I wasn’t born in El Paso, but I soon learned to love the desert.  In the summer the cactus would become a home to bees and hummingbirds that found the sweet nectar in the cactus flowers.  I could see the ripened red fruit and many brave souls would make delicious jam.  All I got was lots of stickers!

I find that life has seasons as well.  Not the four seasons but times in life when nothing seems to be in our favor. It might be spring outside, but our life feels like its winter.  It’s dark and cold in the heart.  Nothing of spring or summer appears.  We get a discouraging phone call from a friend; a bad report from the Dr; our plans for a vacation fell though; a sick family member.

We no sooner get through one crisis or trial and another one comes to us.  Perhaps we are just holding our breath always waiting for the next bomb to drop or waiting to figure out what’s next in our life.

In the book of James, he has this to say: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. “   We ask God, why must I go through this?

 But James wrote that in our trials our faith will grow!   It ok to ask God, “What do You want to teach me through this?  What do You want me to do next? or how can I show my discipleship in this situation?”  No matter when our spiritual winter season comes or how long it lasts, we can be assured that it’s not, as Mr. Tumnus said in The Chronicles of Narnia, “Always winter, never spring.” 

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah ). Even when we don’t know precisely what God is doing, even when we can’t see the seeds beneath the soil, we know they will bloom. Our season of helplessness will not last. Our faith will furnish us with joy and hope.

Hebrews reassures us, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”

Here’s the thing: every season is essential for life and growth. That’s true of the physical and the spiritual. We need winter every bit as much as summer. Winter will come, but so will seasons of planting, growth, abundance, and harvest.  God truly does all things well. In every season of our life.   As wise Solomon said.  “There is a time for everything, and a season for everything under the heavens”.     May our hearts hold on to hope that the harsh winter season will pass.  The summer of faith has come.

                                                                                The Season of Hope!

For most people, the sight of blood evokes an unpleasant response, both emotional and physiological.  Blood is often associated with the beginning and end of life.  We shy away from anything to do with blood. 

To the ancient Jews, blood played a significant role in their lives.  Blood was the essence of a living being.  This conviction underlies two foundational prohibitions that apply not only to Jews but to all of humanity; the ban on consuming blood and the ban on murder.
 
Because blood represents the life-force, consuming it is akin to symbolically consuming a creature’s life- force. Which is disrespectful and inhuman.

In the 15^th chapter of Acts, the Jerusalem council strictly prohibited the consuming of blood, which was done at the pagan temple. 

Blood is never neutral.  It delineates boundaries, between life and death, purity and impurity, humans and God.  It can both pollute and can purify.

In temple worship, the blood of an innocent animal could be used as a sign of repentance, an act of forgiveness or even for blessings received. 

Blood can signal harm, and it can bring protection, as in the Exodus story. The blood above the door saved those within.

  These seemingly contradictory qualities arise because blood is imagined as the container of life itself.  Anything that contains, releases, transfers, or threatens life holds immense religious weight. 

Jesus’ blood on the cross, takes on greater significance when we understand the true meaning of what His blood now means to us.

Blood becomes a type of covenant.  A covenant that is extended to those who have accepted His blood sacrifice as a substitute for our sins. 

Blood, therefore, is not merely biological, but theological. It stands at the meeting point of body and soul, human and divine.

                                                            Now you know about blood!

                                       
I was raised on a farm and my dad kept chickens.  We had one old rooster.  He was beautiful with this large comb and colorful body.  He also rules the roost!    When did he sleep? 

Every day, our prayers begin thanking God for our basic needs.  He has kept us safe through the night; He has provided our first cup of coffee and the beauty of a new day. However, there is one prayer that gave me  a smile that I will share with you.

This Jewish prayer I found so interesting I wanted to pass it on.  Perhaps we never think to thank God for the rooster but in this prayer, the petitioner thanks God “for giving the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night.”

 While it is an amazing phenomenon that roosters crow at the beginning of each day, it does not seem to be a basic need. Secondly, telling the difference between light and dark is not so difficult. Why does it require special understanding to distinguish between day and night?

My Dad shared with me a great thought. Although a rooster crows at the beginning of each day it actually happens some time before it gets light. When he senses that dawn will break soon, and light is on the way to substitute the darkness, he emits the crowing noise that becomes like an ancient alarm clock.

In every day there are periods of light—clarity, blessing, peace of mind and prosperity. But there are also sometimes patches of darkness—challenge, confusion and difficulty. It takes special strength not to be caught up in the moments of challenge.

