Salty Zebra

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 ...

  He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended. Psalm 62:6  This verse seems so simple, so straightforward, and yet it brings up questions, deep concerns in my mind, and then these lead to doubt and shame. Rather than letting things sit there, I’m going to wrestle through them with you. Maybe some of my musings will speak to you. Maybe, at the least, they will encourage you to not shove down doubts and concerns deep into your soul but bring them out to be examined. Our God is not so small that He cannot handle our questions!   My first thought was to the beginning of the verse where it says, “He alone is my protector and deliverer.” This sparked a wondering in my mind as to whether it was inappropriate to do things in our lives to protect ourselves – locking our doors or using a security system, subscribing to insurance to cover harmful situations (home, auto, travel, etc). I even acknowledged that I tend to think of my husband and my...

  From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. [Psa 61:2-3 NLT]  My husband is a hiker. He goes out into the mountains, usually into the back country where there are few trails and fewer people, and he explores. He loves finding new vistas, beautiful places to camp, quiet coves where he can sit and think. In the hiking world, there’s a concept called a “false summit.” As you’re going along on the trail, you can see the top ahead of you. You keep climbing and climbing, your legs getting weary and the weight of your pack seeming to multiply with each mile, but you can see the end and you’re almost there! But then, just as you approach the goal, you find that it was not, indeed, the top. It was merely an outcropping in the path and you’ve still got quite a ways to go. You’ve been pacing yourself for this summit, and now you don’t kn...

  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18  I am so grateful for the truth shared in this scripture and the rest of the suggested reading today. I highly encourage you to read along through Psalm 34:4-10 and 17-18 . I sought the LORD's help and he answered me   How wonderful that we have the Father’s ear, that He deigns to listen to us. Scripture gives us so many examples of people doing this, even Jesus Himself, but I am especially touched this morning by the invitation to do it myself. Seek the LORD’s help and he will answer you. What a privilege! What a wonderful opportunity! He delivered me from all my fears Those who look to him for help are happy; their faces are not ashamed. This oppressed man cried out and the LORD heard; he saved him from all his troubles. The LORD's angel camps around the LORD's loyal followers and delivers them.   The passage doesn’t say that God fixed everything in the a...

Pilgrim's Progress by Douglas Ramsey  Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22  Have you ever read the story Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan? If you have, I wouldn’t be surprised as it is one of the most famous books ever published 1 . It was written while its author was in prison for 12 years because he was a minister operating outside of the state-sanctioned church and tells the story of a man who is tormented by his sins and seeks salvation. Guided by one of the many allegorical characters, Evangelist, he escapes the City of Destruction and faces perils like the Slough of Despond, the Village of Morality and the Enchanted Ground – which were patterned after real places in John Bunyan’s community 1 . In this story, Christian, the main character, carries a burden, a physical manifestation of his inner turmoil representing the weight of sin and guilt that he bore. This burden is with him over the course of ...

  Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105  There’s a lot of wisdom in God’s Word, I mean A LOT OF WISDOM. To start with, you have the books of wisdom in the Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. Then you have the wisdom from Jesus’ teachings and the parables He shared followed by Paul’s exposition on God’s love, grace and how to live our lives in this world. But really, none of it can be taken by itself, none of it was intended to communicate a single truth.   In the books of wisdom, you will find whole poems and insightful tidbits that lead to deeper understanding. I’ve heard it recommended to read a chapter of Proverbs every day of the month (there are 31 chapters), and this practice would certainly bathe you in an aspect of God’s wisdom, but, as I’ll discuss later, it is only one aspect. I think people can get caught up in the deep, profound sayings they read here. God is wise, that is very true, but Go...

