSB
1 Peter 2:16 BSB
[16] Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1pe.2.16.BSB
Galatians 5:13 BSB
[13] For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/gal.5.13.BSB
Psalm 119:45 BSB
[45] And I will walk in freedom, for I have sought Your precepts.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.119.45.BSB
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Prompt Response: Eli by Bill Myers
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose?
First, let me tell you that I loved this book—all but the ending. Eli by Bill Myers is an excellent book, and you’ll see by the 4.8 star average that most people think so. If you visit (via my associate link in the title) you’ll see that it’s on sale with 40% off in Kindle format right now, and 13% off for the mass market paperback.
A Brief Description
Eli is a creative journey into a world where Jesus has not yet been born. Mary and Joseph are hippies looking for a safe place to have their baby, and they settle for a laundry room in an apartment complex. So just by this start, you can see the wonderful and creative mind of the author.
The journey continues into His adult life and includes events like Jesus walking through a tornado in Kansas and bidding His new follower to join Him in the midst of the storm. If you’ve read the Bible, you know the story of Peter the disciple watching YahShua (Jesus) walk through a storm on the sea and asking to be invited to join Him.
Matthew 14:25-30 BSB
[25] During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. [26] When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear. [27] But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” [28] “Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.” [29] “Come,” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. [30] But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.14.25-30.BSB
The book continues at a nice pace covering most of the events we would expect to see in a world that is yet without a Savior. I thoroughly enjoyed all the creativity and the backstory the author weaves in about the one who is sharing these events as they unfold. I highly recommend the read.
A warning about what is the equivalent of the crucifixion scene…
This is not a bad warning, just a warning for those who are emotionally moved by the pain and sacrifices of our Messiah. I don’t think any of us have seen an actual crucifixion, so even at its most real (like The Passion of The Christ movie,) it’s still not truly familiar. Bringing it into today’s society with cowboys kicking Him with their pointy-toed boots had a realistic feel because of similar scenes in movies and, for some, in real life. Some of the moments with the beatings still bring tears even though I read it probably 15+ years ago. If you want to really see YahShua as a victim paying a price for your sins, this is a powerful way to see it.
Here’s the biblical version with the crucifixion…
Matthew 27:27-31 BSB
[27] Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. [28] They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. [29] And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” [30] Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly. [31] After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.27.27-31.BSB
Now About That Ending
So the ending isn’t bad. It does not change the focus or purpose of the book or the strength of the story. It just adds an event to the end that I wish was not there. If I were writing it, I would’ve wrestled for another ending that didn’t leave me wondering why it had to go THAT way. But I won’t spoil it for you in case you read it for yourself.
Just know that I would’ve written the hospital scene and the ending with the narrator character with a little more hope. As I write this now, though, I realize the life of Peter in the Bible didn’t have an ending I would write either, so maybe the author used that narrative to guide his ending. But in fiction, you have a little more artistic freedom, so go read it for yourself and then tell me how you think you would’ve written the ending.
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Short Girl Problems 😊
Do you suppose a scenario like this actually exists? 🤔 Well, it does. And that busyness I’ve been telling you about was leading up to a new bed after years of painful mattresses that needed replaced.
Three brief experiences with adjustable beds have kept me convinced since about 2012 that I really wanted one of my own. We’ve shopped off and on, and we almost got one once in 2013, but we still had indoor cats, and I was afraid they could get under the bed and be injured by the motor. Fear can take away even what you really want.
So back then, we opted for the bookcase headboard and a large storage base. When it came time to replace the mattresses, we didn’t want to give up our storage to get a new bed. And then we found out that the newer adjustable frames can be laid right on the platform slats of our old bed. Yippee!
So today, that’s what we got delivered. And I stood next to this huge hybrid mattress rising toward the ceiling, and it came up to chest height on me. That’s when I got very thankful that I’d planned ahead and ordered a double-step stool. My Operation Cleanout friend put it together for me a couple weeks ago.
It’s still a little far away with my super short legs, but it’s doable with the stool’s assistance. Without that, it would be an unending loop of effort and failure like in this humorous video I asked Wombo to make from the first picture it designed. 🪜🧗
I hope that brought a smile to your day. Now I’m going to go climbing for the purpose of getting a really good night’s sleep, and hopefully it will be the first of many nights of comfy rest.
Matthew 11:28 BSB
[28] Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.11.28.BSB
Proverbs 3:24 BSB
[24] When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.3.24.BSB
Goodnight and Sweet Dreams 😴
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🎵The Tongues of Angels
One more thing happened 43 years ago that still matters today; I prayed to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. My experiences may not match every person who reads my posts, or any person who reads my posts, and that’s okay. I’m just going to share my own experiences.
Missionettes …
Way back when I was about 9 years old, I was part of a group within the Assemblies of God churches called Missionettes. It was like a lot of other clubs for girls where you earned badges for learning skills. The difference was in the skills—they were all biblically or spiritually based. It was an awesome experience with an amazing and sincere group of girls and a great leader for our particular group.
We had a sleepover in the church one night, and these girls decided that I could not go to sleep unless I was filled with The Holy Spirit which would become evident when I spoke in tongues. It was about 2 in the morning when I quit resisting just so I could go to sleep. 😁 But I did speak in an unknown language, and that was followed by some experiences where I truly felt I’d stepped into the Presence of my Holy Creator.
But then …
When life changed and we moved away from our stepdad and his family, my mom took us back to the Baptist church. They were quick to tell me that no one gets filled with The Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues in this day and age. I believed them and did not allow myself any non-English words in my prayers.
A Little Hope …
By 8th grade, I’d found a wonderful friendship with a girl who was in the Pentecostal church, and when we prayed together, I allowed myself to speak in tongues again. But the Baptist church I attended looked down on that as something not okay. Still, between me and God, that moment with my friend Lynette let me know God was still there for me. And that was the year of being on the honor roll, graduating 8th grade with special awards, and getting glowing compliments from my teachers—and even my principal—in my yearbook. I was like a different person from the ways I’d behaved in 7th grade. (Still smoking, though. I guess I was addicted by then.)
A Time of Giving Up …
If you’ve read many of my testimony posts, you know I went back and forth between my grandparents’ home and my mom’s home. While with my mom, we tried other religions, some New Age teachings, and finally tried to find a “God as we understood Him” within our 12 Step groups. In that last one is where I prayed my I Give Up prayer. I said something like, “But, God, I don’t understand You. If You really loved me, why did You force Your Son to die? Why didn’t You do it Yourself?”
After that prayer, I basically gave up trying to serve God because I was thoroughly confused by all the different ideas people had about Him and what it meant to serve Him. Plus, life was filled with chaos, so with foster care and court visits and moving all over the state, I wasn’t thinking much about God anyway.
A Time of Searching …
That all lasted until I was back in Arizona and ended up at another Baptist church just to get a sale on some rolling shutters. If you read that testimony, you know God used Scripture from John 10:30 to answer my give up prayer, but the preacher told me it didn’t mean what I thought. So off I went into my own thoughts and ideas again, not daring to share them with anyone who might correct me.
A Time of Finding …
And then came all those events with reluctantly attending the Pentecostal church where I repented on July 14th and got baptized on July 16th. That was followed by a prayer meeting on July 19th where the ladies wanted to help me be filled with The Holy Spirit. They did not know any of my past experiences at that time, and they had no idea of the battle raging in my mind while I prayed.
See, I wanted that experience from Missionettes back. I wanted the time of victory that I had during my friendship with Lynette. And I wanted these promises this new group of people were making about speaking in tongues “as The Spirit gave the utterance.”
At one point, I felt like I heard this different language in my mind, and just as I did, the pastor’s wife spoke through my mental chaos and fear and said, “That’s the Holy Ghost, Crystal. Just yield to It.” I thought to myself, well, if it’s wrong, I guess they’ll tell me. So I gave up fighting and began to speak in an unknown—yet familiar—language. And as I spoke, I felt like I was on an elevator platform rising upward to hear angelic voices singing with the ladies in the prayer meeting. It was a moment of perfect peace and perfect joy.
My Thoughts …
There are as many ideas out there about the Holy Spirit as there are stars in the heavens, I think. I once heard of a missionary who was serving in an area where no one spoke any English. Someone got baptized and came out of the water speaking praises to God in English! Another time, I watched a deaf and mute girl suddenly begin to speak a language as she was prayed for, and she signed to her interpreter to ask what she was saying. You know she couldn’t have been faking anything or copying anyone.
Even the highly respected Got Questions website has an article stating that we do not need tongues anymore. It suggests that tongues are only human languages used to spread the Gospel.
But what of my own experiences and those I’ve seen on my own? And what about the Apostle Paul talking about speaking in an unknown tongue. He doesn’t say not to speak at all but rather to speak directly to God.
1 Corinthians 14:2, 14 BSB
[2] For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
[14] For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1co.14.2-14.BSB
Paul also makes a distinction between the tongues of men (that would be languages) and the tongues of angels (heavenly language?) in 1st Corinthians 13, so it would appear that he could speak in these non-human tongues for him to bring it up.
1 Corinthians 13:1 BSB
[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1co.13.1.BSB
In a recent move among some Bible teachers, a few are swearing off speaking in tongues at all, believing they only spoke what they did within the emotional hype of the moments in which they spoke. If that is true for those teachers, they should definitely stop speaking until they know that it’s truly The Holy Spirit speaking through them.
I have had times where I didn’t know how to pray or what to pray. In those times, I have sought God in a language I did not know, and answers came to me as a result. I believe it’s because The Holy Spirit spoke in ways that bypassed my human understanding and let me momentarily become a conduit of communication between my needs and what The Spirit in me knew would bring answers. I didn’t need to understand in my mind if God knew what would fix things, and I could just trust Him.
Wrapping up…
These testimony posts have been me being very real with my readers. It’s not easy to share these deep and honest parts of myself. I’m not trying to convince anyone that I, Crystal, am perfect or walk a perfect way that everyone else should walk in.
But I do serve a perfect God who has proven Himself to me more often than I could fit into these posts. (Many are tagged with the word testimony if you do a search to see them all together in one place.) And I am grateful for those moments in my childhood where God’s Heavenly Presence invaded my earthly flesh. It’s possible those moments are why I made it through some of my more difficult experiences with often miraculous victories. And I’m even more grateful that 43 years ago, He showed up for me as an adult with understanding and gave me a strong foundation to build a solid walk upon. May I continue to walk with Him, and if you don’t know Him as your trustworthy Confidant, I pray my honesty plants a seed that will grow into your walking with Him one day as well.
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My 43rd Re-Birthday 🎂
It wasn’t my first baptism, but it was THE baptism that marked a total and complete change in my life. I was desperate to be saved and to have God’s perfect will as the driving force from that moment on.
My first baptism was with many people in a swimming pool. I was sincere, but I was 9 years old, so it wasn’t the kind of sincerity you have after you’ve lived through some of the rough coming-of-age moments that bring you from 9 to 19. In those moments, I had been to juvenile hall; been in foster care; moved around California, Nevada, and Arizona; overdosed; and lived on the streets for a while. I was really ready to stop doing things my own way and see if God’s way was better. (Spoiler alert: life is MUCH better with a loving Creator and Heavenly Father by your side.)
I’d also had a baptism at 14 when my high-school aged boyfriend said he was getting baptized. And since my first baptism was at a Pentecostal church, everyone suggested I needed a Baptist church baptism anyway. Again, I was sincere, and I did make lifestyle changes that followed the baptism. I went from getting suspended in school to being double honor roll and graduating 8th grade with honors.
