🎵Cliché Month: Pretty is As Pretty Does (and My Thoughts on Dolly Parton)
Long before “pretty is as pretty does” became a staple of Southern front porches and mountain wisdom, it began as an Old English proverb: “Handsome is that handsome does.” It traces back through centuries of literature, from Geoffrey Chaucer to Oliver Goldsmith, and the saying served as a timeless social check. It reminded generations that outward charm, fine clothing, and physical beauty are entirely hollow if they aren’t backed up by kindness, integrity, and good deeds.
My earliest recollections of Dolly Parton are from a 45 my mom bought us with Coat of Many Colors on side A, and Me and Little Andy on side B. We all loved side A, but my empathetic heart was drawn to the song about the sad and cold little girl and her puppy, Andy. (I’ve included the video at the bottom so you can listen along.) From there, I listened to a variety of music until I gave my life to Christ at 19, so I didn’t hear much about Dolly until she began releasing gospel music like He’s Alive backed by a full choir.
By that time, I was also paying closer attention to the lifestyles of those who portrayed Christianity in entertainment to see if they really believed in their hearts. Some things Dolly said and did made it hard for me to see her as genuine, and I wondered if she was just adding gospel music as another genre on her resumé. Of course, in all entertainment and media, there is no guarantee that what we see or hear is anything deeper than an act, so we pray for each of them with grace and know that God sees their true hearts.
A Rooted Love for Her People
On a recent trip to Pigeon Forge, we finally rode the aerial tram. Our tram operator who gushed over Dolly as so much more than just a singer and actress. He talked about all she did for her community after the big fire in 2016 (a tragedy that made me cry when I saw the news reports), and about her project to get books into the hands of every kid in her home state of Tennessee. He even said something along the lines of “No one better ever come here and say anything bad about our Dolly!”
I really hadn’t known much about her philanthropy until then, but now, as the world mourns her passing and celebrates her life, the tributes are everywhere. Time and again, they show how Dolly never outgrew her deep sense of home or her love for the mountains where she grew up. For example, after the wildfires swept through Sevier County in 2016, she didn’t offer empty platitudes from afar. Through the “My People Fund,” she delivered no-strings-attached monthly checks to hundreds of families (900+) who lost everything, helping her neighbors rebuild from the ashes up. And when there was money at the end, she divided it among them with an extra $5,000 each.
A Legacy Written in Millions of Books
Her philanthropy was always driven by personal empathy. Dolly founded the Imagination Library in 1995 to honor her father—a hardworking man who never had the chance to learn to read. What started as a local initiative in East Tennessee has now become a worldwide literacy project that’s placed hundreds of millions of books directly into children’s hands to inspire their love of learning, completely free of charge.
A Sparkling Personality
In a culture obsessed with appearances, Dolly Parton spent her life proving that old cliché with her own inner beauty. Growing up one of 12 children in the rural mountains of East Tennessee, she learned the stinging pain of superficial judgment from those who had more than she had. When her mother lovingly stitched her a winter coat out of discarded fabric scraps—the true story that inspired Coat of Many Colors—schoolyard classmates ridiculed and bullied her for wearing rags. Rather than growing bitter, Dolly realized a profound truth: worth is never defined by a price tag, and true riches come from the heart. She decided early on that she would sparkle in her behavior first, and the rhinestones and sky-high wigs became a joyful outward celebration of a heart that was already overflowing with love.
Her approach mirrors the wisdom found in 1 Peter:
1 Peter 3:3-4 World English Bible
[3] Let your beauty come not from the outward adorning of braiding your hair, and of wearing gold ornaments or of putting on fine clothing, [4] but from the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.
1 Peter 3:3-4 (WEBUS)
But wait… Didn’t Dolly do exactly all that outward adornment? She did, but from what I’m learning, it was secondary to her drive to truly shine from the inside out. In one interview, she said she never felt pretty, so all the decoration was playful compensation for that. And if Scripture isn’t saying we must forego outward beauty, maybe it’s okay if it’s in balance, secondary to what’s on the inside. Dolly seemed to understand that flashy costumes and outward fashion fade, but a soul anchored in love, empathy, and active generosity carries eternal weight.
Hope and Grace
I hope it’s right to think of her as now being in The Lord’s presence. I pray that the generosity and empathy we witnessed were tiny compared to the love in her heart for her Creator. And I hope that anything she said that didn’t line up with Scripture was said or done unintentionally and is fully covered under the abundant mercy and grace of God.
Like the uplifting flutter of the song Love Is Like a Butterfly, Dolly’s life was a masterclass in spreading color, light, and genuine care wherever she went. She elevated the old proverb into an art form—never dimming her iconic sparkle. True beauty is never only skin-deep; it is measured fully by the record of love and grace you leave behind.
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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: 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: Time to Recharge Our Batteries
Shabbat Shalom Y’all (and All Y’all). I haven’t done a blog break this month because there are so many great clichés to bring out, so for this Sabbath, I asked Google Gemini to give me ideas that worked with the rest and rejuvenation of a Sabbath weekend.
I know it could be our batteries, your batteries, or my batteries, and it still means the same thing, so I wanted this to go out to all my readers to wish you a great recharge and restful weekend, especially if you’re in the USA or anywhere else with a strong heat wave.
Where Did “Recharge Your Batteries” Come From?
Unlike ancient agricultural idioms or biblical proverbs, “recharge your batteries” is a modern industrial metaphor applied to an ancient human need; the need to rest and recharge before continuing to move forward. Even God knew we’d need to recharge, which is why we have Sabbath and why YahShua (Jesus) said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” For this idiom, its history follows the rise of electrical technology before entering everyday speech:
- The Technical Precursor (1859–1900s): French physicist Gaston Planté invented the first rechargeable lead-acid battery in 1859, followed by Thomas Edison’s nickel-iron battery in 1901. For decades, “recharging batteries” was strictly an engineering term used for telegraph lines, submarines, and early electric vehicles.
- The Metaphorical Shift (1920s–1930s): As consumer radios, automobiles, and flashlights became standard household staples, the concept of a “run-down battery” needing to be plugged in to restore power entered popular culture.
- Documented Print Debut (1930s–1940s): By the late 1930s and through World War II, newspapers and military dispatches began using the phrase figuratively to describe weary workers, executives, and soldiers taking leave to rest before returning to duty.
So without adding any other pictures or song references, here are some ideas for your own personal recharge over the hot weekend. This list is fully from Gemini, so I could rest a bit as well. And I love the idea of the cool water foot soak. Comment below if any of these work for you.
Sabbath Recharge: Staying Cool in Extreme Heat
- Host a “Living Room Picnic”: Spread out a blanket inside under the A/C or a direct fan. Have a simple lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and snacks, avoiding any cooking that adds heat to the house.
- Themed Hydro-Sipping: Make staying hydrated feel special by infusing large pitchers of ice water with cucumber, mint, lemon, or frozen berries.
- Cool Feet, Cool Body: Place a shallow basin of cool water by the sofa or a comfortable chair and soak your feet for 15–20 minutes. It is an incredibly fast way to lower your overall body temperature.
- Low-Light Sanctuary: Pull the shades and curtains tight during the hottest hours of the day (noon to 4 PM). It creates a calming, sanctuary-like atmosphere while significantly blocking solar heat gain.
- The Afternoon Audiobook or Podcast: Instead of active reading, simply lay down, close your eyes, and listen to a peaceful audiobook, a podcast about rest, or a relaxing scripture playlist.
- A Taste of Winter: Pull something pre-made from the freezer, like a chilled soup (gazpacho), pre-cut frozen fruit chunks (grapes or banana slices), or enjoy a simple icy treat like a popsicle or a scoop of ice cream.
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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: Don’t Spill the Beans 🫘
Don’t Spill the Beans: From Secret Ballots to Grandma’s Kitchen
Most of us know what it’s like to keep a secret. And some secrets are harder to keep to ourselves than others. Maybe a juicy piece of news, a surprise party secret, or some other plan that’s supposed to be a surprise, but a slip of the tongue can ruin the reveal. So, especially when dealing with those who just aren’t good at keeping secrets, someone might tell them, “Whatever you do, don’t spill the beans.”
It’s an everyday expression, but how on earth did legumes become the official currency of confidential information?
The Secret Ballot of the Ancient World
The most popular story behind the phrase goes all the way back to Ancient Greece—known as the birthplace of democracy. Long before paper ballots or digital voting systems, ancient Greek societies needed a simple way to hold secret votes. They decided a simple opaque urn and two distinct colors of beans would be the best solution:
* White or light-colored beans represented a “Yes” vote.
