Salty Zebra

  Today I'd like to introduce you to Storm. Storm is a rescue who came from a traumatic situation in her puppyhood. Because of this, her brain is wired differently. She sees people, trucks driving by, even squirrels, as a deathly threat. She is terrified of the noises the wind makes and fireworks transform her into a quivering mass. Storm takes Prozac and CBD every day to help with this, but it doesn't feel like it makes a significant difference. We have to be really careful when people come over, even people she knows and loves, because her stress response is definitely fight. She'll bite first and then feel really, really bad later. On the flip side, she is the most affectionate animal I've ever had. Once she feels comfortable with someone she loves on them, cuddling in their lap, giving them kisses. But once that same person steps outside the front door, even people she lives with, she starts barking like we're under attack! This morning, as I'm writing this,...

  “Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”  John 1:14 As I looked at today's verse, I was stopped by the word, "glory". That's one of those church words that we use and never really think about the meaning of like "hallelujah," and "amen". I started by thinking about what I understood it as, then I looked it up in a few places, and finally I sat back, took it all in, and settled on an understanding. What do you think of when you read or hear the word, "glory"? For me, some of it had to do with a shining brilliance. I think artists had a similar concept as they often paint pictures of the nativity or other Biblical stories with halos around the characters' heads. As I continued on this thought path, however, I realized it had to be more than that. I grew up on a prison island, McNeil, and my mom used to say it was gre...

  “Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,”   Luke 2:13 Have you ever been watching a movie and the protagonist seems to be in an overwhelming situation, and then they come up with some incredible, almost impossible, way of solving the problem? Do you get excited? Are you incredulous? Imagine how the angels must have felt. They had been watching over the drama of human history from the beginning, but without the insight God had of how He would solve the sin problem. They celebrated with God at the creation , wondering over each new bush or bird or animal. They wept at the tragedy of the fall . They nodded along at the wisdom of the ten commandments , though they were astonished at the scene Moses brought them into initially. They rallied behind the Israelites when they fought Amalek and God had them winning as long as Moses’ hands were in the air. I’ve got to think a few of them were chuckling as the whale spit Jonah out . ...

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.”   2 Corinthians 8:9 When we hear the words “wealth” or “rich” or even “poverty” our minds, or at least my mind, goes immediately to financial wealth. I wonder if God laughs at that, kind of like we would chuckle at a child who is surprised in a game of peek-a-boo? True, our God is financially wealthy. After all, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills ! But realistically, this means very little to Him because He sees worldly, financial wealth for what it is, a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. It's a tool that He uses to teach us and guide us. In and of itself it has no importance, any more than the hammer on my husband's workbench. So, what kind of wealth is Paul referring to in this verse if not financial? I believe He's talking about what I would call "spiritual wealth." This would refer to the depth of o...

 I'm so excited to share that by God's grace and your generosity I've met my fundraising goal! If you'd still like to contribute, your donations are welcome and appreciated. I'll be keeping the fundraiser up till the end of the month. If you have been blessed by the content in my blog and would like to be a part of furthering my learning and experience to share with you all, you can learn more here , or if you'd just like to donate, click here .  I've had a few people ask me about how I find cruises so cheap, so I thought today I'd share that with you... To start with (almost) every day I get an email from Cruise Watch . I say almost because the system is persnickety and consistency isn't one of its redeeming qualities. What I DO love about it though are the deals it clues me into when they do come through. Here's a piece of the one I received yesterday: Each day I get ten "Recommended Cruise Deals" and ten "Lowest Ever Cruise Deal...

  “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”   Luke 1:54-55 Abraham was given a promise , but told he would not live to see the fullness of the promise fulfilled. Mary, on the other hand, got to witness the fullness of God’s answer to both her promise and Abraham’s. But remember, Mary’s experience was bitter sweet. Yes, she was blessed to give birth to and raise the Savior, but she also had to watch as He was crucified, as He was brutally tortured and there was nothing she could do about it. I cannot imagine the horror of that day. But then, as John’s adopted mother, she got to witness the promise fulfilled even further as word began to spread to every nation of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection on our behalf. Promises fulfilled are beautiful, but not always clean and simple. Salvation came at a cost. Abraham was worried about who would inherit his estate when he died. I do...

  “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.”   Luke 1:52-53 The American Dream was originally proposed by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America , written in 1931, as, “not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” Essentially, it is getting away from the old hierarchical structure where you were born into your status and there was no other way to attain it. But the root of this “dream” is a pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make it happen mentality. It attributes a person’s situation in life to how hard they have, or haven’t, tried. One of the first key problems...