The Mid-Week Memo

According to Gallup, while only 6% of adults in Vietnam (the lowest worldwide) felt lonely during a lot of the day in 2023, 45% of people in Comoros (the highest) said the same. When people feel lonely, they are more likely to feel anger, sadness, stress, worry, and physical pain. They are also less likely to experience positive emotions. That’s a disturbing fact. Can you relate? In 2023 United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General…

With clammy hands, I gathered my reins and nudged my horse forward toward the starting gate. I had just witnessed another rider get crushed by her horse, whose misstep at 20+ miles per hour caused it to dive to the ground and roll on its back. It frantically got up, but its rider didn’t. A team of people carried her out in a stretcher and an ambulance took her to the nearest hospital. While the course was being reset, I was reminded that my love for barrel racing was…

There it was, 5 yards of black triple-shred mulch towering in front of my garage, leaving no access to cover for our vehicle parked behind that pile, for over 5 weeks. Why, you say? Two reasons. Number one, I’m not in my 20’s, 30’s or even 40’s anymore and had no desire to wheelbarrow endlessly in 90-degree weather to spread the load. The second, and more disturbing reason, the guy who promised months ago to do so, ghosted me; only 2 days after…

“I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3 NKJV In this series we are exploring the protective nature of God revealed in scripture, specifically how he is a refuge for his people. God communicates these ideas…

As God appeared to Moses in the burning bush Moses hesitated to take on the assignment which God had prepared for him. What would turn out to be one of the most significant displays of God’s authority and power ever recorded in history. Yet with great trepidation, Moses balked at his mission. Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” The Lord asked him, “What is…

Jesus tenderly took her hand and spoke these words over her. Immediately, breath filled her lungs, and her dead body was raised back to life. There it is again - the theme of the ultimate love story. The power of Jesus, time and time again, allowing us to rise in His victory. Simply because He loves us so deeply. Sister, is there something in your life that holds you back from claiming that victory? Is the feeling of defeat a louder and more familiar guest in your heart?,…

A 2022 Gallup study shows a record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of "fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man." This marks the first time significantly more Americans have viewed the Bible as not divinely inspired than as the…

“I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3 NKJV In this series we are exploring the protective nature of God revealed in scripture, specifically how he is a refuge for his people. God communicates these ideas…

I’m not quoting Yoda here. Disorientation is exactly what I’ve been experiencing as of late. The symptoms are many. From spraining my ankle in a quick turnaround ascent up the basement steps, to running over an 8-inch curb and subsequently driving that car into a cabinet in the garage. Then there’s just the fog of scattered thoughts as I replay the entire day and plan the next with random rewrites racing in my mind. My “to-do” list gets…