But the event in 1983 was the significant life change that stuck for the rest of my life—up to and including now. So today, I celebrate 43 years as a new person. The old me was buried with Christ in baptism, and I rose out of the water to walk with Him in the newness of life. ✝️🧬
Romans 6:4 BSB
[4] We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.6.4.BSB
Shabbat Shalom to all, and you are welcome to celebrate with me by sharing your own repentance and baptism stories in the comments. 🕊️
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🎵Time and Time Again
I thought I’d share my thoughts about Daylight Saving Time(DST).
First, just so you know, there is no “s” on SAVING even if the predicted next word shows it with SAVINGS because so many people use it that way. Lol 🤣. It was literally for the purpose of saving daylight when it was first begun in 1916.
Since the original activation of DST, there have been lots of changes to the process. Most recently, the Sunshine Protection Act passed the US House of Representatives with bipartisan approval on July 14th to make DST permanent. But the idea has gone round and round since 2025 because of the multiple effects it can have based on the time of year.
The biggest concern is the extreme amount of morning darkness when children are waiting for school buses in the winter. Darkness carries more cold and presents more safety fears. On the other side of that argument, the later light could mean students with long bus rides home wouldn’t have to get off the bus in the dark. The bill now heads to the Senate where its future is still uncertain.
My thoughts are based on wanting a later day of sunshine in the summer, but as I get older, I’m not as attracted to that. So while I really wanted the change at one point, I’m less certain of that now.
The truth is, though, no time change will ever be perfect because the actual amount of sunshine and darkness changes throughout the year with the tilt of Earth’s axis. The only real solution would be having multiple time changes that coincide with the actual amount of darkness you’re trying to avoid and shorter work/school days to go with that. Of course, with mid-winter freezes, I’m sure many kids (and even adults) would be all for days that don’t start until the sun comes up. 🌞
But the best Daylight Saving Time will happen in the future—in eternity. In that part of our lives, if we have had our sins washed under the Blood of The Lamb, that same Lamb will light the city in which we will spend our eternity, and there will be no more night at all.
Revelation 21:23 BSB
[23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rev.21.23.BSB
Revelation 22:5 WEBUS
[5] There will be no night, and they need no lamp light or sun light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rev.22.5.WEBUS
So, whether the US Senate passes the bill that just made it through the US House on July 14th, or they let it languish for another year, we can have the peace of knowing that all time is in The Creator’s hands anyway.
Psalm 31:14-15a BSB
[14] But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” [15] My times are in Your hands;
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.31.14-15.BSB
Here’s a musical reminder that time is in the hands of Our Great God:
And as for eternity, here’s a wonderful older song that describes the beautiful City of Gold:
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🎵The Watchman vs The Defender
Today is my 43rd “Spirit-versary” of when I repented of my sins and chose to give my life to Christ. Before July 14th of 1983, I was living a very different life, some of which I’ve shared pieces of in various blog posts. The July 14th repentance story is on my Torah commentary post about Numbers 16 and 17.
Recently, my Bible study has brought me to the book of Ezekiel. This is a hard book to study because the rebellion of Israel has pushed God too far, and He’s got Ezekiel speaking their consequences. In the third chapter of Ezekiel, Yahveh has assigned the prophet the position of a watchman.
Ezekiel 3:17 BSB
[17] “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ezk.3.17.BSB
I don’t think anyone today who calls themselves a prophet or prophetess would be willing to go through the trials Ezekiel (or other OT prophets) had to endure—especially for a people whom God has said will not listen to him. But even the hard-hearted and hard-headed cannot ignore some of the visual examples Ezekiel had to display. And I’m certain, since it is not God’s will for any to perish (and since He is the same yesterday, today and forever) that God’s hope was to find that remnant who would be moved by the words and deeds of this obedient prophet.
But even with a one-in-a-million hope, prophesying doom and gloom is not the easy path to take. Still, we need the obedient voice of one willing to share the reality of The Law and the dangers of violating it.
The Hard Yet Beautiful Truth
The law defines the boundaries of holiness and exposes what separates us from God. We cannot apply the blood of Christ without first knowing what needs to be forgiven, just as we could not hire a defense attorney unless we know what we need to be defended of.
Ray Comfort (an evangelist) meets people on the street and runs through the Ten Commandments with them asking if they have willingly violated any of them. Most people say yes, and Ray makes them comfortable with their answers by admitting that he is not better than them, and that he has also violated them. He then goes on to tell them about a courtroom scenario where a violation is met with a fine, but someone comes in to pay the fine, so the person is free to go.
Hiding Judgment “Under the Rug”
We live in a culture now that is terrified of being judgmental. We don’t want to offend someone who might turn around and point fingers at us, and—if we’re Christian—we also worry about driving someone away from finding salvation in Christ. In our efforts to love people, we often try to play the part of the defender by excusing bad choices, softening truths, or blurring the lines of God’s law just to make people comfortable.
But when we do these things, when we play the role of defender instead of being a watchman for people’s souls, we are actually stepping into a job that doesn’t belong to us. We are not mediators between the law and the sins people commit that violate it. And we are definitely not called to ignore violations and sweep them “under the rug.” If we do that, no one can experience the blessing and power of forgiveness because we’ve excused the very things that require it.
One Mediator
We’re told in 1st Timothy chapter 2 that there is ONLY one Mediator who can take away human sins without denying or excusing them.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 BSB
[5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave Himself as a ransom for all — the testimony that was given at just the right time.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1ti.2.5-6.BSB
Though we want to be like YahShua, we do not have perfect blood to shed to cover sins forever. True, compassionate ministry looks more like the high priests of old: gently but clearly identifying the law so that people can see their need, separate themselves from their sin, and place it under the perfect sacrificial blood of Christ. And to be like YahShua means to do all of that with love. It reads well in the second chapter of 2nd Timothy in the World English Bible:
2 Timothy 2:24-26 WEBUS
[24] The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle toward all, able to teach, patient, [25] in gentleness correcting those who oppose him. Perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth, [26] and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
https://bible.com/bible/206/2ti.2.24-26.WEBUS
Loving Like The Lord
Sometimes, the most loving thing we can do for a person trapped in the bondage of sin is to hold up the mirror of God’s Word and Law so they can find a path toward freedom. Love doesn’t mean affirming captivity; it means pointing the way out of the cell. That Way is YahShua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) who is our righteous Judge and Defender of a law He says has not changed by one tiny letter or pen stroke (jot or tittle in KJV).
Matthew 5:18 WEBUS
[18] "For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished."
https://bible.com/bible/206/mat.5.18.WEBUS
What has changed is that we now have a permanent way to cover violations of the law, so we can be made free of their consequences—consequences that still exist for a law that still exists, but with a fine that has been completely paid in full.
2 Corinthians 5:20 BSB
[20] Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.5.20.BSB
Since we are called to be ambassadors of The Lord and urge people to look at their sins and place them under the blood, let’s stop trying to do The Defender’s job and start loving people enough to tell them the truth—the truth that will set them free to live and walk in the newness of life here and in eternity.
2 Corinthians 5:17 BSB
[17] Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.5.17.BSB
Romans 6:4 BSB
[4] We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.6.4.BSB
I must tell this story 43 years later because of the wonderful changes it made in my life. Enjoy these two videos with the song “I Love to Tell the Story,” first by Alan Jackson and then a beautiful a capella version by Chris Rupp.
(a capella–no lyrics unless using captions)
Note: I realized this difference between watchman and defender the other day, and I could not figure out how to communicate it without sounding harsh. With some collaboration tips from Google’s Gemini, I’m very happy with the presentation now.
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Prompt Response: The Word of God
Which book have you read more than any other?
There are a few books I’ve read more than once, though mostly short ones and children’s books because I have so many I want to read that I don’t want to miss the new ones while I’m rereading older ones. But there is one exception to that personal rule: The Holy Bible.
When YahShua asked His closest disciples if they wanted to run away with others who left due to a misunderstanding of His words, Peter answered this way…
John 6:68 BSB
[68] Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jhn.6.68.BSB
Who else has the words of life? What other book has the amount of good fruit that comes from the Bible? Many testimonies have been given that detail amazing and wonderful life changes as a result of God’s precious words. They include things like…
- Relationship repairs,
- New Hopes and Dreams,
- Miracles and Answers,
- Education and Wisdom,
- Healings and Life,
- Provisions and Jobs,
- Promises and Protection,
- Comfort and Peace,
- Love and Joy,
- And so much more.
When you’ve come to the very end of yourself and have nowhere else to go, you can turn to God’s Word. When you’ve searched for answers in everything else and found none, you’ll be amazed at the good advice His Word can provide. When you feel completely alone, you can look into His Word and find His presence.
It’s no small thing that The Creator of the universe has preserved these holy words through many centuries to speak directly to those who are looking for Him. He says that when you seek and search for Him with all your heart, you will find Him. And most likely, you’ll find Him in His own Word. As the old acronym says: BIBLE… Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!
I encourage you to try His Word for yourself. Whether you’ve been taught it all your life by someone else and never really looked for it to speak to you personally, or you’ve never opened it up at all, start with just being willing. When you open it, ask Yahveh Almighty to speak from the written words directly to your heart. He wants you to get to know Him, so He will reach out to you. And when you see Him for yourself, you’ll be so glad to meet Him, you’ll want to love and serve Him forever.
Note: The cute little heart in the corner of today’s image is from one of the images I made for my post on February 24th of this year called “I Love the B-I-B-L-E.” That post has three great music videos about the Bible, and a larger size of that cute sticker. Which, by the way, I was thrilled to figure out how to make into a custom sticker. Using my Samsung tablet or phone, I could press and hold the image and be offered the chance to turn the highlighted portion of the image into a sticker. It took a little editing in the Photo Studio Pro app to get the transparent background, but I’m really happy with the result. Have you ever tried making your own stickers? If so, I’d love to know how you did it and see one if you’ve saved it online.
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🎵The Hospitality of Rest: Why the Sabbath Was Made for Us
Sometimes, a roadblock that changes our plans is exactly what it takes to slow us down for just long enough.
Today, my “Operation Cleanout” friend and I had big plans to build a new project. FedEx had dropped off my package a couple days ago, and it looked like it had been through a war zone. How is it that when your tracking shows your item is out for delivery, and then it gets delayed, it often shows up damaged? We didn’t know if the shelf would be as bad as the box, so we dug out all the heavy pieces. Sadly, even with lots of great packing materials to protect it, the mistreatment was more than it could survive. Our plans were instantly derailed.
(That kinda sounds like life, sometimes, doesn’t it? We think we’re all cushioned against the blows, and then reality hits.)
At first, I felt that familiar, heavy spike of aggravation. Broken momentum tends to undo all my other plans as well. Especially after calling Amazon and finding out that I had to deal directly with a seller in another country. But, as much as I dislike my plans being hijacked by circumstances beyond my control, I was actually more at peace because of having the presence of a good friend to share in the frustrations.
So, we started fellowshipping and talking about God and His Word and His precious promises to us. I noted her resilience to stand on The Word and not compromise what it directs her to do. In our conversation of why we do what we do, we talked about that tendency in modern Christianity to identify Friday-Saturday Sabbath as Jewish and Sunday as a “Christian Sabbath Day.” She doesn’t think that way herself, but I mentioned what I had learned in my Messianic Jewish studies about the fact that Sabbath existed before Moses or Abraham or Judaism. It was the 7th day of Creation!
Later in the day, that conversation came back to me. As the evening approached and the thoughts of this week’s Sabbath rolled in, a verse kept circling through my mind: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28 BSB
[27] Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. [28] Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mrk.2.27-28.BSB
When we look at the creation story and read about that first Sabbath, we read that God rested on the seventh day. But I found myself asking tonight: If the Sabbath was made for man, why did God rest? He doesn’t get tired.
