Category: Writing and blogging

16 Mar 2025 Letting Go

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, human rights, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope today finds you well. It’s beginning to feel like Spring here. Blades of grass are peeking up and the birds are back singing their love songs. I went to church this morning- wasn’t sure my back would let me! I have been taking Aleve and using a roll on my Aunt gave me and that’s helping. I am happy to be fitting into my one pair of jeans! Progress!

Today’s message was out of Galatians 5. What stood out to me is how Pastor Jayson talked about our freedom. Our freedom makes many things permissible but we have to ask in the over all scheme of things is just doing whatever we want beneficial to us and the body of Christ we are a part of. When he talks about his own struggles with food I really can relate!

In a couple hours I’m going to be celebrating my Uncles birthday with family. I’ve decided to use this occasion to share my stuffed animal collection with the grandchildren. It’s been on my heart the past couple of weeks that it’s time for these things to go to a good home and be played with and not just take up storage space. Some of the collection is very sentimental stuff and I’m a little attached but it’s time to let go. Stuffed teddy bears and My Little Pony, for example, are great for young children. My cousin said it was ok to bring them over today so I am. They have a playroom designated for the littles when they come over and these new additions will get lots of use!

Galatians 5New International Version

Freedom in Christ

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

1 Mar 2025 A Plan

by saymber, posted in history, Home, human rights, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Money, Politics and Government, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing? I’m doing ok – kind of down. Too much news…bad news. I feel like my country is becoming a villain and I’m powerless to really do anything about it. There have been demonstrations all over the world but yet the eight ball is still in play. The only thing people have been doing that has really caused a stir is boycotts. Money is our superpower. I felt mortified watching how the Ukraines President Zelenskyy was treated in the Oval Office. I couldn’t believe what they did – ridiculing the man because of the clothes he was wearing?!! I felt like I was watching a bunch of bullies in a schoolyard. I want an end to the war too but how are we going to do it?!! What is Gods plan for all this that is going on? They put a statue of Jesus Christ in the White House lawn (how much did that cost us tax payers btw?!!) but everything going on seems so against what Jesus did and taught us while he was here. Jesus would certainly not publicly ridicule what a man was wearing!

Every day another fire alarm is being pulled by this administration – it’s only been a couple months but it feels so much longer. I want a do over on this election!

On a different note I wish to note today is my dear friend and earth angel Tawna’s birthday. We are the same age.

Our beautiful birthday girl

Proverbs 15:1New International Version

15 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.

16 Feb 2025 Turning 57

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging
We celebrated my cousin and my birthday at Olive Garden in Nampa today

Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. Today was a good day. I celebrated my 57th birthday with my cousin who shares the same day – he’s 61. Our birthday was on the 13th and we had planned to get together then but the weather wasn’t good. We had a fantastic meal with family at Olive Garden today. Boy did I get full! I had cheese raviolis with meat sauce. The free dessert I chose was Tiramisu and boy was that good! It is strange to be 57. Where has the time gone?!! It was so nice to share the occasion with family and I am grateful for that. One of the special things about living here in Idaho is having family to share special occasions like this with. As I get older I appreciate things like having family more and more. Many are not so blessed at my age!

  • 1 Corinthians 10:30-31“If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” 

10 Feb 2025 Outgrown

by saymber, posted in Art and Poetry, Bipolar life, drawing, Mental Health, Movies, Music, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

Hello to you! How are you? I hope this finds you well in your life. In answer to today’s prompt I would have to say that drawing and writing poetry are things I seldom do anymore. I used to spend hours drawing and writing poems came to me very easily. With the medication I’m on to treat Bipolar, Depakote, I am blocked from doing these things. If I do attempt to do them it’s forced and just not very good! I miss being creative in those ways but would rather have my sanity!

I watched this scene from the first season of The Chosen the other night and it brought me to tears:

https://youtu.be/UI-PehitKKU?si=7fT_XBegSgOk10oC – The Chosen Jesus Heals Mary

I found myself thinking about what an amazing thing it must have been to be healed by Jesus. To have him put his hands around my head and look me in my eyes – for him to know me by name! This is the part of me longing for a tangible God! I often think why people don’t follow Jesus is because he isn’t here on earth – tangible. Hollywood movie stars and musicians often fill the void only meant for Jesus – they can be seen, touched and heard. Think of the craze Elvis and The Beatles caused in their day! Right now Jonathan Roumie is doing a fine job of filling the role of Jesus and he takes it very seriously but has said more than once he is not Jesus Christ no matter how much fans want him to be him. He is a servant. His portrayal of Jesus has helped me more than once. It was him I turned to a 4th of July a couple years ago when I was nearly driven to run out of my house and yell at neighbors lighting fireworks all around me. Jesus wasn’t with me tangibly but one of his servants, Jonathan, was when I was calm enough to seek him out. Someday Jesus will tangibly reveal himself to the world and I might not live to see it. I will hopefully see him in heaven if I don’t get to meet him here on earth.

