I came across this video tonight and it really resonated with me – so much so I felt to share it with you here. I usually try to avoid politics because it’s divisive but I can’t just overlook this:
I almost didn’t make this video because I’m tired. I think a lot of us are. Tired of being shocked, tired of arguing, tired of every new headline somehow becoming another reason to hate each other.
But hearing the President of the United States talk about Los Angeles and San Diego that way really bothered me. Not as a Democrat or a Republican, but as an American and as a person.
I don’t think we should ever become so loyal to a politician that we lose our ability to say, “That was wrong.” No elected official should be above our questions, our criticism or our accountability. They represent us. We do not belong to them.
So this isn’t me telling you how to vote in November. It’s me asking you to please vote, to think for yourself, and to remember the humanity of the people on the other side of your politics.
No American life is a small price to pay.
Spin of the World Prayer Wheel;
Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you.
Today was both a celebration and a time of sorrow. Middleton Grace Bible church celebrated 10 years and we mourned the loss of 14 year old Carson Chrapkowski from a hit and run accident near Middleton High School:
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When he had fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[c] God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
6 They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.
7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. 8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
I have been praying about what Jesus wants for me – what should I be doing. Well he is working that out for me through one of my friends from church. Today Missy invited me to go to her bible study starting this Wednesday. I didn’t have an excuse to say no and sometimes the answer is yes! Missy makes it so easy to say yes – no excuses. I told her I don’t do books but come to listen and have fellowship. I have to remind myself about this life that it’s not what I can’t do but what I can. What else am I doing?!!
Hello to you, Today has been good. I went with my Aunt to the Sisters of Grace gathering in Nampa. There was a good turnout and lots of delicious food. I helped with a skit my Aunt put together called Fashion of a Lifetime- putting on the full armor of God – from Ephesians 6:11-18 :
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
I was the helmet of salvation in the skit. My Aunt gave me a gray felt hat to put on. There were no pictures taken but that’s ok. We all were in the moment which is rare these days.
Today is a good day to remember this passage with the 25th anniversary of 9/11. It’s one of the darkest days of world history. I will never forget it! I was sleeping after a 12 hour shift and was called by my coworkers and I went and turned on the tv and couldn’t believe what I was seeing! It just didn’t seem real!
Something happened that day – we were all united in a way that only such horror can do. We were all Americans and grieved together. We are living in a time of such division in this country. It’s like we have forgotten – we need to remember we are one.
What is a powerful quote for 9/11?
AI Overview
One of the most powerful and enduring quotes for 9/11 is inscribed on the wall of the National September 11 Memorial Museum: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
This line comes from Book IX of the epic Latin poem The Aeneid by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. At the 9/11 Museum, the letters were forged by artist Tom Joyce using pieces of steel recovered from the World Trade Center site. It honors the lives lost and promises eternal remembrance.
Hello to you. I just saw the sad news that Dolly Parton has died at age 80. It’s hard to believe as she has been a part of my life for so long. One of my earliest memories of her was my going into the book mobile and signing out her album with the song Coat of Many Colors:
I feel so bad for his little girl who is only 3 years old! Her dad was shot right in front of her. When is enough enough?!! My prayers go out to her and her mother.
Changing gears…..
Todays prompt is so true of me. All my life so far I’ve been in school – life school. I have experienced both the good and bad lessons life has to teach. I believe we don’t go through things for no reason – especially difficult things. When we approach difficult things as learning opportunities we grow as people. We become the sort of person that can then turn around and use what we’ve learned to help other people facing similar challenges. When we face difficulties we can choose to shut down and become bitter or we can bloom where we are planted.
Turning to God during trials makes the load lighter. There has been so many times when I turned my trials over to God that doors previously closed flew open! The way was made smoother than it would be on my own. These past couple of years I have really been using the power of prayer to help me and others get through difficult times.
Spin of the Prayer Wheel today:
God, help me to be a pure vehicle for your love, and light, and wisdom.
