Live Every Moment

No words can grab hold of the emotions, questions, and thoughts that swirl around in my heart and mind at the moment.  For me and my family, my brother’s death 2 years ago today wasn’t “news”.  It was the most glaring, life-changing reality that sent me one a roller-coaster of emotions and gnawing emptiness.  I’ve come to see those feelings as being okay, though.  I can have those feelings, and at the same time, fully, deeply trust in the God whom I love.  The God who wept.  The God who mourned the destructiveness of sin and how much it infects our world. 

I’ve learned a lot about grief over the last 2 years… Time doesn’t take it away, either, as we are led to believe.  But it does make the pain more bearable as you learn how to live with it.   

This is Freedom

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

— Ronald Reagan

I recently wrote a review for the new movie Last Ounce of Courage.  And in this movie, a question was posed.  Will we, the American people, stand idly by and allow the sacrifices of our Armed Forces be in vain? 

When Prayer Hurts

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear? Or cry to you
“Violence!” and you will not save me?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
~Habakkuk 1:2–3

Sometimes, I feel like Habakkuk…. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been praying for something so desperately, looking for an open door, only to have the Lord close it.  After so much faith and believing, tears and agony, He delivers an outcome I never would have expected.

Lying: Right or Wrong?

Another unusual subject that I was somehow wrangled into posting by my lovely friends.  They seem to have no qualms in prodding me, do they?  Good thing I love them so much.

Now, this post is likely to be controversial, which may come as no shock given the title...  I will be looking at lying from a lot of different angles, some of which have been uncomfortable to people I have discussed this with.  However, I think it is an important topic, one often not fully explored.

What Doesn't Kill You... Makes you Stronger

It's no secret that I passionately believe the hard times in life are not a curse— they are a blessing.  I believe what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  The hard times make you stand a little taller, know yourself better, believe that you can survive.  In the end, what doesn’t kill you makes you into a fighter, someone who can run the race of life with confidence.

God tells us this is true, so is it any surprise that science now has the proof to back it up?  Because hard times and troubles are such a big part of people’s lives, scientists have been studying the effect that these things have on our bodies and minds.  Researcher Mark Seery, a psychologist at the University at Buffalo in the U.S., said: ‘Serious events – like the death of a child or parent, a natural disaster, being physically attacked, experiencing sexual abuse, or being forcibly separated from your family – can cause psychological problems.  In fact, some research has suggested that the best way to go through life is having nothing ever happen to you. But not only is that unrealistic, it’s not necessarily healthy.’