Don't you love comical captions? Writers make off-the-wall headlines when we try to be concise.  We also make mistakes in manuscripts, and it's not always our fault. Autocorrect can be the culprit.

I once wrote this sentence for an article. "Her statement was incongurous with her body language."  Autocorrect changed it to: "Her statement was in congress with her body language."

I'm sure Autocorrect changed it because I misspelled inconguruous.

I changed the sentence to: "Her statment was odd with her boby language."

Those poor grandparents in this headline! I wonder how they got cooked? Boiled? Fried? Baked? How bad did they taste?

How in the world did the original Bible authors write so well without editors, authocorrect, or a computer?  They didn't even have an old-fashioned typewriter!

We find no printing errors in the Scripture, but of course, translators may have corrected a weird phrase or two.

The Holy Word tells us about human life in its raw form. The writer didn't mince words about a lot of events. Some are funny, others are odd, some are down-right bizarre. I was reading in Genesis the other day about Tamar. She dressed as a prostitute and got pregnant by her father-in-law. On purpose! Can you imagine?

Now, that's a YUK story.  Talk about a woman doing what she had to do. You've heard it said, "Grin and bare it?" I doubt she did that. She probably grimaced when she bared it. You'll find the true tale in Genesis 38:1-10. 

Tamar had twins, one of them was named Perez, and he became the ancestor of King David.

God has a sense of humor, doesn't He?

Faith and Humor

Remove the Weeds

 

I walk by a rock garden when I tread the neighborhood. The garden was once beautiful. Roses. Large stones. Little pebbles. An assortment of small colorful flowers. I don't garden, so I don't know their names, but they were pretty.

The weeds took over. No more beauty.

How quickly those weeds grew. Before I knew it, they'd ruined a tranquil sight.

As I passed by today, I stopped and photographed the garden. Like the garden, my mind gets full of similar weeds at times. How about yours?

We go along, thinking our thoughts, taking care of daily activities, and then BOOM!

Weeds control our thoughts and actions. Ugly weeds.

What kind of weeds do you have today?  I'll tell you a few of mine, but please keep them a secret, OK?

Fear.

Yep.  I'm fearful about stuff coming my way. Our daughter is ill, and decisions must be made. I don't like it one bit. I also dread with mucho anxiety what the outcome will be. 

Anger

This weed is small at the moment. That's because I yank it up and throw it out, but it grows back. Who do I feel angry toward? Mostly circumstances I can't control. Big whooop on that one, right? If I can't control something, why be mad? I pull that weed up often.

Resentment

This one is small too, but it also grows back. I sometimes resent circumstances that keep me tied down. 

I have notes taped to my desk. Here one I wrote in a Sarah book, and because it spoke to me, I taped it near as a reminder.

"Sarah," Mother Goodness smiled, "Don't look below at the circumstances. Look above to the Father."

Good advice, right? So, I need to stop looking below at the fear, anger or resentment about things down here I can't control.

I remind myself that Someone bigger than me is the Master Gardener, and He's got the landscape planned. I'm just the weed remover.

Faith and Humor

Charlie Kirk: Why Lord?

 

Charlie Kirk

I never met Charlie.

Never listened to his podcasts.

Didn’t know what he believed.

I had no idea how many people followed him.

I was clueless about his TV appearances.

Failed to hear him speak at the Republican Convention.

Never heard of Turning Point USA.

I learned he employed one thousand people in his organization.

Knew none of this until an assassins’ bullet killed him.

And now I know Charlie Kirk.

I’ve listened to his speeches. I’ve seen his family. Heard him debate.

Then the grief set in.

Overwhelming mourning.

He held a passion for God, Country, and Family, and he possessed courage to tell about all three. He didn’t go to college, but he was well versed in history, law, the US Constitution, and the Bible.

At the age of 31, God allowed Satan to take Charlie out. And Charlie entered God’s Heaven as a martyr. Martyrs receive high honors up there with the Lord.

And that’s how it should be.

But why allow Satan to take Charlie now?

I’m angry about that.

When God called Satan before him at the opening of the Book of Job, He told the wily Devil, you can do anything to Job you wish except take his life.

