Morning Thoughts on November 18th, 2025

 

Good morning (et cetera, as applicable) dear Reader, and welcome. Every time we take a breath, it is a miracle - the miracle of Life itself, and waking up above ground is both a gift and a blessing. 

Listening to the feedback of others + the verse above from today's Proverb, the Lord reminds me that He's given us each two ears and one mouth, a clear indication that we are each supposed to listen twice as much as we speak. It's alarming that I can do so and be unaware of it (speaking over others, interrupting, not allowing others to finish when they speak) but, in community, we (are supposed to) rely on the honest feedback of others due to inherent blind-spots and the mysterious fact of there being no objectivity with regard to what we're able to perceive in ourselves; consider the following:

So, although I'm aware that I do have multiple weaknesses and flaws, many of them will remain a hidden mystery to me until and/or unless the mirror of another human being makes it possible for me to know and see by way of their feedback; we are invaluable one to another for this (among many other) reasons. 

Even today, no matter how hard I try to be honest with myself, that desire and intent still does not and simply cannot remove the inherent, hard-wired blindness that I have to many of my own weaknesses and/or failings. Therefore, I welcome legitimate feedback toward that end with the understanding that those who love me will care enough to tell me truth, even when that truth may be difficult to accept or otherwise unpalatable. 
I'd like to give an example of the opposite of that as well, with regard to the enemy's multiplication of kisses. It's my understanding that this refers to those who choose to surround themselves with 'yes' men (or women), as in the example of the late pop icon, Michael Jackson's, (then) personal physician. Many of you will remember: Michael Jackson hired a doctor who agreed to administer strong, dangerous general anesthesia that eventually took Jackson's life. The former doctor was stripped of his license to practice medicine and given some prison time, but those things will not bring Michael Jackson back. In short, he hired someone who literally 'yes'-ed him to death. 

Is it difficult to hear and receive the honest feedback of others? Often times, in fact (in my experience, at least) yes, it most certainly is, but I implore you, dear Reader, to please try and accept what you're hearing and consider if it does apply to you when others care enough to try and tell you (a thing).

Now, I'm not talking about allowing others to abuse you with childish, ad hominem attacks ("you should unalive yourself", "you should never be around babies",  "you are stupid", et cetera) but I'm talking about legitimate feedback, such as (in my case) "Hey, you interrupt when others are speaking and don't allow them to finish before you answer them" - that's not satanic, deliberate verbal cruelty designed to destroy my very soul, but quite the opposite - IF I choose to have the humility to hear and receive it.

Therefore, today, dear Reader, I pray that the eyes of your understanding be opened; that you have ears to hear and a heart humble enough to receive 'wounds from a friend' and be made better and stronger for it. 

💜

Sunday Rest on November 16th, 2025

Good morning, et cetera, dear Reader, and welcome to yet another day on this side of the grave. How very blessed and fortunate we are to just start out with that much, another day of the gift of Life! Please click HERE if you'd like to read today's Proverb. 

yeah, we need to head to the laundromat - and soon!

Well, unfortunately, it appears that someone stole one of my boxes (which, on my end, I'd foolishly left in the car, unlocked, over night, so I have no right to be angry or shocked). At any rate, the box had approximately a third of my perfume collection in it as well as ten years' worth of jewelry that I'd collected.

At first, yeah, I was angry and offended. But I soon had to own and accept my part in it (leaving it in an unlocked car overnight). So there's that. And now I'm at the place of "Thank You, Lord, for the time that I got to enjoy those things" and I'm grateful that I'm not so married to those material things that it's had more of a negative effect on me than that, and I attribute it to God's grace and nothing more. I'm no 'spiritual giant' or anything close, but have done my best to respond to the loss in the godliest way that I can. Let Him deal with the thief, that's between them (the thief and God) and is therefore not my problem or concern. And as I pondered the situation yesterday, He brought Job to my inner attention and I recall that although Job lost everything (all at once even!) that God replaced all that he'd lost two-fold and more, so I feel like that was the Lord telling me, "Don't worry, honey, I got you" which is more than enough for me. May He give you the grace that you need in any and all of your difficult situations, too, dear Reader (even those which, like this case of theft, you're actually responsible for - to a point - yourself). 

Sure, I could berate myself for being foolish/ unwise, but to do so would be unproductive, and I don't care to waste time and/or energy on such endeavors. Remember, no matter what you've done, there's healing for that, whatever it is. All we have to do is first be honest with ourselves about (a thing) so we can then be honest with God about it and just let Him take it from there. 

