1 Jan 2026 Snow

January 1, 2026 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Health, history, Home, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs

Hello to you. Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we are in a new year already. The past couple of days I have been having trouble with the pooling sensation in my ears. It makes me feel anxious. Writing helps take my mind off of it.

I was brainstorming with my friend what I should write about today. She suggested memories of when I was growing up in South Dakota. I had mentioned to her about us getting so much snow we tunneled through to our neighbors house! I can remember having snacks with Marie and Wayne to pass the time. We use to get so much snow my parents couldn’t get to work which was rare. The snow was thick and crunchy when you walked on it. I learned how to drive on snow – Datsun 210 with stick shift!

The other place I have got snowed in was base housing at Peterson AFB Colorado. There was so much snow it blocked the door to the house. It went from the roof to the ground! The other places I lived – Germany, Delaware, Texas and now Idaho have all gotten snow several times. We never got snow in Florida. I don’t mind snow except driving in it!

Dear Jesus I ask for your continued care for our family members and friends right now. Please send your healing love to us. I ask for your wisdom to guide leaders at all levels of government. Please help the people of Washington State and the Philippines with their recovery from natural disasters. Thank you for hearing our prayers.

17 Nov 2025 Storehouse of Faith

November 18, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. Today has been good but long. It began with me going to the ladies coffee at the Grace House at 9:00 am. There was a good turnout and goodies to be had. There were lots of things and people we prayed for. While we visited, Missy mentioned enjoying my friend Jeannie’s testimony on Sunday and one of the other gals said something about it that was perfect – having a storehouse of faith to carry you through the tough times when they come. Jeannie certainly has had hers full! Here is link to her testimony and Pastor Jason’s sermon:

https://youtu.be/Id0YOqTORA8?si=TLdV2CRSPPsHxwYm – 16 Nov 2025 testimony and sermon

I went and got groceries afterwards and it was twice as much as I normally pay! I am grateful it’s just me and Link that I am buying for.

Key verses for faith in hard times

Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
1 Corinthians 6:13: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”
James 1:3: “…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

27 Oct 2025 Morning Walk

October 27, 2025 by saymber, posted in animals, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. I’m back from a walk. It’s really cool and crisp out. The trees in the neighborhood are all starting to change color and drop their leaves. I miss taking Link out but he just can’t do it. His back legs bother him. He’s going to be 11 this year – he’s still a puppy to me! I hope this finds you well and knowing you are cared about. You are never alone – Jesus is always with you.

Some positive food for your spirit:

Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you” by Walt Whitman,

Hebrews 10:24-25New International Version

²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

15 Oct 2025 Walk

October 15, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Mental Health, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Hello there! How are you today? I’m just back from a nice walk. My head condition (I get a tightness in my ears that affects my balance) bothered me but I kept on walking. It’s currently a crisp 60 degrees- perfect walking temperature. I was going to get groceries today but decided I’ll go tomorrow after prayer. I have started a list on my phone. It’s going to be expensive as I will picking up toilet paper and Links new food! Even for just me it’s almost $200 and that’s not even a full cart!

One of my favorite color combos in roses

Isaiah 43:1New International Version

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

5 Aug 2025 Morning Walk

August 5, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Nature, photography, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs, Writing and blogging

Hello to you. This morning on my walk I decided to take a couple pictures:

Most of the roses in the neighborhood are done blooming

The world is a different place when you walk. If you were to drive through my neighborhood, you would probably miss the things I notice when I’m walking. God is so creative! Most of my neighbors take really good care of their yards and I notice! I hope by my sharing this with you that you are inspired to look at your own neighborhoods with new eyes.

Psalm 24:1New International Version

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

¹The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

3 Aug 2025 Thank You and Babby Farms

August 3, 2025 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Bipolar life, Leading Life by Example, Mental Health, Spirituality and Religion

Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. Today has been a really good day. It began with church and a message that gave us the opportunity to thank those who God has worked through to get us where we are in our walk of faith:

2 Corinthians 3:3New International Version

³You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

As we left the service we were able to take a notecard to write a thank you note. What was nice about this is after church I was going to spend some time with one of my earth angels and friend who along with her husband, my cousin, have been instrumental in my walk with Jesus. I wrote a loving note to her and my cousin and got to see the impact it made! I gave her something she can refer back to in trying times.

We went to the Sunrise for breakfast and it was good as always. Then we drove out to Babby Farms in Caldwell. The admission wasn’t bad we got a military discount. It was quite hot out in the open so we enjoyed the shady spots for a breezy sit down. They had horses and various livestock some you could hand feed and some not. The ones you could feed were really eager to eat out of your hands! They had two camels with double humps that we watched for awhile. We walked the enclosure that had kangaroos and Tawna wanted so much to touch them but we didn’t. The place had a whole inside exhibit with marmosets, parrots, bats and fish and much more. Just when you thought you had seen everything there was more! There was a gray horse Tawna fell in love with – she gave them extra loves!

The gray horse that Tawna fell in love with

It was so nice to get to spend time with my dear friend and see some place new. The drive out to where Babbys is located was very rural and nice. You didn’t see all the land up for sale and I hope it stays that way! Nice to see lots of fields of farmland.

15 July 2025 Feeling Better

July 16, 2025 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Bipolar life, dreams, Health, human rights, Mental Health, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Veteran Affairs

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. It’s another hot day here in Idaho as I write to you – 91 degrees! I walked about a mile this morning after I got up. I’m trying to walk every day and offset the side effects of the medication I’m taking. Both the Depakote and Olanzapine are known to contribute to weight gain. I need to lose about 100 lbs! I’m tired of carrying all this extra weight.

