Salty Zebra

  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.   John 15:16   You did not choose me, but I chose you   I did not choose Jesus, Jesus chose me. Without Jesus, I was lost. I had no hope. There was nothing I could do about it. So often we encourage people to, “Make a decision for God,” but on their own they can never do that. It is only when Jesus chooses them that they feel the need and the clarity to make Him their Savior. I don’t claim to understand or seek to explain the intricacies of this. I trust that God, in His perfect wisdom and timing, has it all worked out. What I do know, and need to take away in remembrance from this verse, is that it’s all about Jesus. His will, His plan, His timing.   and appointed you   I have been put where I am in this world, in life, in health, in everything, on purpose, for a purpose. I am appointe...

  My middle son and his life-long best friend I no longer call you slaves because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.   John 15:15  I have a rocky and bizarre history with friendships. I remember my first best friend, Mia, when I was in kindergarten. She lived around the corner from me and we would play at each other’s homes all the time. In October of my first grade year, they moved me into third grade, so we didn’t see each other as much, and the next year we moved to McNeil Island in the Puget Sound so that pretty much ended our young friendship. Forty years later, I still remember her though!   As an adult, I learned that most friendships are seasonal ones. They have to do with a shared activity or group, like a church or homeschool co-op. I still follow many of the people that I had these types of friendships with on social media. I still pray ...

Image Credit: ChatGPT  Today we continue with Disability Pride Month  posts. A couple of weeks back, my super awesome cousin sent me a video on Instagram that made me choke up. It said some things I needed to hear, and maybe you do too, so I'm going to share them with you today. People who struggle with disability often tell themselves lies. I've found, as the speaker in this video did, that the best way to combat a lie is with the truth! Everything in quotes below is taken directly from the video and all credit for it goes to Moonlit_Kit .  #1 Lie: Maybe I'm just lazy Truth: "Lazy people don't struggle to do the things they enjoy."  I can't tell you how often this lie pops into my head. As I'm sitting, resting on the couch, reflecting on how little I've accomplished in this day, I hear it echo in the back of my mind. "Maybe I don't really need to rest like this, maybe I'm just lazy." Kit's truth really hit home for me. There...

  When you have food allergies or intolerances, traveling can be really tricky! That's one of the reasons I love cruising, but even then, you encounter strange lands, like * Miami*  where you have to forage for food outside of the main dining room. When you have Celiac Disease, or you're even just intolerant to gluten, getting exposed while on vacation can put a rather unpleasant spin on your experience. Enter Find Me Gluten Free . This fabulous, crowd-sourced site and app are a great place to start when trying to hunt down that elusive gluten free meal in a new town, or even the one you live in!   The app is a really handy tool to include on your phone and can be found in your product's app store for free. I, however, typically like to do my searching ahead of time on the computer, but unfortunately the web version no longer includes a map for free, so I use the app for that part. I like to start by searching for everything and then begin to narrow it down from...

  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.   Ephesians 2:10    Crafting is in my blood. I can say this because most of the hobbies I have embarked on have either been inspired by or accompanied by my mother, if not both. As long as I can remember, I’ve watched my mother with one hobby or another. She’s done everything there is to do with fiber pretty much, from taking a raw fleece through washing and picking and carding and dyeing to knitting or crocheting with it, or even doing felting and weaving. She’s done leatherwork and stained glass. She’s done the most intricate, incredible paper crafting. People often ask me if I take after her and I just shake my head. I could never live up to her levels of skill. But, from her, I’ve received my joy and interest in crafting.  I think that God and I approach our crafting differently, though. When I have a beautiful piece of fiber in my hands, all...

   What does loving like Jesus look like ? We can talk about the theory of it, the mentality, all day long, but true love requires action. So, if we are to put feet to our faith and act out what we know, how will others witness the love of Jesus poured out through our lives? Romans 12:9-13 gives us a roadmap to follow with our lives. Love must be without hypocrisy   First off, it must be genuine!   So often we are taught to, “Fake it till you make it,” but the world can see right through this. One of the world’s biggest criticisms of Christians is that they are hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another. This is not the witness we want to have for Jesus who would never do this! Love expressed through us must be sincere, or not expressed at all. You are not better off showing someone a fake love. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good   I looked up “abhor” to confirm my understanding, and where I thought it meant, “hate” it actually means, “extr...

  Dear friends, if God so loved us, then, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.   1 John 4:11-12  Some of my loved ones have struggled at work with managers that they do not get along with. This has ranged from a situation where the manager is not supportive enough to one where they are outright abusive. When they come to me, my first response is to listen to them and let them know they are heard and loved. I validate their feelings, because that is so important. I’ve learned that in my own life so many times! But, if they are interested in advice beyond a listening ear, which they aren’t always, then we have the talk about loving your enemies.   In Matthew 5:43-48 we read that while we should obviously love those who love us back, the true test of love is when we love our enemies. Not just love them, but pray for them. I’ve noticed both in my life and in th...

  How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.     When I was a schoolgirl, this was the picture of love for me. Then again, I was also enamored with Anne of Green Gables who is probably the world’s purest romantic. Here Elizabeth breaks out the ways her love is felt and expressed. It knows no bounds. It is felt in the immense ...

   Today is my 47th birthday! As it approached, I've had a lot of thoughts and feelings come up that I wanted to share here. Maybe some of these things come up for you near your birthday as well?  We have a lot of birthday traditions in my family. Many of these were created by loved ones who have since gone onto glory. In this picture I have a bow from a package on my forehead. My Grandpa McCoy used to always put his bows on the top of his head (there was no hair there so it was easier for him). Inside the cake in front of me, there is a penny. My Grandma McCoy used to stir a penny into the cake batter and then pour it in where no one would know. The person that got the slice of cake with the penny in it was supposed to have good luck! My Grandpa and Grandma are in heaven together with Jesus now and I miss them especially on days like this with so many memories. But I'm also grateful for those memories and the joy they brought into my life.  My Mom and I have birthda...

7:29am - Wake up and attempt to claw my way to consciousness, but failed 8:26am - 0.0/20 points Wake up and take my stability score. I check this each morning and it lets me know where my body is at and how I should pace my day. A 4/5 is pretty good! It is supposed to mean that I have been pacing well lately, and I have been. 8:35 - Actually get out of bed, Use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I used to brush my teeth after  breakfast in the morning, but since I've been wearing a retainer at night (the last seven years or so) I need to brush that and my teeth before I eat. 8:48 - 0.6/20 Fix coffee and breakfast then do my Bible study while I eat, or at least start it... 9:40 - 1.2/20 - Actually starting Bible study after being distracted 10:18 - 1.6/20 - Restarting my Bible study after being distracted (it's really hard to get things done with my husband around sometimes). Switched to the couch where I can sit with my back supported better now that I've finished eating. 11:...