I Just Celebrated My Teen Son’s Baptism Birthday – Like This

Last updated on: October 22, 2023 at 9:19 pm By Coco Cabrel

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

Whatever is Honorable

Last updated on: October 14, 2023 at 4:30 pm By Coco Cabrel

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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

Whatever is Noble…Like a Noble Gas?

Last updated on: October 8, 2023 at 3:46 pm By Coco Cabrel

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“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

I Just Read the Old Testament: Here’s My No. 1 Takeaway

Last updated on: October 1, 2023 at 8:56 pm By Coco Cabrel

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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

Whatever is True: Paul’s First Favorite Thing to Think About

Last updated on: September 25, 2023 at 4:37 pm By Coco Cabrel

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In Chapter 4 of Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he gives us basically an anti-anxiety list of things to think about. I’ll say up front that this is not medical advice, and if you need medical advice and care, please do see your healthcare professional. Yet, here’s what Paul places at the top of his Top 8 Favorite Things to Not Be Anxious: “And finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true… think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV) (ellipses... Read more

A Few of Paul’s Favorite Things – To Release Anxiety

Last updated on: September 17, 2023 at 6:36 pm By Coco Cabrel

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Remember that scene from “The Sound of Music,” when the children gather in Maria’s bedroom because they’re afraid of the thunderstorm outside? And she sings, “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens… these are a few of my favorite things”? Maria sings about a whole list of pleasant things for the children to think about “when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when [they’re] feeling sad.” Apostle Paul gives us a similar list of things for us to think... Read more

The Full Armor of God – It’s Not Just Phone Case Fantasy

Last updated on: September 10, 2023 at 6:40 pm By Coco Cabrel

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Sometimes I’m scrolling (I know, don’t judge me), and I see ads for “Armor of God phone case – Shop Now.” And for that brief, glimmering moment, I imagine myself with that armor-clad woman’s perfect flowy ponytail (I currently have very short hair), kneeling down in front of Christ with her fancy sword in hand, and I feel… epic. Then my yoga pants and T-shirt jolt me back to reality – sigh, it’s just a fantasy image on a phone... Read more

Of Walkie-Talkies and Crazy Prayers, Part 2

Last updated on: September 6, 2023 at 5:32 pm By Coco Cabrel

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“I’m almost there!” I insisted breathlessly into my walkie-talkie. “Copy that, Coco. Be careful!” squawked back the line producer of the film production we were working on. Off in the distance, the tall, muscular man and the short, equally-muscular man were leaning in, and I was getting close enough to hear their yelling. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:18a (NIV) “Please, God, get me there before the first punch... Read more

Can You Walkie-Talkie with God?

Last updated on: September 6, 2023 at 5:29 pm By Coco Cabrel

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A dangerous job: Prayer as God’s armor, Part 1 One of the more interesting/quirky/dangerous jobs I’ve had was being a First Assistant Director. That’s “1st AD” in cool film set lingo. This cool film was in the ultra-low-budget category; therefore, many of us wore multiple hats. For example, the director was also the writer, casting director, and executive producer. For this story, I’ll change his real name to “Robert.” My hats? First AD, 2nd AD, substitute script supervisor when our... Read more

The Sword of the Spirit is The Word of God… How?

Last updated on: September 2, 2023 at 6:38 pm By Coco Cabrel

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“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 (NIV) Recently, I saw a fancy sword on display at our oral surgeon’s office. It had a very fancy inscription on the blade; I couldn’t read it from a distance, and the letters didn’t look like the English alphabet anyway. Yep, waiting for my 17-year-old to have his wisdom teeth removed, I pondered the question: “Why do many swords – even... Read more