Seasons of Love...

Growing up, I frequently sang a solo in church called "Life is hard but God is good". It was a song my dad always favored me singing. The lyrics replay in my mind frequently...."Life is hard, the world is cold. You're barely young and then you're old. Every falling tear is always understood, life is hard but God is good."  There is a YouTube video being forwarded on Facebook that some people may or may not have watched. It features a lesbian who discusses "coming out of the closet" and how hard it was for her. But that was not the point of her discussion. She said all of us have our closets to come out of...all of us have our hard times. We do not  have the right to judge someone else's hard time. We are not able to say "my hard time is harder than theirs".  My family has had some very hard times over the last 10 years. Hard.  Brad and I have had our hard  times as newlyweds with financial difficulties, home improvements needs...

Out of all the creatures God created, why did God make the dog "man's best friend"?  Have you ever thought about it?  I know some people have a connection with their cats, fish, mouse (or other pet), but what is so special about the dog? As I'm watching "Little People, Big World", tears are literally streaming down my face.  Their dog, who they found out had aggressive cancer, passed away.  They found him asleep  in their back yard. This story really hits home.  I know many people can say their dog has been a blessing, a Godsend to them...but mine truly has been.  My dog, a little black and white spotted chihuahua, was found on the side of the road by two of my coworkers in South Carolina in 2007 during their lunch break.  They brought her back to the office...she was COVERED in fleas and sores.  I didn't care because I just knew she was mine.  I had just gotten out of a tough break up at the time and I really believe she was found j...

so many facebook posts and new stories lately have been breaking my heart... **the young teen, Devin, from Port Clinton, who has brain cancer and chemo isn't working **a friend of ours (and newlywed) from Indiana who just found out her NEW husband has leukemia **a friend of mine who's young son cut the tip of his finger off and could possibly lose it **a friend who's boyfriend got burned pretty badly while in another state **so many more sicknesses, deaths, and hardships that are affecting friends and family, and community members So often, to try and make the affected person feel better, we say "I'll pray for you"...or "You're in my thoughts".....I got to thinking...when you say those words, do you really mean it?  I've grown up in a Christian family and those words to me started to seem like a cookie cutter answer to people who tell you their problems.   Our family has been through trials I would not want any other family ...

There have been so many times where if something didn't happen at that exact moment, I would never have know something else was going on.  Example...my husband and I are doing some aesthetic work in the house, and he went down to the "scary" basement this morning to get the paint.  He came upon a couple inches of backed up sewer on the basement floor!!  Nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh "caca".  A few hours later, and it was all cleaned up...thanks to the hard work of Brad. Now, let me backtrack to yesterday.  I was reading my old emails, and came across one from my grandmother, who passed away in August.  These were her exact words, " I know things will work out for the best but I know right now those words seem not so good.... [Joyce Meyers] said while we are sitting around mourning about what has happened God is already planning the next step for you...  Better said   ..... He knows the future, the plans he has for you an...

I don't normally like to give too much of my opinions regarding political matters, but I'm really bothered by this issue....maybe more so nervous than bothered. I don't make much money per year.  I don't have the ability to pay every bill that I owe.  I go without things just to have money for gas. I use my Speedway Rewards points to eat some meals.  Now that the Government has passed the social security tax increase, therefore reducing my paycheck per month, really makes me nervous. I highly doubt I'm the only one in this situation, so, I forsee our consumer spending going down again, just like it did a few years ago.  Businesses could go under again, close, and our country could have another "bailout".....and put us more in debt. Maybe I don't know all the facts, maybe I'm looking at this ignorantly....I really do try to understand all the facts from both sides "of the aisle" and create my view, regardless of my political party.  Bu...