Author Archives: Jackie

The Blessing of a Love-Hate Relationship with Patriotism

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

Tomorrow is June 14, or Flag Day. Less than 3 weeks from then is July 4, when America will be celebrating its 250 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Lot of patriotism floating around.

America has grown from 13 colonies/states in 1776

original 13 stars & stripes Betsy Ross Flag

to a country that literally spans “from sea to shining sea.”

American Flag

My relationship w/patriotism has always been a bit frought. When I was growing up, the saying regarding it was “love it or leave it.”, which basically meant American could do no wrong, and if you called out injustice, you were somehow unpatriotic. I don’t think that’s how the founding fathers saw it, but then, how would I know? I wasn’t there.

My problem was, I was doing a lot of calling out injustices, primarily discrimination. Discrimination against those of color; discrimination against women or those who maintained different sexual & gendor identities; discrimination against those living w/disabilities. It wasn’t that I didn’t love this country. I just knew it could be better. And I definitively did not like the “love it or leave it” attitude. I still don’t.

I understand no country is perfect, and, because those who inhabit it and those who run it are human, it never will be. On the other hand, failure to acknowledge and correct those things we are doing wrong is nothing but cloying loyalty, on which the 3rd Reich thrived.

The Constitution and its Bill of Rights was designed to protect the rights of those voices crying in the desert for justice. Calling America out for those areas where she needs to improve is not unpatriotic–it’s our God-given duty. Those of us who raise our voices in dissent do not do so because we hate America. We do so because we love her and want her to truly live the ideals to which she aspires. Dictators flourish when people are unwilling to do that. Democracy burgeons when people demand that justice be served and won’t rest until that happens.

My prayer for this nation and for all nations and peoples who strive for freedom is Amos 5:24. “Let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream.” NIV.

Father, thank you for the fact this nation has survived 250 years. It’s young compared to many nations, but old to others. We know we haven’t always lived up to our pledge of “liberty and justice for all.” Please forgive us where we’ve failed and help us do better. Please allow people to see that those who demand justice are not doing so to draw attention to themselves or annoy others, but rather because they long to see this nation achieve her full potential. Help us first and foremost to abide by your commandments and precepts, and speak the truth in love boldly, for only then can we be free. To God be the glory. Amen.

The Blessing of a Special Birthday

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me and

Abbie Johnson Taylor.


Sunny and Snickers

Today is Sunny Kitty’s 10th birthday, and we are celebrating this very special day w/him. Sunny and Snickers came home w/us from the All About Animals shelter on Mar 31, 2017. Sunny is the black cat in the picture and is a neutered male. Snickers is the tan-and-grey female. Sunny was 9 months at the time. Snickers was 4 months. He was blind. He also was sneezing and had a runny nose, which has proven to be a constant throughout our time together.

We kept them both in their crates for a bit, but Sunny was soon pawing at his and meowing, so, reluctantly, we let them out. He began walking around the house, emitting frequent little meows. I wondered aloud to husband Karl if he might’ve been echo locating, which is something that bats, dolphins, and blind humans do to navigate their world by listening to sound waves bouncing off objects. An hour later he was running around the place like he’d not only lived here forever but owned it as well.

3 days later I was trying to capture him for some reason, I dove toward him, and ended up breaking my wrist. Not exactly an auspicious start to his new arrival. Jesus and I have always had a bit of a tiff regarding his views on the blind leading the blind. I think it can have remarkable outcomes–He says we both fall in the manhole. Having said that, whether or not the blind leading the blind is a bad idea, I don’t know. I can tell you, however, that the blind chasing the blind definitively is not.

Because of his chronic sinusitis, his nose gets clogged up w/dried mucous, making it hard for him to smell his food. Obviously we keep his dish in the same place so he can find it, but even sighted cats who can’t smell their food don’t eat, and we basically daily have to give him saline nose spray as well as Flonase & an antihistamine pill in order to interest him in his meals. Sometimes he fights that, but mostly he seems to realize we’re trying to help and accepts the treatments gracefully.

We often call him “the Reverend Mr. Black” after the old 60’s folk song because he is such a gentle little spirit–except, of course, at the vet’s. He greets most everyone who comes in, and some folks, if he particularly likes them, he’ll stand in front of them meowing, demanding to be petted. In return, he rewards those who show him attention w/a rumbling pur that belies his small size.

Snickers takes advantage of his sight loss, smaller stature, & gentle nature at times–stealing his food and batting him w/her paws. Normally he’s incredibly chill about it, but if he gets tired of it all, he’ll hiss and growl once, and she skitters off to hide. She knows very well whose boss,–& it’s not her. The little black blind cat reigns silent and supreme.