 A wise person learns from the rooster. He/she knows that the darkness is only temporary and light is on the way. The rooster is symbolic of an attitude filled with optimism, hope and belief. The rooster teaches us to envisage and celebrate blessings even before they come.

Thanks to Him for the wisdom of the rooster. It is the rooster’s lesson that will carry us through every part of the day.

      Teach us to look beyond the darkness and see the light that awaits us.
 

                                                The Rooster knows!

Death is a certainty. We will lose loved ones, and we will die ourselves. I found this quote from Shakespear. .” It is the “undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns.” I remember my Shakespeare class from college.  At the time that quote didn’t mean as much to me as it does now that I’m older.

The greatest stories of the ages center on death—how people face it, or how they respond to loss. The fear of death is common—Most people report fearing death.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,” Jesus said in Matthew.
He is saying that even though we will try to save ourselves, it is impossible.  It’s only when we are willing to save others, can we also save ourselves.

The early disciples also knew this and they had a mission.  To teach others that there is something beyond the grave.  The Master himself had risen.  He was preparing for His disciples, not to fear death but to believe that their mission was not only to teach others that He was the promised Messiah but that their life held great meaning.  They were to be disciple makers.  That all who believed in Him were also given a special place in the afterlife. 

To us moderns, this emphasis on death may seem strange. But the ancients understood that confronting mortality is essential to living a full life.

Modern life, by contrast, makes it easy to forget. Our prosperity creates longer lifespans, advanced medicine, abundant food, and material comfort has distanced us from the immediacy of death. These are real achievements to be celebrated, yet they also make it easier to hide from the reality of death.
 Acknowledging mortality doesn’t just liberate us, it shapes our values.

Being Believers gives us freedom to be what our Lord expects of us.  We will all be judged but only as” sheep among the goats.”  ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:45)
By His grace we are saved. We can approach life with the certainty that we are safe in our Father’s love.

 By recognizing death’s inevitability and learning not to fear it, we will live fuller lives.
                                         Death where is thy sting?

I enjoy poetry   So much is said in amazing ways. Robert Frost is one of my favorites.

In Robert Frost’s poem “Tuft of Flowers,” he paints a rural scene of a man setting out to complete farm duties. Another man, a co-laborer, had mowed the grass earlier in the day, but when the speaker in the poem surveys the work, he sees a butterfly drifting nearby and wonders why it is looking for flowers among freshly cut grass. That is when he notices it–tufts of flowers that were left untouched by the scythe. As Frost wrote: “I left my place to know them by their name / Finding them a butterfly weed when I came. / The mower in the dew had loved them thus, / By leaving them to flourish, not for us, / Nor yet to draw one thought of ours to him. But from sheer morning gladness at the brim” (Selected Poems of Robert Frost, Fall River Press, 2017, p. 33).  

In this patch of flowers is an unexpected beauty; milkweed plants that made the other man pause in his morning duties to admire their glory.  Even the lowly weed reminds of God’s creative power. The mower had left them to be admired even among the flowers.

Many of Frost’s poems capture this sense of hidden beauty among the wild growth of nature. Wildflowers grow unnoticed until seen by a surprised onlooker.

Jesus’ parable likewise draws upon the beauty of wildflowers. He turns the audience’s attention to the lilies of the field and how they grow without any additional striving. God, in His kindness and wisdom, has adorned the grasses of the field in this way, providing lovely clothing to nature. His words echo what He said earlier about the birds of the air, who do not store up food for the future yet are still fed.” (Matthew 6: 26,27)

Our Lord used these examples to remind us of practical spiritual truths. God clothes the fields and feeds the birds, so why do we worry incessantly about these parts of life? Our anxiety could be eased if we paused to notice the wonders around us, especially those hidden beauties of daily life that teach us valuable lessons about the Lord’s caring provision. Around us is a world of reminders of God’s love; yet, too often, we turn a blind eye to their testimony.

What might happen if we started to pause and consider the hidden wonders around us. Does this mean we will never worry about our life? Paying our bills? Keeping up with our body’s needs? No!

But we will be more focused on Jesus’s advice to notice the everyday beauties around us.  To be more aware of the many blessings He has already given to us.

All because of the testimony of a growing flower, chirping bird, or a rainy day.
                                                Our Hidden Blessings

                                                    Why the Number Eight?

            I found this article interesting and I’m passing it on to you. 

We are used to thinking in terms of completion. Seven days make a week; the seventh day, in the biblical account, is the day of rest. It is the point at which the work is done, the structure complete, the pattern fulfilled. Number Seven  has long stood as a symbol of wholeness and perfection. But what comes after perfection? This is where the number eight quietly enters the stage—and changes everything.

