Joy in the Journeys

 It's here!!

 

           I love Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore, ever since I was very young.   Winnie is the eternal optimist.   Tigger just likes to bounce and have fun.   For Eeyore, it seems he just can’t get past the negative.                 There are so many hardship stories in the Bible. Take Joseph, for instance.  He was favored by his father, hated by his brothers.  In fact, his brothers sold him into slavery.  Then there is Job – a man of great wealth, who had everything (and I mean everything) taken from him; his home, his livestock, his children, his wife, even his friends came against him.  And, how about Ruth, who lost everything, took a chance and moved to a strange land with her mother-in-law. Esther took a chance and went before the King without being summoned.  Then there was Daniel, who would not eat what the King told him to and refused to pray and bow down to anyone other than God.  He was thrown into a den of lions.  All of these people took a chance and did what they had

            It has been awhile since I have posted on my blog.  There are reasons for this; however, there should be no excuses.  Please allow me to elaborate…             A little over a month ago I tested positive for Covid-19, without any symptoms.   I was scheduled for knee surgery two days after I found out.   So, as it should be, I was quarantined for 14 days.   I thought I would use my time wisely and do some writing.   Well, guess what?? That didn’t happen.   Instead, I spent the majority of this time being unproductive, discouraged, and sometimes fighting anger.   This past, close to two years now, has been challenging physically.   This has kept me, for the most part, unable to exercise as I have been used to.   Exercise for me is a stress reducer.   As I perused this past time, I went through a number of different stages of thinking.   Did I create this situation? Was I being punished by the Lord? Did He know what He was doing?   You know, all the things we all ask ourselv

What’s in a name? Think back to when you were younger, perhaps in elementary, junior or high school, especially when it came to the opposite sex.  Was there a school mate that you wanted to notice you? Talk to you? Ask you on a date??  For me, it was usually hoping that he knew my name, if nothing else.  For some of us, our world evolved around this.  Our insecurities seemed to, at times, run our emotions.  Having someone know our name was the ultimate goal. As I became older, that desire did not change.  I longed to be accepted for who I was, loved unconditionally, and appreciated.  For me, that acceptance was not easily recognizable.  I became a “yes” person, feeling that if I always said yes, that acceptance would be just around the corner.  Instead, what happened, was just the opposite.  I felt taken more advantage of, less loved accepted.  Saying “no” to anyone was always at my personal expense.  Then something happened to change this. In my very early 20’s, I met a young wo