We also call him our “shepherd” cat, because he’ll hang around us when we’re sick, often jumping into bed to lay down beside us, whereas normally, if he stays on our bed at all, it’s toward the foot.

All of his physical problems never seem to get him down, and he appears to enjoy his life here. I hope he does. We love him dearly, and I believe he feels secure and cared for here, and for a kitty, that’s probably as good as love gets.

We’ve had just a little over 9 years w/these 2 little treasures, and all I can say is, I think sometimes angels are equipped w/4 paws instead of wings. They have been wonderful sources of joy and laughter and love.

Happy birthday, Sunny. Your name fits you so well because you bring abundant sunshine into our lives, whether or not you can see it. We hope the Dear Lord will permit you to stay here many more years and that He’ll bless you w/the abundant joy you’ve given us.

The Blessing of a Backup

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor.

and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

Book w/missing pages in the middle



Anyone who uses a computer knows the feeling. You’ve been working on a document & you suddenly realize that all or part of it is gone. Absolutely nowhere to be seen. You reopen the original, hoping the missing part will be there, but you saved the damaged document already, so it’s history. Your heart sinks to your toes. The last meal you ate is now headed in the wrong direction. You wanna cry. Maybe you do cry.

That happened to me this last Thursday. Rarely do cybersecurity professionals take their own advice, but I had emailed this particular manuscript to my writer’s group before its dissolution. I had a backup! Yay!

It felt a little like finding a $20 bill in my drawer or something. Truthfully, it felt like a smile of salvation. I’ll be much more cognisant of my backups from now on–until I’m not. I’m surely grateful to the Dear Lord for the help.

Scripture says “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 ESV

He probably will not produce a backup you didn’t make yourself, so make sure you back up often. But if you’ve got 1 lying around somewhere, He’ll bring it to your mind like He did w/me. Do what you need to do, and He’ll take care of the rest.

Many blessings for your week.

The Blessing of Being clean

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me,

and

Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Pristine snowy field

Last week I hauled in a grocery delivery from Walmart. It was really hot out there. By time I got done, I was sweaty, smelly, and hot. All I wanted was a good shower. It felt so good afterwards. I was so grateful for that shower.

Isaiah 1:18 tells us: “The Lord says, “Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though your sins are deep red, they can be white like wool.”

By Jesus’s death on the cross, God takes away both our sins and our sin. We come before Him clean. And it feels amazing! The cool thing is we can do it every hour of every day. We are no longer guilty and ashamed. Rather, we are His beloved sons and daughters. We can come to him, our daddy, whenever we wish, and He will joyfully receive us like the loving father He is.

The Blessing of Doing Your Best

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor
and
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.

Jesus in white robe, ascending into Heaven

This past week, on May 14, in fact, Christians celebrated the ascension of Jesus into heaven. I been thinking a lot lately about what that meant. He was leaving a very fragile seed, His church, to blossom and grow in hostile soil. He knew–he had to know–we’d screw it up. He knew we’d disappoint him, likely on a daily basis, assuredly many times a day. And yet, he let go, asking us to co-create with Him down here while He did whatever He needed to do from on high.

I often wonder why in the world He’d do that. And the only thing I can come up with is that if we are going to reign with Him in Heaven, we need to learn how to do that on Earth. Now, me, I think he could just have a heavenly school where we could bypass all the stuff that happens down here. But it seems He disagrees, and He definitively wins!

I’ve been battling a problem with our bank for a couple weeks. This week I was finally able to move things forward, and I decided to simply let events happen. There really isn’t much I can do. It’s a mixed bag. It feels good to finally quit hassling with it on the day-to-day, but not very good knowing I’m not in control. I didn’t give up control particularly willingly. The bank did that for me. Jesus, on the other hand, did surrender control to us. Does He intervene on our behalf? Assuredly. But He also gave us free will, and in large part, allows us to exercise it, whether or not our choices are those He would want us to make.

Often times I hear Christians complain–and I’ve done it a number of times myself–why doesn’t God just tell us what He wants from us? All I can do is answer that He already tried that w/the Israelites in the Old Testament. We all know how well that turned out. He appeared to them in a cloud by day, in fire by night. They knew what He wanted from them. They worshipped a golden calf instead, and He at last established a new covenant with humankind by means of His death on the cross.

Most people who walk this earth won’t be remembered long. All we can hope for is that some small action of ours, something we said or did, will turn someone toward God, and that they in turn did likewise. Often we don’t even know when we’ve done that because the action to us seemed so insignificant. And maybe that’s why we have to learn here on earth that the one who is faithful in very small things is also faithful in much, because sometimes that small thing can turn into something very big, while we’re none the wiser.

