Let Me Tell You One Thing

  When things really pile up, I mean really pile up and you become so overwhelmed that staring at the wall seems good; there must be a path left open in our brain to find solace. I find those times especially taxing on everything that I normally use to regain composure and talk myself through whatever is going on. This  reminds me of the many times Saul of the bible felt this way, and he most always called for David who was so very skilled in playing soothing music for him. The best thing always is to have a plan, for we never know when these times will catch us so unprepared to deal with them.  If you have a favorite soothing piece of music that can rest your mind coupled perhaps with beautiful scenery and give yourself time to regroup, time to get the situation into perspective you are already on your way back to sanity and composure.

 It is odd when you are in the throes of possible disaster.  The mind can play tricks.  When the siren went off in my city, I took it seriously but not too seriously.  Why was that?  They don't do those except as a warning.   I did take cover, I did believe it was possible, but it was as if it was surreal.  It was as if it was not really happening.  I saw the wind. I heard the roar. I saw the deluge of rain; however, I stayed on the phone with the Direct TV guy because I was trying to upgrade my plan so I could actually see my local weather.   I can get it on my iPhone , but I wanted to see this radar on my TV.  The entire few seconds that the tornado was actually over my head, I was talking with him about the upgrade hunkered down in my hall bathroom.  I made him nervous.  I told him the siren was going off.  He said, "I hear it.  Mrs. Johns, you are making me nervous."  I said, "My name is Paula, pray for me."  I know he did, because I was in such denial of wh

 I have been reading Mark Richt's book, Make The Call,  which, I must say, has been an eyeopener for me about football and those who play the game. I was privileged to hear Mark at a dinner banquet for the Church of God minister's of South Georgia back in December 2021 at which time he warmed my heart with his demeanor, his humility, and his announcement of his onset of Parkinson's disease. He very generously gave everyone a free copy of his book that night which was amazing since it totaled hundreds of copies. I began to read the book because, he had influenced me and touched me greatly the night he spoke at the banquet.  I didn't know if it would interest me much because I assumed it was about football.  Even though I like a game of football periodically, I am not a die hard fan of any sport or sport team; but, again, he gave us a book, and I had been touched by his life he shared with us at the banquet, therefore I decided to read the book. Not only has the book been

  Hot, arid air to breathe in a desert, Mixed with morbid, hurting, loneliness; Missing life, love  and connection, There you will find me. Seems like despair, with many there; Lets me know, however I feel, I am not alone. No matter who, no matter who with, There is still an empty space within us, Nothing will be complete until we are home again. We cannot fold, we cannot crumble,  There has to be a beacon of light For those who follow us, even from a distance. Carry on, never cease' If we do not tell them,  They will not find the way.

 Verse  1 O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before you.     ( Psalm 27:9)  Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger; You have been my help; do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.      The writer in the 27th psalm has clearly been helped by calling on our Father.        This 88th psalm begins by a reminder to the God of my salvation that he has called or cried to Him day and night.      How can we ever expect God to answer prayer if we we are so sporadic with our prayers?  A consistency would seem a rather important thing      One of the things that stand out most is someone's faithfulness and determination in a certain quest.  If a person has a history of faithfulness, it seems  that God most certainly takes that into consideration. Verse 2 Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.       Incline means listen.  How fervently we have made a plea to our Father to hear us, to listen to us, to answer

   ◦ I look out into the world; I seem so insignificant behind the window. For just outside my window  There is space that moves and flows;  Flows beyond for thousands and thousands of miles. I am but a small particle in the mix  I am but a small being in the vastness of the universe,  Yet Christ has redeemed me. He salvaged my soul and my future. I will move into the vastness of eternity Like water flows in a waterfall!

  Paul had a mega job convincing the people of his time to embrace Christ and the resurrection. The Athenians seemingly were always looking for something new to tell or hear.   Philosophers were abundant,  practically on the street corners it seems; debaters were common. They accused Paul of being a babbler or picking up scraps of something new and peddling it. There was Epicureanism (tranquility seeking), Stoicism (acceptance of life as inevitable), and Polytheism (the belief of multiple gods).   They accused Paul of propagating a religion of two new gods, i.e. Jesus and the resurrection. It must have been very difficult for him to have to plow through all the ideologies, beliefs, and religions of the day.   He worked diligently, he and the people with him on the mission to tell others about Christ. He suffered prison, beatings, shipwreck, and the stress of leading and mentoring people of the power of Jesus Christ and the resurrection.   God empowered him with strength, abil

  Sometimes, when in therapy with an individual with a hole in their heart, I sometimes thought that perhaps that emptiness was there from birth, the hole was so deep.  It seemed that nothing could fill the space.  My client would go layer by layer into their heart until they could dig down in that empty hole and bring up so many painful, destructive wounds.  We would have to deal with them layer by layer.  But in the end, once the hole has been completely dug out, we could begin to fill the hole again with good things. When we love a child, or a spouse that has injured us emotionally,  or there is a wound that comes from a friend,  the hole in our heart becomes deeper.  We begin to layer protection around the heart until there is a cold,  frigid wall around our heart and we refuse to let anyone or anything in.  This can happen without our awareness and over a period of time.  As a result,  it seems there are many of us who seemingly are removed from emotion.  No matter what we experie