Simple? Yes. Easy? well... sometimes, but not always. 

So, dear Reader, I pray that you can glean something of value from this recent negative experience of mine and further pray that He will give you the grace to handle it in a way that pleases Him and brings you peace. 

💜

It's Friday! November 14th, 2025

Hello, dear Reader! Greetings and salutations on this beautiful day above ground which is meritorious of gratitude in and of itself. The weather is just stunning and is supposed to reach nearly 80F again today and here we are in mid-November. Desert life is awesome.

Please click HERE for today's Proverb if you like and here's a stand-out verse from it:

And this Tom MacDonald song is for you:

Well, I've finally listened both to my adult son, Trevor, who's had his Autism diagnosis since he was seven years old, as well as the other adults in my life and have set an appointment later this month for evaluation of possible ASD and will see professionals in Tucson toward that end. 😎

But it's all finally starting to make sense to me now and it's such a relief! I've always wondered "What is wrong with me?!" and, hopefully soon, I'll have some answers for that. Even having that ruled out is still definitive and will be helpful, if it happens to go that way instead of how I suspect (which would be confirmation of ASD in my case). According to AI, women diagnosed with Autism are pretty uncommon, like 0.51 % it said. 

Today I went ahead and bought a Pat McGrath lipstick that I've been considering for about three months now; the seller already gave me a tracking number for it, too! It's supposed to be here by November 20th and I'm pretty excited to receive it; it's the matte formula in the color called "Flesh 03" which is supposedly universally-flattering, but we'll see. 

Nothing else big going on today: we continue to move things from our old address to the new one; today I'd also like to see the bedding options available at our local Ross Dress for Less, and I have a couple of hours to get those three grants submitted and with that, goodbye, dear Reader and have a wonderful, blessed day! 

💜

Veterans Day and More on Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Greetings and salutations on this day above ground, dear Reader, and welcome to my obscure, free little sliver of cyberspace today. In the United States today, we celebrate Veteran's Day; thank you all, every one, for laying down your lives to serve and protect the rest of us, from a grateful, free and safe American whose heart is touched by your sacrifice. We honor you today and always. 💜

Now that we're settling in to our new home as the move continues, a recent topic has returned to my heart with regard to the homeless shelter that God is creating down here in this small border town. Note the scripture above; this is why I feel that, at some point, I need to appear homeless and go experience what it feels like to have to beg for money on the street, with a sign and the whole nine yards, because I need to be able to identify with what our clients will have experienced by the time they reach the safe haven of our walls (once we have them, that is). 

I mean, I have been homeless a few times (mental illness is pretty good for that) but haven't yet experienced what it's like to ask random passing strangers to help. My husband and other friends and family have all tried to keep me away from this, fearing the emotional and psychological pain that it will likely cause, but I'm not afraid at all. I mean, I don't want to be arrested (haha! but seriously) and yet, at the same time, how can I possibly identify with 'the least of these' until I've truly walked in their shoes?

So, at some point, I've simply got to do it, there's just no way around it as far as I can tell. May He create the perfect time and place and, may I also experience both the kind and loving as well as those who will ignore me, AND those who will speak to me cruelly; all of it counts, all of that has got to be what the homeless go through so, to be of the best possible service to them, it's got to be done, it just has to. 

In other news, I've got my desk and computer (office area) set up in our new home and can finally get back to work on grant writing, for our own 501(c)(3) organizations as well as those of our friends here locally. There are three specific grants that will benefit a local museum that I have until November 14th to submit and I will work on those today. 

Other than that, we were able to finally capture our cat and get him moved to the new home yesterday and it's already very clear that he's loving the new living space, too. 

That's about all I've got for now; please, thank a Veteran today and do anything and everything you can to bless that person and make their lives better. Be blessed now and always, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Moving On Part II - Thursday night, November 6th, 2025

 Hello (again?) dear Reader, and welcome! It's been a full day again; our friend and roommate *does* like the house as much as we do and we were able to get a few of his things moved over there today, in fact. So that's a wonderful update! 

And, it may be normal, every day to others, but to us, to me, this pretty little house may as well be Mar-A-Lago!
It's such a total upgrade from the last five solid years (for Terry and I, at least) that it feels like we can finally, really breathe now. (if you know, you know). 

I'm excited to share a few more pictures of it, too! Oh, and I was wrong about the bench in our shower - it's not stone, but a lovely, dark wood. I took these earlier today. 