Luke 16:10 puts it thus: “Suppose you can be trusted with something very little. Then you can also be trusted with something very large. But suppose you are not honest with something very little. Then you will also not be honest with something very large.”
NIV

I pray that I can be more like Jesus, doing the best I can and then be content to put it in God’s hands, because that is, after all, where all my hopes and dreams will ultimately come to fruition.

The Blessing of Motherhood

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Abbie Johnson Taylor

and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me,

Mother’s Day is, for many, 1 of those days that evokes positive images at every turn. If something’s good, it might be described as being American as motherhood and apple pie, although the last time I checked motherhood was present in every country of the world. Church attendance ticks up. Restaurants burst at the seams as they try to accommodate the many Mother’s Day parties.

And yet it’s a day that’s often frought. Fertility issues, difficult mother-child relationships, and mothers who’ve lost children can make the day particularly hard as joy seems to swirl all about those impacted by these problems. They may feel very lonely and alone because they don’t want to dampen the celebratory mood surrounding them by acknowledging their grief.

Unlike days of yore, when a woman’s worth basically consisted of how many children she had, today’s understanding of motherhood has broadened. Whether or not one has children, one can birth something–ideas, books, inventions, or they can help someone else achieve their dreams. Even Jesus portrays Himself as a mother:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34)

If your relationship with your mother was a good one, think about some particularly good times and be grateful. If not, remember God is not only your Father but also your Mother. Think about those times when He showed himself to be such. And then go out into the world and be a mother to someone around you, no matter your gender. To those mothers who’ve lost a child, take time to cherish good memories. To those moms who gave children up for adoption, know that you likely did the very best you could for them at that time of your life.

Also, thank God for your mother, no matter the relationship between you, because she gave you life. And if someone else served as your mother, even though you were not her flesh and blood, be grateful for that, too, because she may well have saved your life, or at least helped you to become a good person.

Yes, Mother’s Day can be hard, but motherhood is co-creating with God, and that is, after all, what we were put here to do.

Lord, please help us to co-create with You every day we live. Help us rejoice in the tasks You’ve given us to do. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.

The blessing of Connection

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me,
and Abbie Johnson Taylor

Cell phone charging

You know what happens when you forget to charge your cell phone. You can’t call anyone, you can’t text anyone, you can’t play your music while you’re on the go. It’s not nearly as earth-shattering as some would have you believe, (there are those who don’t even have a cell phone, after all), but it can be disconcerting at best, and life-threatening at worst.

Just like a cell phone needs a connection to power in order to recharge, people need connection as well. Monday is the first meeting w/my Word Weavers’ Writer’s group, called Page 53, where I’ll actually be fully participating. Last month I kind of just sat back and observed, obeying what my spiritual dad Rev. Lloyd Mattson used to say frequently, “Never miss an opportunity to shut up.”

I also joined a Facebook group this week called Biblical Fiction Aficionados, and I posted to them today about my audio book offering group members a free copy via a private link.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool, 100% confirmed, introvert. This sort of thing is very hard for me. But I know that connection and community is the key to growth.

Gen 2:18 says: “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
NIV

Though the context indicates God said this about men, it’s equally applicable to women as well. The church, indeed, is described as Christ’s body. Those of us who call ourselves Christians acknowledge that we are part of His body, and therefore connected to every other Christian. So, hard or not, it’s necessary, and I’m sure my life will be blessed by these new connections. I hope I can in some small way enrich their lives as well.

Lord, help me hear your voice through the new friends I’m making, and help me speak your truth to them as well. Thank you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

The Blessing of Smart Glasses

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are

Abbie Johnson Taylor and

Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me,


My brother, sister-in-law, and sister all came to visit this month. It was like a days-long family reunion, and what a good time it was! I referred to it in my last post when I talked about our trip to Wickenburg.

2 weeks ago sister Bev called and said she and her bestie Roz wanted to come over for a few minutes. We were going out to grandson Jaden’s birthday party in a couple hours, but, w/that proviso, I told them yes. Bev presented me w/a pair of Meta glasses. I had earlier shared w/her, brother Phil, and sister-in-law Nancy, my experience on Christmas where I used daughter Amanda’s meta glasses, and they told me about my daughter and grandkids standing by the Christmas tree in matching Christmas PJ’s. No one had told me that earlier, so it felt like having a little synthetic eyesight. It was fun and all, but I couldn’t justify spending the money. It was a cool luxury, but definitively not a need. Now, suddenly, I had my own.

They helped me get them set up. I’m sure I could’ve done it, but not nearly as fast. Then one of them gave me a newspaper, and I read it! Here’s the pic.

Me Reading Newspaper

Then we pulled an asparagus can out of the closet. Here’s a pic of me reading that.