If seven represents completion, then eight represents something far more mysterious: the moment when completion is not the end, but the beginning of something new. It is, so to speak, the first step beyond the finished circle. Where seven closes, eight opens.

What Traditions Reveal About 8

This idea runs deeply through both myth and scripture. In Christian tradition, Christ rises on the first day of the week, which the early Believers also came to understand symbolically as the “eighth day”—the day beyond the ordinary cycle of time, marking new creation. It is not simply a continuation of the week, but a transformation of it. The resurrection is not a repetition; it is a renewal. Something entirely new has entered the world: a new creation, as it were.

We find a similar pattern in the story of the Flood. Noah and his family—eight souls in total—emerge from the ark into a cleansed creation. The old world has passed away; what stands before them is not merely a repaired version of what was, but the possibility of a different future. Once again, eight marks the crossing point between ending and beginning.

A Number for Today

We live in an age obsessed with completion—targets met, systems built, processes optimized. We measure success by what has been finished, achieved, or closed. And yet, as many are beginning to sense, completion alone is not enough. A life can be perfectly “complete” by external standards and yet feel curiously empty. What is missing is the eighth step: the movement beyond completion into renewal.

This might take many forms. It might be the decision to change direction after a career has reached its peak. It might be the recognition that a long-held belief, though once useful, now needs to be relinquished. It might even be the willingness to begin again after failure—not as a return to the past, but as an entry into something new.

In each case, the pattern is the same. There is first a kind of completion—a bringing of something to its natural end. But if we stop there, we stagnate. Only by stepping into the “eighth day” do we find renewal.

The great stories remind us of this truth because we are prone to forget it. We cling to what we have built, mistaking it for the final goal. But the deeper pattern of reality is more dynamic. Completion is not the destination; it is the threshold. Somewhere where different and unfamiliar rules apply and where, perhaps, the prophetic words of Buzz Lightyear might resonate: “To infinity and beyond!”

The number eight, quietly and persistently, points us beyond that threshold. It tells us that the end is not the end—that there is always the possibility of beginning again. And, perhaps, that is why it remains, across cultures and centuries, a symbol not just of order restored, but of hope renewed.

 I don’t know about you, but I want to be comfortable.   When I have an ache or pain, I see the Dr.  I’m thankful that he can prescribe the needed thing that makes me feel better.

 Instead of using my discomfort as a foundation to build strength, I have made comfort my goal. Perhaps that is where I have gone wrong.

However, not all discomfort is equal. There is the kind of discomfort that erodes us—disconnection, poor health, distraction, the quiet anxiety that comes from a life without purpose. Many people today are not free from discomfort; they are simply stuck in a kind of low-grade misery.

But there is also another type of discomfort: the kind that builds something within us.  Sticking with something long after it stops being easy, developing a skill, growing in faith. It’s ok to question why God allows this discomfort in our life.  God never promises us comfort. 

Being challenged is not harmful. It is how we grow. If we lose the ability to sit with discomfort, whether physical, intellectual, or emotional—we lose the ability to develop depth, conviction, and resilience. View your own life.

Our own discomfort will make us more sympathetic to the needs of others.  We all have our own anxieties. 

We now live in a world where technology can produce almost anything instantly. You can generate writing, design products, and create entire systems in minutes. But when everything becomes immediate, we risk losing the patience required to build something real…… to stay committed to something long enough to see it through.

Comfort was never meant to be the end goal. It was meant to be the starting point for something greater.

We can use our discomfort to build strength. This path leads to resilience, purpose, and growth.  We have a choice.   That choice is being made by us every day, whether we realize it or not.
                           

  Let’s use our (dis)comfort for something greater.

During the easy days, we often drift along with the current.  Life is busy.  We go to work, we keep a tidy house, mow lawns, and greet our friends. 
Life may feel smooth and comfortable and we may quietly assume that the calm will last.  We are wrapped up in the routine of work, entertainment and the accumulation of things. 

 Then the storm comes, everything changes.  It interrupts our momentum, forcing us to stop and face what we might otherwise avoid or ignore.  It strips away the ego and life’s distractions, exposing the subtle truths about ourselves that everyday life often hides.  No one escapes.  You nor I nor the movie star, the governor, the President!

Sometimes the storm comes one at a time; other times they converge, crashing down all at once, leaving us gasping for air in the deluge.  What we once took for granted suddenly becomes uncertain or disappears; the familiar no longer reassures us.  In these moments, we may feel lost, shaken to our core, unsure of what to do next or what lies ahead.