* Black or dark-colored beans represented a “No” vote.
During the voting process, voters would step up to the urn and discreetly drop their chosen bean inside. The dark jar kept their choice hidden from the crowd. The vote was meant to remain strictly confidential until every ballot was cast and official counts began.
However, if someone clumsily knocked over the container—or tipped it accidentally on purpose—the beans would scatter across the floor. The vote tally was revealed prematurely, the secret process was ruined, and the entire election had to start over. All because someone had literally spilled the beans.
Spill it, Girlfriend!
While historians note that the exact English phrase really took off as 20th-century American slang (where “spill” meant to confess a secret or talk out of turn), the ancient image of a tipped jar spilling hidden votes remains the perfect visual metaphor.
A Tipping Point in Pop Culture
When I told my husband the subject of this cliché post, the phrase instantly brought to both of our minds the classic children’s game Don’t Spill the Beans. Do you remember it? It was originally introduced by Schaper Games in 1967 and later made famous by Milton Bradley. The game took the idiom literally. Players carefully balanced small plastic beans one by one on top of a teetering red plastic pot. The goal? Steady hands and precise placement—because one wrong move sent the pot tipping over, sending plastic beans clattering across the table. Now the game is made by Hasbro, and you can get it at Amazon where you’ll notice the “beans” are flat and colorful. But it still looks fun—and frustrating. (Link uses my affiliate shortcut.)
It looks like the ancient Greeks and 1960s game designers had the exact same lesson in mind: balance is everything, and once things tip over, it creates a mess.
When Spilling the Beans Would be a Real Disaster
Thankfully, it never happened, but I shudder to think of what we would’ve missed if it did. For all the history and game-night nostalgia, when I hear this cliché, my mind skips right past ancient Greece and board games and heads straight to my grandma’s kitchen.
Back then, making a pot of pinto beans was a labor of love. Long before they ever hit the stove, Grandma would sort through them by hand, carefully picking out the tiny pebbles hidden among the dry beans. A few times, I got to help her, but she preferred doing it mostly by herself to make sure nothing got missed. Then came overnight soaking followed by hours of slow cooking, seasoned generously with a good amount of bacon grease until the whole house smelled amazing. My mouth waters just to think about it.
So, in our family, “spilling the beans” would have been a crime. After all that work sorting, seasoning, and simmering, nobody dared spill those beans—because everybody wanted to eat them! 😋 (And don’t forget the diced white onion on top.)
I’ll end this with a couple Scriptures for when God Himself will spill the beans. It’s best not to have anything to hide (unless it’s a good surprise,) but there will come a time when all things will be revealed.
Luke 12:2-3 BSB
[2] There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. [3] What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.12.2-3.BSB
Ecclesiastes 12:14 BSB
[14] For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.12.14.BSB
Many thanks to Google’s Gemini AI for the collaboration and help in finding this history of this phrase, the history of the game, and the beautiful image at the top.
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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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🎵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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Prompt Response: Life is a Classroom
Are you a lifelong learner?
Did the class move into the guy’s dorm room, or did the guy bring his bed and microwaves into the classroom? You decide. But either way, the “Welcome to Life and its Lessons” message on the wall answers the prompt question. Yes, I am a lifelong learner. And so are you. (And maybe that partly goes with being short based on the midget teachers standing on the classroom window sills. Lol 😂)
As in almost all classrooms, we have star students who excel at everything they try, we have hard working students who try lots of things even if they don’t fully succeed at every attempt, and we have those who choose to sit in the corner with a dunce cap on because they’d rather be doing anything else other than learning.
I really don’t understand the dunce cap students because I love learning. I joined Duolingo for Spanish but have since added Esperanto, Hebrew, Chess, and Music. I study the Bible daily and follow up with lessons from The Bible Project and Got Questions and Bible Hub because I want to know the meanings behind the messages. Each of these sites also has an app.
I’ve never been satisfied to just take the words of someone who says they know something no matter their position or authority. It’s why I don’t just automatically believe everything said by the media or on social media. And it’s why I try to provide links to expanded texts and websites to show the sources of facts or opinions I share.
Being a lifelong learner is not the same as gnosticism where the pursuit of knowledge is often used as a substitute for God because it’s not always easy to trust what you cannot see. But if I consigned all my beliefs to only what I can see, hear, taste, touch, or feel, my life could have no true love in it since love exceeds all our senses.
Note: While love and wisdom exceed the boundaries of our senses, God also uses our senses to teach us. Think about King David saying, “Taste and see that The Lord is good.” And a member of our local writer’s group put together a wonderful devotional book called Our God of Common Senses by Victoria Hicks. (Affiliate link for views used.)
Faith is also something that requires lifelong learning. Learning to accept love from God and from others; learning to trust the process until things finally work out; and learning to let go of some things while leaning in to deeper understandings as you mature in faith. That applies to faith in general AND faith in The Lord.
Scripture tells us that we need The Holy Spirit’s guidance to understand biblical wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:7, 9-10, 12 BSB
[7] No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.
[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.” [10] But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
[12] We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1co.2.7-12.BSB
And wisdom brings us blessings and long life according to the writer of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 7:12, 19 BSB
[12] For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
[19] Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.7.12-19.BSB
And it takes time and experience to gain wisdom, so being a lifelong learner is not only a way to absorb benefits from life but also to make it last. And if you share that wisdom with others, it becomes a legacy that will outlive you when your time on Earth is done.
Proverbs 16:31 BSB
[31] Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.16.31.BSB
Job 12:12 BSB
[12] Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/job.12.12.BSB
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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: 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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🎵 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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🎵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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🎵 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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🎵Girl’s Day Memories
First, I really like this knitted filter. 😁 And I’ve also found that it will often create more pictures for me while the other filters keep giving me “restricted content” warnings because my prompt has words like child or daughter or kid in it. It’s sad that people in our world use those words to create content that wouldn’t be deemed as “safe for work” so it causes a warning if anything gets even close to that.
But I’m not writing about sad stuff except maybe the bittersweetness of memories because they cannot be had anymore. So on to the content I planned for today.
My day’s plans were put on hold due to a sciatic flair, so I spent the day on a phone visit with a friend. (The amazing friend who’s been helping me with Operation Cleanout and getting organized.) She understood my lack of ability to move, lift, and twist today, so we enjoyed a time of visiting via voice instead of in person. During that visit, a thing I shared with her hit me as a good topic for my blog readers.
Growing up for a time in government housing meant things like looking for inexpensive ways to find meaning in a day and finding out how to do that at home because we didn’t have a car. Eventually, we established a pattern. When the monthly check would arrive, my mother would treat me and my sister to a girl’s day. Our first stop was usually to take the bus to the nearest “Licorice Pizza” record store and buy ourselves at least one new record to listen to. I can still see the blue label on the Wildfire 45 rpm we loved to sing with. “She ran calling ‘Wildfire,’ she ran calling…” And once in a while, we got a whole new album, like a greatest hits collection by Anne Murray because we all sang with that one.
I don’t recall which stores we shopped at for nail polish, but we always got at least one new color to try, usually one with sparkles in it. We’d get out all the old ones from previous months, and sometimes we painted a different color on each nail just for fun. I think they actually do that in professional manicures now, but we just loved to experiment back then.
On the way home, we got off the bus a couple blocks past our apartment complex, so we could get our favorite dinner treat: Chinese food to go. In those days, the more people you ordered for, the more extra food types you could add to your order. It’s why that one old Doris Day/Brian Keith movie is called “With Six You Get Eggroll.” Of course, we had to have an egg roll and fried rice with every order. 😋 And they always added these paper sleeves with wooden chopsticks, so we always tried to figure out how to use them—at least for the first few bites. 🤣
As a side note, as an adult, I always wondered why fried rice just didn’t taste the same as I’d remembered from my youth. One day, just for my own curiosity, I added a little bit of the oil that floats on top of my natural peanut butter, and there it was….that unmistakable flavor that made me always want more Chinese food. I guess most Chinese restaurants used woks and peanut oil back then, and the taste was totally different. And, I think, so much better!
Anyway, with our bags full of little white boxes covered in red designs and symbols, we headed home for a few hours of unstressed mom and daughters fun. We’d sit on the living room floor and try the foods while the record player dropped a stack of 45s, including the latest purchases. We would sometimes play the music through headphones to more fully hear the nuances of left and right sounds. And then we’d make the house smell like a salon while we played with color.