Me reading the nutrition label on an asparagus can

On 2nd and 4th Wednesdays we have recycling days. Last week was 4th Wednesday, and we had 2 barrels of stuff. When I went out to get the barrels after the stuff had been collected, I could only find 1. Karl looked out the door, but he couldn’t see the other barrel either. I took my glasses, walked down the driveway a bit, looked slightly to my left, and asked Meta if she saw the barrel. Yes, she did, and w/her telling me approximately where it was, I was able to find it.

These are small, mundane things. For a completely blind person though, it was pretty earthshaking.

Some things haven’t worked as well. Finding Karl’s newspaper in the driveway and reading a small headphones manual are examples. I’ll continue to experiment to determine optimum use cases.

The glasses are a blessing, that’s a certainty. Even more so, though, is having a sister who cared enough to want to make my life a little easier. That’s the biggest blessing.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I’m very fortunate to have lots of family who care about me, and, along w/God who is my rock and my salvation, these are my biggest blessings of all. I wish all of you to be likewise blessed.

The Blessing of Having Loved

Song at Midnight Posted on by

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me, and
Abbie Johnson Taylor

Today is our eldest daughter Karley’s earthday birthday. She was the victim of a homicide in 2007. The killer was never apprehended. He wanders the face of the earth, and Karley’s life was snuffed out.

The loss of a child goes beyond words. It rips at the fabric of all we believe to be good and right. It violates the natural order that the parents should be the ones to die first. I once met a hospital chaplain who’d also lost a child and formed a support group called Sisters of Eve and Mary. Indeed all mothers who’ve mourned a child are members of this sad, but somehow binding, sisterhood. There’s a connection there that is strong beyond words.

Despite the many years, the pain of the loss is still very real. Conventional wisdom notwithstanding, it never goes away. Birthdays are reminders. Mother’s days, though happy occasions, are always tinged with great sadness, because there will be no call or card from her like she used to do when she was among us. And there’s always the strange aura Of what might or would have been that lingers every time I think about her. All moms I know who’ve gone through this say likewise.

And yet, God gave us the gift of her presence among us, and I will be forever grateful for that. I would be so much less of a person if she hadn’t been a part of my life. I hope in some small way the same might be true for her as well. And sometimes, there are those precious fleeting moments when I almost feel she’s here, dropping in to say hi. A puff of cigarette smoke, a familiar-sounding voice or laugh, the lady who looks so much like her it makes you catch your breath–a fleeting but awe-inspiring moment in time where the veil thins, worlds touch, and love is expressed.

It is true what Alfred Tennyson said. “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

1 Cor 13:
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.;

Happy earthday birthday, Karley. Say hi to Jesus for me. And know that though it brings me joy to know you’re with him, I still miss you mightily. But 2 weeks ago we celebrated His resurrection here, and that gives us hope that renews every morning.

The Blessings of Jellybeans and a small Steel Cross

Song at Midnight Posted on by

seal of Wickenburg, AZ

Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me, and

Abbie Johnson Taylor

I had family come to visit this week. My brother and sister-in-law from Boise and my sister from Mundelein descended upon AZ. My brother likes the wide open spaces & decided to stay in Wickenburg, a small town a little less than an hour’s drive from where I live. Friday morning, Apr. 10, my sister, Hubby, and I took our jeep and made the trip up. We all piled into Phil and Nancy’s Expedition and headed off to Vulture Mine Ghost Town. I personally did not encounter any disembodied visitors, and, so far as I know, neither did anyone else in our group.

At the ghost town, there was a blacksmith, working in period constume with the same tools that would’ve been used in the 1800’s, and likely are still used, albeit perhaps in slightly altered form, to this day.

He was making crosses. He wanted $40 for the larger 1, but the smaller versions were $25. That was rather expensive, especially given mounting medical bills, but they were hand-crafted, and the guy was working hard. I bought 1 for myself and 1 for the hubby, who did not accompany us on the tour of the shops because of physical impairment.

He loved it. He said it was the nicest thing I ever gave him. We’ve been married almost 40 years, and I’ve given him plenty of gifts during that time. This cross was definitively not the most expensive thing I’d ever gifted him. Nonetheless, I was glad he liked it.

The easter bunny, AKA my daughter, forgot to give him his jelly beans for Easter, so I ordered some. They came today, Apr. 11. He was equally glad to get those.

As I get older, I increasingly come to realize it’s not the expensive gifts that matter. It’s making memories. That person you love won’t be around forever, and there may come a time when all you’ll have is memories to sustain you. Of course there’ll be momentous occasions. But there will be smaller things to remember as well, like a small steel cross on a hot Arizona day, or a belated Easter gift of favorite old-fashioned jellybeans. Big occasions are just that–occasional. But small memories can be fashioned every single day. I’m making it my mission to do exactly that.