And then it hit me…
For the first six days of creation, God was working alone. He was building, shaping, separating light from dark, and speaking galaxies into existence. He was being the Supreme Creator and doing Supreme Creator things all by Himself—but not for Himself. At the end of the sixth day, He made us. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of these plans in God’s blueprints in Isaiah 45:18…
Isaiah 45:18 BSB
[18] For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens— He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.45.18.BSB
The seventh day wasn’t a pause because God ran out of energy or creative ideas. He took the time to pause because the home was completed and His family had finally arrived. He finished the work, turned the garden over to man, and then walked in the cool of the day with him.
Isaiah 40:28 BSB
[28] Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.40.28.BSB
The Sabbath was made for man because God wanted a designated time and space to fellowship with us. It’s not about religious observance and law keeping. It’s about spending time with God and making the time and space for God to spend time with us. It’s preparing a seat at the table, having a fulfilling meal, and then taking a walk together. And though God knew we would need a designated space to fill our wells for the week ahead, He made the Sabbath out of His deep, passionate desire to simply fellowship with us. Picture it like this: The Creator of the universe setting down His tools, turning around with a smile on His face, and saying, “Okay, I’m done working. Now, let’s spend some time together.”
While I collaborated with Gemini on this post, this beautiful statement came out of it:
“The entire multi-day cosmic construction project wasn’t an empty display of power. It was the intentional staging of a home, built specifically so He could move in and share with us.”
So for this Sabbath weekend, the battered box is still in the hallway, and the momentum for that project is still broken. But as I step into this day of rest, I can see my derailed plans as a gift. They slowed me down to talk of this deep subject with a sister in The Lord, and that came back as such a wonderful realization that my future Sabbath days will have a much deeper meaning than before.
If something in your life took a beating this week, and if your own plans got derailed, take a breath and take a break. God has invited us to take a walk in the garden with the One who made it. Let’s meet Him where He’s waiting for us. And as we’re walking, we can sing this wonderful old hymn with a new sweetness in our hearts and voices:
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America, Bless God!
First, Happy Semiquincentennial (250 years) Birthday, America! 🎂🗽🇺🇸 I’m grateful for this nation that so many flock to because they know there is hope here they may not find in their home countries. It’s up to us to teach them the skills to work for those freedoms, starting with lawfully abiding by the plans we’ve put in place to bring in immigrants and keep out our enemies. We sure don’t want to bring thieves into our own homes and businesses to make it easier for them to case the joint, right?
By the way, that cross in front of the 250 on the cake was unintentional, but I left it there because it seemed right for this post. In the image prompt, I was trying to get 250 candles and sparklers, so I put a “+” sign in front of the 250 to show importance. Wombo turned it into a cross. How cool is that, right?
The Freedom to Bless God
So, what exactly is freedom? Is it getting to make all our own decisions, not answering to anyone above us, and never having any responsibilities? Is it always having everything go our way? Is it a land with no laws that cause someone to feel less than welcome no matter what evil intentions they may be hiding in their hearts?
Or is it a place where we have the freedom to do the right things, and we get to harvest the results of our hard work without someone who thinks of themselves as better than us taking it away just because they can? Even if it’s done under the guise of charity, if we can’t keep what we’ve worked for and choose where to share our abundance, we are missing the true American dream—the dream where we work hard and gain an abundance that we want to share with others.
An Entertaining Example
Even though it’s a Christmas movie (though Christmas in July is a thing now), one of my top movies is “The Ultimate Gift.” It stars James Garner, Drew Fuller (before his 6 seasons on “Army Wives”), and Abigail Breslin in roles that perfectly demonstrate the blessings of hard work and heartfelt obedience out of love. I highly recommend it, and if you’ve got Amazon Prime, it’s there for free. Also, I found it on YouTube with ads. But in case you want to see a preview before you decide, here’s one that’s less than 3 minutes:
Where is the Blessing?
Most of us have likely heard the adage it’s more blessed to give than to receive. That spirit has driven some of the finest moments in the US as a nation. The moments when someone sacrifices for the benefit of someone else even with the risk it may cost them everything. It’s the drive that makes a soldier keep fighting, a woman in labor keep pushing, and a tired parent keep striving to bring a better life to their family. It’s a mix of hope and resilience with a finish line calling out, “Don’t give up!” These people give even before they have a promise of payback much like the biblical patriarchs in Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:13, 16, 38-39 BSB
[13] All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
[16] Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
[38] The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
[39] These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.13-39.BSB
The whole faith chapter:
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.1-40.BSB
But there is a promise out there. The soldier often survives and makes it back home to a loving welcome and a family. The mother gets to hold her new baby in her arms. The striving parent is able to get a home for their family, or at least a nightly meal on the table. And usually, someone says thanks to them, and it makes all the sacrifices worth it.
Don’t Give Up!
We have a loving Father and Creator who has built a world for us. It’s a place where the law of the harvest allows us to plant exactly what we want to grow. If we care for the plant according to its needs, we will reap a harvest if we’re patient. And all He wants is a thank you and to not be forgotten when things are going well.
Galatians 6:9 BSB
[9] Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/gal.6.9.BSB
An Attitude of Gratitude
In the USA, we have freedoms and blessings now that were just hopes and dreams of our founding fathers. They knew back then that true abundance came by the provision of our Lord and Creator. And beyond the harvests in this life, we have the same great and precious promises our biblical forefathers had. Some happen here, and some come with eternity. All are gifts from God that are worthy of our thankfulness to Him.
People have a choice to be grateful even when things don’t go their way. They can endure the hard things and keep pressing toward the goals they desire, and they can be both satisfied and hopeful at the same time. They can ask God to bless America and still thank Him for the abilities to do the hard work to bring in an abundant harvest. Even more, we can thank Him for the ultimate blessing of His presence through all the moments of this life—good and bad.
Or, people also have a choice to become petulant and ungrateful with a perpetual demand for entitlement—throwing tantrums and filing lawsuits for every minor offense or discomfort. They can demand that God bless them (and maybe America), and all the pet projects they deem worthy of His blessings.
Which do you think will bring people the most genuine happiness? The demand for a blessing? Or the grateful heart that blesses God first and gives more than it receives. I vote for the latter, so I say,…
“America, bless God!”
Note: I’m grateful for a bit of collaboration with Gemini catching a couple issues where the flow went a different direction.
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Shabbat Shalom Patriotic Style
I love that I can get an idea in my mind of something I think would be pretty, and then try it with an AI design tool. I mostly do that with Wombo because I’m so familiar with it. And this made so many designs to stick with my theme of doing patriotic images for all of July. I had one I liked better except for one thing: the candles were dripping. Of course, that’s what most burning candles do, but because someone might think I’m alluding to the colors running, I decided to use a different one.
Because it’s Sabbath and I want to enjoy some rest after a busy (and good) week, I’m keeping this short, but I will throw in a few more pictures. I’m hoping to create an album in Google Drive of many patriotic and firework images. Maybe I should do about 250 of them. 😁
And I just realized today that I’ve been alive for both the bicentennial in 1976 and now the semiquincentennial. Thankfully, it’s the country that is a quarter of a millennium old and not me. Lol 😂. But it is cool to have been born in the right year to live through both of these anniversary events.
Psalm 91:1, 16 BSB
[1] He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
[16] With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.91.1-16.BSB
I like how sharing the first and last verse of a chapter in the Bible creates a link to the whole chapter. I’ve never tried that before. I guess it doesn’t take much to entertain me. (Grin)
And here are a few extra images before I sign off for Sabbath rest:
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
(Tech Note: I fixed the Jetpack problem by reinstalling. It hasn’t had a recent update, so I don’t know why that worked other than I’d originally installed it to my tablet by a transfer from my phone, and maybe all it needed was a clean install from the Google Play Store.)
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Prompt Response: Almost There
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Hit 5,000 steps today and drop your achievement here — we’re cheering you on!
How about 4595 steps? It’s Almost There! 😊
I’m keeping this short because I am going to try to catch up on some rest. It was a busy day of text and email rather than walking around much, so it makes me that much happier I got a home treadmill to grab a chunk of steps before midnight. I used to just do house walking, and all the turns and stops were not making my knees or hips super happy. But I really like the treadmill and walking in my cotton toe socks. (This is my affiliate short link just to track clicks. There are lots of colors, too.)
Note: toe socks help your proprioception (there’s a new word to look up and add to your vocabulary) by making your feet more aware of where on your feet you put pressure while you walk. They help with your balance. But they can be a little harder to put on if reaching your toes has had better days when you were younger. Still, I think they’re worth the effort.
And speaking of effort, we know that bodily exercise only profits a little, but a little is better than nothing, so keep trying. The important thing is to keep the balance and make sure to exercise the spirit at least as much as the body. I like the way it reads in the World English Bible:
1 Timothy 4:8 WEBUS
[8] For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1ti.4.8.WEBUS
And your best steps in the spirit will be those guided by The Lord.
Proverbs 16:9 BSB
[9] A man’s heart plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.16.9.BSB
Psalm 37:23 BSB
[23] The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord who takes delight in his journey.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.37.23.BSB
P.S. in case you just don’t want to look it up, Cleveland Clinic says, “Proprioception is one of your senses. It’s your body’s ability to sense its own position and movements in space.”
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Prompt Response: Zucchini
What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?
Well, y’all already know about my taste bud changes with stewed tomatoes, but I think this one wasn’t about me changing. It was about being reintroduced to something made the way it should be made.
So when I was in the single digits of age, zucchini made me gag like the little girl on the broccoli commercial. Yuck! And then, when I moved to live with my grandparents the summer after I turned 12, everything changed. My grandma made zucchini, and I’d already told her how I felt about it. But she begged me to try her recipe. And just wow! All kinds of yummy!! 😋
What changed? Zucchini in a can versus zucchini cooked fresh on the stovetop with butter. Now I knew; no more canned zucchini.
Later, though, I had fresh zucchini cooked by someone else. They added tomatoes. There was that yuck again. So maybe it wasn’t the can; maybe tomatoes added to zucchini changed its flavor to something that just did not work for me. But as you can see from the picture, that wasn’t the case either.
I’m with Mark Lowry on thinking vegetables taste better when you fully cook the vitamin taste out of them. Lol 🤣 So I’m not sure if the fresh one with tomato that seemed yucky was undercooked, didn’t have enough butter, or just wasn’t seasoned the way i like. But now, as an adult, I can cook it my way—slow-cooked to tender perfection with butter and garlic and a few low acid (orange or yellow) tomatoes.
I was going to do a blog break until I read the prompt, so this is all there is to the story, but it did make me think about something as I was writing…
We each hear the gospel message of salvation in different ways at various life points. Our age or status, or the source and quality of that message, can make all the difference in whether we accept or reject it. Even as a Christian, I’ve heard messages angrily shouted at someone in ways that made me want to run away. So, I could not imagine the rejection going on in the heart of the one being shouted at.
Like my zucchini taste tests, I encourage you to listen to the gospel from different sources and try it until you like it. I’m not talking about what the Bible calls “itching ears.” because that would mean exchanging the squash for another vegetable. I’m talking about reading it, listening to it, studying it, and mostly digesting it until you can proclaim King David’s words to “taste and see that The Lord is Good!”
Psalm 34:8 BSB
[8] Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.34.8.BSB
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Prompt Response: You Make the Lemonade
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
Sometimes, I think people have the idea that getting lemonade from the lemons in life simply means looking for the good in the bad. That’s my specialty. I’m often very good at finding even a thread of hope or promise within a terrible situation.
But what if it’s more than just looking for the thread? What if we learn from a young age to actually be the one responsible for adding just the right amount of sweetness to turn a sour moment into something more palatable to help us survive it. And maybe more than survive it, thrive from it because just sugar or honey in a glass by itself isn’t refreshing at all.