I wish every day had those good memories, and I wish they were never undone by Mom going on a late night drinking binge, but even with the myriad of imperfect and stressful days, I’m so thankful for those times, those pleasant moments, that brought balance to my life. Now, they bring balance to my memories as well.
Philippians 4:8 BSB
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think on these things.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/php.4.8.BSB
I know the words are a bit sad, but here’s a video of Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphey with a slideshow of beautiful horses…
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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: More Input
How do you stay motivated when learning something new?
Being motivated to learn has never really been my issue. I’m very much like Johnny 5 (the later Short Circuit movies) in always wanting more input. I am far more interested in learning a variety of information than in perfecting any one avenue, so that’s where my motivation might fall off somewhat.
I started learning Spanish as a means of brain growth, but lack of having anyone to practice speaking to, and wrestling with technical changes they keep making at Duolingo, made it hard to want to keep trying. But, I keep going back to keep my streak (1425+ days now), so they know what works there. But they can’t seem to give me conversations with Lily (the AI that does “phone calls” with students) where the topics are simple enough and the speech is slow enough. And they want me to gain my quest points with those calls, so I switched to learning Esperanto. And, actually, that’s a fun language to study if for no other reason than the word for doing is fartas. Lol 😂 (”How are you doing’?” is “Kiel vi fartas?” in Esperanto.)
Of course, they also have music 🎶 and math ➗ and other languages I won’t likely need (like Klingon). But I did add Hebrew because I thought it might help with Bible study. The motivation is tough on that one for a few reasons, including not being biblical Hebrew (with some light slang even) and not spelling things out phonetically until I can retain them. For me, it is harder to stay motivated when the learning has too many hurdles. That made me download some other programs/apps like Memrise, Drops, and FluentU. I’ll probably switch mostly to that last one instead of renewing Duo because of the integration into YouTube. While anyone can switch their closed-captions to Spanish to help with language, FluentU allows me to click on words as they are displayed and add them to my library of words to study.
At the same time, I’m always trying to learn new tech stuff. And learning to work with AI through Gemini and Copilot helps me learn more things and then save them to notebooks to review later. With Gemini, I learned how to program a smart thermostat and got recipes for homemade mayo (using an immersion blender) and homemade gazpacho (using a regular blender). But I’ve yet to try the recipes. Still, I’m truly motivated to learn more than I actually have time in a day to do. I’m thankful for all I have been able to learn about kidney diets and dialysis for my hubby, though, so sometimes the drive for more input isn’t such a bad thing.
Truly, I could stay on this subject for days and tell you all what I learned when I was an actress for a few months, a model as a teenager, and a plug-board telephone operator (answering service) for years. But I’d likely wear most readers out with my small bits of knowledge on a vast amount of subjects. This may never have proved to be great for a career path, but in retirement, it’s good for being a writer, and it’s great for finding common ground with many people, so I can meaningfully share the gospel in ways they can understand.
Before I wrote all this, I would have said I needed to let go of some of the less important learning paths and get motivated to push to the end of a few major subjects. But now, I’m thinking this variety in my brain might be exactly what I need. Now if I could just pull the thread that would let me get writer’s meeting plans and announcements done in a more timely manner, I’d feel even better about all I learn to share with others. Until then, I will seek to apply more of the input God has graciously allowed me to retain, and I will work on being like The Apostle Paul in these verses…
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 BSB
[19] Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. [20] To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. [21] To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. [22] To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. [23] I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1co.9.19-23.BSB
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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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🎵No Fear Invited
Well, this one is turning out to be a much bigger presentation and study than I planned, so I’m not going to do the whole thing just yet. But let the Scripture above (placed on a real Indiana sunset) be an encouragement for you.
1 John 2:24, 27 BSB
[24] As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.
[27] And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1jn.2.24-27.BSB
Remember what you have been taught from God’s Word. Search your heart for those truths God Himself has hidden there by His Spirit. Do not be misled, either in knowledge or emotion, by fearful words being shared in the name of Christ. Ask for, and practice, discernment. Paul reminds us that practicing discernment makes us better at it.
Hebrews 5:14 BSB
[14] But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.5.14.BSB
If you’ve begun to hear the fearful whispers about UFO/UAP “secrets” being revealed that will challenge your beliefs in God, plan now to not be overwhelmed by the news. Do not invite the fear to dwell in your heart. Know that God is The Creator of the WHOLE universe, so that includes any and all entities that may be outside our visual realm here on Earth. Trust The Lord and do not doubt that He has everything in His hands and in His control. He has already been to the future and nothing takes Him by surprise. No matter how anointed someone says they are or seems to be, they do not have more knowledge (gnosticism) than God or His Word, so keep your heart in The Lord, and send fear on down the road.
There is much more to say on this subject, but I want my presentations to be accurate and truthful, so I will add to this when I have spent more time in prayer and Bible study. But I wanted to get the introduction to you as I’ve been seeing more and more talk of these things, and Christians need to be prepared to carry the banner of God’s Word in comfort and strength to those who do not yet follow our Savior and may be overcome with fear. Keep yourselves in The Word and Spirit, so you will have truthful answers for any who might ask your thoughts on these teachings when they are dispensed to the masses.
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Haiku Scripture — Genesis 2
And with some busy days behind and ahead, it seems like a good time to bring in the second chapter of Genesis haiku. Read with expectation to see these verses in a new light by reading them in a new form.
Chapter 2
2:1
Heavens and earth done!
With all creation finished —
God enters His rest.
2:3
Now this seventh day...
Is set apart and holy.
Yahveh has blessed it.
2:4-8
Here is history —
Yahveh has created man,
To till His new Earth.
2:7
Adam, the first man,
Breathes in the breath of his God —
Now he is alive!
2:8
After He makes man,
Adonai plants a garden.
It is in "Eden."
2:8-9 + 15
Adam is placed there...
To care for all that God grows.
It is for his food.
2:16-17
Man may eat of all,
Including the "Tree of Life."
Yet one he eats not.
2:17
The "Tree of Knowledge"...
Cannot be for Adam's food —
It would bring his death.
2:18
Adam is alone.
Yahveh says, “This is not good.
He needs a help-mate.“
2:19-20
Created from earth,
God brings animals to man —
Adam then names them.
2:20
But for Adam's needs,
The beasts are not suitable —
They are not his kind.
2:21-23
Adam sleeps; God works.
New life taken from man's side.
She's bone of his bones.
2:23
She is called “woman,”
Since she is taken from man —
Now she will help him.
2:24
The two are one flesh.
Thus, men must leave their parents...
And cleave to their wives.
2:25
Adam and his wife...
Do not know they are naked —
They are not ashamed.
End of Chapter Two
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🎵 The Clock on God’s Wall
Anyone who read yesterday’s post to the end where I talk about my stepdad being in ICU without a DNR probably expected a goodbye post to follow soon. And you’re correct. But oh how perfectly God directs the timing even of the hard things. We can trust the clock on God’s wall.
I waited for a bit today to see if I got any phone calls; did my daily Bible study and other routines, made a cup of coffee, etc. I got out my phone to make the call to the hospital ICU for an update, and then realized I should finish the task I was on so it wouldn’t make noise during my call. The wait delayed my call for about 5-10 minutes. When I got the palliative nurse on the line, she gave me the news that his heart had stopped in the past 5-10 minutes.
I don’t consider things like that to be coincidences. I see them as a piece of timing that God orchestrated perfectly and nudged me into. He knew the difference it would make if I were talking to the nurse when the monitors began to signal my dad’s final moments. But by hearing it in the past tense, I was able to feel the jolt of sadness but also the peace of knowing he was in God’s hands already. Bittersweet is a good adjective for that. So, while I mourn a bit on this Earth, I can also rejoice that we have such a loving and personal Lord and Savior to plan for our needs and carry them out in just the right timing.
I tried a bunch of pictures with Wombo, and they just weren’t working, so I asked Gemini to better interpret what I was trying to say. I think the image is amazing, and because I did no personal editing or framing on it, it’s public domain for anyone else who might want to use it. I did not ask for the Scripture, so that was an extra nice touch. Here are those verses from Ecclesiastes 3…
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 BSB
[1] To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: [2] a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, [3] a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, [4] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, [5] a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, [6] a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, [7] a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, [8] a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.3.1-8.BSB
And one more verse that seems fitting…
2 Corinthians 1:4 BSB
[4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.1.4.BSB
I’ll close this out with a beautiful and fitting song by Casting Crowns…
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🎵CTRL+Z Super Power (Day One Prompt Response)
What super power do you wish you had and why?