So, the Ancient Dude gave Job a hell on Earth. But God made Lucifer spare Job’s life.

Charlie accomplished more in his 31 years than I would do if I had 31 lifetimes. People were turning to God. They embraced patriotism. Charlie’s influence reached scores of people. He wasn’t a preacher, but he preached. He wasn’t a politician, but he understood politics. He wanted to find common ground with people who didn’t share his ideas.

So, why, God?

People say Turning Point USA will expand and reach far more people. It will. But he would have multiplied it himself in person if he had been left here to do so. And his children would have a father. His wife would have a husband.

So, why, God?  Couldn’t you see this?

Yes, I know. At the end of Job, you ask Job all kinds of questions, and You never give him the answer to his. I know you won’t give the thousands down here who are hurting any answers, either.

People use traditional cliches such as these: “God is in control.” “God has a plan.”

To comfort ourselves, we quote Romans 8:28.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. NIV

 These platitudes and verses of Scripture sound reassuring, but are they true? Will we see your plan? Will Charlie’s family see good come from this tragedy?

You expect us to trust and put our faith in You. So, we do.

What else can we do?

Nothing, we are helpless down here. There is no one to help but You.

Bad things happen. Magnify our trust. Grant us energy to carry on Charlie’s legacy. It would be a shame if we did nothing and allowed Charlie’s amazing start to go to waste.

If You had left him here a bit longer, people like me would have eventually found him, listened, and became followers. His work grew by leaps and bounds daily.

Why, Lord, why? 

Gay's Author Page 

 

Smite Your Enemies?

 

Do you have enemies? People who lie about you? Want to rid the world of you?

Most of us do or have had foes at some time in our lives.

I'm thinking of King David. He had plenty.

Samuel anointed the young shepherd boy, David, to be the future king of Israel. With this annointing, folks began to hate David. 

God planned for David to defend Israel, but David needed to learn a few military skills first.

David grew in faith and confidence as a youngster taking care of the sheep. The little lambs faced adversaries like bears and lions, but David killed these predators. He also slew Goliath, the enemy of the Israelites.

After he assumed the kingship, David faced opposition from opponents, both foreign and local. Who in leadership doesn't? From President George Washington to the present one, our presidents have faced their share of foes. And these leaders found it tough. David discovered the difficulies of hostilities, too.

I've been teaching the Psalms in my Bible Study. David wrote the majority of these songs, and he sings, prays, and talks to the Lord about his foes in the Psalms. Sometimes he wants to be delivered or protected from these evil people, and sometimes he wishes God would smite them.

How about you? How do you feel about people who oppose you?

I spoke about it last Sunday on YouTube. I tell about a few unkind people who were my enemies for a short time. 

Gay on YouTube

Have you read any of my books lately? If not, grab one and start reading. 

Gay's Author Page

Squirrel Stew

 

Unable to find a chicken dish I ate years ago; I looked through an old cookbook. I mean really old. This tome existed in the 60’s, but recipes dated before that era.

I found instructions for “Squirrel Stew.”  Yep, you read that correctly. Squirrel, as in the backyard variety. I doubt city people in the 60’s created this questionable cuisine, but I know people in the early 1900’s did.

In fact, people ate this common source of protein during the Great Depression.

My dad’s siblings ate it regularly. As a sergeant in the USA Army, he earned medals as a sharpshooter and netted a reputation for his marksmanship. He may have gained this skill by providing food for the family table.

His mom, my grandmother, was an accomplished cook and could make anything taste gourmet.

As a wee child, I recall eating a piece of fried squirrel she had prepared. My dad enjoyed it, but then he liked dark, fatty, meat.

The housewives of yesteryear possessed numerous abilities with food preparation. Can you imagine dressing a squirrel to fry, bake or roast?

Yuk. Me either.

I didn’t see my grandmother prepare the delicacy, for which I’m grateful.

I prefer selecting protein in a shrink-wrapped package at the grocery store. I don’t find squirrel as an option there, and I hope I never need it as a future staple. However, squirrels abound in plentiful supply in our backyard.

I suppose, if need be, my hubby could provide a dressed squirrel, and I would fry it, but if I had to dress the thing, we’d go hungry.