So learn your tastes. Figure out which sweetener is the best to your many tastebuds. Maybe you prefer honey or agave, or you need a sugar-free additive like Stevia leaf. Maybe you’ve even learned that the juice of one orange to about 5 lemons makes a lovely mix of flavor and color in a tall glass of summer refreshment.
In life, even if you’ve grown up as a survivor from a dysfunctional home, you cannot see the future and exactly which lemons might come your way. So get a recipe ready for dealing with the bumps and potholes no matter what they are. The first part of the recipe will always be looking for the golden thread of hope or peace to hang onto until you can get to the sugar jar. And I believe the strongest golden thread is the voice of our Creator as He speaks to us from His Word.
Take Romans 8:28 for instance…
Romans 8:28 BSB
[28] And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.8.28.BSB
Notice it doesn’t say all things (or all lemons) are good, nor does it say we should just give up and wait for them to turn good. It says they will work together for the good. And here’s an interesting factoid: the Greek word used for “work together” in the verse is synergeo—where we get our word “synergy.” That implies partnership, cooperation, and an active blending of ingredients.
And remember this: you are not alone. Whether you are young or carry a bit more experience, your Master Creator is already in the kitchen with you ready to help you with your lemonade mixture. He will provide the ingredients for the golden thread and the sweetness, just like He provides oranges and sugar cane for real food and beverage recipes.
King David learned this, and even though he dealt with many bitter things in life, he ultimately proclaimed:
Psalm 34:8 BSB
[8] Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.34.8.BSB
And later in this same chapter...
Psalm 34:19 BSB
[19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.34.19.BSB
Note: Compliments to Google Gemini as my collaborator and for giving me the info on the Greek in Romans 8:28. It fit perfectly with the direction for this post.
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🎵Looking for Love—And a Father
In my last post, I shared the beautiful memory of my birth father—the man who tattooed my name on his arm as a mark of his love for me. But human stories are rarely simple. Sometime shortly after my fifth birthday, he was gone. And a little girl was left wondering: Why did he leave? What did I do wrong?
When your hero leaves, that important space is left empty. A lifelong search begins looking to replace everything that’s missing. Love; a father; protection; a new hero. If you don’t know what a father’s protective love actually looks like, you start looking for it everywhere and in everything.
In the years that followed, my mom made great efforts to replace what my little sister and I were missing. Men came and men went, many who tried to play “Daddy.” While some of them worked hard to live up to the name in their own fractured ways, darkness, addiction, and brokenness sometimes invaded those dynamics. Instead of finding safety, boundaries were broken that love should never have crossed.
When the very people who are supposed to protect you become the source of your wounds, the marks left behind may be invisible from the outside, but they are there nonetheless. These are not marks of love like a tattoo; they are stains of shame you feel the whole world can see on you. And those marks breed a quiet, devastating conclusion: If earthly fathers brought pain and abandonment, how could I ever trust an unseen Heavenly one to love me and stay in my life?
The “Foster Child” Mentality
By the time I was a teenager, I was looking for love—and a father—in all the wrong places, learning all too well how to live with a victim mentality. But God is a master of rescue. Years later, after I began walking with Him, He began the work of healing those old, deep wounds. Eventually, I was even able to find a place of reconciliation and peace with those in my past who had hurt me.
Yet, as wonderful as the healing was, a quiet barrier remained around my heart. Not having a solid and safe father figure while growing up left me entirely unequipped to comprehend God as a “Father,” especially as my Father.
I read the Scriptures about the “Spirit of Adoption” bringing us into God’s family, but in my heart, I still felt like an outsider. To me, God felt like the world’s best, safest “foster parent.” I knew He cared for me, but how could I accept Him as a true Father when I didn’t even know what that word meant? I wanted to be a real child of God, not just someone pulling up an awkward chair at a mixed family table.
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🎵 Daddy Can Never Forget Me
Yes, that’s my name. No, that’s not my dad. Lol 🤣 I looked everywhere for the old photo I had of my dad with a small group of soldiers in Vietnam, but I couldn’t find it. So, I decided to have Wombo recreate it for me. My dad did have my name tattooed on his arm since I was his firstborn, and years later, that ink inspired a song.
While I can’t find the exact words for the song right now—I have a feeling it’s only on paper in one of my many notebooks— I still remember the heart of it. It’s about how no matter how far away my dad went, even getting married and having other children, that tattoo meant he could never totally forget me. Even if he’d had the tattoo removed, the remaining scar would always remind him of the name that used to be there.
There’s a beautiful Scripture about God’s hands where the exact same rule applies. I’ve used bold and italics to highlight the part of the verse I’m referring to.
Isaiah 49:15-16 BSB
[15] “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
[16] Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.49.15-16.BSB
As my song continues, I mention how God also has a tattoo right in the palm of His hand, and that, just like my daddy, Jesus can never forget me. Years ago, when my dad read those lyrics when he was running from The Lord, he told me it brought him to tears.
Dear reader, maybe you are like so many this Father’s Day (including me) where your human father has left this Earth. This year, I’m without my birth father and my stepfather, and others (like a grandfather) who were fatherly toward me.
But that is because this life is temporary. It will always lack the things that would make life “perfect,” but it will never lack The most Perfect Savior and Friend we could ever have. That Perfect Savior let nails pierce right through where our names are written, shedding His perfect blood for us. And because of those scars, He can never forget us.
Here is a beautiful chain of promises from the Scriptures reminding us of that truth—from The Torah, through the Psalms, to the words of YahShua, and into the epistles:
Deuteronomy 31:6 BSB
[6] Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.31.6.BSB
Psalm 37:25 BSB
[25] I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.37.25.BSB
Matthew 28:20 BSB
[20] and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.28.20.BSB
Hebrews 13:5 BSB
[5] Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.13.5.BSB
I’ll wrap this up with two beautiful songs I found. The first is directly inspired by Isaiah 49:16, titled “Engraved on Your Hands.” It features gorgeous video scenes, rich lyrics, and beautiful moments sung in Hebrew (with both Hebrew and English subtitles).
This second one has amazingly moving lyrics paired with beautiful beach imagery. (It may be AI generated, as I couldn’t locate specific vocalist info, but the message is timeless):
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Sealed for Your Protection
U.S. Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
(edited to 3D using Wombo Dream AI, Gradient/Text added in Photo Studio Pro)
My patriotic self saw the special day from 1782 (The US adopted The Great Seal on June 20th, 1782) and had to make it the focus of tonight’s blog. The original image is public domain, so creating derivatives is okay. And I love the 3D detail I got from Wombo. You can download your own image from Wikimedia Commons at the link in the photo caption.
Seals have so much more meaning than just an image. First, there’s the wonderfully creative-sounding word sigillography. That’s the study of seals (not the critters that look like sea lions, live in the ocean, and dine on penguins in the Antarctic), and a student of seals is called a sigillographer. And you can hear the word pronounced at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2H8xoFnI6LE
If you want to know some interesting history of seals, check Wikipedia, and The National Archives has a huge collection of them if you’re curious.
But the best thing about seals is what they represent. They mark authority and ownership, they prove authenticity, and they offer protection. This even works in our walk with The Lord who seals us by His Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13 BSB
[13] And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth — the gospel of your salvation — you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.1.13.BSB
Ephesians 4:30 BSB
[30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.4.30.BSB
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 BSB
[21] Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, [22] placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.1.21-22.BSB
Many years ago, I heard a great song (and the story behind it) by singer/songwriter Nancy Grandquist. Pill bottles in stores were in the early years of getting safety seals (after the infamous Tylenol poisonings of 1982) and manufacturers printed “Sealed for Your Protection” right on those stuck-on covers. She read that on a bottle and immediately thought of how Christians are sealed by God for our protection. I had the song on cassette (yes, a long time ago 😁) and I could only find one source with an incomplete song. But a few of the lyrics say…
“If the seal is in place, then you know that you’re safe, and no harm is gonna come to you.” And then the chorus says, “Sealed for your protection …. nothin’ can break through the shield of faith around you.” You are welcome to listen to what I found on YouTube, though it’s not complete and a little hard to understand from the cassette the channel used. Still, it’s a lively tune with a great message.
As I looked for the song, I found a video saying Nancy passed away in the last year, but she really put out a lot of songs. Her own YouTube page is at https://youtube.com/@nanfam?si=g0_II54bxeNoKJHa
On a personal note, I no longer attend the type of church she ministered in (United Pentecostal Church), but I will never be sorry for the changes in my life as a result of the strong doctrine that took me completely away from living for worldly pleasures and brought me to a decision for Christ. It’s nearly impossible to sit on the fence in that type of religion, and I’m still thankful that my life totally changed direction back in July of 1983.
I’m still sealed by Yahveh Almighty for a future He determines and leads me in. I am part of the blood-bought, blood-washed bride of Christ, and I only hope that what I share in these posts will help people to either walk closer to The Lord or turn to Him if they’re walking their own way now. He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and He will seal you as one of His own if you’ll trust Him and ask. Let me know if you have any questions about making a choice to serve Him.
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Shabbat Shalom for June 19-20, 2026
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Shabbat Shalom dear readers. I won’t keep you long because it is time for rest in The Lord. May you have a beautiful Shabbat (Sabbath) with the unmistakable Presence of Yahveh Almighty in your every moment. 🙏
I created this image of a couple reading Bibles by candlelight because it represents something hubby and I try to do on Friday evenings. I say “try” because life doesn’t always go as planned, and we are a bit behind in doing the exact schedule of Torah readings. But whatever portion we read as the candles are burning, we always learn from them. It’s a blessing that has brought special—even miraculous—moments more than once.
Here are a couple of Shabbat/Sabbath verses from “The Complete Jewish Bible” which is a wonderful teaching Bible for linking the Old and New Testaments…
Sh'mot (Exo) 20:11 CJB
[11] For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself. ה
https://bible.com/bible/1275/exo.20.11.CJB
Mark (Mrk) 2:27-28 CJB
[27] Then he said to them, “Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; [28] So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”
https://bible.com/bible/1275/mrk.2.27-28.CJB
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🎵Prompt Response: Happiness vs Joy
What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?
There are many common misconceptions about happiness, but I think the biggest one is that it means the same thing as joy.
Happiness is an emotion. It is something we can choose to receive or to reject. It fully belongs to us to do with as we wish. And because human emotions are not always steady, it means that happiness will ebb and flow like an ocean tide. It’s mostly based on our current experiences, but for those who are good at making lemonade from life’s lemons, it can show up despite sour events in life.
I’m not saying that happiness is not a gift, though; it is a wonderful gift that often fills us up with what we need to sustain us in unhappy times. But it’s not joy. That is something that comes from only one source—God Himself. Because joy is a fruit of The Holy Spirit, it means it belongs to Yahveh, and it’s in His control. And just like The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever; joy is always the same and not dependent on circumstances.
See, we really need both of these in this life. We don’t deserve happiness (that’s another message all together), but we need it for balance. It will give us strength and hope to keep us looking for that next happy day and help us to not be so willing to give up because we know what we’d miss.
Sometimes, though, it’s really not easy to feel happiness. Even those with 24/7 lemonade stands sometimes struggle to be happy in the face of hard events or times. If they are followers of YahShua, though, this is where they can lean into joy. Because His Spirit is inside them to sustain them at all times, they can tap into that deep joy (along with the other fruit like love, peace, mercy, etc.) and make it through the hard times with strength to carry them to the next moment of happiness. They can trade temporary smiles of happiness for permanent hearts filled with God’s joy.
Nehemiah 8:10 BSB
[10] Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/neh.8.10.BSB
Now, for a moment of happiness, look at these adorable pictures from Wombo using the knitting filter.
