So, What Now?

Throughout our lives, we constantly prepare for something: birth of our children, vacations, holidays, retirement... even illnesses and death. Although we have prepared down to the smallest detail, do you ever feel unprepared?  We make plans, and God laughs because we didn't include Him (Proverbs 19:21). I've known for 3 years that eventually I wouldn't be able to see well, if at all. I knew that I would need to learn braille. It was on my list, my timeline. When you're dealing with a rare disorder, there isn't  a scorecard, an instructional guide, that tells you the steps or order of events. But, I still had my timeline regardless.  Ha... Little did I know that my timeline would be blown to bits. Eventually is now. Sooner or later is now. Ready or not, here it comes. The destruction of the retina is causing residual effects to my vision. Basically, light causes my vision to start fading or fogging up. This has started over the last 2 weeks.  I'm night blind, an...

 One of the greatest honors someone has given me is to be their go to in a time of crisis or need. I'm not going to use gender specific words for the privacy of this individual, so I'll be using 'they, them, or 'their.' The person texted me and said please pray again because your prayers worked the last time. I immediately stopped what I was doing and prayed a specific prayer. In the middle of the night, I was awakened and felt the need to pray for my friend again. So....I did. A few days later, I reached out to check-in. I reminded them that I would always be available to talk or to rescue. Even if I'm not supposed to drive, I would do it anyway. I've never thought of myself as a prayer warrior. Those had always been the older women in my church, and several pastors' wives I had been privileged to know and spend time with. But, never me. I'm an adequate prayer individual, definitely not in the warrior category. However, to my friend, I am. As I'...

Over the past several weeks, between Bible study and church sermons, the messages have been about bearing fruit. Christians will be recognized by the fruit they bear. Everyone is recognized, known, seen by the fruit they bear, not just Christians. However, are you misidentified by the fruit others see in you? Would anyone identify you as a Christian by your fruit, or lack thereof? John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…”  Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Sometimes, individuals may believe that how they act affects no one but themselves. They think no one is watching. UNFORTUNATELY, that is only the case if you live in a cave and never go to town. How many times have toddlers or kindergartners gotten in trouble for the 4-letter words they sa...

 If you grew up in a rural community or close to a state park, you might have gone hiking in the woods. As a child, my family would go into the woods behind our house and pick out the cedar Christmas tree. We didn't worry about getting lost, because Dad led the way. He wouldn't have us wandering through the woods. As adults, we may go into the woods, but there are usually hiking trails to follow. No wandering about. No blazing our own trails. Follow the trail, get to the destination, turn around, and go back down. Even the Enduro motorcycle races have trails and signs pointing the way to go through the woods.  Unfortunately, life isn't always like that. We may find ourselves feeling lost, wandering through life, wondering what our next steps will be or where they will lead us. That is where I am now. I feel stuck in a forest, trees are surrounding me, and I can't find the path out. Briars are everywhere I turn, so I stand still to keep from getting caught and scratched ...

 As I sat in the chair at the retina specialist's office in July 2023, hearing news no one ever wants to hear (You are going to go blind), all I could think of was "So, What Now?" Later in the month, God led me to begin blogging about the experience, the pain, blessings, depression, praises, etc. So, I did (checkmark the box on God's plan). After 3 years of blogging, God led me to take the information and turn it into a book. So I did (checkmark step 2 of God's plan). The book can be found on Amazon. The Spanish version will be out in a week. So, What Next???? What am I supposed to be doing now???? Have you ever felt that way? You've been given a task. You've accomplished the task. Where do you go from there? As I'm working through that, I want to share what I've learned over the last few months. In my December elecrocute the eyeballs test, the news was not what I had hoped for. Damage is still happening, and the left eye is worsening quicker than ...

Where did the 525,600 minutes (minus 4 days) go in 2025? Was I productive? Did I make a difference? Did I show God's love and mercy to others?  Will 2026 be any different? The year of our Lord 2026 will be full of possibilities, challenges, blessings, and struggles. It all depends on your point of view.  If we only look at the negative in every situation, then that is all we will see. However, if we take every challenge as an opportunity to make a difference, then we will. If we let every problem, every challenge, every inconvenience anger us, we let the Evil One win. We give him control over our lives. Is that what you want for the next 365 days? With 8,760 hours starting January 1, how many times can you share God’s blessings with others or tell someone about Jesus Christ? To be able to make the next year better than the last, we often reflect on everything that has happened: the good, the bad, and the ugly. To be open and honest, the last few months have been challenging. ...