Would you believe squirrel protein is experiencing a comeback?  

Yep!

Some among us (about 1.8 million Americans according to the Internet) enjoy squirrel. They appreciate the taste and nutritional benefit of this “new” food. A few compare it to the taste of rabbit.

Squirel Popular Today

How many of you eat rabbits these days? Do you want to try it or squirrel? If you don’t have squirrel, you can substitute rabbit in the following recipe.

Here’s a way people cooked it years ago. I’m sure today’s measurements are updated. This recipe calls for quarts, but a lot of people are canning foods again, so quarts may be in their pantry.

Squirrel Stew

Ingredients

3 plump dressed squirrels

Seasoned flour

Salt and pepper

6 onions sliced thin

3 cups of water

6 tomatoes, peeled and diced

3 red peppers, seeded and chopped

Pinch of thyme

1 qt of lima beans

Kernels from 6 ears of corn

1 qt of okra

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Butter

Directions

Cut meat into serving pieces. Dip into flour and seasonings. Brown in fat with onions. Transfer to a casserole dish. Add water, tomatoes, peppers, and thyme. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add lima beans, corn, okra, and parsley. Cook until tender. If desired, thicken with flour and butter kneaded to a paste.

If you try this, let me know how you like it.

While it simmers on the stove, read one of my books.

Gay's Author Page

Santa Clause Enjoys Texas Beaches

It's hot down here in Texas!

Many of my friends are headed to beaches. Not me, I'm not a sand loving gal, but it looks as though Santa is! He's enjoying a vacation away from the North Pole! 

He can take off the fur-trimmed suit in Texas, in fact, it looks like he took off almost everything, even his hat! However, he's wise. He's wearing sunglasses and sitting under an umbrella. The Texas sun is brutal.

He must be in Galveston. We have palm trees there, but the water is seldom that blue. Or maybe he's at South Padre Island, it is a glorious beach, if you like beaches, that is.

He should be holding my book, Sarah and a Texas Christmas. He'd laugh his head off. Sarah is a bumbling angel, and she takes everthing literally. So, language is difficult for her. Talk about chaos!

It's six months and a few days before Christmas, but why wait? Enjoy a Christmas tale now! It's on sale!

Sarah and a Texas Christmas

Happy Birthday!

 

July 4, 2025.

Today is America’s birthday. She is 249 years old.

Today is my birthday, too, but I’m not telling you my age or weight.

After waking this morning, I stumbled into my study with a cup of coffee and picked up my Bible. I sat in my comfy chair, placed the Good Book on my knees, gazed at it, and spoke aloud. “Okay, Lord, it’s my birthday. What Scripture do You have for me today?”

I opened His Word to this Psalm.

Psalm 144:4 reads, "Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow."

I glanced upward and said, “Really, Lord?” And then I guffawed. I think He did too. God showed me His sense of humor. I felt a bit depressed as my birthday approached. As I grow older, I know my time on Earth grows briefer, so what did He do? He gave me a Scripture that says life is short.

 

I love it when He does things like that!  He is real, and He talks to us in mysterious ways. Do you hear from Him? If not, draw close to Him, and He will become more existent to you.

People may think I’m sacrilegious with this post. We once had a church member who thought it sinful to laugh. She thought God wanted us to act, think, and talk in a serious manner all the time.

God gave me a sharp sense of humor, and I’m grateful for it. He made man (and woman) after His image, and added jocularity is in the mix. Why? Because He can chuckle too. In His creation, He created outstanding beauty, but He included funny looking animals and flowers too.

Naked Man Orchid

https://earthlymission.com/strangest-flowers-orchids-world-resemble-look-like-something-else/

Back to the Scripture quoted above.

Life is short, and I’m blessed to have the gift of living to an older maturity.  In the past nine months, we have attended nine funerals for people under the age of 60.

How often do you hear a person say, “I have years before I need to get into the Jesus stuff.”

Not so.  We don’t know when our breath will be like a passing shadow.

I want all who read this to have many more trips around the sun, and I want you to know and laugh with the Lord.

 Gay's Author Page

Gay on YouTube