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Showing posts from January, 2021

Taxes and Trust

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  It's that time of year again.  Tax time!   From the time I worked at H & R Block doing taxes, until now when I only handle my family's taxes, tax time has always been a busy time for me.  I started with just my taxes, and have quickly moved to doing my teenagers' taxes also.  Most people dread this time of year, but I actually don't mind it.  Throughout the past year, I collect receipts, statements, and W-2's in preparation for the big day when itemizing begins.   Because my husband and I are considered self-employed as pastors, there is a lot of balancing expenditures for ministry versus income.  It takes time and keeping track of everything we've spent over the last year and why.  If it wasn't connected with ministry or housing, we can't claim it.  This is why I keep a detailed list of everything .  It makes me think of Revelations.  The last book  in the Bible mentions that God keeps track of everything we have do...

Praising When It's Hard

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  Getting up and going to church is never easy.   There are a million things that keep you from wanting to get out of bed or, at least, out the door on a Sunday morning.  Your children, that are normally fine every other day, have the biggest meltdowns on Sunday about shoes, clothes, and where they get to sit in the car.  Your pants that you have worn a million times have suddenly shrunk two sizes too small (yes, I say shrunk because I choose to believe that excuse).   I think the biggest reason is because the enemy does not want you going to God's house.  Why?  Because when you enter God's house others can truly see you.  You no longer get to hide behind only the versions of you that you want people to see on your social media.  As you walk into God's house, His Holy Spirit sees the real us and begins to work on things we have been able to leave untouched for weeks or even months.  The enemy does not want that!  This morning, as I...

Pocket-Dialing 911

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Have you ever pocket dialed 911 emergency services by accident?   Early this week, as I was getting into my car, I heard my Bluetooth suddenly kick on with a person asking for the address of my emergency.  My first response was speechlessness.  I hadn't called anyone.  When I looked at my car's screen, I realized that I had somehow called 911.  I mumbled something about my car calling her, and maybe it was a pocket dial.  She was very nice and mentioned it happened all the time.  Now, I was really curious because I had a 60 second lock on my cell phone, so it shouldn't have called anyone.  To remove the lock, I either need to enter a 4 digit code or a fingerprint.  I had done neither.  I blew it off as a freak thing until this morning.  As I got into my car to drive to church, I noticed my car's screen notifying me that the 911 assistance was not working.  What?!!! That's when I realized that my car was trying to call 911 for ...

Advice From a Chocolate Bag

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  You may not have world peace around you, but  trusting God can give you a world of peace  within you. Every year, I feel it's my duty to buy a bag of Christmas candy.  One of my favorites is Dove chocolate.  In case you've never experienced Dove chocolate, when you open the wrapper, a little nugget of wisdom is printed on the wrapper.  It's kind of like a grown-up version of Bazooka bubble gum or Laffy Taffy, minus the joke.  I felt that I owed it to the public to eat through a whole bag of chocolate so that I could impart the wisdom of the chocolate makers .  First, I opened the one milk chocolate that I had.  It read, " Keep life moving forward, looking backward is only for time travelers.  Rachel O. Washington. "  It started out profound; however, I've found that the writers for the dark chocolate are much less profound than milk chocolate.  The dark chocolate wrappers stated, "Spread love this season."  Generic, but...

The Good Old Days- See How Many You Can Relate To...

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  As another year has passed, so has another birthday for me.  I've found the older I get, the less I keep track of how old I've become.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my children who like to remind me just how old I am.  In honor of another year gone, I thought I would post a remember when list.  Let me know how many of these things you remember. 1) Using a key to open a can of Spam. 2) Jelly shoes- After wearing them all day, you could take them off and see the design etched on your feet from sweat and dirt. 3) The dentist drawer filled with cheap plastic rings, stickers, and candy. 4) Putting a flash bar on the old 110 cameras 5) Rolling down a car window. 6) Standing outside your living room window turning the antennae until you could get a better picture on your television. 7) Metal slides and the sensation of burning your skin as you slid down it in July. 8) Going to the video store and choosing VHS movies for the weekend. 9) Reading the back ...