Almost 10 days ago, when I posted on social that I’d finished reading the whole Bible for the first time ever – which FYI had NEVER been on my pre-Jesus bucket list – I actually didn’t even ask myself the question, “Now what?” I didn’t have to. I already had my answer queued up. In my Bible app. (no affiliate link there or anything; it’s simply the app that I love to use for reading) But let’s back up first.... Read more
A film isn’t finished ’til it’s “in the can” – and even then, there’s the Director’s Cut. Writing is actually *re-writing*. And the choreographer always, always “improves” (read: completely changes) the dance steps between the first and second performance. And so goes the life of a creative. Of which I am. In all 3 of the above genres, in fact. So I know these situations to be absolute fact. I also know these situations are not bad parts of the... Read more
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:6-8 NIV bold mine) What was admirable last week Admirable.... Read more
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:6-8 (NIV) (bold mine) This year... Read more
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV) (bold mine) What do you think about when you try to think about pure things? As the daughter of a woman who loved – and was able to buy – very fine things, I tend to think about pure gold earrings (preferably in... Read more
When you happen to come across different word choices in different Bible translations, do you wonder, like I do, what’s the difference? And does that make you wonder, like it does for me, which word choice is “right”? Is there a choice that’s more “just”? Hmmm, is there a choice that’s “just right”? Let’s take the next step on our journey through Paul’s list of favorite things to think about to release anxiety – and think about these 2 very... Read more
If you’re like me, you’ve celebrated plenty of regular birthdays – the birthdays that acknowledge how old our physical bodies are, calendar year after calendar year. Sometimes it’s balloons and Barbie’s, cake and go-carts, dinner and dancing, or simply gifs on Facebook. And if you’re like me, you’ve also seen plenty of baptisms either in-person or across social. Whether it’s the gentle, Catholic-style water and oil on the forehead (like I grew up with) or a splashy full-immersion (like I’m... Read more
Within this series on Apostle Paul’s list of favorite things to think about instead of wallowing in your anxious thoughts, I’m including explorations of different words from a handful of different translations, when different English words are used. And here we are, with Paul’s Fave Thing #2, already giving us 2 different words to consider among 4 Bible translations: In the previous article, we looked at the word “noble” – used in the NIV and NKJV – and we saw... Read more
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV) So. The second “whatever” that Apostle Paul wants us to think about, in order to not be anxious about anything (remember from Phil 4:6, which I introduced in this article?), is something noble. Hmph. In the 21st century, when we no longer have... Read more
Have you ever read the Old Testament? I’m talking about the whole thing. Genesis 1:1 through Malachi 4:6. Yes, including all those lists of sons of sons of sons, plus all those amounts of sheep and bulls. I just read the Old Testament for the first time in my 58-year-long life. Curious about what that experience was like? Want to know my Number One Takeaway? Wondering how you might possibly do that, too? Well, buckle up. (It’s actually not that... Read more
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