  As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecclesiastes 11:5  I’m a researcher at heart. There is very little I take at face value. Trust, but verify. I want to know your sources. Did you just hear that on TikTok or is there an actual study to back that up? And when it comes to studies, are we talking a long-term study with thousands of participants, or a case study with one or two?   In 2024 I faced a quandary. According to the scans, my tumor had grown by more than 20%, perhaps as much as 50%. I was being referred to the brain tumor center for further treatment because it was in a location that, at that time, was deemed inoperable. At my first visit, I met with an ARNP who would oversee my care, a neuro oncologist that would discuss chemotherapy options (there weren’t any for my type of tumor), and a neuro radiologist that would discuss radiation treatmen...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV  Trust. What does it mean to you? I’m thinking about that this morning. One of the applications that came to mind is Google Maps. That may make you shake your head or chuckle, but stop and think about it for a minute. When you load up Google Maps, or Waze, or whatever navigation software you use, do you enter the address and then follow each step as they come, or do you zoom out and see the overall path they are taking you on? Many of us, like me, I think just plug in the address and start going. My husband takes the other approach and he wants to know what route the app is taking him on. Will he go up 167 or I-5? Are there a bunch of surface streets to navigate with unknown delays or is it more of a straight shot down grid-locked freeways, where he may be able to cut time by using the HOV lane? Does he trust Google m...

Image designed with the help of CoPilot In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9  We all face important decisions in life that we want to get right. That might look like research, or asking for advice from those who have walked the path before us, or devoting ourselves to prayer and seeking God’s will. My family has been in the midst of these a lot lately with my husband beginning a new job and my youngest purchasing his first house. When I was younger, both in life and faith, I used to agonize over these situations. I wanted to get it right. I wanted to obey God, but how was I to know what that looked like? Two or more options seemed equally good and honorable, there were pros and cons to everything, how do I know whether it’s God’s will to get a latte or a peppermint mocha? Just kidding, I rarely agonize over those choices these days (clearly the oat milk latte is the better choice). But when it comes to what job to take, wha...

  As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12  Last month I wrote a post that will likely never see the light of day. You see, someone did great harm to one of my close loved ones, and to me by extension, and I was writing about the impact it had on me, the collateral damage I had become. But, of course, that initial hurt was done to someone other than me, and it is not my story to tell. The thing is, within that, I still have a story. I still have an injury. The trauma is real, but it is not mine to share, so how do I deal with it?   I guess I defaulted to my old ways of dealing with it initially and just stuffed it down. That does no one any good. Our verse today shares the incomprehensible blessing of God’s forgiveness for us and reminds me that He has called me to forgive as well. Forgiveness is crucial in relationships because whenever two or more humans get together, someone will mess up. But what role does...

  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12  I am a fiber artist, I have been most of my life, but it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that I began spinning. My Mom got me started by handing me a drop spindle, a very similar concept to what was used back when this verse was written, one evening when I was over to visit. She walked me through the basics of its use and once I got going I couldn’t stop.  I used a drop spindle for months and then “graduated” to a spinning wheel when my husband bought me one for Christmas that year (with my Mom’s help of course).  When you spin, you are lengthening the wool fibers and twisting them into a (typically) fine thread. The fibers have microscopic barbs on them that tangle with one another, keeping the thread, or single, intact. But if you pull too strongly on this thread, accidentally or on purpose, it will usually fall apart. While the fibers are...

  A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1  Almost three years ago now, I was facing brain surgery. I had been diagnosed with a tumor blocking my 4 th ventricle and it needed to be removed right away. I read up on the type of tumor they thought I had (they were wrong), the location, the surgery. I tried to prepare without inducing too much fear, but one fear took shape in the back of my subconscious that survives today – the fear that my personality would be inextricably changed. I had heard horror stories from friends and family of their loved ones who, typically through traumatic brain injury, went from loving, kind, grace filled people to nasty, bitter abusive ones. I was terrified that would happen to me. At first, I thought I had been spared this outcome, but now I’m not so sure.   The first 25 years of our family, this verse was my job. In fact, when my health had brought me to a place where I literally couldn’t contribu...

  As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17  My son has been sharpening my knives for many years now. He meticulously slides the blades across the stone and gets the edges just right. But still, he reminds me frequently to “steel the blade” before I use it to cut. Chefs always do this on tv, and I’ll admit I have had thoughts that it was just done for drama – crisscrossing the knife and the steel back and forth, but there is real value in it! Using a honing steel does not sharpen your knife, it simply realigns the blade’s edge. You see, when you use a knife to cut, the thin edge bends microscopically, beyond what we can see with our eyes. But over time and use, these bends become more and more pronounced, making the knife dull. You might not realize it, but a dull knife is a dangerous one. It can slip or require more force to do it’s job, which can lead to injury. A sharp knife slides through food easily and is both a joy and a safety. But sharpen...