My family and I had a wonderful edifying Feast of Tabernacles this year in Lake Texoma, TX. The theme of the Feast was 1st John 4:19—“We love Him because He first loved us.” I do believe love was there at the Feast. We had a mix of different types of believers, and we all, at least as far as I know, got along great. It was awesome to see different styles of worship and to fellowship with people who had different backgrounds.

I have been to two funerals in just a couple of weeks. I also know of a few more people that have unexpectedly passed away recently. Life is so fragile and short no matter how long we live. Solomon taught that “it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). I know it may sound hard, but death is a reminder of how short our lives are, which in turn should make us learn to live each day to its fullest. We never know when our final day in this lifetime will occur, and the house of mourning is a reminder of that.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it (Psalm 139:14, NLT).

Have you ever thought about how wonderfully complex our bodies are? How intricate the Designer created us? Just think of our brains for instance. A professor from Stanford University, Dr. Kwabena Boahen, stated that our brains are “actually able to do more calculations per second than even the fastest supercomputer” (https://www.livescience.com/27907-neurogrid-brain-simulator-brain-awareness-nsf.html). There is so much going on in our bodies at every given second that we do not see. We have a complete electric circuit system inside us. It is amazing to think how sophisticated the human body can be. It is full of different talented systems that have to intricately and cohesively work together for us to be alive.

Hosea 6:6 (emphasis mine):

• For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (NKJV).

• For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (NASB).

• For I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings (Darby Bible).

I know it may be redundant to put three different translations of one scripture, but I wanted to show the different terms that translations used for the word checed, which means goodness and kindness.

I usually have songs going through my head. They can be anywhere from classic rock to  some stanza in a classical song to Christian music. My favorite is when I'm thinking about something and a song that seems to pertain to the situation pops into my head. 

Here lately I have been thinking about the fact that we can't control many things that happen to us in our lives, however, we can control how we react to it.

I blog about lessons that I believe God is teaching me through my life experiences. Blogging actually helps me make sense of things, and, to be honest, there are many times that I know that God is teaching me through my own writing. I actually pray a lot for Him to speak through me. I do wish that it happened more often because, here lately, my blogs have been few and far between, mainly due to the fact that my life has been one thing after another for the past year and a half starting with the death of my step-father.

I really love reading the Psalms, especially during trying times. David knew trials and strife. He understood tragedy and blessings. He made many mistakes, but he repented. He knew the healing power of forgiveness from God, and he also believed that God had his back. His testimony helps my faith because “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

When you go to church, look around you. I want you to pay attention to the average age in your congregation. Do you have a lot of youth? If you do, that is awesome. If you don’t, your group is like the majority of Christian churches around, at least in the United States. According to a study done by Barna, “[n]early six in ten (59 percent) young people who grow up in Christian churches end up walking away, and the unchurched segment among Millennials has increased in the last decade from 44 percent to 52 percent, mirroring a larger cultural trend away from churchgoing in America” (“The Priorities, Challenges, and Trends in Youth Ministry,” Barna Group). The question we have to ask ourselves is, why? Well, according to Pew Research Center, the number one reason is “the questioning of religious teachings” (“Why America’s ‘nones’ don’t identify with a religion,” Alper). Just a quick side note, the term “nones” means someone who doesn’t identify with any religion. They do not consider themselves agnostic, atheist, or any other type of religion.

Have you ever looked around your house and thought, okay, it is time to purge this place. Sometimes I think less is definitely more. I hate clutter. I also can’t stand when things do not have a place to go. It feels so freeing when I finally take the time to purge a room. I separate everything in piles to keep, to give away, and to just throw away. Once the task is over, the room looks so free of excess, and I feel a sense of accomplishment and peace.

I reached, what I used to think, was the age considered old. You know the 'over the hill' time zone, the big 4-0! It is funny how getting older changes your perspective and definition for the term 'old age'. When I was young I thought 40 was sooo old. Now, my grandfather, who happens to be the young age of 96, doesn't seem old anymore. 

What I am trying to figure out, though, is why do people fear getting old? The alternative is not better in my opinion. What is better to dread your birthday or rejoice?

It is the Passover/Unleavened Bread season. I enjoy this Holy Day/week very much because it represents how hard it is to remove sin out of our lives. I can spend hours cleaning out my house and still find some type of leavening long forgotten in the freezer. It just shows how much we need a Savior, plus, how much we need to reflect and examine ourselves, not just once a year, but all the time.

The key thing is to examine ourselves, not to examine and point fingers at others. Why? Because in the end we only get to answer for ourselves, not for someone else, and someone else doesn’t get to answer for us.

Last night after we partook of the Passover symbols in honor of the last night our Messiah was able to meet and eat with His disciples, my husband asked us, “What would you do if you knew that you had only twenty-four hours to live?”

Okay, I am about to share my first thought, and I am not too proud of it. My first thought was where could I fly that is on my bucket list and get there with enough time to enjoy visiting? I hate to admit it, but my first thought was about me and doing something really neat. Given, my idea also included my family coming with me, but still I must admit it was a bit selfish.

There are many themes in the Bible that are interwoven from the beginning to the end. Salvation is the biggest. Another theme is what I call the “time test.” I have noticed that the majority, if not all, of God’s people that He works with and through in the Bible were tested on how well they could wait on the Lord. They were given a “time test” to increase their patience, endurance, strength, and faith.

We all know their stories. Noah, who may have had to wait a hundred years before the floods came, is one example. We know that he had his sons by 500 years old, and sometime shortly after that God gives him the decree to build an ark (Genesis 5:32; 6:13-14)