Let me tell you about an old friend of mine.  We were buddies in the sweetest of times.  Early elementary school.  His folks were good friends with my parents.  They got together every weekend to play cards and have dinner.  Sometimes we were at their house for a fish fry.  Sometimes we were at our house for a cookout.  But wherever we were, we had a great time. We got to stay up late on those nights, and we watched goofy late-night 1970s television – corny movies and sci-fi shows. We watched Charlie Chan and sea monsters and Space: 1999.

Do you ever take time to reminisce? To look back at good times, sweet memories? Thinking of good times with family and friends can spark a desire to reconnect and even encourage us to soak in the blessings that we have currently. In God's Word, psalmists talk about the importance of memories. Remembering the blessings of the Lord can encourage us and add to our endurance in difficult seasons.

Technology is cool. (Is “cool” still a cool word?) I got an email today from a genealogy website letting me know that today was the birthday of one of my great-great-great-grandmothers.

Virginia was born in 1884, a little before my time, so I never knew her or even her son, who was my great-great-grandfather. I barely remember her grandson, one of my great-grandfathers. Yet, in a matter of a couple of minutes today, I found out that she was born in Mobile, Alabama, married at 18, had nine children, and died in 1940. This site also let me know where she is buried and connected me to census records tracking where she lived over many years. With a click, I found her parents and their information, too.

But I still don’t know Virginia. Was she a good cook? Did she like to sing? Was she a praying woman? Was she grouchy all the time? Did she like to read? Could she read?

It's hard. Walking out your purpose is hard. We often see only the glamor and lights of a finished product but miss the warfare and struggle of refinement that people go through during the process. That is why so many quit along the way. When the war comes and the stripping of comforts happens, we swear we must be on the wrong path. Maybe we missed a turn at some point. Could things really be this difficult if I am doing what God wants?

I assure you the answer is yes.

Now, long separated from the Little Golden Books of the 1970s, I am embracing the offerings of virtual libraries. My goodness, I wish I had done it during the lockdown last year. In the past few months, I have checked out digital books, audiobooks, and music selections. I have even learned how to place things on hold – without bothering a single librarian! I get materials from four different places, juggling them while working through a 20-book series. I feel like I am working on an algebra problem, ensuring that I can check out the right books in order. It's much more fun than algebra, though. Trust me.

One of my current selections is an audiobook about the beginnings of the Army Air Corps. It is a fascinating collaborative offering that mixes history and storytelling with soundbites from interviews and World War II-era training films. One of my grandfathers was in the Army Air Corps, and I am enjoying the stories told about the leaders of the Air Force's forerunner.

We are in an incredibly interesting time in many ways, and that includes spiritually. There is a strong temptation to embrace the defeat that seems to be falling on us, trying to weigh us all down. Many of us assume that we do not have the power to change things, and we may believe that even God is not powerful enough. I challenge this lie. 

We were created with God's power dwelling in us. Defeat is not in our name! Today is not our stopping place. The enemy lies to us, creating an illusion that we lack the authority given to us by God. However, we are in a moment of rebirth. God is shifting and changing the pieces on the board like a chess game. Quite often, we don't see the future plays, and we may not understand what is going on, but we know that He wins in the end. 

If you are familiar with the movie It's a Wonderful Life, then you probably recognize this exchange. It is between two angels preparing to help George Bailey, a man who has experienced several crushing disappointments in his life. Until this point, he has refocused and pressed forward, but this time is different. To George, it seems that he is being consumed by a situation that he cannot escape. But that's not all. Those other disappointments have come roaring back to his mind, and they are weighing him down, taking away his will to fight.

Take it from a former English teacher, the English language is weird. It is a conglomeration of words from different languages, a stew of rules and vocabulary and conjugations. And, like most things, all languages change over time. One reason they may change is from influences from other languages. Old English began to change in 1066 when the British Isles were invaded by William the Conqueror of Normandy. The years of French influence changed not only vocabulary but even the sounds used in pronunciation. Then came Middle English (think the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales) which morphed again into something much closer to our modern English, even though it was used by Shakespeare more than 400 years ago.

I remember when our son broke his leg when he was younger. It was broken so severely that he was off his feet for quite some time. The pain of the process developed a fear in him when he began walking again after recovery. Because of the pain and mental block, it became a struggle for him to get back up again. He had so many mental blocks to plow through. There were many moments of exhaustion as he started to walk again. He had to retrain his brain to make all the needed connections for movement. The moment in the whole process that shocked me the most were the tears shed when they removed the cast. He cried for them to keep it on. That cast had become a form of protection to prevent any more pain. The removal was a reminder of the risks now involved. Would the leg be okay? I'm sure the pain of the break was etched in his brain. How could it not be?

Have you ever heard the term "Stepford Wives?" It is a phrase that entered the American vocabulary in the mid-1970s after a novel and then a made-for-television movie of the same name were released.

