I am about to share some pretty cheesy tidbits about myself with y'all, so do with this information, what you will. Here goes.

I have multiple playlists that I like to listen to, for different reasons and times. If I am in a deep, concentrated, focused writing mood, I tend to play my classical music playlist. Bob Goff says when we (writers) are writing, we should wear a writing cap/hat. But I wear a hat a lot when I’m working out or throw my hair up, and I don’t have a “special enough” hat to wear a writer’s cap/hat, so Terry knows if I’m playing classical music, I’m super focused and need to stay that way.

I have a “favorites” playlist that has about 320 songs from various genres, so I will play that when I’m cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, etc. Or if I just want to get a big eye roll from Terry.

I have a “love songs” playlist that’s more of a “chill” type of playlist, and I play it at night when Terry and I are playing cards. One of my favorite songs that is on multiple playlists of mine, is “Lover” by Taylor Swift. As soon as I heard the first line, I was hooked. “We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January. This is our place, we make the rules. And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear. Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?”

Okay. I know. I’m super cheesy and a sucker for romance.

Terry and I were talking to a friend recently and she commented how difficult it had been on her to be around someone who has been so cruel to her, in the past. Our friend tried to extend an olive branch, so to speak, about five or six years ago, to this person who has been so unkind to her. A couple of weeks ago, our friend, in the midst of this pandemic, had to be around these very people again; one being the woman who had been so nasty to our friend, in the past.

Our friend was telling us that this last time she was around the person, things were a little better, but she remains guarded because of how nasty this person has been to her, in the past. We told her we understood, completely, and that she should guard her heart. (Proverbs 4:23) I asked her, “But maybe this is a step toward healing? It is what we have been praying for with you, and maybe God allowed all of this to take place for relationships to be mended?”

Terry and I were sitting in the truck talking to our friend on speaker when it went silent. “Are you still there?” Terry asked her.

“I’m here,” she said, softly. “I just don’t like how all of this has been, and it’s hard always being the one who reaches out.” Terry said

I miss our old kickboxing class. My sister-friend Lindsey and I used to meet each other early in the morning to take kickboxing. Our instructor April was fierce. She was also fabulous. I not only learned how to defend and protect myself, but it made me feel incredibly strong. I loved the *pop* sound when you punched the paddles in the right spot. It was also an extremely therapeutic way to get out any built up anger.

I tend to bottle up my emotions. We have received a lot of unpleasant news in the past few months, and although I take it directly to Papa in prayer … I realize I have a lot of emotions running all over the place in my heart and mind. As we climbed into bed the other night, I told Terry, “I want to order some kickboxing paddles. Would you hold them for me?” He said, “Absolutely. Let’s get some good gloves for you to protect your hands, too.”

My old counselor, Bob once told me, “You have to feel to heal.” But quite frankly, sometimes

Michala has grown into a young lady I look up to and admire. She is bold and she is a leader.

There are so many areas in my precious child’s life where I messed up. But watching her exercise truth is just another area where Michala excels. I am so proud of Michala and her friends for speaking up for injustices and I watch her and gain my own, personal strength.

They are speaking up for black lives. They are speaking out against people in power who have engaged in sexual assault(s).

I am so proud of these young ladies for being disgusted by sexually vile and inappropriate behavior which only empowers them to speak out against it. I am so proud of the way they respectfully demand change and stand up for one another and those who

For some reason, I have been having really weird dreams, lately.

One night last week, I dreamed Terry and I were in Italy, and found a “cheeseria.” It was located in a small village, known for their cheeses, so I could not wait to visit. When we walked inside this cheeseria, we were handed a glass of wine, a piece of paper that was like a scorecard and pen, and told to sample the cheeses and check which ones we liked, most. Terry’s scorecard had about four checks on it, where mine had about 30. We decided these cheeses were the best cheese either of us had ever tasted, and we bought so much to bring back, we had to buy new suitcases that were also sold there at the “cheeseria” because they do not do online orders and they do not ship.

We took our suitcases full of cheese to a FedEx facility who sold us blocks of ice and shipped it back to the States for us. But in my dream, one of the suitcases held the favorite cheeses Terry and I sampled, so I asked at the FedEx place, “Maybe I should keep that one with me, and it can be my carry-on bag so I can keep an eye on it.”

Y’all. This is how I dream, but it is also how I think. “Maybe I should just hold on to this, instead of giving up control of it, trusting God to handle it.”

While I very much wish that dream

Terry and I planted a tree, recently. It was pretty big. Not like a big, established magnolia tree or anything; this is a lemon tree. But it is still big and heavy. Once we got the hole dug and ready for the tree, it took the both of us to lift it down into the center of the hole, and I had to hold it up in place for Terry to get the soil and dirt positioned around it.

