What A New Year

Some people are excited,
Some people are full of dread. 

I can appreciate a new beginning,

No matter what's going on in the world.

There's fireworks in my neighborhood tonight - 

We all made it through this past year.

What a Christmas

The routine of stockings, break, big gifts, then Christmas meal stayed the same,

With breakfast being the day after, though this year it was a brunch.

Lots of presents - a record for my mom (over 30).

We didn't really count and the number isn't the point. 

There are two big gift givers in the family, 

And it is wonderful to be able to both give and receive the love language of gifts.

My sister is pregnant, which adds more excitement! 

My brother-in-law still doesn't get me but oh well.

I'm excited to be a biological aunt.

I don't yet know how this will change things.

It's nice to have a day that's relatively the same every year,

As everything around us changes. 

Swept Away - Only One Way God Speaks

I never had anything happen so fast
Took one look and I shattered like glass
I guess I let it show 'cause your smile told me you knew
That you're everything I ever wanted at once

There's no holding this heart when it knows what it wants
And I never wanted anything more than to know you

I was swept away
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I was swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

And so it begins
This journey of love
The summer wind carries us to places all our own

The words of a look
The language of touch
The way that you want me means so much
And I never wanted anything more
Than to love you

I am swept away
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I am swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

Away, seeing my tomorrow's in your eyes
I was swept away

Ooh, I hope I wake up soon
Ooh, I'm a victim of that crazy moon

The very first time you said my name
I knew it would never sound the same
Something about me has changed forever

Can't you see I am swept away?
No one in the world but you and I
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I am swept away
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away (swept away)

Away, seeing my tomorrow's in your eyes
Gotta find a way
To make you feel the way that I do
I was swept away (swept away)
Without a warning
Like night when the morning begins the day
I was swept away

Dreaming of you
Swept away

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: John Bettis / Christopher C. Cross / Stephen Hartley Dorff

Swept Away lyrics © Universal Music - Mgb Songs, Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp., John Bettis Music

God is More

God is more than just a song,

God is more than words in the Bible.

God is in action, and I wait for this Presence.

God is more than any person can perceive. 

God is more than all survivor stories.

God is more than politics.

God is more than division. 

God is more than people can conceive.

God is the One who holds all power. 

God is Creator of creativity.

God is the One who loves every person. 

God is the only way to Life. 

I Am Not

I Am Not 

I am not responsible for God's mood.

I am not responsible for anyone else's mood,

Anyone else's happiness,

Anyone else's sadness.

I am not responsible for anyone's salvation. 

I cannot save anyone.

In a world where things are increasingly being divided,

I am not responsible for the union of things.

I Am Not God.

An Instagram Story

Recently, another person and I had a conversation on Instagram.

It was about yoga, and how the occult can use it for the adversary's benefit. 

And how anything perverted started as something good.

Well, that's what it was intended on my end.

In reality, it was both of us sharing our experiences.

And at the end, we disagreed.

She pointed to the Indian Government website for what yoga is.

I countered that in the US, they are not necessarily following those guidelines.

She said she has taken training courses on it, and they are all the same.

I explained (or tried to) the experiences I've had in yoga classes. 

She said she tried to warn me, as it was her duty to do so.

I concede; social media is not a place anyone can convince anyone of anything.

Brooke Shields Quote

"What I do really reiterate over and over and over again is that what you see may not be the reality," she told PEOPLE in 2022. "And you can't just accept it because the spotlight's on it and it's on Instagram. You really have to know that it's the world of Oz because behind the curtain, that's where you want to live."

- Well said, Brooke Shields. Well said.

The Church Is Not the End

Thankfully, the church is Not the end of finding God.
The church is Not God; at best it can only lead to God. 

The church doesn't actually speak for God. 

Only God speaks for Himself; and He is greater than all beings.

The Church I Grew Up In

The church is very unforgiving.

At least the church I grew up in.

The church I left.

The church that was like a courtroom,

Where people were friendly, as long as you played by their rules.

The church loves conditionally.

As long as you do what they say, you are good to go.

Questions are not welcomed, unless they fit their agenda.

The church I specifically grew up in 

Valued appearances over character.

The church preaches love,

Yet practices hate.

They are so blinded by their love of theology,

That they miss the God they claim to serve.

The One who is more loving than any man.

It's A New Year

For better or for worse

The year has turned and it's a new one.

I've long pondered how a single day, month, and year

Can be so good for someone, and so bad for another.

A new year doesn't automatically mean changes.

It doesn't automatically mean anything good or bad.

It's not a true blank slate.

But the One Who Knows Everything is here.