Scatter the flowers

  "Marriage is meant by God to put that Gospel reality on display in the world."  ~John Piper, preacher & author Bridezilla - the word can imply some pretty ugly scenarios.  For example, a best friend who was not asked to be in a wedding because she was overweight and the bride thought she would throw off the wedding photos.  Or the one who threw a mandatory bridesmaid meeting and warned them they all better not show up to the wedding in natural makeup.  Or the one who insisted on pre-approving all hairstyles, giving out pictures of acceptable ones.  I think there's even a show about these people. Yikes. But this week I attended a wedding that was truly refreshing - God was revered from the very first moment, given the most honorable place at the event.  While I've been to many weddings that acknowledge God, I am sad to say I've also been to some where God is not even mentioned. I don't have any idea how a marriage hopes to survive or thrive withou...

  "All warfare is based on deception." ~Sun Tsu, The Art of War 🌣   Yep.  I fell for it again.  I let someone deceive me into buying something and it was a scam.  I feel so vulnerable and helpless when this happens.  And stupid. Yet one more reminder there is a dark side of the web and bad people who want to hurt us - whether it be financial, spiritual or personal.  In an area where you can feel unsavvy, uneducated, even novice in some areas (and others, experienced enough to know better), it's easy to feel the need to act on trust, and want to believe people's intentions are good.     But some are not, and it seems more and more we need to distrust, check, verify, and not hurry into transactions without validating so we are not deceived.  Welcome to the end times... 🌣 Our trust is in the Lord - for our eternity and our well-being now on this earth.  It doesn't mean we are exempt from exposure to evil.  Jesus warne...

  "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."  ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe As a teenager, I used to cry to my dad because of his strict rules for me, often saying, "Why don't you just lock me up and throw away the key!"  Dramatic much?   I fought back, thinking I knew best, that I had control over my behavior, and that I would always make the right choice and not need anyone's help.  I viewed all of his rules as obstructions to my freedom.   All my poor sweet dad was intending to do was set some sensible boundaries to protect me from boys with not-so-good intentions, laziness, idleness, and just general teenage girl tendencies that possibly reaped life-altering consequences he had witnessed too frequently as a high school principal.  He just wanted the best for me. As America celebrates their 250th year as an independent country, our founding doctrines guarantee us freedom from an overreaching tyrannical ...

  google image "We have a great sense of togetherness.   It is our team Spirit that has taken us to  the World Cup." ~ Robbie Keane, professional footballer & coach Watching the World Cup is a riveting experience.  Learning the rules of the game is an entirely different challenge - so much seems subjective with the time rules and the calls.   Maybe it's because I've been an American football fan my whole life that I feel like I've just been let into a new fun culture of fandom.   I am so happy the U.S. was able to host this year, bringing people from all over the globe here and watching them unite over a team/country.  It's been refreshing to see and hear the comments from other countries' fans as they visit America and enjoy our customs and  the different sites .   I heard a story that struck me with amazement.  Japan's team, after the game, left their locker room tidy and organized. Their fans and team also help...

Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden. 1509-1510 Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel "Or perhaps in Slytherin, you'll make your real friends, those cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends."  ~the Sorting Hat, Harry Potter I'll be completely honest - I have no idea why God created snakes.  From literally the beginning of mankind He allowed them to be in the Garden.  Why, God, why?  And ever since then they just harm, scare, annoy and cause us extreme anxiety, plus let's not forget the deception thing that has cursed all of mankind til Jesus came and rescued us.   *Disclaimer: this post will justify and promote my fear, contradict science and probably offend a few of you who are in the one percentile and appreciate snakes.  Also, I only put cartoon pictures of snakes because they are cuter than the real thing. Who can trust anything that has no eyelids?  Oh yes, they sleep with their eyes open because they cannot blink!  EWWWWWW. ...

  Reading of "Oh The Places You'll Go  "Congratulations!  Today is your day!  You're off to great places!  You're off and away!  ~ Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess It's that time of year - hundreds of thousands are graduating from preschool through college and Dr. Seuss wrote a primary book that applies to each one of these levels - it's really quite genius. 🎓  Touching on some of the conceptual highlights, as always we sift them through God's Word... 🎓  "You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes" - "So prepare your minds for actions and exercise self-control.  Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world."  1 Pet 1:13 🎓  "You can steer yourself any direction you choose"; avoid the 'not so good street'.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will s...