Hallelujah! We Are Not Alone

I'm a deep thinker. I like to know the "hows & whys" and the "cause & effects" of things.  How does this work?  Why did this happen?  What caused this issue?  What effect will this have?... That's not necessarily bad.  A lot of times if you understand those things, you can figure out how to resolve an issue or avoid a problem all together.  After all, not thinking things through can get us into a heap of trouble sometimes.  While deep thinking may have its benefits, I'm also an over thinker at times, and that isn't quite as beneficial. In fact, it can be detrimental if we allow it to overtake us.  Simply put, overthinking is spending too much time dwelling on things. Everyone has occasionally put too much thought into something.  Whether it was second guessing decisions, being concerned about the future, or recalling things of the past.  But when it happens too often, it can be  a symptom of depression or anxiety and even a ...

Pictured above is a bloom from one of my Ornamental/Flowering Quince shrubs.  Most of the time, I despise them.  The limbs are stiff and thorny which makes them difficult to prune. They attract vines that are almost impossible to remove and they're hard to mow around without coming away with scratched arms and gouged eyeballs.  As much of a nuisance as I normally find them, when they’re loaded with blooms before the leaves appear, I think they're beautiful.     There are other things that have a similar outcome. I share a love of butterflies with my friend, Lisa. It's not uncommon for either of us to gift the other with an item featuring a butterfly, but butterflies aren't always pretty.  In fact, depending on how you feel about worms, they can go through a pretty unsightly stage before they transform into the colorful creatures that catch your attention as they flutter by. This process doesn’t happen overnight though, it takes time.   There are t...

I love Christian concerts.  I have a scrapbook collection featuring those I've attended over the last 30 years.  This picture was taken a year ago at my first Steven Curtis Chapman concert.  Normally, this would have been an extremely joyous time.  It's not every day that you get to meet someone that's won five Grammys and more Dove Awards than any other artist in history.  You'll notice that I'm smiling, but what was going on behind the smile is another story.    Kristine describes me on that night this way... " You weren't unfriendly, but you weren't you.  Your mouth smiled, but your eyes didn't. You barely ate at the restaurant and hardly talked at all.  You gave short one-word answers to any questions,  showed no excitement, and were constantly afraid that you were being a burden.  Any time I looked at you, you were either crying or expressionless."    It was evident to her that I was struggling that night, but it was...

  Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the Serenity Prayer. I'm sure most are familiar with it.  It's a popular gift item in Christian bookstores that's been displayed in many homes throughout the years.   Although the prayer itself isn’t in the Bible, there are things we can learn from it.   The original, lengthier version has been mostly attributed to theologian  Reinhold Niebuhr  who was said to have first used it in a message from the early 1930s and then popularized by one of his colleagues, Winnifred Wygal.  There has since been lots of speculation as to who the original author was and if Niebuhr had actually heard it from someone else before and just forgotten.  Regardless of who wrote it or when, the simple prayer serves as a reminder of biblical lessons for our everyday life. Ones  that I desperately need to remember.     The serenity to accept the things I cannot change.   Serenity : calm or peaceful . There are ...