I might like to be “The Great Undoer” in life. Imagine if you could go back to any decisions you’ve found out (presumably the hard way) were not good decisions. And then you call on The Great Undoer, who has access to super-powered CTRL + Z buttons to undo anything that might otherwise create a lifetime of regret. Those last harsh words you spoke that you wish you could take back? Just undo them. That phone call you didn’t make because you were busy and then found you’d never get the chance again? Rewind to that moment, click undo, and make that phone call. Yep, with The Great Undoer by your side, you can put the toothpaste back in the tube.
I guess this is the answer to the statement that “hindsight is 20/20.” How often do we wish we had known something, or acted on something, before it was too late to change things? And that’s when regret reared its ugly head and threatened to leave us feeling guilty forever. How nice it would have been to just go back in time and undo the moment like Bill Murray learned to do in the movie “Groundhog Day.”
But, truthfully, what I’m asking for here is a way to perfect life according to my own human idea of perfection. But it’s not truly perfect. No bad decisions means no hard lessons, and no hard lessons leads to not caring what we do because we can just “undo” it. (And my heart breaks at this thought because of all the babies lost to abortion since people so often believe the lie that it will undo pregnancy.)
Sadly, this is what so many have tried to do with the grace and mercy of The Lord. They are so sure that everything will be washed away at the touch of the CTRL+Z prayer, they stop thinking before they act, and they stop asking questions like, “What does the Word of God say about this?” In a non religious program, this issue was actually handled well by an episode of a show I think I saw once before I got saved. It was called “Tales from the Darkside” and the episode was called “It All Comes Out in the Wash.” I wrote about it when I was doing the year of Torah studies in a post called, “When it Won’t Come Out in the Wash.”
As I sit here tonight waiting for a phone call from an ICU 2000 miles away, I battle with that thought of, “Why didn’t I call last Sunday?” I planned on it, and I know that at 84 years old, my stepfather’s last breath is far closer than his first breath. But distractions showed up, and I didn’t make the call like I planned. And now, I don’t know if he’s coming back from this one. I do know we had a great conversation the last time we spoke, but it’s been over a month since then. So, if I had my undo button, maybe I would make sure I made that call on Sunday. Thankfully, he’s got a great friend and caregiver who not only let me know as soon as the ambulance left his house, but also called me from the hospital to let me speak to him in case he can hear even in a comatose state. But I know there are many who’ve missed final chances and never got even a small message to the person. I feel for them because this isn’t my first time of wishing I had that Super CTRL Z option.
I’d like to say I’ve learned perfectly from the moments I could not undo, and that I’ve never made the same mistakes twice after learning a thing the hard way, but alas, my humanness has won out more than I like to admit. But the blood of YahShua does wash and cleanse us from eternal guilt even when God lets us stew a bit here on Earth, so if you’ve never let Him put your regrets under the cleansing fountain, please do so soon. If you have questions about salvation, please leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to lead you toward your next steps.
Ephesians 1:7 BSB
[7] In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
https://bible.com/bible/3034/eph.1.7.BSB
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
Romans 5:9 BSB
[9] Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.5.9.BSB
1 John 1:7 BSB
[7] But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/1jn.1.7.BSB
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Haiku Scriptures—Genesis One
As promised, tonight I bring you Genesis, Chapter 1. Read it for the rhythm and nuances you might miss from just passive reading or from study. I hope my poet’s eye leads you to even deeper study on your own. The first-born teacher in me would be thrilled to know I’ve stirred up a hunger for even more of God’s Word in my readers.
Note: When I originally used the memorial name of The Almighty, I used what’s called the tetragrammaton (YHVH) with the vowels inserted. That read YaHVeH. (Or it could be YHWH/YaHWeH, but V and W were the same letter in Hebrew, and I’m drawn to the V because by itself, it means and. So when I read Yahveh vs Yahweh, I see it as “Yah and…” or “God and… ” because He is the beginning of everything. Still, it looked distracting with the capital letters, so I’ve fixed that now.
GENESIS Intro…
Genesis One: One
“Genesis” means “Beginnings”…
Let us start from here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1…1:1
In the beginning:
No heavens; no earth, until...
Yahveh creates all!
1:2-5
Darkness divided:
Yahveh says, "Let there be light."
... Eve and morn — “Day One.”
1:6-8
Waters Divided:
Those below from those above.
... Eve and morn — “Day Two.”
1:9-10
The dry lands appear.
They are split by the waters,
Which Yahveh calls “seas.”
1:11-13
Earth starts producing:
Trees, plants, and seed-bearing fruit.
... Eve and morn — “Day Three.”
1:14-19
Great and lesser lights:
To rule the days and the nights;
Sunshine; moon; and stars.
Lights will be for signs,
And for seasons, days and years.
... Eve and morn — “Day Four.”
1:20-23
When birds and fish swarm:
They fill the skies and the seas.
... Eve and morn — “Day Five.”
1:24-25
The earth brings forth life:
Many animals and beasts,
And crawling creatures.
So much accomplished:
Most of creation is done...
God says, “It is good.”
1:26
ankind is made:
Created in God's image...
Man is blessed in God.
1:27-31
See man; See woman:
The greatest of all creations...
It is very good!
1:28-31
Plants and animals:
Plus humans, to multiply.
... Eve and morn — “Day Six.”
End of Chapter One
And now just for fun, here’s a couple 30-second music tracks to accompany two of the stanzas of haiku about God creating man. Comment about your favorite.
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Haiku Scripture—Torah Intro
I’m going to spend some time this month sharing some haiku I wrote way back in 2014. My intention was to write the whole Bible in haiku, but that’s not realistic anymore, so I’m only going to do the Torah. That’s Genesis through Deuteronomy. When you focus on the syllables of a haiku verse, it makes you think more succinctly, and sometimes, you even catch something you miss in regular writing.
Notes: Haiku does not actually have a specified number of syllables required on any line, but that Haiku which is traditionally American is usually in a format of 3 lines, with the syllables in those lines being 5, 7, and 5 respectively. Also, a Haiku, which brings the same topic into more than one stanza, is actually called a “Renga”, but since many are not familiar with these details, I’m just calling it all haiku.
Today will not have any Bible verses, but will just be an introduction to the idea of Torah and how it plays out in haiku. I hope people enjoy these readings as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
Anointed Scriptures,
Written for us to learn from –
God teaches with love.
Open your heart now.
Follow as I have written…
Scripture in “Haiku”.
Intro To Torah… What Is Torah?
God speaks to Moses.
The books of law are written…
They are called “Torah”.
“OR” in Hebrew words
Is translated meaning “Light”…
See it in “TORAH”?
“Torah” means “The Word”.
Within it, man will find Light—
Law is light and life.
YaH-Shua is Light,
And He is The Spoken Word—
The “Living Torah”!
So, from Genesis,
Through all Deuteronomy…
History preserved!
Have a blessed week, and come back tomorrow for Genesis One.
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Playing Telephone on a Bridge
Why a bridge? Because George Washington Bridge opened on this day in 1931 connecting New Jersey and New York City. And I wonder… Did they choose this day (April 30th) because on the same day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first US president? It’s an interesting coincidence either way.
So, do you remember playing the game of Telephone? The one where you whisper a phrase in someone’s ear, who then whispers what they heard in the next person’s ear, who repeats the action until the secret gets to the final person in the circle? Yeah, that game where coming up with a set of words likely to be misheard is as much fun as finding out how messed up the message got by the end. Read more at Grokipedia. (Even though it’s AI, I’d rather share that than the other after so much had been found to be manipulated there.)
So, I’ve been trying to learn a bit from, and about, AI. And I’m realizing that AI is like playing a giant game of Telephone. All of the AI models are “trained” with large amounts of data, most of which were initially created with intention. But in addition to their initial datasets, they are also out there gathering data from what people, and possibly other AI, put out. That’s why so many people are putting up virtual walls to demand that their intellectual property cannot be scraped up and used. But that’s a different subject for a different day.
Hubby sent me an article about a guy who “hacked” an AI by providing false data for it to consume. The BBC journalist created a blog post about a non-existent hot dog eating contest and his record-breaking success at said contest. With some good marketing tricks, the contest and his win became “verified” information in response to the right search query. It’s a fascinating article I recommend reading in full if you get the chance. The journalist created the hack when he found out how companies are doing that very thing to raise their ranks on search results. And he says in the article: “I reviewed dozens of examples where AI tools are being coerced into promoting businesses and spreading misinformation. Data suggests it’s happening on a massive scale.”
