Parts of Speaking Publishing

This post is the lesson I gave at Brainerd Baptist Church on June 29, 2025.  This seems to be a story tucked in right before David’s anointing and David and Goliath and we might say, “Why is this included?” I don’t want to make more of it than what it is supposed to be, but it reveals several truths to us about Saul’s spiritual condition despite his failures. David’s purpose and mindset Mental health and where God is in it. A necessary transition to the second part of the kingdom narrative in Israel. I. Saul’s spiritual condition. Verse 14. But the Holy Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. Whoa, how can God send an evil spirit? Is this a contradiction? Before we get to that, the Holy Spirit departed. At that time the Holy Spirit came upon but did not dwell in humans. That is a major, major difference between the Old and New Testaments. It is one of t...

Available in Kindle and print

 A Testimony of an LGBT activist who came to Christ She emphasizes that her "queerness" was not the problem; it was her need for Christ as a whole person. Very important. Conversion is not an automatic de-gayifier. Sorry, that may seem crass, but the person who comes to Jesus doesn't automatically lose the "temptation." They learn to identify themselves differently. Which brings us to another question. Should alcoholics call themselves "alcoholics" for the rest of their lives? 

  Quick answer, yes, we are. Now to the long answer, with some detours. My granddaughter, like most toddlers, loves “Miss Rachel.” Miss Rachel (or Ms. Rachel) is a 43-year-old former music educator who started a You-Tube channel with songs, activities, and lessons for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Although my granddaughter also has an obsession for trains (choochoos) and dogs and Bear in the Big Blue House (whom I enjoy), Ms/Miss Rachel is the go to. Although she has been criticized for some gender activism and wanting to help children in Gaza (discussed below), she seems on the videos we watch to be positive, educationally sound, and kind, all things we would want for toddlers. The programs do not have that “here’s something under the radar for adults” feel that Sesame Street sometimes does, nor does it lean toward urban settings like SS. Most children don’t live in tenements with trashcans out front. Miss Rachel shows short videos of all kinds of children AND their parents (th...

  Have you ever watched the show, Keeping Up Appearances? What it is. A comedy about a British woman who wants to be thought of as very high class even though her family is low class. Her name is Hyacinth Bucket but she pronounces it Bouquet. She wants everything perfect but her family works against her, and her neighbors run from her. We all know someone who wants to keep up appearances, and sometimes we do. In our everyday life, we depend on our eyes and we automatically trust them, at least at first, and we often don’t look closely or below the surface. Like puzzles. But we know that appearances can be deceiving, even though they catch us. So I wanted to show this video I saw recently because it’s disturbing but informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FERa1AI2EK8 AI has gotten far better on making these deep fakes—videos that are not of anyone but totally generated by the software. Even though they look like someone, they are not. Of course, it is stealing fro...

 https://thedispatch.com/article/obergefell-anniversary-dearth-gay-marriage/

 Whose world is this, anyway? My husband came out to the deck where I was reading, thinking, and taking long pauses to listen to birds and watch them visit the feeders. Nala and Butter were keeping the the squirrels away. The cardinals, like kings, were making sure they were fed first but wrens, sparrows, finches, robins, swifts sat in the trees calling and cackling. My Cornell Labs app has identified 18 in 18 minutes, some new ones included. “How interesting that God made all the birds have distinctive calls,” I said. “But I guess they are calling to their own kind, their mate and children.” “Do you think they are talking to each other?” he said. “Not like we do, no communicating, but signaling.” “I thought they were singing for us.” We laughed about that; our human-centric, self-centered view of things takes over. “They sing and make noises when we are not here, so it’s not for us. If they are singing for anyone, it’s God.” I had read Samuel’s speech to the nation in I Samuel 12,...

1. First bad choice: Not telling good news. In 10:9-16. His uncle comes to him and he talks about the donkeys. Not about being made king. What? 10: 14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him. When Christians come together, they should share good news of God working in their lives. Paul Christensen spoke on Gospel conversations, and it was a clear, insightful sermon on one of our responsibilities that should be a joy. D o we talk about the most important truth of our lives? Psalm 107:2 Give thanks to Yahweh,[ a ] for he is good,     for his loving kindness endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed by ...

  Photo credit: Amherst College Library I am retired as of June 1. I had wondered what emblazoned T-shirt I would wear the first day. From a subconscious choice, I picked one I bought in 2013 at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA. I have not worn it much, wanting to save it, for some reason. But such conservatism seems silly now. It contains the first three lines of this poem: I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – too? Then there’s a pair of us! Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know! How dreary – to be – Somebody! How public – like a Frog – To tell one’s name – the livelong June –To an admiring Bog! I don't consider this one of her best poems--not sure what I would pick on that account, since there are so many, but it is fun and it fits now that I am retired. At least as far as my former employer goes. I'm (sort of) a retired Nobody, as far as that organization goes. Nobody there is going to come to me for help, advice, wisdom. Well, they might, but I have no a...