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? 

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