The idea that info passed along can get misinterpreted is dangerous, and it’s why I’m so concerned about seeking truth and accurate information about what’s out there—especially concerning health and biblical things. I’ve said before that I am like that little girl asking her mom and grandma why they cut the ends off the ham. When the truth came out about the great-grandmother having a small pan, generations had been using the cutting preparation as if it were some learned secret that made the meal better. I’ve gotten in trouble more than once for asking questions instead of just taking things as people say them. But I’m okay with that because truth is taking a hit these days, and that concerns me.
As I do my own Bible study, I find lots of truths that never get mentioned from the pulpit. But this is getting long, so I’ll continue the message with the spiritual aspects of this tomorrow.
John 8:12, 30, 32 BSB
[12] Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
[30] As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
[32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jhn.8.12-32.BSB
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🎵An Ear in the Clouds
I’m keeping this post simple and focused. With the divisions and issues in the world right now, my heart has gone back to a prayer I wrote up for a group of praying friends back in 2013. It has never left me, and it’s even more urgent now.
MY PRAYER
If you had only one prayer to ask of Yahveh Almighty, what would it be? I asked myself this question and here's what I chose for my prayer...
Abba Yahveh (Father God), please make Yourself known to every living being. Become so evident and real to all men that there will be no denying who You are or what You desire. Let there be no more gray, no shadows, no wondering, and no confusion. Open up the eyes of every man that no one can have an excuse of ignorance, be they believers or anti-Christ. If they seek to serve You, may they know Who they serve, and if they stand against You, may they know exactly Who they are rejecting. May all who have even an inkling of desire to know You find You in Your fullness and awesome wonder. Be made known to all the earth this very day.
In the Holy Name of Yahshua HaMashiach (Jesus The Messiah), Amen!
Psalm 5:2-3 BSB
[2] Attend to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I pray. [3] In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.5.2-3.BSB
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🎵On Account of my Walk (Prompt Post)
Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.
It didn’t start out as much of a risk. Right in the middle of a grocery store, a big drawing box that said, “Win a FREE 16 x 20 Portrait!” My trailer did not have a lot of wall space, but the word free was enticing, so in my name and number went.
I got the call a few days later. “You didn’t win the 16 x 20, but you won a free 8 x 10.” Wow, I thought, I actually won something. Having done telemarketing for a photo studio as a teenager, I should’ve known it was just a marketing technique, but I decided to set the appointment and have my portrait done. Still no real risk.
Proof day was the first risk. How much money could a truck stop cashier really afford to spend on pictures, no matter how pretty they came out? I decided on the Christmas cards and the free 8 x 10. The sales lady was good and she could see I wanted more but couldn’t afford them. So, she offered me a job. No, that was not how I expected that day to go, but it was a day that would change my life in multiple ways. But, yes, it was a huge risk.
I didn’t have a car that could travel all over the US, so the company said it would take care of all my flights and buses for the first 6 weeks while I was training, and then I’d pay half of my transportation costs myself. I just had to be willing to give notice at my current job and be willing to leave everything I knew, including all the family that lived in the same town, and head to my first training location in Utah within 10 days. I can still feel the butterflies that were there in my stomach as I pondered the decision to make such a huge life change. But I do not regret it at all.
Because of Parkway Studios, I got to travel a large part of the US. I saw landmarks and circuses and dinosaurs in Utah. I learned how cold Wisconsin can get during an Arctic cold front, and I learned how to pronounce Oconomowoc Wisconsin from a local who said to just remember, “On account of my walk.” (Phonetically, it’s pronounced oh-KAH-nuh-muh-wok.) I traveled to a town in Ohio that allowed me to meet my grandmother on my dad’s side for the first time, and a town in Kansas that let me see my father again after many years. And, eventually, I met the friend who put me on the phone with the man I’ve loved and been married to for over 35 years now.
There have been so many experiences since making the decision to accept that job offer that I could write a book. (I’m working on one for real.) I mean, without meeting my husband, I wouldn’t have some of the great friendships I’ve grown here, like those within my writer’s group, and I wouldn’t have gotten my gift of the DNA test that got me my brother. (He’s had a great response to his first single, by the way, so check the post called “Release Day” if you want to stream his amazing song, Savage Grace.) And so very much more than I can put into words because of the deep value of things like finding someone who loves to sing old hymns. So, no, I definitely do not regret that huge risk so many years ago.
Hebrews 11:8-10 BSB
[8] By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. [9] By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. [10] For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.11.8-10.BSB
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🎵 Holy, Pure, and Undefiled (Full Song)🎶
It’s done, and I’m excited to share it with my readers. This is the finished song with 3 verses added to the chorus I shared on the post April 18th. I’m not sure what was harder, writing the lyrics, getting a sound I like from Gemini (Lyria model), or getting this uploaded to YouTube so I could embed it here. Though difficult and time-consuming, I actually enjoyed the process, and now I’m excited to try a bunch more of my poetry set to music. What a fun way to write for the joy of The Lord, and then to make a joyful noise.
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
Psalm 100:1-2 BSB
[1] A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. [2] Serve the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.100.1-2.BSB
I won’t bore you with a ton of details, but there have been some great lessons learned. Part of the learning felt like being in the music studio redoing tracks until they didn’t have any more hiccups. I heard Elvis was famous for doing that hundreds of times. And Marty Robbins was able to go into the studio and sing a song to perfection at the first take. (I’m sure you know who Elvis was, but if you’re not familiar with Marty, look up his album called Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs for some you might find familiar like “El Paso” and “Cool Water.” Or you might remember him for “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation.”)
And that was a fun rabbit trail. Lol 🤣 Anyway, to get the recording with which I was finally happy, it took coming back after I ran out of credits, and it took using multiple AI models. The Pro model didn’t want to help once it saw religious lyrics (I’m sad for that part), but the fast model that helps with a lot of Bible queries from me said it’s just how it’s trained. So, I let the fast model create the prompt with all the right spaces and breaks and punctuation to tell the Lyria model how to sing my words. AI knows AI, so the understanding was finally there to get my song, complete with ending tags (though it could’ve done a little better on that part), and a big orchestra & choir sound. The more I’ve played it, the more I’ve liked it.
And the last piece to the puzzle was finding out that Adobe Express would listen to the video and create captions in time with the music. I had to change some font sizes and boldness within the parameters of not having Adobe premium, but I was able to get them done in a way that should help y’all sing along. So, here for its debut blog performance, please enjoy Holy, Pure, and Undefiled with Lyrics by me and all the rest by Gemini and Lyria…
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🎵 Whisper A Prayer
Recently, I did a Bible study that had a devotion for each day, and part of that devotion was a daily breath prayer. At first, I was a little concerned about the possibility of mysticism or that it was some new age idea. So, I did some research. Apparently, the idea of breath prayers goes back to at least the 1300s, and it is a way to uphold the Scripture that says to “pray without ceasing.” These prayers are short words that can be spoken with an inhale and an exhale, or in your mind in the same amount of time.
Psalms 150:6 WEBUS
[6] Let everything that has breath praise Yah! Praise Yah!
https://bible.com/bible/206/psa.150.6.WEBUS
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 WEBUS
[16] Always rejoice. [17] Pray without ceasing.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1th.5.16-17.WEBUS
There’s a great article explaining “breath prayers” with history and examples at Christianity dot com written by Mary Oelerich-Meyer. She mentions in her article that the English word inspiration comes from the Latin word ”inspirare” which means “to breathe into.” That makes the verse that says “All Scripture is God-breathed,” have a much deeper and more powerful meaning.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 WEBUS
[16] Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, [17] that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
https://bible.com/bible/206/2ti.3.16-17.WEBUS
It’s easiest to remember breath prayers by praying Scriptures or songs. For example, inhale saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and exhale with, “I shall not want.” Or, inhale with, “Thank You, Lord,” and exhale saying, “for saving my soul.” Anything that helps you whisper (breathe) a prayer in the morning, at noon, and in the evening like it says in the old hymn Whisper A Prayer. The song (one of my childhood favorites) reminds us that we can pray all the time, and God will answer all the time to “keep your heart in tune.” And we want to keep our hearts in tune because we know that Jesus may come in the morning, at noon, or in the evening.
So, I wanted a good way to remember some breath prayers for myself, and after trying different memory tricks, I decided to use the letters in my own first name as an acronym. I liked creating them so much that I wrote a bunch of prayers for others as well and now call them Breath Prayer Acronyms. And then I started putting them on pretty backgrounds to send to others who might need “inspiration.” For example, for the friend with cancer I’ve asked readers to pray for and his caregiving wife. The images I made for them are at the bottom after the video. There’s also an image I made using the letters for our writer’s group.
