Big Girl Pants

I remember writing a report in 3rd grade on the reason for Thanksgiving. Mine was a little different than Tommy Spencer's. But then, I didn't dress up in a headband with a rooster feather in it either.

No matter what is happening in the world of man, nature has her own rhythm. Something amazing is often right in front of us, but in our rush to "accomplish something" we miss it. Take a break to listen to this story about just such an almost-missed opportunity, and then take a break to walk in nature and see what she's up to. What you find is likely to delight and surprise you. And, who can't use a little delight and surprise these days?

Have we gotten to the point where our lives are for sale? 

It feels like time is running out to do what we came here to do. How are you spending your days these days?

When you sell your house, it's a lot of change all at once.

I've been finding hidden messages at the back of the sock drawer, flipping through memories from childhood, teen times, and adulthood. Memory after memory flashes from every corner, from every found item.

Some of our memories are like life preservers, they hold us up when we're in deep water. But other memories speak to all that went wrong. And those memories are an anchor that drags us down to the bottom and holds us there until we run out of either courage or breath.

Our memories are our stories. And our stories remind us that each moment of our lives is a sacred place in time.

I like to think of myself as discriminating (in a good way) but not prejudiced. But in today's times, it's important to think about how we contribute to prejudicial attitudes about other people based on political opinion or childhood conditioning. 

This is the story of how I first met racism and the way that impacts my life today.

This isn't the first time America has had a housing crisis. A recent encounter with a homeless camp brought back a story about my great-grandmother. Twice widowed, she solved a problem for herself and for others. Maybe it's time to let stories from the hard times of the past inspire how we address problems today.

I think most of us worry about money more than we'd like to admit. No matter how much we have, it seems like it's never enough.

But have we entered a time like the one that made my Grandmom put her money in the mattress? 

Listen to her story, and mine. Maybe it's time to give that idea some new consideration.

With all the political huffing and puffing in advance of the 2024 election cycle, the big issues we face as Americans are, again, off the table. 

Affordable health care, homelessness, food insecurity, mass shootings and more. 

Social media is slicing and dicing us like a red tomato into little voting segments. We're being fear-mongered into seeing each other as dangerous. Is that the America you want? 

Let's come together and prevent a second Civil War.

This Memorial Day, let's take back our freedom. People died to keep you free. Honor that.

God has a strange way of putting us exactly where he wants us to be.