Simple Thoughts

  I have some beautiful orange trees. The blossoms are lovely, and the trees are just loaded down with fruit in the winter.   But there’s a problem.   We can’t eat the fruit.   It’s not because I’m allergic.   I absolutely love oranges.   The problem is it is bad fruit.   They are sour oranges, also known as bitter oranges.   I’ve heard of people using them to actually make things.   Maybe a weird version of lemonade but with sour oranges, or maybe using the peel in something.   We’ve tried.   But honestly, they are so bitter, that for a decade, they have just sat.   Useless.   A decade has come and gone watching those beautiful trees.   They really are lovely.   My daughter said the other day it reminded her of life of a Floridian.   She’s not wrong.   But the problem is that she will never eat the fruit from those specific trees. If she did, she would immediately spit it out and her lips would pro...

I am a person in the realm of politics, but this is not a political post.   There is much in this post I am not saying.   There are volumes to be written and said (and much is being said) on the current happenings, but I just want to add one thought. I feel like I have looked at a tree for most of my life. I saw the tree of racism and it had fallen.   I celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. and other heroes of justice.   I love justice.   I have loved the aspects of history that told of the victories of overcoming the sins of racism in our nation. I knew it still existed in random pockets of people or towns, but for the most part, I just celebrated the huge tree that had fallen.   But now I feel like the last couple of weeks and even the last few days, I have made a discovery: the roots are still there. And I realized I had no idea how huge the root system is. I've taken time to read history about slavery in Tallahassee. I've read accounts o...

I was talking to my husband tonight about learning to disciple people in changing environments, and suddenly a light bulb went off and a comparison came to mind. I thought of a computer game my daughter played last week. It’s pretty basic. The screen is filled with different color bubbles. The goal is to click on bubbles that are surrounded with others of the same color, and when you click on groupings, they disappear. The goal is to have as few left at the end as you can. There’s something that helps though. You can click a button, and the screen shifts and turns, and then those bubbles fall down in the new rows, and you can continue playing. It is super helpful when you have hit a dead end in one setting, and you can press the button, shift your screen, and suddenly you have new opportunities for points.  Y’all. This is crisis. Or any kind of shifting that takes place.  Our focus in our life is discipleship. My husband and I want to see as many people radicall...

  First, to the woman who has never experienced motherhood, or if that experience was way too short, please know this: You are no less of a woman. You are a beautiful, unique individual just like women everywhere. We all have things that we have learned along the way. Life brings us so many different experiences regardless of if that path includes mothering. Joys... aches... grief... surprises, both good and bad... skills acquired... people to love, etc. We all have a journey. We all have a story. And we all can use our lessons to help others learn they aren’t alone in the journey. But I would like to say this, if you are not a mother and wish to be, or have had miscarriages or problems getting pregnant, and you would like prayer for that area, please message me. I would love to join you on your journey and pray for you. You aren’t forgotten. Now. What I have learned seven years into mothering. I learned that birth plans are great but the most important th...

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to some of his disciples. Thomas, one of the disciples, wasn’t there though. So when the disciples said they had seen him, he said he needed proof. Thomas wanted to actually put his finger into the print of the nails to really believe. Eight days later, Jesus showed up again. Check this out.  John 20:27-29  Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Listen. Jesus didn’t scold Thomas for wanting to believe. I truly believe Thomas wanted to but needed some proof. He wasn’t just going to take someone’s word for it. He wanted to experience it. Others had an experience. He needed one to truly believe.  ...

I hate getting blood drawn. I don’t like it. It’s uncomfortable. It hurts to get stuck, and frankly, I just find it annoying to have to go to the lab and have someone put me through mild pain. Because I value my family though and want to be healthy for them, I went and got a physical. The doctor asked if I wanted my blood drawn for tests. I hate it, but said yes. The reason I said yes? I want to know what’s going on in the inside of me. If my body is lacking something or fighting some kind of unseen battle, I want to know about it so I can deal with it. I want to be there for my family and live a healthy life. So I did it. It took a couple weeks to make it in... because... well, the summer life happened. But I finally made time and went in to the lab. Guess what. It hurt to get stuck. It was inconvenient and annoying to fast for the 8-10 hours before (especially when Girl Scout cookies in my freezer were calling my name). But I lived and moved on with my day. Eventual...

There’s a tropical storm coming for Florida. It’s a few days before hurricane season, but here it comes anyways. On our to-do list before all the heavy rain comes was to pick all the ripe blueberries off our bushes. 10-12 bushes out in our backyard that Adam had planted over the years. I’ve always enjoyed going out, fighting off the mosquitoes and getting a small bowl of blueberries to eat that afternoon with the kids. I took a big bowl out this time though since I was going to check all the plants in the garden to harvest anything before the storm. I picked some cherry tomatoes and a couple stray green beans. I found a handful of blackberries. Then I made my way to the blueberry bushes.  I started picking. It was barely drizzling rain. Then I kept picking. Wow. I thought to myself that the bushes were way more loaded than I thought. The rain picked up a little. The breeze was getting a little more than a light breeze. But what a refreshing, steady rain. I kept picking. J...