But first, here are the prayers for my own name without using an image background. And if you comment that you’d like me to write a breath prayer acronym for your name, I’ll gladly try. If I don’t know you, I’m not certain how it will come out since personalities and needs have ended up in all the acronyms I’ve written so far, but God could inspire me to write exactly what works for you without knowing anything about you. He does that sometimes. 🙂 Anyway, here’s mine…
C: Inhale: Create in me …
Exhale: A clean heart, Lord.
R: Inhale: Rose of Sharon, …
Exhale: May Your beauty flow through my soul.
Y: inhale: You are worthy, Lord, …
Exhale: Of all my praise.
S: Inhale: Save me, oh God, …
Exhale: For your Divine purpose.
T: Inhale: Teach me Your ways, …
Exhale: Your words and Your will.
A: Inhale: All of me, Jesus, …
Exhale: Wrap in all of You.
L: Inhale: Love is greatest …
Exhale: In who You are.
And here’s a video of Whisper A Prayer…
And here are the promised images…
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🎵The Artist and The Artisan
Have you ever wondered the difference in these two words? (Artist and Artisan?) When I did a search for the differences, I expected simple definitions, but apparently, there are a lot of people who think about this, so there were lots of sites and answers out there.
My query followed some Bible study from a Torah portion in the book of Exodus and chapter 35. It’s all about the creation and building of the wilderness tabernacle, and this portion details the gifted creators who contributed to both the beauty and the function of this place of worship. Here are a few verses from The Complete Jewish Bible...
Sh'mot (Exo) 35:31-33 CJB
[31] He has filled him with the Spirit of God — with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. [32] He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, [33] cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft.
https://bible.com/bible/1275/exo.35.31-33.CJB
The basic difference is in the use of the objects designed by either artist or artisan. I am far more artist than artisan because I create for viewing enjoyment rather than utilitarian purposes. One site says an artist is a creative soul who uses both skill and imagination, and an artisan is a professional craftsman who uses their expertise to create functional objects. Another site gave a good example by comparing a cake decorator with a cake baker. So neither artist nor artisan is better, and function works well with presentation if the two work together.
For the picture above, I asked Wombo to show two children playing with blocks and have one painting and the other carving. I like how it added the intricately carved blocks for the child painter, and both of them are having fun in their individual pursuits. And I wonder if the environment around the tabernacle was like the two kiddos. God gave different people gifts based on what they should contribute to the building, and one of them was skilled at almost everything. Another one, God gave the ability to teach skills to others. All of them together created a wonderful place to meet with, and worship, The Holy Creator and Lord. What a great, and still utilitarian, purpose for creativity and wisdom.
As an FYI for you, if you read all about this building, you’ll get to those descriptions about tanned ram skins and fine leather. I haven’t done the research myself, but I once heard a message about those skins and the leather not looking very good, especially when compared to the purple, blue, scarlet, and gold on the inside of the tabernacle. The message was called “The Beauty of The Ugly” and it was all about how our greatest beauty is on the inside where the presence of God dwells. The preacher said that if people came up from the outside, they’d see these red skins and smell the burning hair and flesh from the altar, and it wouldn’t have attracted them much. Oh, but if they stayed until they could pull the flaps back and look inside… Gold and beauty like you’ve never seen!
Our Creator is both artist and artisan. He has designed beautiful things that have yet to even enter into the imaginations of mankind. If we see hard things in this life that make living on Earth, or serving The Creator, seem like that view from outside the tabernacle, we just have to wait for Him to pull back the flap to show us what’s inside. What a wonderful hope and thought to know He has so much prepared beyond anything we can even conceive—no matter how much of an artist or artisan we are. 🎨
1 Corinthians 2:9 CSB
[9] But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived — God has prepared these things for those who love him.
https://bible.com/bible/1713/1co.2.9.CSB
And this seems to be the perfect time to use the song “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me.
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The Preacher and The Pig
You never know what unknown history you might uncover by looking at the various sites telling why a day is special. Remember the one I found with the story of milking a cow on an airplane? And today, I could’ve used the story about the guy who delivered a 250-pound cheese ball to the White House, but then I saw something else that grabbed my curiosity. It was about a trial in the year 1521, and the trial was at “A Diet of Worms.”
Are you saying “huh?” right now? Me, too! I’ll start with the simple thing, the definition of the word diet in 1500s Europe…
From the Shun Keto website: The word diet has had different meanings throughout history. In the political context, a diet refers to a formal deliberative assembly, such as the German Imperial Diet, which was the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.
One of those assemblies in the “Holy Roman Empire” was called A Diet of Worms and it was the assembly that tried Martin Luther in 1521. And it was on April 17th, thus it showed up in my daily history search.
Now, in case you’re wondering about the image and title for this blog, it is a reference to one of history’s most awful acts of anti-semitism. And I only learned about it when studying a book called “Holy to Yahveh” by Terrye Goldblum Seedman about 20 years ago. I was only able to find one copy at Thrift Books, but maybe by leaving a link here, it can help people find it elsewhere by seeing the cover image.
In her book, the author talks about how hard Martin Luther tried to convert Jews to Christianity as he understood it. When he failed to convert the masses, he got extremely angry and created an 8 point outline for killing them and removing all knowledge of their religious practices from the world. He called it “The Jews and Their Lies” and his suggestions for their destruction were followed by Hitler during the Holocaust. She doesn’t include all of it, but just a small part of it says…
First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians. For whatever we tolerated in the past unknowingly and I myself was unaware of it will be pardoned by God.
Another part of his behavior she covered in the book was about how he carved an image of a pig over a door to keep the Jews out of his church. I looked for information on that to see if that’s why he was on trial, and I was shocked to see it was far worse than just a carving of a pig. It’s a detailed portrayal of Jewish men doing perverted acts with a pig. I didn’t make it large enough to see the details, but I’m shocked that anyone who calls themself a minister of God and His Holy Word would commission something so disgusting. It’s called The Judensau, and Wikipedia has a full article on the one at Wittenberg. Yes, apparently there are more than one of these. Yuck!
So, I know this is a little less positive than most of what I share on this blog, but since the date popped up in “This Day in History” searches, I’m sharing what I’ve learned. My hope is that when you see how far off one man can go, and then you look at how much influence those off-kilter thoughts can have, you’ll understand the desperate need to study God’s Word and get a solid understanding of it in your own life. Even Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, ended up building an altar to at least one false god for one of his wives.
It’s sad that humans can fail so miserably, and I’m also reading about plenty of failures on the parts of the Jews in the Bible as I read Isaiah right now. It’s not an excuse for anti-semitism, and they all paid heavy prices (like years in bondage) for their failures, but we have a God who does not desire to see any of us perish for our failures. That’s why He provides the blood of Christ to save us from our sins. Whether preachers end up riding pigs or riding circuits to get a solid gospel from God’s Word to the masses, they are still human, so I encourage you to follow the biblical instruction that, if you think you are standing, take heed lest you fall. Keep a healthy appetite for The Bible, and study to show yourself approved unto God. It’s your safest place to avoid the traps in this world.
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🎵I Am The Door
I will keep this short, but I’m so happy with this image of a gentle and caring shepherd keeping watch while the sheep rest. The idea of The Shepherd being the door of the sheepfold is in Scripture in John 10. For this, I want to share from the PEV (Plain English Version) because it’s written as a missionary tool, so it adds simple explanations.
John 10:7-11 PEV
[7] so he said, “I will tell you something else. Listen to this, it’s true. I am like a gate in a sheep yard. [8-11] You know, the gate is the way for the sheep to go into the yard. Well, I am the way for people to come to God. If anybody comes to me, they will come into God’s family, and he will save them. And you know that sheep have to use the gate to go out and get grass to eat. Well just like that, people have to come to me to get whatever they need to live for God. And remember the shepherd in that picture story. Well, I am like that good shepherd that looks after his sheep properly. Some other men came before me, and they reckoned they were like shepherds, but they were liars. They were bad men, and my people didn’t listen to them, just like sheep only listen to their shepherd. Those bad people only want to steal the sheep, and kill them, and finish them up. But I am not like that. I came here to give people real life, so they can live with God for ever. You know, a good shepherd looks after his sheep properly, even if he has to die for them. Well, I am like that, I am ready to die to save my people.
https://bible.com/bible/2530/jhn.10.7-11.PEV
Though PEV, along with other translations, uses the word gate, the HCSB and Young’s Literal use door. I’m sharing that because the idea for the picture actually came from a book I read a long time ago and want to read again called “Jesus in The Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ” by Warren W Wiersbe. In this book, the author puts it this way…
“The sheepfold was an enclosure surrounded by a wall of rocks that was too high for the sheep to jump over. The shepherds sometimes put thorny branches on the tops of the walls to deter thieves from trying to climb over. An opening in the wall allowed the sheep to enter and exit; and at night, the shepherd lay across that opening and became the door of the sheepfold. To get into the fold, the sheep had to pass over the shepherd’s body, and to get out of the fold, they had to do the same thing. If a predator or a thief tried to enter, he had to deal with the shepherd first.”