Hello to you. It’s another hot day here. I will get my walk in when the sun goes down! This morning prayer was good. We stayed a little extra time to pray over the 21 Days Of Prayer prayer requests. The prayers ranged from health to requests for people to return to their faith. A lot of atheists! One request that touched my heart was from a lonely person reaching out in a world where it’s difficult to make lasting friendships. The older you get the harder it is!
Last night I was able to watch an interesting documentary on PBS about the Apollo 11 mission to Mars. I have been one of those people who was skeptical of the mission even happening and it being a hoax. The documentary did a good job of bringing the mission to life. It put my skepticism to rest.
8 Days: To the Moon and Back is a 2019 documentary-drama that recreates the Apollo 11 mission, blending declassified cockpit audio, NASA archives, CGI, and dramatic reenactments to tell the story of the first moon landing. Directed by Anthony Philipson, it stars actors like Rufus Wright as Neil Armstrong, Jack Tarlton as Buzz Aldrin, and Patrick Kennedy as Michael Collins, bringing the astronauts’ experiences to life through their own words. The film covers the full eight-day journey, from launch to return, revealing details often unseen in historical footage.
From the World Prayer Wheel today:
In the joy of your heart, Your light remains.
In the gift of your caring, Your light remains
Where you reached out to help, Your light remains.
Where you sat in silent peace, Your light remains.
In the place where you worked, Your light remains
In the stillness of the starry night, Your light remains
In the light of each day fully embraced, Your light remains.
Like the touch of an Angel, Your light remains.
When you live as a light, Your heart is joined in the Infinite Light of Love. And that about you which is eternal … remains.
Hello there! How are you? If you’re American you are probably having a cookout and preparing for fireworks tonight. I hope if you are reading from America and you have pets that you secure them. I know a lot of people have to give their pets tranquilizers to get through this night. Thankfully my Link doesn’t get worked up like most dogs. So many people like fireworks! They are pretty to watch but aren’t very eco friendly!
There has been quite a hoopla over today marking 250 years – we made it this far and I have hope for the future despite everything going on right now. Freedom isn’t free! It’s good to see so many people loving our country.
I had a wonderful meal and visit with my Aunt, Uncle, cousin and his wife and two of my Aunts Granddaughters Richelle and Tatum, Tatum’s husband Kyle and baby Liam. We had hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, fruit, watermelon and ice cream and brownies for dessert. Liam was definitely the star of the show. Once he got acclimated to everybody, he had a great time. Great Grandma my Aunt gave him some metal measuring cups he loved clanging together. We all know what he’s getting for Christmas! My Uncle, Great Grandpa said he’s going to get Liam a drum set! lol! 😂 We made a special memory today! So special!
My sweet Auntie and I – Grandma Becker would be so proud! She loved celebrating the 4th in her backyard in Ft. Collins CO My beautiful Grandma Becker (I couldn’t flip picture!)
If God could talk it wouldn’t be in English or Latin or Arabic It wouldn’t be in Yiddish or Spanglish or pidgin
If God could talk the words would crack like thunder pour down like a torrent of jewels flooding our basements with shining ideas, sparkling conclusions.
If God could talk a thought would be a redwood a word an ocean a sentence a century.
If God could talk I would not have to for all the words today requires would flow in on the morning breeze and find their way to the morning news.
If God could talk God’s word would be carried on the wings of eagles the ankles of gnats in the pouches of kangaroos and the paws of polar bears.
It would spread through the sound of honey bees and hyenas be translated into a rainbow by blue herons and cardinals, blackbirds and yellowjackets pink flamingos and gray whales, purple martins and chameleons.
It would cause rivers to flow, tides to rise, moons to wax, suns to set, sparrows to fly, planets to revolve, universes to expand if God could talk.
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well from where you are visiting me here. Today is Memorial Day here in the US and my deceased birth mom’s 84 birthday.
Drawing I did of my mom Jeannie many years ago
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the family and friends of those who have fought and died for their country. In addition to that my thoughts turn to those who have fought and lost the battle with mental illness. My mom Jeannie, at the age of 26 is such a person. I was afraid for much of my early life that I wasn’t going to live past 26 – end up just like my mom. I am now 58 – well beyond my fears!