💜

Moving On, on Thursday November 6th, 2025

 Good morning, et cetera, dear Reader; greetings and salutations! Welcome to this obscure American blog, a largely-unknown little blip of Free Speech and Thought in cyberspace. Click HERE if you'd like to read today's Proverb and, branching out from just reading from the one Book (out of 66!) HERE is a link to Ephesians 1 as well. 

Sometimes, I think things are funny due to the thread of truth they hold. Like the line that I just added to my perfume-website profile  page that says "Ladies, do you ever see a picture of yourself wearing makeup and think 'Gee, I wish that I really looked like that!" 😂
(I only say that because I do!) 

Check it out, you'll see what I mean by way of comparison here:

The really cool thing, though, is this (though it doesn't apply to me at all) but I had the thought, that, say, you're a famous actress; if you see to it that you're only published while wearing a full face, then you have the option of going out in public dressed-down/ makeup free and possibly being able to enjoy some peaceful anonymity that way. It's just a thought that I had.. 

Anyway!
Regarding the title of today's blog: starting today we are moving into a gorgeous stucco house that was built in 1915 but has also had numerous updates and renovations. Both bedrooms are master suites; ours has a brand-new massive shower stall with a lovely stone bench in it as well as an optional 'steam shower' feature; the home is a rental, for the next year at least.

We met the property owner yesterday, a kind, warm man who lives in the smaller house at the back of his property. When the realtor introduced us, he said his name and immediately said "nice to meet you! Please move into my house!" and we all laughed but were also like "yes sir!" and we did the paperwork, hurried up and paid yesterday, and already have one of the keys to the place.

Our dear friend and soon-to-be roommate hasn't even seen it yet! He was all like "Look, guys. You go look at it and if you like it, we'll take it" so that's what we did. He'll see it later today though and I feel as though he's going to love it like we already do. 💖 When we told him that we got it, he cried tears of joy and relief and I, too, cried multiple times in the realty office for the very same reasons (lots of gratitude for this blessing as well). 

Now, on the one hand: it's much costlier than where we've been living now for the better part of a year. At the same time, it's not a camper; it doesn't rain in multiple places through the house, either; it's in town proper rather than just outside/ on the outskirts; the street it's on is actually paved; there's water AND it's HOT pursuant to the statute, the whole 9 yards. And, once my income finally takes off as the result of persistent diligence coupled with God's Hand of blessing, should He see fit to do as much, then living there will be very comfortable and easy indeed.

It's no surprise to any of us at all that: the realtor is a Christian; the homeowner is a Christian - evidence of God's Hand being ALL over this, beyond any doubt or question.

Just think, dear Reader!
What beautiful things does the Lord have in store for you next?! 

💜

What do you really want? Sunday 11-2-2025

Greetings and salutations, dear Reader, and welcome to this unassuming sliver of cyberspace. It's still a bit before sunrise here on a chilly November morning. Click HERE to read today's Proverb if you like.

When someone approaches me with any topic, as an adult, I am under the assumption that the person who initiated the conversation actually wants to know what I think on the matter. I'm happy to present verifiable, provable facts toward that end - always. And, when I do not have the facts, I'm also very quick and happy to disclose that much as well. After all, none of us knows everything and owning our limitations is actually very freeing. 

I am sick and tired of grown adults who conflate "thinking" with "feeling" and there are many of them these days; our current education system is a sick, pathetic joke of what it was originally intended to be. People are not taught to think anymore, they're now rewarded for brainless histrionics, struggling their way through life wholly bereft of logic, critical thought, and reason, rewarded with various degrees once each professor has been convinced of their student's successful indoctrination.

No wonder the suicide rate is so damned high these days.

But I digress.
If you come and initiate a conversation about politics with me, I very reasonably expect that you are asking for my thoughts on the matter. Am I strange to make the educated guess of as much, or am I supposed to imagine that you're looking for something else?
If so, what exactly is that? You'll have to tell me, because I don't read minds! 

To initiate the conversation and then get upset because my thoughts are not a mere reflection of your own is sabotage, pure and simple. It's evil, cruel, wrong, and not adult in any way, shape, form, OR fashion. Look, here it is: you already KNOW that my beliefs are, in fact, independently MINE and NOT a mere reflection of yours. I thought DIVERSITY was important.
Apparently NOT diversity of THOUGHT. 

So, dear Reader, for the love of all that is right and decent about being a real adult, please do NOT initiate conversations about topics like politics, religion, and the like unless you have enough f***ing maturity to hear thoughts that (gasp!) do not necessarily mirror your own. 
And if you're too fragile and fearful to go there... THEN DON'T.