I love this! Both for the idea that an unbeliever must encounter the true Shepherd to truly enter the sheepfold, and also for the protection the sheep are given as they live in the sheepfold. Wiersbe states it in more detail, and it’s exceptionally powerful to listen to it in audio and imagine the quiet field of rest with a strong shepherd guarding the gateway. His Presence is the security, the guidance, and the love we need as we walk through the uncertainties of this life. And if we need a Gentle Shepherd’s lap to crawl up into, He’s there for that as well.
I highly recommend the book, including the audio if you get the electronic version. And I hope the image gives you a picture of yourself as a sheep with a protective and loving Shepherd, that strong tower where you can run and be safe. And since we’re talking about a Gentle Shepherd, I will share a song I sometimes hear from my husband’s playlist called “Tender Shepherd” by Sounds Like Reign.” Even if it’s written as a lullaby, we can all use that type of peace now and then.
Tender Shepherd by Sounds Like Reign (with lyrics)
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🎵The Closer You Get
We had a pleasant writer’s group meeting with some beautiful poetry to celebrate April as National Poetry Month, and a wonderful devotion by my hubby. He shared a bit of the life and songs of Fanny J Crosby from her autobiography, and we shared some of our own life slices to know how to pray for each other. And since it’s been a long day with all that, I’m going to add one of her songs that goes well with the Scripture on the pretty spring image above and bid you all blessings on your Sunday and upcoming week. May you get closer to The Lord this week, and may you sense Him drawing closer to you.
Psalm 145:18 AMPC
[18] The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.
https://bible.com/bible/8/psa.145.18.AMPC
Hebrews 10:22 YLT98
[22] may we draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having the hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having the body bathed with pure water;
https://bible.com/bible/821/heb.10.22.YLT98
James 4:8 BSB
[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.4.8.BSB
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🎵Resurrection Redemption Revealed
On this Resurrection Day, celebrated as “Easter” by most Christian churches, we focus on a Risen Savior who endured suffering on our behalf. The final and perfect Passover Lamb has said, “It is finished.” Between the crucifixion and the resurrection, The Lamb was not silent. He was using that blood offering to purchase the keys of hell and death to free anyone who truly wants what He offers. And now, He is risen!
A couple people guessed that yesterday I was talking about Barabbas. Did you figure it out, dear reader? Maybe, like me, you once learned that his name means “son of the father.” The father in this word is not an earthly parent, but someone in a position of master or teacher, like a rabbi. So, Barabbas was likely a preacher’s kid. If you’ve raised your children right, but they don’t want to serve the God you taught them about, don’t give up even if they’ve been tried, convicted, and sentenced. God sees them.
As I studied and talked about Barabbas, a few more things came to light. For example, we don’t actually know the kind of person he was. Was he a notorious criminal because he committed multiple crimes with a bad and uncaring attitude? Or did they just take note of him because he was the son of a rabbi, and it gave them pleasure to take down one of God’s people? We’ve seen it in our modern media, so it’s not a stretch to think that could be possible. I even wondered if maybe the insurrection against the Romans was a religious one because Roman law was fundamentally changing the Torah practices within Israel. Like state laws that tried to prevent people from gathering to worship during the 2020 lockdowns, it’s possible that new Roman laws were hindering old biblical laws. And just maybe, Barabbas had read enough of the sacred writings of the law and prophets that he was trying to imitate them by taking out the “enemies” in that insurrection before they could put his people back into bondage again. And then someone got killed.
We don’t know what drove him to the behaviors that landed him in jail and headed for the death penalty. But, we do know that God didn’t change his identity, and his name was even more important than the rich man in hell whose name was never given. And we know, as Gemini pointed out to me, that Barabbas is the only person in history who could say in a literal physical sense, “Jesus Christ died for me.”
I’m sure I’m not alone in always seeing Barabbas as just a ”villain” in the Passion Story. But what if he’s more? What if this is another one of those things that are small to us but significant to God? Planned. Ordained. And with deeper meaning than most of us realize. Regardless of his crimes, his name Bar-Abba was a constant reminder of his identity and where he came from. Now, he was being given a second chance. What would he do with it? Here’s my hopeful view…
While others followed Messiah YahShua because of His miracles and His teachings, Barabbas found the disciples later and joined them because he was driven to show thanks for the grace (unmerited favor) he’d been given. He knew Messiah paid a debt He didn’t owe, and he owed a debt he could never fully pay. His freedom wasn’t just a reset button that would allow him to go on as if none of his past had ever happened. The people knew. The relatives of the person who died at his hands knew. He knew. And that weight inside him could only be lightened if he did something of value with his freedom. So he would testify to others who felt hopeless. He would tell parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles to never stop praying because mercy creates miracles. He would follow the Man who died for him for the rest of his life.
This 1707 hymn ”At the Cross” has lyrics Barabbas himself could have sung: Was it for crimes that I had done, He groaned upon that tree? And then the final verse:
But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe.
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
'Tis all that I can do.
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A Passover Prisoner Exchange
by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Who could this prisoner be whose freedom now hits him square between the eyes while he watches a substitute take his place on the cross? His cross! He was found guilty. He was sentenced to die that death. And he knew how wrong he was for committing his sins because he’d been raised better than that. He was supposed to be a preacher–not a prisoner. And now he is free even though he didn’t do anything to deserve it. The weight of the chains that once bound his wrists now weighs even heavier on his heart. What will he do with his new freedom?
I’m not going to tell you his name yet. I’m going to let you guess, or study, or maybe a little of both. If you already know, you’ve probably never thought of him as a backslidden PK (Preacher’s Kid). If you don’t know, I’ll tell you tomorrow. But today, I’ll remind you that because of the ultimate Passover sacrifice, no one is without hope.
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🎵Behold the Lamb!
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Scripture tells us that there is safety in a multitude of counselors. I think that’s because perspective is created by individual experiences mixed with the wisdom we’ve been taught. We share our perspectives with others (hence the proliferation of blogs, podcasts, videos, etc.), and when that is mixed with someone’s experience, they get new perspectives with which to counsel others.
I love to read, but not so much book-length manuscripts. I’ve read a few novels that kept me enthralled, but it’s just a handful of authors that have that effect on me. So, I read lots of articles and blog posts, and other quick content. I love the Bible app by YouVersion because of the abundance of Bible studies there. And I can study alone or with others. Their plans are best on the app, but this page should work even if you don’t have the app yet… https://www.bible.com/reading-plans and you can search plans by topic, length, author, etc.
My latest study is called “A Gospel View of Christ, the Lamb of God” by Returning to the Gospel. The link should take you right to it.
In reading this study, which is happening during Passover week (and Easter week) because I didn’t start it right when I planned, I’ve read of an amazing “coincidence” (we know it’s more likely a “God-incidence”) about the examination of the Passover lambs. All of Exodus Chapter 12 is about the Passover, and you can read it at Bible Hub, but here are the 2 verses that gave me a new perspective…
Exodus 12:3, 6 BSB
[3] Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.
[6] You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/exo.12.3-6.BSB
I added bold emphasis to point out the 10th and 14th days. They chose a lamb but did not slaughter it until it had been thoroughly examined, and then all the people slaughtered their lambs at the same time. The study pointed out that on the 10th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar, the sheep were being brought through the “Sheep Gate” to be examined for the Passover. It is known as “Shabbat HaGadol” and is a significant Sabbath for the feast. On that same day, Messiah YahShua was entering another gate riding on a donkey. He would have dinner with His disciples, and then they would go pray in Gethsemane. From there, the betrayal would mean His arrest and then a whole lot of examination. And they found no spot or blemish, so He was ready to be sacrificed.
I don’t believe Abba Yahveh Almighty lets any of that just happen. It’s a full plan to redeem us and to remove any excuses from those who know the details but refuse to believe. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out one day that each thing that happened back then was on a clock that matched the original Passover to the minute–or even to the second. An article at “Hebrew for Christians” has even more amazing details. My favorite is the connection between the Passover lamb and the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet: Aleph (pronounced ah-lef) and Tav (pronounced tahv). In Hebrew, these are written as א and ת.”