The Stepford Wives were graceful women who lived in a charming neighborhood, Stepford. They were perfect homemakers and wives, submissive and attractive and flawless. After a new family moves in, the wife believes these other women are being brainwashed. How could they all be so perfect? Were their husbands responsible? The reality is worse than she suspects, though. She discovers that they have all been replaced by androids. And she may be next!

As good as it is to see the power and strength in others, this can quickly become a form of spiritual distraction, causing us to miss who we are in God’s bigger picture.

I am not talking about our identity in Christ. I am talking about the step after that — the moment following our realization of who God is and who we are. The moment when we look around and our spiritual eyes are opened. At that time, we can see that the battle is real and fierce. The enemy wants to go after the weak and slam through the strong, wearing them down consistently with distractions. If we are not careful to stay in a position of restorations, that constant beating can cause our strength to start to weaken. This deterioration is done by forgetting where our power comes from, falling into the trap of monotony, being weighed down by life, neglecting our spiritual growth…. I could continue down the list.

As a teacher, I recognize that learning takes place most easily when students use more than one or two senses to take in the information. Some learn best through hearing, some, seeing, some working with their hands. So, when I taught Youth Girls’ Sunday School, I liked to bring in activities that got us out of the book.

Once, I brought a piece of poster board. I folded it in quarters short-way so it would make a tall standing cube. We spread it out on the table, and I instructed the girls to grab markers. I told them to write down all the negative names they were called by other people – and all the negative things they thought of themselves. They looked at each other, unsure, and they looked at me the same way. “You want us to write these things down?” Yes! They were still apprehensive, so I started.

In becoming so developed and advanced in our world, I believe that we sometimes lose specific lessons and get disconnected from certain facts. One such lesson is the process of watching our food grow from seed to the fullness of the fruit that we feast on. We walk in our grocery store, and most of the time, what we need is in arm’s reach, easily accessible, with no consideration about the process required to obtain the substance that we hold in our hand. For the food to get to us, the land must be prepared, seeds planted, and plants tended, all before the fruit is picked, sorted, shipped, and displayed on our neat grocery shelves.

Sometimes words for these blogs pour out of mind and spirit through my fingers and onto the screen. I can feel God encouraging me to move forward, and I can hear Him whisper wisdom in my ears. It is invigorating to know that He is using my voice to minister!

At other times, I hit walls. It may be that I hit a wall soon after starting, and I end up staring at a mostly blank page. Or, I may write excitedly for an hour, and then my flow stops. Oh, that is so frustrating! I see this blog as part of our ministry here, so it is incredibly important to me that I pass on words of encouragement and thought-provoking questions so that you and I can grow in our relationships with God. When the blog is more like a slog, it's rough.

Our need for control and living in what we find predictable can prevent us from entering unknown lands just because we can’t control every aspect. When I say “lands,” I refer to those areas in life that we journey to. It could be that new career, a relationship, or a big move. It could be changing habits, choosing forgiveness, the list goes on.

We stick with our familiar lands because it’s comfortable to stay there. We know what it’s like living there. We are familiar with the mountains, valleys, and the wildlife — even the predators that keep us from going outside our territory. But we need to ask ourselves if this land is the best, or is there more!? God may be calling us to live in other places, but we hold back because it feels unfamiliar and unknown. We don’t have a map for this unknown land, so we stay where we are.

God lets us retake tests. We don’t always study the way we should. We don’t always listen how we should. Oh, my. That happens so often, doesn’t it?  However, God doesn’t flunk us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His love never fails us, even when we fail the tests. 

Do you know the difference between a castle and a palace? In one word, it is fortification. Castles were designed not only to withhold enemy attack, but also have strategic offensive capabilities. Palaces were designed to display opulence and status with little attention to battle-readiness. Both castles and palaces housed the wealthy or even royalty, but I want to draw your attention to the structures themselves.

At the beginning of the year the Lord gave me my word for the year: Forward. At the time when he gave me Forward I saw the visual of being on a battlefield with bombs detonating around me, almost surrounded on all sides. I heard the Lord say to me, “No matter what, just keep walking, forward!” I have held tight to that one word, picturing myself almost looking at His eyes through the smoke and struggle. This brings me to Ephesians 6 where Paul is encouraging the church at Ephesus to do everything to Stand! 

Smells trigger memories faster than any of my other senses except for maybe sight.  But with a smell, I can be quickly transported back to a place or time I may have even forgotten about. I am guessing it is the same way with you. 

Fresh cut grass reminds me of high school marching season. Woodsmoke reminds me of cool fall nights. Cakes baking remind me of my grandmother's house. Certain perfumes remind me of my mother. 

When we set out towards a goal, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the many obstacles that might stand in the way. As the hurdles of life appear one right after the other, we question whether we are on the right track. I know for myself that obstacles appear with certainty every time I have moved towards a place that God is calling me to. It’s in those moments that I see why many people never reach their destinations. It’s hard. We get distracted and worn down by the process.