One of the most special memories I have of celebrating Memorial Day is with my exes family going to Arlington National Cemetery. My exes dad and his family played taps at exactly 3 pm at different corners of the cemetery:
https://youtu.be/nhxxOvdM1SE?si=yj7rOt0BimzB6M98 – Taps – We share a Memorial Day tribute, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Band. It features a bugler from The Ceremonial Brass performing Taps at Culpeper National Cemetery in Virginia
Taps for Veterans Every Memorial Day at 3:00 PM local time, Americans from coast to coast pause to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country.
I nearly lost it seeing so many graves. There were several new graves. The ages of those fallen were my age and younger. Gone too soon!
Hello to you in your now. How are you doing? I am writing to you from my favorite spot – the couch with my panda boy Link. I remembered my phone for the first walk today and was rewarded with roses in bloom everywhere!
Now is a time of roses in the neighborhood I love this picture with his Momma Tippie. He is almost all gray and white now. You can see why we called him panda boy!
I started the new higher dose of olanzapine today. I haven’t really noticed a difference yet – it takes some time for the body to adjust. I am still having the weeble wobble stuff going on with my ears. May be the doctor I will be getting will have new ideas from the doctor I just had!
I asked the internet for positive news about roses and this is what came up as an answer:
Modern rose breeding has successfully solved the historical trade-off between stunning petal colors and deep fragrance. Geneticists have identified the specific pathways that allow new cultivars to produce vibrant blooms without sacrificing their signature scent, while also creating highly resilient, heat-tolerant varieties that require far less maintenance.
Exciting Developments in the Rose World
Stronger Fragrance & Genetics: Molecular researchers have mapped the complex DNA of modern roses. They have isolated the genes responsible for prolonged, repeat blooming and are finding ways to bring back robust fragrance without losing bold, vibrant colors.
Ultra-Resilient Cultivars: Modern varieties are increasingly engineered for heat tolerance, meaning they can thrive in challenging climates without needing constant chemical interventions. Disease-resistant shrub and groundcover roses are now widely available for home gardens.
True Blue Blooms: After years of botanical research, horticulturalists have successfully cultivated and refined “true blue” roses using natural pigment engineering—a color that was previously considered botanically impossible.
Where to Find & Explore the Best Roses
Whether you are looking to plant a low-maintenance garden or just want to admire award-winning blooms, these trusted platforms can help:
American Rose Society: Access official care guides, find local rose societies in Idaho, and browse the latest award-winning rose introductions.
Heirloom Roses: Shop a massive collection of own-root roses that are known for their vigor, fragrance, and disease resistance.
David Austin Roses: Browse the iconic, heavily fragrant English roses that combine classic, old-world charm with hardy, modern disease resistance.
Have you ever noticed how most roses you buy in the store have no smell? I hope that will change.
Dear Jesus I thank you for this day.  I thank you for all the beauty in this world and my being able to get out and enjoy it. Please continue to be with my cousin Heidi on her healing journey. I pray for your presence with the elderly, the sick, the unhoused, the poor, the hungry, the addicted, neglected and abused. Amen.
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. I just scrapped an entire post because I know not many people will want to read a rant about how our wild spaces are being violated. I think a lot of people are just so beat up by this world right now that they have become apathetic to it all. They need good news! What is going right with the world?!!! I found the following on the good news network page:
Ice Cream Truck Gives Free Scoop to Little Boy Who Couldn’t Afford It. Now It’s Free for All Kids This Summer
“We don’t turn kids away when they don’t have money,” says Madyson Silvagnoli, owner of Maddy’s Ice Cream and More.
In between all of the bad and sad news are good things happening. My hope is in Jesus who manifests himself in good people and happenings each day. You just have to look! I can remember living in a Section 8 apartment but if you look at the pictures I took living there you would never know. Kyle, Sam and I looked for and found the beauty in between the trash. In between the ugliness of war and chaos are good people doing good things. All is not lost!