Storms reveal the impermanence we live within.  What once felt stable…… our routines, our assumptions, our sense of security, can shift in an instant.  Within this impermanence lies the opportunity, the chance to see what truly matters and to loosen our grip on what is temporary.

 The storms strengthen our resilience, courage, and adaptability.  Storms push us out of our comfort zones, forcing us to adjust, endure, and find new footing when the ground beneath us gives way. 

Storms are not God given but they are allowed. He uses these storms for our benefit. The storms teach us how to really live and who we are!

Yes, hiding within the storm is an unexpected gift. The storm slows us, stills us, and invites us to look at our true selves. In this way the storm becomes our teacher.

The storm teaches humility, the recognition of our limits and understanding that our true strength lies in responding with patience, honesty and grace.   Storms deepen our gratitude.
 After enduring hardship, periods of calm are no longer taken for granted.  We become more aware of peace when it returns and more appreciative of what truly matters; family, friends,  acts of kindness, and the everyday beauty of what at once seemed ordinary.

So, the next time the storm comes, let it slow you down. Let it humble you. Let it create the space for you to reflect and see things anew. God might be guiding you toward a wiser, truer version of yourself.

Remember, that while calm waters may allow one to drift, it is the storm that teaches one how to stand!

                                                                                                                Storms strengthen us!

Cell phones, Emails, Video Conferencing.  The World Wide Web. A couple of decades ago who could have imagined the world that we take for granted today.
Now with AI it becomes even more confusing.  With such instantaneous access to information and communication, we can do lot of things all at once.  This is supposed to give us more satisfaction and fulfillment as well as more time to enjoy life.                                                                       

    Right?

These technological miracles have made possible what was never even imaginable before.  But, at the same time, they have created an intense pressure to have more, do more and be more. We try harder, run faster and work longer.   We hope to win the race of being what God wants of us.  We believe we must try to study more; preach more; do more. Then I can be accepted. 

When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, it wasn’t just to satisfy her need for food, for enjoyment or even companionship.  She had all of that.  But she wanted something more. 
Does that sound like us?  We have it all.  Yet we feel there is still something we lack or that we imagine we need. Our lives would be complete if only________!

We believe that because we can accomplish something, we must push ourselves to perfection.  If something in my life isn’t perfect, He will not love me.   That is there some standard out there, and if you and I don’t meet it we’ve failed.  So, first we must accomplish something to be successful, and then we can relax, kick back, and start to be what God wants of us.

Is that what you believe?  That you must be and do all the good things that you read in Scripture.  Do you feel guilty because of what you aren’t doing or feel you should be doing?  Of course, we are chosen vessels to be used by Him.  To make this world a better place.  However, when we run the race of perfection, we will lose every time.

I suggest that you and I find within ourselves the talents that God has given us.  Don’t try to be the perfect disciple; the perfect wife; the perfect husband.  However, use the abilities that you are given.  Nurture those gifts and use them in the service to others, Use those gifts in your home, family and your friends.                                            

                                      That’s the race you can win!!

Anxiety is everywhere.   Are we overburdened or under powered? Perhaps a little of both.

Just watching the latest news is reason for anxiety.  People rioting in the streets; shots being fired; people ramming their cars into pedestrians! People being kidnapped.
Even though we might not be involved, we are fearful and anxious for our country and ourselves.  We lock our doors at night; we don’t take walks after dark; our credit cards were just hacked! Has the world gone mad?

Where can we get the power to cope? Worry and anxiety seem to be part of our life.  But does it help?  Perhaps the very thing we worry about didn’t happen!!  But in the meantime, you and I are miserable.                

Life is 10% what really happens and 90% of our reaction to it. 

There is a wonderful prayer which asks God for His help in choosing the best response to events and circumstance.  We know it as the Serenity Prayer. It’s worth repeating.
     “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
                          Courage to change the things I can,
                         And the wisdom to know the difference.”

There are three days in the week about which you and I can never worry.
One is yesterday.  Yesterday with all its problems was ours, now it’s Gods.
 The second day is tomorrow.  Tomorrow with all its possible blunders, dangers, and promises, is as far removed from us as yesterday.  Tomorrow is also God’s, because it is still in His keeping. There is one day left for us  in the week.  Today!
Today is what I make of it. Can you and I make this one day special by doing something worthy?  Can we make someone happy?  Can we help someone who needs us?

It might be just a phone call, writing an email, saying hello to a stranger, making small happy talk with a neighbor or just anyone. 

That’s what we can do today………. today is ours but also God’s.  He knows and He cares.  Now it’s up to us.

                                         This is our day

                                                   Today!