I had no idea there were so many thorns on a lemon tree. My shoulder looked like I got into a fight with a cat, and the cat won.

Once the tree was firmly planted, though, we knew it was going to take root and grow. Already there are little buds growing on our tree, and one day we will have fresh lemons to squeeze and make lemonade! (Corny, I know, but I will).

The tree was dying right after we brought it home. It was super hot, we had to get it out of the grow pot it was in from the nursery, and get it into the soil. Terry (the one of the two of us who manages to keep plants and trees alive, as opposed to the other one of us who seems to kill all things, living) nursed this tree and really brought it back.

The tree taking to the soil and the watering job Terry does, will produce fruit. Jesus told us His Father is the keeper of the vineyard, and God

Our pastor says something rather frequently, intended to stick with us, which is, “Do the next right thing.” Terry and I wear bracelets/wristbands that say this very saying.

Do the next right thing.

When you are stuck and do not know what to do, do the next right thing. When you have a big, important decision to make, do the next right thing. When you are presented with an opportunity, do the next right thing.

Little by little, one by one, our actions and decisions (and words spoken) will turn into doing the next right thing, when we live by this motto. Doing the next right thing has nothing to do with “religion” and everything to do with Jesus.

In fact, doing what is considered to be “religious” is not always the right thing. I do not like “religious” as a description for me. Tell people I love Jesus, yes. But please

I love Proverbs. Sometimes when I read it, though, it is hard to believe how very long ago scripture was written. Because, wow. It is so applicable today.

“The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” - Proverbs 11:1-3 (NIV)

One of the things I love the most about my Terry is his humility. Sure, he is silly and jokes with us about how handsome he is, or when I say I love him so much he might reply, “I know you do. How could you not?” But he is teasing in those moments. He does most everything with a quiet humility, never seeking fanfare or attention. (Although I am his biggest fan!)

When I look at Terry, Michala and my closest friends, they are all humble. And with their humility comes wisdom. The integrity of each of these people in my mind is what guides their path, and is the reason I turn to them for wise counsel.

When I look at the world around us, I see how the

When I was in college, I had a wonderful doctor who was on campus. He genuinely cared about his patients and listened, intently to anything I ever said, as well as asked questions, looking for things I wasn’t saying. Looking back I can see how much he must have invested in the lives of students who were struggling, or depressed by looking for the things they weren’t saying. Anyway, I hated losing this doctor after college, because he only treated students.

He offered some “unsolicited advice” to me that I carry with me, to this day. He said, “Don’t ever choose a doctor who is obese or smokes. If they don’t take care of themselves and their health by setting a good example for their patients, how can you trust them to take care of you and your health?”

I took his advice to heart

I shared this a while back, but my sister-friend Jessica shared something really powerful with me, and it has given me tremendous peace. She told me when she’s facing something difficult or painful, she visualizes handing that problem to Jesus. She said she closes her eyes and pictures whatever she is wearing at the time, whatever she saw and smelled before closing her eyes; she puts herself right there in the moment, but pictures herself at the feet of Jesus, physically handing over the problem/burden and releasing it to Him.

When Jessica shared this with me, I immediately closed my eyes and pictured myself handing over the heavy burden I was carrying, and placing it at the feet of Jesus.

You see, when we

Picture it. The narrator reads, “Meanwhile over at the Little House on the Prairie, Terry and Aimee found themselves without internet and the cable went out, so they spent some sweet, quality time together. It was nice, actually, being disassociated with the news for a couple of days so they played cards, laughed and just really enjoyed their time together.”

Then, Tuesday evening, the internet returned, briefly. So I hopped on Twitter to see what all we had missed.

Lord have mercy. I think the Hatfields and the McCoys got along better than people are, today.

I was stunned to see the video of the man screaming at someone in

Terry and I have a metal roof. This causes interference with our cell coverage. When we have any kind of rain or wind, we lose our internet connection. Some days, I feel like we are living during the Hatfield and McCoy times; like pioneers. We laugh when people tell us to watch something on Netflix, because we cannot keep consistent internet long enough to stream a show. I kid you not. I try to write my devotions in advance, and then when I cannot post them due to no internet connection, I have them ready for when we go somewhere with internet, or for when we have a few minutes of connection.

Anytime I find myself complaining about how slow (or non-existent) our internet is, I imagine God hears me whining and rolls His eyes at me. There are serious issues in the world worthy of my lamenting, and lack of internet is not one of them. I should be crying out to Him over the very real and heartbreaking problems you and I read about, every single day.

I have had such a heavy heart for how much discord there is in our country today. The left is fighting to one extreme and the right is fighting to the other extreme, and there seems to

Nothing thrills my heart more than knowing Michala’s relationship with Jesus is secure. I prayed for so many years for her future friends and for her college environment. I prayed she would have friends who were like minded, and would be as thoughtful and loving to Michala, as she is to everyone else. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or even imagine.” - Ephesians 3:20.