I wanted to share a praise about how I felt yesterday. I haven’t felt that good in over a month! I finally got relief from anxiety! The Olanzapine (generic Zyprexa) has been making all the difference. The side effect of drowsiness has lead me to restful naps and sleep at night. I hope this lasts!

Oh! I had a very vivid short dream about mosquitos last night. I dreamt some really big ones landed on me and my trying to stop one that had a body that was like a syringe from some man’s neck. When I went to flick it away, some of the fluid in its body got in my mouth – that woke me up! It was like a genetically modified insect. Weird dream! I wonder where that came from?!! I think it’s from hearing about huge mosquitos at the detention center in Florida.

A prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus I pray for this world and all of the life within it. I pray for all the sick, the hungry, the poor and those who are lost in this world because they don’t know you or refuse to surrender to your loving care. I pray for all the lives human beings share this world with and that there can be an end to cruelty and neglect of our fellow animal brothers and sisters. I ask all this in your precious name Jesus. Amen.

1 June 2025 Joy

June 2, 2025 by saymber, posted in history, Home, Leading Life by Example, photography, Spirituality and Religion

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. Today has been simple. I woke up to my alarm after tossing and turning much of the night and went to church. I’m glad I went. I got to sit with my friend Mark and keep him company as his wife Beth is still healing from surgery. He is the sweetest man! Today Pastor Jason touched a bit on what heaven might be like and it nearly made me cry! He had a little bit of the “almost fifty” health scare which made him reflect on his own mortality. As I get older I too am hyper aware of the fact time only goes forward and waits for no one!

My neighbor Diana always has something blooming in her yard

One simple thing I do that brings me joy is to stop and notice beauty around me. I’ve always been the person that notices change in my surroundings- good or bad. For example, when I look back at living in Delaware when we lived in apartments that were made section 8 after we moved in – if you were to look at the pictures you would never guess it was filled with trash much of the time. I looked for and found beauty and overlooked the dump it really was!

2 Timothy 4:1-9New International Version

4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Personal Remarks

⁹Do your best to come to me quickly,

22 April 2025 Earth Day

April 23, 2025 by saymber, posted in Bipolar life, Home, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

How rare and precious the blue marble is

Good evening to you fellow earthlings! Something else we have in common in addition to the red blood that flows in our veins- we share a common home called earth. This precious and rare blue marble is truly one of Gods greatest gifts to us! I am constantly reminded and amazed by her resilience. Just look at a sidewalk that seems so inhospitable to life and yet flowers still grow there with barely any soil. Think of how land can be cleared but if left unattended will be reclaimed quickly by growth. Nearly every harm done to the earth finds a way to make it healing, make it good again.

Back when I was in Texas I spent a lot of time outside. As I spent that time I got really immersed into the nature of plants and the insects that I shared my yard with. I used to sit for hours and just watch and listen. The cottonwood trees became teachers as did the so called weeds. Wasps, spiders and flies showed me things I had never seen before. When I was really still I would ask God what he wanted to do with a single blade of grass I would point at and the wind would either blow it or something would land on it. It seemed in those moments God had a plan for every single thing around me! I felt so close to God in those moments we shared. There seemed to be a collective intelligence in everything be it a blade of grass, trees, flowers, birds and insects. There was a bush in the backyard that I noticed was a whole community. Flies seemed to live and die on it – spiders occupied the same bush like traffic cops. I would watch this bush and its life and death for hours. My little backyard taught me so much – even how to make peace with fire ants! They loved it when I fed them sweet treats! The smartest insects were the wasps and spiders. One day when I was out back a wasp dragged the body of a spider twice its size in front of me like it was showing me what it could do. I watched a wasp in seconds dispatch a spider limb from limb. One time a mud dauber wasp (black) got in the house. I caught it with the pink plastic cup we always used to catch insects. When I took it outside I was surprised to see other daubers seemingly waiting for the one we were releasing! One other surprise with a yellow jacket was watching one seemingly disarming itself of its stinger as I looked at it! I miss my yard and all the inhabitants I spent so much time getting to know. Where I live now isn’t the same – it’s all gravel so I don’t spend much time outside in my yard. I get to see most of nature on my daily walks. I have been enjoying seeing the return of birds and blooming trees and flowers.

Psalm 24:1 (NIV) – Just as we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are also called to love the earth simply because it is God’s creation.

5 Dec 2024 Wild Animals

December 6, 2024 by saymber, posted in Animal Rights, animals, Nature, Spirituality and Religion, Writing and blogging

Do you ever see wild animals?

Good afternoon! How are you? It was another icy and frosty day today. I had morning prayer today so I had to scrape my car windows! It was just Lois, Pastor Jayson and me. There is always a lot to give praise about and equally as much to pray about.

Matthew 18:20New International Version

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

We are hoping our little group will grow in 2025!

Today’s prompt is rather random. As I’ve mentioned before, I live in a small town that could be considered rural. We have a current population of approximately 11,501 in Middleton and growing. People have cows, horses, goats, chickens and ducks. A month or so ago there was talk of seeing a wild mountain lion wandering about. I don’t know what became of that. The only wild animals I’ve seen in town were a bunch of wild turkeys one morning! They seemed so lost. With the growth we’ve been experiencing, the open spaces for the wild animals native to this area are disappearing.

Here are some Bible verses about love from the NIV – (love is one of the most used words in the Bible – 551 times in the NIV version):

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”
Mark 12:30-31: “
Mark 12:30-31 says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”
Deuteronomy 7:9: “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments”
Jeremiah 31:3: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”

Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”
“Love your neighbor as yourself”