Salty Zebra

   Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy! This is how I used to do laundry: several loads washed and then piled up on a couch  or bed followed by one massive folding session Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3  Less is more. We hear it all the time, but do we believe it? I often don’t, or at least I don’t live in such a way that shows that I do. I think it’s kind of like my purses. It really doesn’t matter what size purse I carry; I will fill it. If it is a tiny clutch, I will fill it. If it is a mega satchel, I will fill it. So, I have to be careful what size purse I use or I’ll throw my shoulder out! Turns out I have a tendency to do this with my life as well. Whether I have a little ability o...

  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  Ecclesiastes 3:1  Our incredible, all-knowing, imaginative God created rhythms and seasons in the world. Trees require the fall to let go and the winter to rest so that in the spring they can have new growth for summer’s bounty. The moon circles the earth every month, it’s gravity pulling on us in different ways and causing changes in the ocean’s tides – but what many don’t know is that the gravitational pull of the moon actually stabilizes the earth’s rotation, keeping our seasons on track and our axis tilted properly. Even day and night are rhythms that our bodies require to live and function well – throw it off with something like jet lag and you’ll get a crash course on it’s importance. Nothing in this life lasts forever, except for our perfect and eternal God.  This week I enter a new season. Twenty-seven years ago we moved into this house and I was pregnant with our firs...

used with permission from Sara's Art Life Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23  Do you think much about your heart? You do if it aches, if someone breaks it, or if it is full. Both of my grandfathers suffered heart attacks and had heart surgeries, my paternal grandfather had several. Now, I know that the author was referring to our spiritual hearts in this passage, but I think there are correlations and I’d love to explore them with you here today.  Most of us don’t think about our physical hearts very often unless something goes wrong. When was the last time you thought about the heart beating constantly in your chest? When was the last time you told it to beat? And yet it continues, faithfully, minute after minute, hour after hour. But once something goes wrong, it jumps to the front of our minds. After you’ve had a heart attack and/or surgery, it’s hard not to think of it. In those times, we are really careful about guard...

Image is a collaboration of myself, Gemini and ChatGpt I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. Proverbs 8:17  It’s a cycle, a healthy one for once! The more we seek wisdom, the more we find wisdom, the more we want wisdom in our lives, so we seek it more and so on. The same is true with God, for “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” ( Proverbs 2:6 ) and “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” ( Job 28:28 ). All true wisdom comes from God. There is worldly wisdom as well, but it goes towards the intellectual, not the eternal. The wisdom that is represented in this verse, and the rest of the chapter, is one that calls out to us in the streets. She seeks after rulers and peasants, the intelligent and the foolish. Likewise, Jesus died for each and every one of us and His Holy Spirit cries out to our hearts with the ultimate wisdom, come to God and lay aside your sin and shame.   Wisdom s...

Image Credit Brett Wilkins Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12  I used to fear death. Especially when my kids were little, I would worry about what would happen to them if I were gone. I, vainly, thought that I knew best, could do best for them. My husband is wonderful and full of good qualities, but in that season of our lives I was the designated nurturer of the family, the one who kept the household running and the kids happy and healthy. In 2004, when we went in to do our taxes, our CPA asked us if when we finished he could share with us about what they had been up to in Liberia, West Africa? Of course we said yes, and that was when I was introduced to America’s Step Child 1 . That’s how the country was referred to because it was the only country in the world ever colonized by America (did you know that? Most people don’t. I sure didn’t!), but America now has little or nothing to do with it. After decades of civil war and unrest, gen...

Images generated by Gemini with direction from the author Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:3-4  This has been a heavy week. There has been so much on my heart and mind. I’ve shared much of it with you, but some things will forever be my quiet struggle. As an added challenge, I’m on my fourth migraine in the last week today. How do I keep track when I have so many memory issues? I’ve started putting Mickey Mouse stickers on my calendar for each migraine day 😂 ! You see, I’m a very visual person and when things are represented for my eyes it helps me so much to process and remember them. That’s part of what this post today is about, as you’ll see by the images. I spent a fair amount of time with ...