Mark 16:9New International Version

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

6 Feb 2025 Coping in Anxious Times

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, history, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Television, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. How are you doing these days? I have been feeling anxious lately. I am having to practice what I preach and turn my worries to Jesus. My therapist suggested that I set aside time for my worries each day and then leave it be for the rest of the day. I have been getting news from many different sources and it isn’t positive – one fire alarm after another being pulled! In particular I’m very concerned about how long a leash President Trump is giving to Elon Musk. He’s not an elected official and he does have conflicts of interest. I didn’t knowingly vote for the man I’m seeing and hearing day after day. I feel betrayed. Buyer’s remorse big time! The sad thing is even if I had voted for Kamala I would still be in the same boat. The country and electoral college wanted Trump. I guess at least my conscience would be clearer. Every day I feel regret over my choice.

I have to believe that when all is said and done that the will of God, Jesus Christ, will prevail. I have to believe that the will of the many will prevail over the whims of a select few. You can’t buy your way into heaven – billionaires seem to forget who is holding the keys to eternity beyond this earthly world of flesh and blood. Having lots of money in the earthly realm has too much power and justice only seems to come in the heavenly realms where the earthly poor and lowly can’t see it.

Matthew 19:24New International Version

24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

24 Jan 2025 Where To Turn

by saymber, posted in Health, Home, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope you are well and if you’re not, and many people are not, I hope you have a good support system. Have you considered surrendering your life to Jesus? Lately I have been seeing so many people at a loss of where to turn when their lives are falling apart. I saw this a lot prior to the Tik Tok ban – people just didn’t know what to do! They made posts and just cried. When I saw these videos I just found myself asking, “do you believe in God? Have you talked to God about your problems?”

I am a relatively new Christian and prior to surrendering to Jesus I thought I had to carry the weight of the world on my own two shoulders. Thankfully when I reached my bottom with my mental health and my marriage God put people in my life to give me a soft place to land. I spent so many hours on the phone with my cousins wife Tawna! She thankfully had the time in her life that she could be there for the countless walk and talks on the phone. I spent time on the phone with much of my Idaho family – I walked miles talking to them. Things were so bad I couldn’t leave the house without having someone on the phone. I couldn’t eat a meal without someone on the phone. What was missing in all that drama was my being willing to turn to Jesus. They already believed in him and prayed for me and that gave them the spiritual strength to help me navigate the personal haunted hell I was living in. I just couldn’t see my own way out!

I surrendered to the Holy Spirit when I wanted to be free of alcoholism and it worked in a powerful way. Door after door opened and shut with that surrender. For some reason I didn’t do that in Texas. I guess I had been a pagan so long (12 years) that I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think I could turn myself completely to Jesus.

Right now I’m in the process of working with Jesus about my health and the answer is he is healing me in his time and way not mine. Some of what is going on with me will probably never change because there is no cure – just treatment and management. Jesus is showing me that. I just have to know where to turn when times get tough. Sometimes through prayer and reaching out Jesus uses the people in my life as his body to assist. That’s what we are all here for!

https://youtu.be/JMj1ggINLe4?si=W9Kt3RCeA8A0z1cm – The Chosen Jesus Heals at the Pool

John 5New English Translation

Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

5 After this[a] there was a Jewish feast,[b] and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is[c] in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate[d] a pool called Bethzatha[e] in Aramaic,[f] which has five covered walkways.[g] 3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.[h] 5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.[i] 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized[j] that the man[k] had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir,[l] I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water,[m] someone else[n] goes down there[o] before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat[p] and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was healed,[q] and he picked up his mat[r] and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)[s]

10 Jan 2025 Sisters of Grace

by saymber, posted in Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you this quiet Friday afternoon. I hope this finds you well. There are a lot of people not doing well – living some kind of tragedy and my prayers are with all of you. I wanted to mention that my Aunts granddaughter is giving me a stationary bike tomorrow which will help me in my goal of getting more exercise! So grateful!

This morning was an early one as I joined my Aunt Ruth and several ladies from her church that they call The Sisters of Grace. We enjoyed bell players and a very powerful testimony of one of their members. There was lots of good food to include a coffee cake my Aunt made from scratch. The testimony was from a woman named Eliza and I could tell it was hard for her to tell some of it. She was a victim of generational trauma and had been involved with drugs, gangs, trafficking and even spent some time in prison before completely turning her life to Jesus. Now she and her husband lead Celebrate Recovery and a Deliverance and Healing Ministry. The chains of trauma have been broken for her and her children.