And when you get the joy, joy, joy down in your heart, you’ll find that the joy of The Lord is your strength.
And while I thought I was almost done with this post, I have to append this note: I was looking for the old Sunday School chorus about the joy of The Lord when I came across the song above. I liked it right away, but before sharing it here, I wanted to research the spiritual foundations of the band. It turns out, they wrote this song specifically for a time of grief in the band when they needed the joy of The Lord to comfort them in unhappy times. (Shout out to Gemini for this important historical note.) That makes me feel like finding this song after everything I wrote before I even looked for it is not just happenstance or coincidence.
And here’s the one I was originally going to share.
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Same but Different
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
If you’ve known me for any time at all, you know I have a real thing for butterflies. A lot of my text and Messenger signatures have butterflies in them, and my uncle once asked me why I added it.
Many years ago, I was a member of a group called Ala-Teen. It’s where I first encountered the 12 Steps. They are a path of realization and healing that can help anyone. I believe my time studying and applying the steps in my own life set me up with a better attitude for understanding deeper biblical principles when I began walking with The Lord. Though the 12 Steps I’ve linked to, are related to alcohol, they’ve been adjusted on several platforms to line up with healing goals. Like, “We admitted we were powerless over gambling,” or “drugs” instead of “alcohol.” They can be applied as needed because the principles work for all of us made in the image of Our Creator—that is; having a body, a soul, and a spirit.
There’s even a great set of 12 steps for Bible believers that say, “We admitted we were powerless over our sin—That our lives had become unmanageable.” That one, and the other 11, are in a book called A Hunger for Healing by J Keith Miller. It’s on Kindle (including Kindle Unlimited at the time of this writing), but I also recommend the workbook which is better in print format. (Used affiliate links for tracking purposes.) Step 1 in this book and study are based on Paul’s words in Romans 7:15-20…
Romans 7:15-20 WEBUS
[15] For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
[16] But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.
[17] So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
[18] For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good.
[19] For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
[20] But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.7.15-20.WEBUS
I separated the verses to make them easier to understand, but here I also want to share this in “The Message Bible” because it reads more like you would expect someone nowadays to speak to you.
Romans 7:14-20 MSG
[14-16] I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
[17-20] But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
https://bible.com/bible/97/rom.7.14-20.MSG
Anyway, somewhere in all of my 12-step discoveries, I was introduced to the concept of metamorphosis as represented by the change a caterpillar makes when it turns into a butterfly. It is literally the same “bug” it was born as, but after the struggle and change, it’s a more beautiful version of that bug.
Knowing that all of us who have been created by God are essentially the same in our most basic ways, and knowing we are all (as King David points out) “born in sin and shaped in iniquity,” means a few things. It means we all need to go through a change (metamorphosis) to become our best; it means we are all able to change; and it means that God loves each of us enough to offer us His mercy and grace before the change along with the love and strength we need to become new rather than staying trapped in our old selves.
So my butterflies mean, change is possible! And for me, they mean change has happened in beautiful ways. The saying goes something like, “I know I’m not yet what I want to be, but I thank God I’m no longer what I used to be.” 🦋
And if you’re interested in an outline of all 12 steps as applied biblically and with a bit more detail, you can visit the Uncuffed Ministries site for what they call “The 12 Steps of Christian Discipleship.”
This next image should bring home what I’m saying. I used exactly the same prompts but a different filter. It’s the same, but yet it’s different. I don’t know how many different filters God used during creation, but I know that He is the common denominator. And HE (His Spirit) is also the filter by which we can change our entire lives into something better and more beautiful. He knows us as we are, He laid down His life for us while we were yet sinners, and He is ready to help us to experience the change that will allow us to rise up to walk in the newness of life.
Just for your information, here are the 12 Steps as applied to sin aka the 12 Steps for Overcomers…
1. **Step 1** – We admitted we were powerless over sin—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. **Step 2** – Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. **Step 3** – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. **Step 4** – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. **Step 5** – Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. **Step 6** – Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. **Step 7** – Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. **Step 8** – Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. **Step 9** – Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. **Step 10** – Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. **Step 11** – Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. **Step 12** – Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
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🎵 You’re a Grand Old Flag Day
“America Bless God”
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
If you could have seen me on June 14th in my younger years, you would have thought, “Oh my, she’s wearing red, white, and blue from head to toe!” It’s still my personal Flag Day rule whenever I leave the house on this special day to wear at least some red, white, and blue clothing and jewelry. And, yes, when I went out to meet some family and a new friend today, I put on very patriotic colors to celebrate the day.
You see, my family raised me to think about the intrinsic value of our homeland—to carry a deep-seated and passionate patriotism that holds respect for flag and country above thoughts and opinions on what’s happening within its borders. It was foundational to my upbringing as a grateful American-born citizen. And I’ve been privileged to witness that same level of patriotism in some not born here but nevertheless grateful to become part of the American experience. It will be exciting to shower my Canadian sister-in-law with red, white, and blue goodies when they move to the states later this year. 🦅
When it was time to prepare for this post, a quick trip through my huge collection of flag photos brought me back to some forgotten snapshots that perfectly capture the spirit of the day. During a visit to the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum (tucked right below Arnie’s Barn at Top of the Rock) in Branson, Missouri, I found these historic flags from our nation’s history.
What makes these two designs so special is the amazing artistry within their threads. Early congressional resolutions simply mandated thirteen stars, but they did not specify a strict layout. That gave early flag makers complete artistic freedom to represent their personal patriotism within these pieces of folk art.
The flag on the left is famously known as the Cowpens Flag Pattern, named after the 1781 “Battle of Cowpens.” On the right, you see the creative variant often called the Wreath-with-Corners layout. Keeping a star in the middle was a popular choice for 19th-century folks celebrating the 1876 Centennial. For personal citizens, it was a break from the rigid structure used for military flags, allowing their artistry a proud form of display.
These unique pieces of American history are a powerful reminder of the intrinsic value of patriotism. They spark the flint from the very first Flag Day on June 14th, 1777, as declared by the Second Continental Congress during the height of the Revolutionary War.
Though they passed the “Flag Resolution” that included the 13 alternating red and white stripes (colors that represent courage/valor and purity), the blue field (representing justice), and the 13 white stars (for the 13 innocent colonies), the date was not represented yet. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the date, but it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that National Flag Day was officially established by an act of Congress and signed into permanent law by President Harry S. Truman.
These colors and their history inspired songwriter George M. Cohan while on a street corner back in 1906 where he crossed paths with a Civil War veteran. The old soldier cradled a torn and battle-worn American flag. He whispered to Cohan, “She’s a grand old rag,” and that moved Cohen to pen a song in her honor. Public pushback convinced him to change “rag” to “flag,” but the heart of the song remained the same. Here’s a rendition of it with verses and lyrics.
In case you don’t know, this entire week is actually National Flag Week, so as you fly your American colors, join me this week by choosing your own red, white, and blue outfit or jewelry to celebrate and salute our national emblem. It represents a deep, unshakable allegiance to this place we call home.
As a fun side note for my readers who are history buffs: Betsy Ross may get all the fame surrounding our flag, but she was actually only the seamstress. In fact, it was a signer of “The Declaration of Independence” named Francis Hopkinson who was the true creative mind behind the layout and original design.
And I’ll close with one final image I found from back when the YouVersion Bible app had a companion app called Bible Lens for matching pictures on your device with Bible verses. I love the one it found from Galatians 5:13 to go with one of my flag pictures. Photo Studio Pro allowed me to add some sparkles and a vintage frame. I’ll share the verse and then the image with the verse.
Galatians 5:13 NLT
[13] For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.5.13.NLT
Note: Some of the words for the historical information were assisted by Google Gemini, but I’ve edited and personalized all of it before publishing.
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🎵A Very Big Tree
I’m keeping this shorter tonight.
I was thinking about the conversation Eve had with the serpent in the garden. Here’s the beginning of it from Genesis 3:1:
Genesis 3:1 KJV
[1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
https://bible.com/bible/1/gen.3.1.KJV
Do you see the anxiety-inducing, manipulative question in that statement? “…Ye shall not eat of EVERY tree of the garden?” (My emphasis here.) In many translations, the word “every” is replaced by “any” which still shows the manipulation, but I think every reveals the hidden agenda a little better. Basically, the enemy made ONE tree bigger than ALL the trees of the garden. One tree that God forbade to protect their innocence became more desirable than who knows how many others with wonderful and sweet fruit available to them 24/7.
That manipulation still goes on today, and sometimes even using words from The Holy Bible. Someone will use the word “slave” as an excuse to avoid God and His words, even though far more of them are filled with mercy and grace. A Christian battling with performance or perfection issues will find a verse like “Be ye perfect” larger than “My grace is sufficient.”
So, I just want to remind you today that the garden was bigger than one tree. And God’s plans for salvation are bigger than any man-made set of do’s and don’ts that demand our adherence to earn God’s love. When you encounter anxiety from the written word, ask God to show you through His Holy Spirit how to understand it and correctly apply it to your own life. It will be His pleasure to let you know because it’s His desire for you to spend your eternity with Him.
2 Peter 3:9 BSB
[9] The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2pe.3.9.BSB
And if you travel while on this Earth and if those travels take you out Arizona way like they did me in May of 2010, stop and see the World’s Largest Rose Tree and museum in Tombstone, Arizona. I wish my pictures were better at showing how magnificent it is, but the images and video on the website should.
And now, since we’re talking about roses, sing along with this beautiful bluegrass version of “Where the Roses Never Fade.”
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🎵 The Upside-down Mountain of Blessings; Part 3
The dark clouds roll in with a thunderous crackle, and a howling wind blows blinding sheets of rain against the neighborhood. A flash flood violently surges over the riverbanks, ripping up trees and slamming directly into two houses. From a distance, the two structures look identical. But as the mud rushes over the foundations, their differences become obvious. One house stands completely unmoved against the torrent, while the other one collapses into a catastrophic heap of crushed bricks and broken wood. This is the closing cinematic scene of YahShua’s famous sermon.
After dismantling four millennia of religious chaos and bringing the focus back to its original purpose—grace—He ends with a sharp warning about an unavoidable storm. He forces us to look past the outward appearance of our lives and look directly at what is underneath them. Without explicitly asking Himself, He poses the question: What is your foundation?
Matthew 7:24-27 BSB
[24] Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
[26] But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell— and great was its collapse!”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.7.24-27.BSB
So I ask you, dear reader, what is your foundation? Are you trusting in The Lord and built on a rock-solid foundation that is backed up in Scripture? Have you tested the beliefs that frame your spiritual life against the words of The Carpenter?
And if you’ve ever wondered what a house (and rock) made of knitted yarn looks like, check out this cute image…
I loved working on this study with Gemini because it brought up some focal points I may have missed if I’d spent the hours required to search all the sources the AI has access to. One great point was this: The wise builder didn’t build a house to earn the rock; he built on the rock because he trusted its strength. At least it’s a great point to someone who has spent many days and hours trying to perform flawlessly enough to keep the Rock in my life rather than causing Him to give up on me.
I also liked the notes on comparing our walk with Christ to a phone that needs to be charged. A phone doesn’t earn its power by working, it sits passively on a charger to receive power. But it receives power *so that* it can go out and run its apps. Good behavior and holy living are not a currency we pay to get God to love us—they are the natural fruit of a life that has finally let God and His love be the source of power.
Stopping the Grace vs Works Pendulum
We don’t obey God to convince Him we are worthy of His love; we obey Him because we have finally allowed Him to fully love us. His way. Based on His worthiness—poured out in blood at Calvary. We obey because, like a glass submitting to a vessel that’s pouring water into it, we trust Him to fill us up. Good behavior and obedience, including letting God serve us in healings and other blessings, is the fruit of that trust.