In the Hebrew Scriptures, these two letters often appear together. While they act as a grammatical pointer, they also represent the ‘First and the Last.’ Remember that YahShua said He was the Alpha and Omega, which is the Greek equivalent of Aleph and Tav, or A and Z, or First and Last. I used the parallel Bible at Bible Hub to view the Hebrew letters, and it’s as they say. Read the whole article for more at… https://hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Shabbat_HaGadol/shabbat_hagadol.html
And with all that information, now I want to turn to the reason for seeking these things. We need to behold The Lamb so we can fully understand what He did for us and share that good news (or God news) with others. Close your eyes and imagine that pure and spotless lamb, silent and waiting, not even knowing the power that would flow from it’s perfect body to cover the door posts of Israel and protect them from the Death Angel when it entered Egypt. And then, envision another Lamb, this One knowing the power in His precious blood. Pray with me…
Abba Yahveh, our Father, we thank You for not just teaching us, but for loving us. Before we knew what we were missing, You were creating and perfecting a plan to remove every barrier that separates us from you by covering sin in perfect blood. Before we knew You (while we were yet sinners), You already loved and wanted us for Your own. You literally moved Heaven and Earth to make it happen! As You reach out and pursue us, even into the depths of the bondage of sin, may we look up and reach out to You and allow You to deliver us and set us free. It is not Your will for any of us to perish without You. Thank you for that and for ALL of Your wonderful mercy and grace. May Your Holy Presence dwell with each person who brings this prayer to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
And now, a beautiful song written by Dottie Rambo called “Behold The Lamb.”
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🎵Happy April (Convert A) Fool Day
If I could create a dream picture, this would be close to it. A steady flow of people headed toward the Cross of Christ and dropping their heavy bags along the way.
There are so many things in this life to make a person weary, and people deal with that weariness in a multitude of different ways. But when most people find The Way, The Truth, and The Life that is YahShua (Jesus) HaMashiach (Messiah), they realize the futility of all the other ways.
So I’m going to keep this short and just list the travel stops (Scriptures) along The Romans Road for those who are searching. And if you are one who has said in your heart that God is not real, this is your chance to change from the definition of being called a “fool” in God’s Word to instead being called a “son” or “daughter” of God. Whether you believe but don’t serve, or you don’t believe at all, I’d love to share something that can make you hungry for the blessings you’ve been missing in The Lord.
First stop, Romans 3:23 with understanding that no one is perfect…
Romans 3:23 BSB
[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.3.23.BSB
Next stop, Romans 5;8 with hope because God doesn’t wait for you to be perfect to offer a sacrifice for your sin…
Romans 5:8 BSB
[8] But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.5.8.BSB
Then a stop with knowledge that imperfection leads to death but perfect blood changes everything…
Romans 6:23 BSB
[23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.6.23.BSB
And the home base with mercy and grace that welcomes you when you admit you are powerless to fix your own sin and believe that the greater power of God’s gift of salvation is what you need and want…
Romans 10:9 BSB
[9] that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.10.9.BSB
If you’ve made a new decision to serve God today, welcome to the family. Please share your story in the comments or write to me and share it privately. If it’s not a new story, I still love to hear conversion stories because they are powerful and inspiring. At whatever point you made (or make in the future) a choice to follow The Lord, know that all of heaven rejoiced (or will rejoice) more than one who finds buried treasure.
Luke 15:10 BSB
[10] In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.15.10.BSB
If you’re still thinking about it, here’s a great study page at Bible Hub where you might find some answers to your deeper questions: https://biblehub.com/faq/How_can_I_Follow_Jesus.htm
And now, enjoy the pretty guitar and vocals by Lydia Walker as she sings about a decision to follow Jesus…
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Proverbs 31: Not a Trophy Wife, Just a Trophy
How many of my female readers dread this chapter of Proverbs because it feels like the world demands we strive for the perfections we see here? And how many of my male readers get depressed because they don’t have a Proverbs 31 woman? Well, it’s not quite as bad as any of you might think. And it’s more about the character of King Lemuel than it is about some “perfect” woman anyway.
In verse 1, in the Complete Jewish Bible, we read…
Mishlei (Pro) 31:1 CJB
[1] The words of King L’mu’el, the prophecy with which his mother disciplined him:
https://bible.com/bible/1275/pro.31.1.CJB
See, this mama wanted her son to be a valiant king, worthy of the blessings she is getting ready to give him. She begins with telling him what not to do. In verses 2-7, she warns him not to sacrifice his strength to women, and tells him to stay away from anything that can destroy kings. She also warns him to avoid strong liquor because it isn’t meant for kings and could make them forget even the decrees they made as laws. In verses 8 and 9, the Queen Mama goes from don’t’s to do’s as she tells him to speak for those who can’t, be an advocate and righteous judge, and to defend the poor and needy.
So what has this mama created in her son? She’s created, in Hebrew, a chayil or “valiant warrior.” This word (Strong’s H2428) is used for Boaz in Ruth 2:1…
Ruth 2:1 BSB
[1] Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rut.2.1.BSB
The same word is used to describe Ruth in chapter 3, verse 11…
Ruth 3:11 BSB
[11] And now do not be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you request, since all my fellow townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/rut.3.11.BSB
Note the noble character description for both. And here is the meat of Proverbs Chapter 31. Verses 10-31 are an acrostic poem of the letters in the Hebrew aleph-bet (alphabet). (The chapter link is for the KJV because it shows the acrostic letters.) Basically, it’s a kingly mnemonic to help Lemuel remember these necessary virtues for the type of the woman who should sit by his side and be his queen. This woman will be his crown as is mentioned in Proverbs 12:4a: ”A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown.” And by using the whole aleph-bet (aleph to tav), the mother is giving her son a behavior roadmap for his whole marriage and his whole life.
And verse 10 begins with that word chayil (actually eshet chayil for the woman) again…
Proverbs 31:10 BSB
[10] A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.31.10.BSB
Here, I have to share from the word study of chayil at Bible Hub:
Moral Excellence and Noble Character
The Book of Ruth elevates the term beyond the battlefield: Boaz calls Ruth “a woman of noble character” (Ruth 3:11). Proverbs 31:10-31 culminates in the praise of “a wife of noble character” whose industrious life blesses family and community. Here chayil accents virtue, diligence, generosity and God-fearing devotion. Strength is measured not by force but by steadfast righteousness.
This not a list of things to do, or even things to be, it’s a character list of traits that will radiate from a heart that is right with God. Though God also knows our human form and that even a virtuous woman needs support and strength from a virtuous man to be at her best. Lemuel’s mom taught him to be that. We know from reading that this type of man trusts his wife and notices those virtues in her. He gives her praise to her face and speaks highly of her to others at the gate. He is the perfect husbandman who cares for his “vine” and helps her to blossom. He enables her to be in business for herself (she sells a field), be creative (she works the spindle), and gives her the servants she needs to take care of her home and family. He does not look only at her appearance as he would a “trophy wife” who’s used more for display than intrinsic value. To him, and to the dreams of his mama, she is truly a trophy.
Sometimes, especially in this world of disobedience to The Lord and His ways, it may seem impossible for either husbands or wives to be of noble character. Maybe we haven’t been raised that way. Maybe we’ve lived our lives as survivors and don’t even know where to begin. Maybe we’ve been married to someone who didn’t bring out the best in us–or maybe even crushed our best. Or maybe someone reading this is single and doesn’t have someone in their life to bring anything out for.
Wherever you are in this, I have hope for you. We all have a virtuous and valiant character for our ishi (husband) because the Bible says in Isaiah 54: 5,10…
Isaiah 54:5, 10 BSB
[5] For your husband is your Maker — the Lord of Hosts is His name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
[10] Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/isa.54.5-10.BSB
May you see Yahveh Almighty as one worthy of being a trophy for. And if you are an unmarried man, may you learn to imitate God’s valiant and noble behaviors to attract your own trophy. If you’re an unmarried woman, may you be that trophy for God, and may He send you the noble man He has chosen to bring out the Proverbs 31 woman in you.
One final note: I’ve learned tonight that it is a Jewish tradition after the lighting of Sabbath candles for the man to sing “Eshet Chayil” (singing Proverbs 31:10-31) to his wife. He is not singing it as a checklist of chores but rather a praise at the end of the week for his warrior partner. I found a version of it in English with lyrics…
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