I always am moved almost to tears when I am with these women. Most of them are retired and many are widows. This fellowship helps all of us. The times I feel most like crying is when we sing together. There is something about it that makes me think of what heaven may be like- a collection of dear friends gathered singing eternal praise to Jesus. I get that way at church too – especially when I hear children singing along with the grown ups.

Matthew 18:20New International Version

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

8 Jan 2025 Long Life

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, In the News, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

Hello to you! I hope this finds you well. My prayers are going out to a lot of places these days. The latest area is Southern California and the fires. I hope they get some rain soon!

My thoughts about today’s prompt are if I get to live a long life, there will be many more hello’s and goodbyes- at my current age of 56 there have already been many! I look at my Aunt who just turned 80 this past November. She has lost many friends to cancer and has held grandchildren and great grandchildren and more are on the way! She has had to say goodbye to family for various reasons to include old age and sickness. If I get to live as long as she has I wonder if I will be alone as it doesn’t look like there will be a new man in my life anytime soon! Part of me doesn’t want to get real old. I see the elderly around me in a constant state of repairs and pain. It’s like having a new car and the warranty runs out and you have to keep going to the shop to get something fixed! If I knew now when I was younger I would have been kinder to my body.

Here are some Bible verses from the New International Version (NIV) about healing:

  • Psalm 107:20: “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave” 
  • Luke 8:50: “Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed'” 
  • Mark 5:34: “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering'” 
  • Isaiah 40:29: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” 
  • Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” 
  • Jeremiah 17:14: “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” 
  • Psalm 103:2-3: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” 
  • Isaiah 53:5: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” 

6 Jan 2025 Different

by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Food, Health, Home, In the News, Leading Life by Example, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

What could you do differently?

Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. So much of the world seems to be in some sort of calamity. I sometimes feel guilty for having such a good life. May be God is giving me a break from calamities and drama!

Todays prompt is thought provoking. As I review my current life, I think I could be more active. I have been trying to lose weight and the scale is just not budging. I think that’s because cutting back how much I’m eating and what I’m eating is not enough. Part of the problem is the medication I’m on. Depakote is known for contributing to weight gain. I’ve been thinking about getting a treadmill or stationary bike to help me be more active. The only problem is I live in a very small home and would have to make room for these items. I walk Link once a day and have been thinking about starting to walk an additional lap after I get him around once. It’s been about 2 almost 3 years since I’ve been able to walk a lot like I used to. Something happened to my system when the police tased me! I haven’t been the same since. I really believe they short circuited my system. I have had to push through and some days it’s so hard. My Aunt and I talked about this yesterday. I want Jesus to heal me as there is no cure for what is going on with me. She made a prayer card for me – everything helps! I think of the episode of The Chosen where I think of when James asks Jesus why he hasn’t healed him :

https://youtu.be/KZDvcEkjthA?si=msC7Zhx91baeldiL– Why Haven’t You Healed me (The Chosen Scene)

I keep thinking he could heal me but for some reason he hasn’t. Is it like with James? Would I become like I was before surrendering myself to his care? Would I need him less? Is there something he wants to do through me just as I currently am? So many questions I have for him some day when I meet him face to face!

5 Jan 2025 Connection

by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Bipolar life, Health, Home, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello there! How are you? Hope this finds you well. I went to church today and there were a lot of good messages. What resonated with me was the word of the year: Connection and how God uses people in our lives to do what he cannot tangibly do. I had been struggling with a decision about whether or not to join my Aunt in a Bible study. She reassured me today when I went over to her and Uncle Johns place to visit that Pastor Jayson’s message was for me! First of all there were hugs! I’m so grateful for those! It couldn’t be more loud and clear! So I’m planning on joining her for the Bible study I just won’t order the workbook – they tend to be a waste of money for me. Some days it’s a real struggle to get out of my own head! She also filled out a prayer card for me to pray for healing from the balance issues I have that make it difficult for me to do most anything physical. I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful support system. Sometimes I feel so alone but like what happened today reassures me that I am far from it. My family and my church friends are there to fill the void in my life. Link can only do so much!

Part of the reason I am reluctant to be gone a lot and hold back from connection in my life is I don’t like leaving Link by himself a lot. This is a dilemma common to pet owners. I know what it’s like to be alone without him around and it’s almost unbearable! I have always had a problem with being away from my animals or leaving them in someone else’s care. That’s probably why I don’t know if I will have any more after Link journeys on. Part of my thinking that way is I don’t know if I can take having my heart broken again!

Part of the New Year
Messages for today that resonated with me

Psalm 86:11New International Version

11 Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.