The balance of both grace and good works—with grace setting us free from struggling for a paycheck attached to our workload—stops the pendulum. Once we’re free from being servants of sin, we become like children who want to please our holy Father because we love and trust Him. We’re no longer swinging from one extreme to the other trying to figure out which lessons to follow to become perfect or shunning works all together as if they are a type of bondage.
Now, we’re praising God from the top of the upside-down mountain of blessings, and from the valley below. We realize blessings are His gifts of love toward us rather than rewards for our perfection. He pours out gifts because He wants to. No more begging; just receiving, trusting, and loving in all kinds of weather.
As we wrap up this journey on the Upside-Down Mountain of Blessings, look at your own spiritual foundation today. Are you still trying to climb the old mountains of performance, or are you ready to build on the Rock of Christ’s finished work? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below: Which part of this upside-down message speaks most deeply to where you are at in your faith journey right now?
Read Part 1 at: https://crystal-writes.com/2026/06/07/upside-down1/
Read Part 2 at: https://crystal-writes.com/2026/06/08/upside-down2/
And now, enjoy an old childhood favorite about the wise man and the foolish man…
And I’ll finish this in style with the beautiful song “God on the Mountain” by Lynda Randle…
Note: Parts of this study (and a few of the words) were assisted by Google Gemini, alongside website studies at Bible Hub and Got Questions, but I’ve edited and personalized all of it before publishing.
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The Upside-down Mountain of Blessings; Part 2
Picture a candle-lit upper room at dusk on the night before the crucifixion. The air is heavy with tension, and the disciples are doing what human beings always do when they are insecure: arguing about who among them is the greatest and therefore deserves the seat of honor nearest the Messiah.
Suddenly, the room falls dead silent. Everyone turns toward the front of the table where YahShua has pushed aside His plate of bread and the cups of covenant He had just taught about.
Silently, The Rabbi stands up and ties a towel around His waist. The others watch as He pours water into a basin and lowers it to the floor. He kneels before the first disciple to wash his dirty, dust-covered feet. And then He washes the feet of the next one, and the next. These are moments of profound beauty—and total theological panic. The stunned disciples submit to their Master, but it all feels upside-down to them.
When YahShua gets to Peter, the tough fisherman recoils in flat-out refusal. Even though YahShua had just stated He was there to serve them, Peter’s religious training told him that followers serve the Master, not the other way around.
“But it’s me who should be washing Your feet,” Peter exclaims!
YahShua looks up at Peter from the floor. In a loving moment of warning, He reminds him that without submitting to Him as a servant, Peter will have no part with Him.
Now Peter swings the pendulum the other way requesting for his Master to wash him head to toe. It’s a beautiful way for Peter to state that he is sold out to The Messiah and is fully committed to His ministry. We know that commitment will be tested within the next couple days, and Peter will fail, but it won’t be the end of his ministry.
YahShua has seen the future denials, but He has also seen the future. In Mark 16:7, He sends an angel to specifically include him: “go tell the disciples and Peter” to meet Him in Galilee.
Mark 16:7 BSB
[7] But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mrk.16.7.BSB
This story of deep messages and lessons across the dinner table is shared in all four gospels, though not all parts are in each rendition. Still, for quick reference to read these yourself, check out these links at Bible Hub where you can read a variety of Bible translations and even put them in parallel.
Matthew 26... https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/26.htm
Mark 14... https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/14.htm
Luke 22... https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/22.htm
John 13... https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/13.htm
My introduction to this upside-down view of YahShua came during a recent Bible study in the YouVersion app. It’s called “Daily Encouragement,” and it’s a year-long study of 366 devotions written by a lifelong missionary. On Day 207, the devotion covers the verse in Mark 10:45 (“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”) Then he gives a quote from Bible teacher P.T. Forsyth that really got to me:
“Christ came not to be ministered to but to minister, and our first duty therefore is to be ministered to by him.”
From Peter’s experience and this quote, I’m trying to look at how letting Christ serve me is an act of obedience.
In the devotion, the missionary mentions some of the words to describe God like Comforter, Shepherd, Helper, Keeper, High Priest, Husband, and Father. All of these words show actions in service to us. If we ask Him for comfort, and then we actually let Him comfort us, we are submitting to His service toward us. The same when we ask Him to save us, deliver us, or heal us.
Going back to yesterday’s thoughts in Part 1, it’s not about being the perfect performer to earn His blessings. The upside-down reality is that while He is the Master, submission and obedience to Him means receiving what He offers us.
If you are a follower of Christ, you took that first step of obedience by submitting to the mercy and grace found in His blood, allowing Him to wash your sins away just as He washed Peter’s feet. It didn’t elevate you above your Master or make you perfect any more than it did Peter, but it did prove that obedience given out of trust and love is the very definition of redemption.
That submission to salvation is the first step of many. But if you’re like me, your next steps took all the responsibility onto your own shoulders as you struggled to please The Lord (and maybe a few preachers) with flawless performance. You forgot—or maybe weren’t taught—you had stepped into a submission of receiving from The King of Kings Himself, the One who declared Himself your servant.
True Christian obedience doesn’t begin with a checklist of things we do for God; it begins with the vulnerability of opening our hands and letting YahShua (Jesus) minister to us through His salvation, healing, and comfort. Asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7;7) isn’t an act of begging a distant deity—it is the posture of a child receiving from a good Father.
But here is where the pendulum usually swings to the opposite extreme. If the Christian life is entirely about passively receiving the grace and service of Christ, does that mean our actual behavior doesn’t matter? Can we just claim mercy and live however we want?
In Part 3, we are going to look at how to stop the pendulum from swinging between legalism and laziness, and discover what it truly means to build a life on the only Rock that stands firm when the storms hit.
Note: Parts of this study (and a few of the words) were assisted by Google Gemini, alongside website studies at Bible Hub and Got Questions, but I’ve edited and personalized all of it before publishing.
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🎵Upside-down Mountain of Blessings; Part 1
Imagine standing in the desert heat in the Shechem Valley of ancient Israel. You’re listening to the voices of the nation’s tribal leaders shout across two steep cliffs. From one lush green peak, Mount Gerizim, you hear shouts of blessing after blessing poured over the crowds. The shouts promise things like wealth, rain, and victory. And then, from the barren ridge of Mount Ebal, terrifying declarations of curse after curse ring out, warning of catastrophic dangers like poverty, hunger, and exile. This was the environment of the “valley of decision”—the place where God asked for a commitment of loyalty from His people. In Deuteronomy 30:19-20 it says,
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 BSB
[19] I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, [20] and that you may love the Lord your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.30.19-20.BSB
For centuries, this was the landscape of ancient Judaism—a clear-cut line where your physical state (blessing or curse on wealth, health, and safety) was your spiritual “report card.” Originally, it had a beautiful purpose in driving loyalty to The Creator and away from the many false gods of the surrounding nations.
But even good things can become co-opted by human misunderstanding until they no longer resemble their original purpose. Over time, religion began to use those “report cards” as excuses to elevate or destroy people based on how they determined God must be judging them. (Think of Job’s “friends.”) If you were successful, you were deemed blessed, and if not, you were deemed cursed.
Suddenly, instead of “one people” gratefully serving the One Lord who delivered them from the bondage and slavery of Egypt, religion devolved into a caste society of judgmental haves lording themselves over the have-nots. It didn’t help people’s hearts grow closer to Yahveh at all. In fact, His heart broke for every person driven away from Him by those whose service to Him was shallow and purely on the surface.
But fast-forward to a different hill in Galilee. Here, a radical new Teacher sits down with the crowd. He looks far beyond the external “report cards” and instead looks deep into the eyes of the poor, the grieving, and the socially rejected. Even if they only came for a free meal or healing, he doesn’t shout at them from a mountain of curses.
Instead, He catches everyone completely by surprise. He looks right at the broken and says, “Blessed are you.”
Welcome to the Upside-Down Mountain of Blessings, where YahShua (Jesus) rewrites everything we thought we knew about the favor of God.
When we talk about this event, we call it The Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew, and The Sermon on the Plain in the book of Luke. On the mountain, YahShua mirrors Moses going up the mountain to receive the laws of God, bringing tried-and-true instructions for Kingdom living to His disciples. On the plain, He acts more like Joshua delivering those historic blessings and curses—except He turns them totally upside-down.
We call them “The Beatitudes” (from the Latin word beatus meaning “blessed” or “happy”) and “The Woes.” Notice how the traditional “report card” gets completely flipped. Here’s the account from Luke 6…
Luke 6:20-26 BSB
[20] Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
[21] Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
[22] Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. [23] Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[24] But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
[25] Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
[26] Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.6.20-26.BSB
(You can also read Matthew's account of The Beatitudes, which focuses on the blessings without the woes, here: https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.5.3-11.BSB)
In all of this, you can see how far humanity swung the pendulum of religion away from God’s original intent of “encouraging” people to choose His ways. From the Old Testament mountains to the hills and plains of the New Testament, religious systems had stripped away God’s mercy—leaving a distorted picture that still causes people today to accuse God of being a bully in the Old Testament. But YahShua demonstrated the true heart of The Father by fully ministering to the actual needs of those who followed Him.
And now, as you see your hardships are not a sign of God’s judgment or abandonment, you can release that crushing burden of being required to perform flawlessly for Him to earn your mountain of blessings.
But this leads to a slightly uncomfortable question: If the Kingdom is a place where the empty are filled and the broken are blessed, how do we actually receive it? What does it look like for Our King to roll up His sleeves, kneel down on the ground in front of us, and offer to do the one thing our spiritual pride hates the most—minister to us in our messy and broken conditions?
In Part 2, we will look at exactly that scenario as YahShua declares Himself a servant and washes the feet of His disciples. Read Part 2 here.
In the meantime, check out this fantastic ApologetiX parody of “Venus” by Bananarama and titled “Jesus (Sermon on the Mount). While this specific video isn’t sung directly by them, it’s an excellent parody with great visuals and full lyrics included!
Note: Parts of this study (and a few of the words) were assisted by Google Gemini, alongside website studies at Bible Hub and Got Questions, but I’ve edited and personalized all of it before publishing.
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🎵The Upside-down Mountain of Blessings
Do you think that when they declared June 6th to be National Trails Day in 1993 they were thinking about the rabbit trails in the minds of those of us with ADHD? Lol 😂.
So, I’ve got a great Bible study I’m working on to share with readers, and it’s got so much in it that I’ve separated it into 3 parts. The problem is, I ended up studying so much that I tired myself out too much to get part 1 up right now. The image above is a clue, though, and if you want to read about these mountains, check Deuteronomy 11, 27, and 28 plus Joshua 8:30-35. Here are a few brief parts of those Scriptures…
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 BSB
[26] See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse — [27] a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, [28] but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the Lord your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.11.26-28.BSB
Deuteronomy 27:9-13 BSB
[9] Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. [10] You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God and follow His commandments and statutes I am giving you today.” [11] On that day Moses commanded the people: [12] “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. [13] And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.27.9-13.BSB
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 8 BSB
[1] “Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. [2] And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the Lord your God:
[8] The Lord will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the Lord your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.28.1-8.BSB
Joshua 8:30, 32, 34 BSB
[30] At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel,
[32] And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
[34] Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law— the blessings and the curses— according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jos.8.30-34.BSB
You can see from just these few verses that there’s lots to unpack here, and it gets infinitely more detailed when we tackle how YahShua (Jesus) turned these mountains of blessing and curse upside down. Be prepared for hiking some fantastic trails through Scripture. In the meantime, since we’re talking about mountains, enjoy this congregational singing of As the Mountains are Around Jerusalem with lyrics on their song board.