I get so excited when Michala tells me about doing a bible study with one of her roommates. Or how all of them are watching their church online (during the pandemic). They are all involved in one way or another, in serving. My heart explodes seeing the answered prayers from so many years of me asking God to provide love and friends for Michala, and He did so … and then some. Immeasurably more than all we ask or even imagine, you might say.

We recently got to visit with Michala, and I cannot tell you

Sometimes I write longer devotions than others. Today is one of those longer ones. My mentor in politics told me when I “retired” at age 31, “You can take the girl out of politics, but you’ll never take the politics out of the girl.” She was so right. As much as it turns my stomach most days, the politics in this girl has yet to be removed.

Beth Moore said something recently that deeply broke my heart. It broke my heart because I agree. She said, “American Evangelicalism needs to file a missing person’s report. We have lost Jesus.”

Wow. I was frantically nodding my head in agreement when I read those words. We are so fortunate as Americans, to live in a country where we can worship, freely. America provides so many liberties other countries do not have, and I pray we never take

I was reading Mark the other morning, and something struck me as though it were the first time I have ever read it. Please tell me this happens to you, too. You have read something in scripture hundreds of times, then one day, Bam! It just suddenly makes more sense? I hope I am not the only one who seems to take decades for the ability to grasp and learn something.

So I was reading Mark 2, and I love this story. I love the story of the paralytic man being lowered through the roof by his friends to get to Jesus. Our pastor spoke on this a couple of years ago, and I remember him asking us, “Can you imagine what the homeowners must have thought? Having a hole cut through their roof?” I don’t know if they were okay with it … if maybe the friends helped patch it up that same day?

But this is not the point I wanted to make. Sometimes I’m like the dogs in the movie, Up! “Squirrel!”

Here’s what struck me. “When Jesus saw t

Aside from Jesus giving us a command to live by, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Loving one another is not always easy. Sometimes, it’s downright next to impossible to even like someone; much less love them.

When I was working on President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004, we had an event outside. It was on the property of someone’s business, and he owned the building and parking lot. Protesters were allowed on the sidewalk; just not on his property or parking lot. As they came closer to where we gathered, I had to walk down and ask them to please stay off the gentleman’s property, per his request. I even told them, “We understand your right to protest the President, and just ask that you stay on the public property, not the private property.”

I had no desire to call the police on these protesters. They were just holding signs and yelling. They weren’t doing anything “illegal.” The First Amendment allowed them

I do not believe in Karma. I do, however, believe in God’s justice and God’s vengeance toward evildoers.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” - Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

It can feel like the things we do are never noticed or recognized. It can also feel like the people who “get away” with doing evil things never seem to suffer the consequences. But that is not true. They do. We may never know or hear about it, but I very much believe there are consequences for all of our actions.

Is there grace, forgiveness and redemption offered from Jesus for our sins and mistakes? Absolutely, there is. But we also have to recognize the

I was recently contacted by a group to speak on their behalf regarding a topic many find extremely controversial. My gut said, “Do it! Say yes, immediately!” My head said, “Better hang on a minute, and think this through … you could lose a lot of readers if you agree,” and my heart said, “What does scripture tell you to do? What would honor Jesus?”

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions regarding this request. I read it out loud to Terry and he asked me, “What do you want to do?” I told him, “I don’t know. I feel tugged in both directions. I think I need to pray about it before I respond, and then likely tell them I need to take some time to pray about it and think about my decision.” Sort of wanting Terry to say, “You should

I can still smell her Jergens lotion and feel the smooth texture of her hands as she held tightly to mine. It was hard to wash her hair because she didn’t want to let go of my hand. Due to the many strokes, communication was growing more and more difficult for us and more and more frustrating for my sweet grandmother. She couldn’t figure out how to walk over to the sink where the stool/walker my parents bought for her was waiting, so I backed her wheelchair into the kitchen.

It just wasn’t tall enough to reach the sink, so I covered the floor with towels and washed her hair. She kept

A couple of years ago, I was sitting outside on my dear friend’s back porch and she asked me, “Do you want to be right or do you want peace?”

Well, I wanted both. But I understood what she was asking me. I had to pour my heart into the hands of Jesus, day in and day out, as Terry and I sought to do the next right thing.

Today, I find myself crying tears of shame and heartache over the ridiculous, childish fighting in our nation. Our country is hurting, and rather than offer solace, love and comfort as followers of Jesus, many are pointing fingers, demanding this or that and storming off, in anger.

“Do you want to be right or do you want peace?”

My friend’s words from several years ago rang in my ears as I read article after article; tweet after tweet. Facebook post after Facebook post. As one of my friends recently called it, “A dumpster fire.”

I know I have shared this before, but one of my favorite political science professors took