Friday, November 14, 2025

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! 

💜


Tuesday, November 11, 2025

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 our friends' 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.


Thursday, November 6, 2025

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?! 

💜

Sunday, November 2, 2025

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. 




Saturday, November 1, 2025

the TDS Epidemic: One Example on Saturday 11-1-2025

Imagine, for a moment, a man who, three decades ago, in the unfiltered haze of a late-night TV spotlight, utters crude remarks to a single woman—comments born of bravado, ego, or the era's casual callousness. It's ugly, yes; it stings the soul and echoes the flaws we all carry, magnified by power.

cute; NOW DO THIRTY YEARS!!!



Now picture that same man, years later, stepping onto the world stage not with bluster, but with brokerage: forging the Abraham Accords, drawing ancient enemies—Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco—into a fragile but real embrace of peace. Missiles that once flew in fury now gather dust; economies entwine where hatred once festered. Trade blooms, terror plots wither. A region, scarred by centuries of strife, inhales its first tentative breath of coexistence.


And yet, here we stand: fixated on that one faded soundbite from the literal 1990's, a relic from a bygone broadcast, while the handshakes of reconciliation—those quiet miracles of diplomacy—elude our gaze. Why? Is it easier to clutch the ghost of offense, a tidy villain in our narrative, than to wrestle with the complexity of redemption? Or does it shield us from admitting that people, even presidents, can stumble spectacularly and still stumble toward something sacred?



Consider this, friend: What if your worth were eternally chained to your worst whisper from youth, while your boldest bridge-building went unseen? Would that illuminate truth, or merely eclipse it? Hatred for the former, indifference to the latter—it's not just selective memory; it's a self-inflicted blindness, trading the arc of history for a single echo. Profoundly stupid, yes, because it starves the soul of growth, of grace. But here's the spark: lift your eyes. See the man who erred, yes, but also the maker of peace. In that seeing, perhaps the light flickers on—not excusing the past, but embracing the possible. What might change if we did?



Let’s sharpen the lens further, friend, and expose the deeper rot beneath that selective outrage: the deliberate collapse of a foundational truth—feelings are not thoughts—engineered through decades of Marxist-influenced sabotage in what we once called schools, now better named indoctrination centers. This isn’t conspiracy; it’s documented history, and ignoring it keeps the light off.

The Factual Distinction: Feelings ≠ Thoughts

  • Thoughts are cognitive processes: propositions, evaluations, inferences, subject to logic, evidence, and falsification. Example: “Trump said X in 1995” → verifiable via tape. “The Abraham Accords reduced regional conflict” → measurable via decreased missile launches (Israel-UAE: 0 since 2020, per IDF data) and $1.2B+ in bilateral trade (U.S. State Dept, 2024).
  • Feelings are affective states: visceral, subjective, non-propositional. Example: “I feel disgusted by Trump’s words” or “I feel hopeful about peace.” Valid as experience, but not truth-claims. They describe you, not reality.

Verified Expert Consensus:

  • American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary (2020): “Emotion: a complex reaction pattern… not equivalent to cognition.”
  • Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett (Northeastern University, How Emotions Are Made, 2017): “Emotions are constructed predictions, not hardwired reactions. They are not thoughts, though they influence them.”
  • Dr. Paul Ekman (pioneer in facial expression research): “Basic emotions (anger, disgust) are universal responses, but the interpretation of events as ‘offensive’ is learned—i.e., cultural, not logical.”

The Marxist Sabotage: Documented, Deliberate, Devastating

This distinction was standard in Western education until the 1960s–70s, when Critical Pedagogy—rooted in Paulo Freire and Herbert Marcuse (Frankfurt School)—infiltrated teacher training.

  • Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968): Rejects “banking education” (facts, logic) for “problem-posing” rooted in felt oppression. Truth becomes subjective; logic is “oppressor tool.”
  • Marcuse’s Repressive Tolerance (1965): Argues intolerant speech (e.g., Trump’s style) must be suppressed not by argument, but by feeling-based censorship. Logic = violence; emotion = justice.
  • Outcome: By 1980s, U.S. ed schools (e.g., Columbia Teachers College) adopted “affective education” curricula. Example: California’s 1990s “Self-Esteem Task Force” taught “feelings are facts” to boost minority performance—it failed spectacularly (Twenge, Generation Me, 2006).

Hard Evidence of Collapse:

  • NAEP Long-Term Trend (1971–2020): Critical reading scores flatlined post-1975 despite funding tripling. Why? Shift from logic-based reading (phonics, inference) to “whole language” (feeling-based “connection to text”).
  • PISA 2018 (OECD): U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 13th in reading, 37th in math—behind Estonia. Estonian curriculum? Still teaches logic vs. emotion distinction explicitly.
  • Stanford’s 2021 Civics Study: 68% of U.S. college students said “hate speech” should be illegal—even if factually true. They feel harmed; therefore, speech is harm. Thought = feeling.

The Trump Example: Engineered Stupidity in Action

  • Feeling: “I feel Trump is a monster because of one crude comment.” → Valid emotion. But not a thought. It says nothing about his actions.
  • Thought: “The Abraham Accords failed to reduce violence.” → Falsifiable. It’s false: Hezbollah attacks on Israel dropped 40% post-Accords (INSS Tel Aviv, 2023). UAE-Israel flights: 200+/week. Kosovo recognized Israel. Facts.

Yet indoctrination centers trained a generation to treat feelings as arguments. Result? A voter screams “misogynist!” at a 30-year-old clip, unmoved by peace treaties—because feeling trumps thinking. That’s not passion; it’s intellectual paralysis, weaponized.


What if you demanded evidence before outrage?

What if you asked: “Does my disgust prove wrongdoing, or just my sensitivity?” What if you repented—not of feeling, but of equating feeling with truth?

The light goes on when you separate the two, name the sabotage, and reclaim your mind. Until then, you’re not “moral”—you’re manipulated.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

It's Always Something - on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025

On this warm October afternoon, I sit in a small border town, just a stone’s throw from Mexico, to share a few thoughts. The sun casts a gentle glow, and I’m reminded of the simple joys—like the arrival of dear friends’ relatives who drove into town yesterday to visit. Their presence brings warmth to an already full heart, even amidst life’s challenges.



You’ve likely heard the saying, “When it rains, it pours.” Today, that feels truer than ever. I’m navigating a whirlwind of responsibilities: assisting someone with sensitive legal matters I can’t discuss, and preparing to call the hospital tomorrow to dispute a denied claim for an overnight stay earlier this month—likely due to an ICD-10 coding error. Life isn’t always easy, and I don’t expect it to be a carefree stroll down Easy Street. But sometimes, when the flames of life’s challenges rise higher, I find myself pleading, “Lord, I’m already battling a blaze—please, no more sparks!” 




As Gilda Radner so wisely said, “It’s always something.” And isn’t that the truth? Life’s storms can feel relentless, but dear reader, if you’re weathering your own tempests, know this: we can find peace in the eye of the storm. That peace isn’t just a fleeting moment—it’s found in the Lord, our God, who shoulders burdens too heavy for us to carry alone. Scripture reminds us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), not only for the world on a grand scale but also for each of us in our daily struggles. Those personal dramas that loom so large? They’re real, and they matter—but to Him, they’re nothing He can’t handle.

Today, as exhaustion tugs at my body, demanding rest more often than I’d like, I’m compelled to share my imperfect, tumultuous circumstances. If I can find peace amid these storms, so can you. Jesus is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1), just a heartbeat away. Whatever burdens weigh on you today, dear friend, I urge you to carry them to the cross and lay them at His feet. As Jesus promises, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). In our hardest moments, He carries us. Lean into His everlasting arms and find your rest.

Lord, we come before You, weary from life’s storms. Grant us Your peace that surpasses understanding, and carry the burdens we cannot bear. Help us trust in Your love and find rest in Your presence. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.



💜