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Shabbat Shalom & Weekend Blessings
Real life means that even with the joyful activity of lighting Shabbat (Sabbath) candles on Friday evenings, the image you took to remember it may not be the best for sharing. A little camera shake, too much wax on the candlesticks, or a bit of clutter captured in the image, and you’re looking for some creative editing tricks to make your image look prettier. So I took my candle picture to Wombo Dream and described the table and background I wanted, and then I let it work its magic. After a number of creations, I couldn’t decide between the one from the botanical filter and the filter they call abyssal void for my favorite. So, I made a collage in the Photo Studio Pro app and framed the two together. Here are a few more from the same two filters plus a couple more filters…
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
So we’ve been lighting candles together on Friday nights for over 25 years now. I say the prayer as I first learned it in a brief Hebrew class I took with the sweet friend who opened up this world to me. Understanding some aspects of original Judaism has helped me to better understand both the Old Testament and my Jewish Messiah. When I first started to learn these things (1999), I wrote a poem called YahShua The Jew, and blogged it here in 2016 in a post also called “YahShua The Jew.”
The Hebrew prayer says …
Hebrew:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה הָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל שַׁבָּת.Transliteration:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.
English Translation:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the Sabbath.
And right after we light the candles, we sing two songs together. The first is “Shabbat Shalom” and the second is from Isaiah 28:16…
Isaiah 28:16 BSB
[16] So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.28.16.BSB
And here are the videos of those songs…
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🎵Rejoice in This
It is The Lamb who will sit in the midst of the throne for eternity, and it is The Lamb who is worthy of all our praise (and pride) this month and always. His is the book, written in His own blood, that will determine the destination for each of us in eternity. We can have perfect works, but a prideful and haughty spirit to go with them can still bring destruction. So, after the disciples came back victorious in a battle with the enemy, they were instructed in the right attitude to keep them humble and blessed.
Luke 10:20 BSB
[20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.10.20.BSB
Paul reminded the Philippians that he had places he could take pride and have confidence if he chose, but he reframed his own experience, power, and ability in comparison to Christ. That gave him all he needed to reject pride and stay humble.
Philippians 3:7-8a BSB
[7] But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. [8] More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/php.3.7-8.BSB
When he talked to the Romans, he reminded them that grace is the main reason to look at ourselves through God’s eyes of grace. That is enough to keep us on solid ground rather than being puffed up by pride.
Romans 12:3 BSB
[3] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.12.3.BSB
And the book of James echoes the idea that grace belongs to the humble.
James 4:6 BSB
[6] But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.4.6.BSB
Though many others are writing on the subject of pride this month, it still bears worth to remind ourselves what happens at the end of pride and haughtiness.
Proverbs 16:18 BSB
[18] Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.16.18.BSB
Circling back to the first verse I shared, let me encourage you to recall where you were headed before the mercy and grace of The Lord made a better way for you. But for the grace of God, go I as well. We serve a God who pursues us even while we are sinners because it is His idea & desire to spend eternity with us. Even our own desires to serve Him were put in our hearts by Him, so He still gets all the praise. We are so not worthy of the wonderful love of YahShua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), and yet He has poured it out on us in abundance. Now THAT is a good reason to celebrate with pride humility!
And this seems like the perfect place to share a beautiful song recently shared with me by a beautiful friend and sister in The Lord. It’s called “The Author.”
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🎵 Prompt Response: Soul ATM
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
If you had an unlimited budget for 24 hours, what would you do?
Day One
When I first read this prompt, my mind immediately went to how many lasting things I could get if I had no limits. I thought of how I’d contact a banker and ask for help with investments that would keep the unlimited flow going long after the 24 hours. And then…
It occurred to me that an unlimited budget did not have to be about any kind of money or finance. What could be worth more than those things and give me unlimited prosperity for 24 hours? Souls! Having a flow of guaranteed souls dispensed to me like an ATM does money, and then being able to send those souls in a new direction—toward the cross of Christ—would be amazing.
I think my mind went there after hearing from a Facebook friend who I met on the site years ago but who has since blessed me greatly with her sincere love for The Lord. She told me about how she tries to use every opportunity God gives her to share her salvation testimony. She is driven to carry the Good News to as many souls as God allows to cross her path.
So, can you imagine having a day with an unlimited budget of souls being sent your way? They need The Lord you serve, the peace He provides, and the promise of eternity. You have the answers that will give them that hope and peace, and this unlimited budget means they are sent right to you and ready to listen.
Most of us will share our experiences and testimonies here and there as a door opens or an opportunity presents itself. A few, like my friend Miha, will create open doors and opportunities. And whether you were only given 2 talents or the whole 5, or even only 1 talent, the Lord wants to gain interest on the investment He made for your soul and paid with His very own blood. Anything that can make interest (usury) is certainly a valuable asset, and we really do have an unlimited budget of hungry and empty people who need God.
In The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) it begins like this…
Matthew 25:14-15 BSB
[14] For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. [15] To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent — each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.25.14-15.BSB
Each servant spends his investment differently with one of them not spending at all but burying his talent. There are many interpretations of what these talents are, including the possibility of those abilities within each of us that can be called talents, but the end result is always the same. We need to multiply what The Lord has entrusted us with that He will be able to profit on His return. He tells the person who hid his talent…
Matthew 25:27 BSB
[27] Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.25.27.BSB
So whether it’s financial gain, or actual performance talent, when The Lord returns, we know He is returning for souls. That means interest on that would be more souls.
Over forty years ago, I sat on a church pew in Riverside, California, where I was visiting for a revival. They presented a video set to Steve Green’s classic song, “People Need the Lord.” But it wasn’t a generic Hollywood production. The church had taken photos of their own community—ordinary people on familiar street corners, living out their daily lives. I wept as I watched unfamiliar faces with the same needs as the familiar faces in my own daily life. I understood then that the mission field isn’t always across an ocean; it’s often right outside our own front doors. We are surrounded by a Soul ATM, a world of empty people rushing by with a need for mercy and grace and maybe not even knowing where to look. It just takes one person willing to step out of their own busyness, set up a chair, and offer the only Good News that can truly change their direction and fill them with the hope they need.
Here’s a beautiful rendition of that song…
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Prompt Response: Faith is the Answer
How do you handle fear and self-doubt?
I’m not sure where I learned the two acronyms in the image above, but I know they weren’t together when I learned them. The idea of the first part is to see fear as nothing to fear. But, in truth, sometimes it really is something that can harm us or those we love, and being in fear is the normal response we need to activate our “fight or flight” response.
Whether it’s a real, worthy of fighting or evasive maneuvers, fear, or the weight of tossing our troubles around in our minds until they harm us whether they come to fruition or not, FAITH is still an answer. Faith may give you the wisdom you need for a proper fight or the direction to run for a good getaway. Or, faith may just tell you to stand your ground and be still because the battle belongs to The Lord. The hardest and easiest part is when faith tells you that nothing will change but that nothing changing also means God is still on His throne taking care of what we can’t control and of our eternity.
On that last part, I can tell you honestly that the idea of losing anyone I love and care for from this Earth is hard. Thinking of my own passage into eternity is hard. And I need statements like the one above to remind me that God’s got it all in His hands.
Still, it’s totally human to fear and doubt. In Psalm 56:3, King David didn’t say he would not fear but rather …
Psalm 56:3 BSB
[3] When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.3.BSB
Though, once he acknowledged that he could be afraid, he strengthened himself in The Lord and went on in verse 4 to say …
Psalm 56:4 BSB
[4] In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.4.BSB
When the roots of our fears and doubts are of our own making, they can harm us at least as much as real dangers. Recently, I spent an entire night with my lessons, blog, and sleep all negatively affected because I feared an unknown scenario where I’d received a subpoena. Not being a person who likes to defend myself even when I know I’m innocent, that postal note on a certified letter let my mind wander to many possible scenarios. The next day, I thought of better possibilities (like an old family parcel with water rights finally becoming worth something), but oh how the wandering mind can torture us until we know the truth. And at the end, not one thing I imagined matched the real reason for the letter.
So, did I put those weights of the world on a tray and hand them over to The Lord? Unfortunately, not. And He might have been extending His arms, ready to take over, the whole time. As many times as I’ve written about fear and shared miraculous testimonies, wouldn’t you think I’d know better by now? But alas, I am human and have a lot of experience that has set me up for fear and doubt—probably like everyone who reads this post.
I hope that sharing this helps someone to get through a fearful event or time a little more easily, even if it’s because you now know you’re not alone in being a person who loves and trusts God but still gives in to your fears at times. And I hope creating a visual of someone passing the weight of the world to the waiting hands of God will stay with me (and you) for the next time fear becomes a battle.
I wrote the poem below for my sister in 2015 as we both maneuvered life after losing our mom. You can find it to download in its largest size on my Flickr page at https://flic.kr/p/ybqdqj where I’ve listed a regular copyright but am happy to let people use it for personal and non-commercial purposes. Since I’ve placed it on items for sale at Zazzle, I must protect my copyright to make sure no one comes and says I took it from them, but I’m a big believer in freely I have received, so freely I will give.
(Both the image and words are by Crystal A Murray © 2015)
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🎵 Not Comfortless
![A digital image of a parchment scroll nailed to wooden planks as created by Wombo Dream AI. On the scroll are the following Bible verses: John 14:16, 18, 23 BSB
[16] And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever —
[18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
[23] Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
With a link to the Bible website at... https://bible.com/bible/3034/jhn.14.16-23.BSB I have listed this image as Creative Commons Zero (CC0) so people can share it freely since the Bible version used is also public domain.](https://crystal-writes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/image_editor_output_image-1423944457-177961460619373770593684482955.jpg?w=900)
Creation by Crystal A Murray (CC0 Use Freely)
Because we are in the midst of Shavuot (Pentecost following The Feast of Weeks), I wanted to unpack this major promise from YahShua about not leaving His disciples as comfortless orphans. When read all together, these 3 verses from John 14 say so much about who YahShua actually is, and how He revealed Himself to the disciples (and to us through the Word we have now).
I don’t know that I could ever give the amount and quality of information they have at the Hebrew for Christians website, so I’ll refer you to them for all the details on the Feast of Pentecost that happened 50 days after the Passover. I learned while studying for this that Shavuot in Judaism is kept to remember when Moses was given the Torah (Law) on Mt. Sinai. One site suggested the sound of rushing mighty wind in Acts 2:2 would’ve been like the roaring and thunder they heard on the mountain while Moses was up there, so those gathered in the upper room and Jerusalem that day may have understood the deeper meaning in it.
Acts 2:2 BSB
[2] Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/act.2.2.BSB
Whatever that sound meant to those gathered for the festival, we know what it meant to the 120 believers gathered in the Upper Room that day. It was the fulfillment of the John 14 promises, and it gave them the boldness they needed to proclaim the Gospel of Messiah YahShua from that point forward. Peter himself went from one who denied Christ in front of a few people to one who stood and boldly proclaimed His salvation to many thousands all at once. That’s what real comfort can do.
YahShua (Jesus) told the disciples that if two or three gathered in His name, He would be in the midst of them. Most of us who have followed Him for any amount of time can point to at least one instance where a gathering, small or large, included moments much like the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:32 where our hearts “burned within us” and we knew the Presence of The Lord was there. In those moments, we did not see a body with us, so that confirms the Spirit of Christ who said He would not leave us comfortless but that HE would come to us. The fullness of The Godhead dwelt in the human body of YahShua…
Colossians 2:9 BSB
[9] For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/col.2.9.BSB
… AND, the fullness of that One Spirit (from John 14:23) shows unity with The Holy Spirit even though YahShua said of Himself and The Father, “We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (Emphasis mine.)
Ephesians 4:4-6 BSB
[4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.4.4-6.BSB
See, we do not have a God or High Priest that is “somewhere out there” and unable to be touched by our needs. We have a very real Savior who longs to be real to us and not just a mystery we cannot know, even though exactly how He does it may be a mystery like it says in 1 Timothy 3:16, which I really like from The Complete Jewish Bible…
1 Timothy (1 Ti) 3:16 CJB
[16] Great beyond all question is the formerly hidden truth underlying our faith: He was manifested physically and proved righteous spiritually, seen by angels and proclaimed among the nations, trusted throughout the world and raised up in glory to heaven.
https://bible.com/bible/1275/1ti.3.16.CJB
Hebrews 4:15 BSB
[15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.4.15.BSB
But one day, when every knee bows and confesses that Jesus (YahShua) is Lord (Adonai is the actual word translated to Lord here), we will be able to say, “He did not leave us comfortless, but He kept His promises to come to us whenever we called on Him.”
Philippians (Php) 2:10-11 CJB
[10] that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — [11] and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father.
https://bible.com/bible/1275/php.2.10-11.CJB
I’ll close with this very upbeat song from way back when I was learning to follow Him as a new believer…
And one more video of a song I’ve never heard before, but I really like it, and I like the images they used …
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Today’s Photo Memories: Pink Peonies
A few of my photo storage apps like to show me an “On This Day” section with photos from the same date in different years. When I saw all my pink peonies from 2021, I knew I had to share them. Within the same few days, I captured a yard full of flower variety from my cellphone camera.
Before I moved to Kentuckiana, I do not think I’d ever even heard of a peony flower, let alone seen one. Maybe I did and don’t recall it, but the here and now brings these giant beauties every year courtesy of my friends (Mark and Debbie) who planted them before they sold us our Indiana house. Having never been a gardening kinda gal, the colorful blooms that grace my yard every year are truly gifts that keep on giving. What a blessing they are to see.
I was so happy with this capture that I put it through a program to add a matching frame, and then I started playing with effects. I think the one above was in Mirror Lab, and I think the repeating design is really pretty on the single framed flower. I used the same flower to make a simple pink on tan fractal…
And I’ll close with one more manipulation where you can clearly see the peony flowers but yet get lost in the array of twists and turns.
And though they are not lilies, I think the Scripture about the beauty of lilies being even more grand than King Solomon’s royal attire.
Luke 12:27 BSB
[27] Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.12.27.BSB
Simple Peony Haiku...
Peony flowers:
Pink, full, and blooming heavy.
Though their time is short.
A picture captures,
Their lives for us to savor.
Worth a thousand words.
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🎵 What to Do in the Rain
What do you do when it rains? Do you hide inside to stay dry, darting quickly between house and car if you need to run out and remember the umbrella is still in the car? I think most of us prefer to stay dry as we get older, but the deluge in the past week has gotten me to think about rainy days in my childhood.
Oh summer rain! Years and years ago in Southern California, it was just a simple pleasure like running through the sprinklers. Neighborhood kids would put on their swimsuits and dance around in the warm rain or slide on the wet grass. Sometimes, we’d get a little mud or grass stuck to us, but the rain would wash it right back off. We never worried about what could be in the rain, like toxins or acid, back then. We didn’t think about getting struck by lightning even when there was thunder and lightning going on. It was all just simple fun. And yes, we did drag out a kiddie pool to let it fill up naturally a few times. 🤩
So, has rain changed? Or is it just the abundance of cautions & warnings out there these days that make it seem so much more dangerous? Maybe it’s just a bit different in the Midwest where I live now. But I still have such pleasant memories of rain—and puddles. (Not in our nice shoes, though. Lol 😂)
I remember one time, while I was working at the answering service, I had to relay an emergency call to one of our customers. It took me a while to reach him, and when he finally called back, he apologized for the delay because he was… “in my front yard in a garbage bag.” I’m sure he could hear the confusion in my voice, so he went on to explain a little ritual he always did when it rained. He covered himself with a large, heavy plastic bag and just sat in his yard enjoying the sound that reminded him of rain on a tent. He said it relieved stress and brought him peace. It makes sense to me, but I’ve never actually tried it myself. Maybe I’ll put it on my to-do list since I’ve got a few of those industrial bags that should cover me well enough. Anyone else want to try it?
The rain in my area brings a bit of humidity, but I like how the clouds also cool off the house by not allowing the afternoon sunshine to pour through the living room window. And when it’s coming down hard enough, and it’s quiet all around, hubby and I will just listen and enjoy the rhythmic taps and clicks of the downpour.
Some Bible verses about rain…
Deuteronomy 32:2 BSB
[2] Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.32.2.BSB
Psalm 72:6 BSB
[6] May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.72.6.BSB
Job 5:10 BSB
[10] He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/job.5.10.BSB
Isaiah 45:8 BSB
[8] Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the Lord, have created it.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.45.8.BSB
And a nice hymn about rain showers…
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🎵Rededicate 250 — Thoughts
I’m not one of those who follows every event dubbed as “Christian” or a follower of everyone who says they are Christian, but some moments are worth supporting in my own prayer life. I do not have to like or agree with every person invited to speak or pray at the May 17th event to be supportive of the goal for the event: Rededicate the United States of America back to the godly roots of prayer from our establishment.
You can do a search for “Rededicate 250” to learn more about it. The link I’ve provided is a Copilot search with a list of speakers and links to other info about the day. There’s a lot of stuff out there, and a lot of complaints about evangelicals getting involved in DC, but from the perspective of one who values my current freedom to worship God, I’m not interested in kowtowing to those who only serve themselves instead of The Lord. I am, however, interested in setting the right example to those unbelievers, so their complaints can only be with God and His Word and not how I represent Him or His Word.
So I had AI make an image of people praying at The White House to make sure there was no highlight on specific or favored individuals if I grabbed images from online. To truly rededicate ourselves means that our only source is Yahveh Almighty Himself, and our only purpose is being the most obedient to His Word and Spirit we can be no matter what anyone else is doing or saying. It’s not about our opinions or thoughts about God’s direction in our lives, but rather it’s about having a heart that says He is worthy of our total trust even when we may not understand.
The longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve experienced things I did not get the “whys” of, and things I couldn’t figure out how God took care of. They both taught me that God is totally sovereign and trustworthy, and He walks with us through those places where things aren’t going according to our perfect plans. But He walks there when He is invited. Sometimes, His overflowing mercy and grace puts Him places before being invited, but He still waits for that true desire of whosoever will to fully move in a life.
And that’s what rededication is really all about; making sure The Lord is invited into our country and our hearts to pour out His love in and on both. If you’ve never invited Him, please consider it. Even if you only want to test the waters, don’t test them by taking a 4-wheel-drive over smooth residential streets. Give Him your whole heart, mind, body, and soul. Trust Him with everything you’ve got. Act as if you plan to serve Him for eternity even if you are still wondering a little. When I got saved, I told Him I would try my best but couldn’t promise what I’d do if “church people” hurt me again. Fortunately, He moved in so fully that when I did encounter hurts, I didn’t reject Him for it anymore. It’s truly worth giving it all completely to His will and ways. And if you have tried serving Him but never did much beyond “the sinner’s prayer” or baptism, take these days with so much prayer in the air to totally surrender and rededicate yourself more completely than ever before. Invite Him today!
Isaiah 1:18 BSB
[18] “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.1.18.BSB
James 4:7-8 BSB
[7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jas.4.7-8.BSB
Be washed in your heart and mind and then wash the outside in baptism to proclaim it.
And if you’ve been washed but feel like you need a new cleansing, this song about rededication is a perfect anthem.
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Prompt Response: That Printer of Udell’s by Harold Bell Wright
What’s a book that completely surprised you?
The 1902 Novel That Totally Surprised Me (…And Ronald Reagan)
It’s a book written over a century ago, in 1902, by Harold Bell Wright called “That Printer of Udell’s,” but don’t let its age dissuade you from giving it a chance.
I wasn’t actually looking for the book, or any book, when I came across this. I was in the “World’s Largest Toy Museum” in Branson, Missouri, and a part of it includes the “Harold Bell Wright Museum.” I’d never even heard of the man or any of his books, but I quickly found out that The Shepherd of The Hills references in that area were based on one of Bell’s books by the same name. I left with a few books, including That Printer of Udell’s (this links to the free online download at “Project Gutenberg”) recommended by the store proprietor.
Going into it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Beyond occasionally trying to comprehend some of the thick, old-fashioned “hillbilly” dialects of the region used at the beginning of the book, I was hooked within a couple of chapters. And I was amazed by how deeply this story resonated with me.
What’s it about, you ask? The story is set in the busy, sometimes harsh Midwestern town of Boyd City. It follows the main character Dick Falkner, a young man who has survived a brutal childhood; complete with an alcoholic father, wild yet motherly “madams” for the boy’s babysitters and landlords, and extreme poverty. Dick travels to the city in search of a fresh start, only to face starvation and unemployment no matter how hard he’s willing to work. Worse, the cold indifference of the local church congregations is hard on his spirit as well as his body.
Just as he’s ready to give up, he is hired by George Udell, a kind-hearted printer who’s willing to give him a chance as an apprentice. Through this turning point, Dick encounters real Christianity—not the hypocritical kind he saw from afar, but a faith lived out through kindness, love, and public service. Dick’s later transformation ripples through the entire community.
What surprised me most about this book was its spiritual depth and how it could apply just as well in 2026 and beyond. It beautifully demonstrates the fantastic life changes that happen when a person shifts from mere self-reliance and survivorship to allowing God to set the moral compass and direction of their life. Dick goes from a man just trying to endure day-to-day to a man with an unshakeable purpose driven by The Lord. It’s a powerful reminder that we weren’t meant to carry the weight of the world only on our own shoulders.
As it turns out, I’m not the only one who was deeply impacted by this book. A young boy in Illinois read That Printer of Udell’s at just 11 years of age, and it altered the course of his entire life. That boy was Ronald Reagan.
In the museum, they have the letter where Reagan later stated that the book left an indelible impression on him, shaping his own faith and his view of human nature. He even said that Dick Falkner became a role model for him, inspiring him to become a person who fights for what is right. If a turn-of-the-century novel could help shape a future president, you know there is something powerful in the story.
If you are looking for a story that is inspiring and historically fascinating, and one that will challenge your own Christian walk in the best way possible, I highly encourage you to click the link above to download a free copy in your favorite format. Project Gutenberg offers many options, including Kindle. But you can also check Amazon or other bookstores for print copies. Either way, I highly recommend the read. Push past the dated dialect at the beginning, and I promise you will find a timeless message of grace and the power of a changed life. It will challenge how you see both “sinners” and “saints” in your life.
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Creativity Day
I had a bit of a stressful day today, and I have a really busy day planned for tomorrow, so I decided that tonight was a great night to just do some picture playing while my phones charged before sleep. No deep words of wisdom other than to remind you (and myself) that God’s Word promises us that He will work everything for the good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purposes. To be able to work everything to the good means He is with us in those everything moments. So this is me trying to release any and all fears, anxieties, and issues with my battles with low self-esteem (though I know God sees me better than I see myself, so that helps), into His hands. I’m sure my readers have had their hard days and battles as well, so as I pray for those who visit my writings, I’m also grateful for those who take me to the throne when I’m not as strong as I’d like to be. Thank you with my whole heart. 🙏
Romans 8:28 BSB
[28] And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.8.28.BSB
Philippians 4:6 BSB
[6] Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/php.4.6.BSB
Proverbs 19:21 BSB
[21] Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.19.21.BSB
And now, more pictures…
Good night and Shalom! 🕊️
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