Too Lofty?

Actor Dean Winters… You may not recognize his name but you most likely would recognize his face—he’s the “Mayhem” guy in Allstate Insurance’s TV commercials. He’s the one person we do not want to encounter!!! Beneath the surface of those Allstate commercials is a man who has endured his...

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Messiah

The first time I had the honor of singing “The Messiah” was in high school. This has been 52 years ago. My choral director, Mrs. Edwards, gave me a hard back copy of the complete score with my name embossed on the cover. I still use this somewhat tattered...

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November Blessings

November is quickly coming to a close.  Indian Summer has been in full glory with warm days, beautiful blue skies, and fantastic fall colors. There are many blessings we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving. It is time to reflect upon the thankfulness of God’s love, family, friends, the...

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Great Is Thy Faithfulness

I always find it interesting to learn more about favorite traditional hymns. “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is such a hymn. Thomas Obadiah Chisolm was born in Franklin, KY in 1866. He became a teacher at age 16 and at age 27 became a Christian.  In 1893 he was associate...

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Purpose, Being 100, and Dreams!

It is no wonder that we are all just a little bit on the wonky side of “keep on, keepin’ on” which is an expression sweet Miss Lillian used to say about being 100.  In other words, it was totally beyond her understanding as to why she was still...

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Simply Sophy: Reflections on Relationships

I was talking with a friend the other day, who had inadvertently hurt me.  (Hurts are usually inadvertent:  Who would choose a friend who would deliberately hurt you?) He said, “I don’t take responsibility for hurting you.  If your hurt button got pushed, it has nothing to do with...

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Blackberry Time

I’m sure you have had fun picking strawberries and blackberries. Maybe in your own strawberry patch or finding a blackberry patch beside a farmer’s dirt road. Where is nothing better than blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. YUM! Summer vacation was always a trip to see our grandparents in...

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Working Toward Energy Equity!

I’d like to talk with you about energy and equity. You might be lucky enough to not think twice about paying your electricity bill every month. But low-income families in the U.S. can spend up to half of their incomes on household energy! This energy burden/energy poverty means that...

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Magnolia time

“June is bustin’ out all over.” This is one of my favorite songs from the musical Oklahoma. The magnolia and mimosa trees are blooming. The birds sing early each morning. A beautiful time to enjoy all the blessings of  summer. Yes, it is hot! A glass of sweet ice tea...

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Simply Sophy: Visions of Christ- Easter and Beyond

Easter. Rebirth. Resurrection. Spring. It is also the time when we celebrate the Resurrection. Or, if you’re like me, puzzle over it, filled with questions and doubt: did Jesus resurrect bodily, or was it a mystical return from the dead? Had he fully died? Maybe he went into a...

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A Happy Heart

February has a special connection to our hearts. There is Valentine’s Day and Heart Month. We share our love with family and friends on this very special day each year. One more way to share our love with others is to keep a healthy heart. There is research that...

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A Christmas Gift from The Holy Spirit

Every month, as I sit down to write my blog, I think, “This will be my last post. It’s time to stop. Too many people are creating, publishing, screaming for recognition, for me to add one more word.” (As if anyone is actually reading my posts, itself perhaps an...

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2021; A Year of New Beginnings

2021 is going to be a year of great anticipation, new beginnings, hope, and promises. A time to look forward to jobs returning, multiple family gatherings, lots of hugs, eating inside a restaurant, travel, and music of all genres. A world becoming Covid-19 virus free with the much needed...

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Advent Promise

December is a month of anticipation. Taking time to light Advent candles brings quiet reflection. The word Advent means arrival. The advent wreath is a circle representing unending love of Christ and eternal life. Each candle gives us a special meaning throughout each week of December. The First candle...

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Simply Sophy: Polish Mushrooms and Fearless Fat!

For many years (40? 50?) no holiday celebration in our family has been complete without the family favorite:  Polish Baked Mushrooms. (see below)  Not only is it rich with eggs and heavy cream and butter (and everything’s good with butter and cream), but filled with protein and fat.  You’d...

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A Grateful Heart

This 2020 Thanksgiving will certainly be different. The possibility of sharing a Thanksgiving meal with your family or friends may not happen or be very limited. Since March, America has taken one day at a time; trying to understand the Covid-19 virus, a presidential election, riots, hurricanes, fires, jobs...

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Autumn Beauty

This Autumn has been particularly beautiful. I have taken some lovely drives through the Great Smoky Mountains and surrounding state forests and seen God’s painted wonders. The days have been filled with amazing blue skies and warm temperatures. Just the right time for gentle walks through the local parks...

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Prophecy and Preview: Holy Wow! Part 2!

  Amos 3:6- 8 Does the trumpet sound the alarm in the city without frightening the people? Does disaster come to a city unless the Eternal One has permitted it? The answer to all is the same. No! The eternal Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his...

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Simply Sophy: Caring for All Creatures…

Today I saw a fox pattering along the edge of the forest, nose down, intent on its journey to catch mice in the horse pasture a quarter mile up the road.  The birds are twittering, a single crow cawing, and, high above, a vulture sways on the wind looking...

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Simply Sophy: The Healing Power of Animals

  Sixteen years ago I prayed to God to bring me a Relationship, the companion of my heart.  I was lonely.  I wanted a man to share my life.  I thought a man would heal the ache in my soul. Instead I got a horse.    A horse? I...

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Backyard Creatures

This has been an unusual summer. Covid-19 has kept us at home with family and many pets. I have spent each day looking out at my backyard watching birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, neighborhood cats, and an occasional skunk bring me pleasure each day. Cardinals mate for life. It is...

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Wow! Holy Wow! Voice and Vision from God!

Wow! In spite, of it all, God is good! God is great & the foretold days in which we live are truly blessed by the LORD our God—our Father-in-heaven! So here I sit in Fort Davis, Texas, 14-years after the Divine Encounter and journey-to-heaven, looking out the windows upon...

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Simply Sophy: Seeking Solace for Healing Hearts!

This is a story of how lovingly our needs are met. It’s also about an angel, but mostly about how Spirit, the Guiding Principle, the Universe, God, whatever you choose to call this incomprehensible Mystery, works invisibly to heal our pain. The solutions are not what we’d impose if...

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Simply Sophy! Cheering for Ourselves

Dear Janine, If there is one benefit to this coronavirus isolation, it’s giving us the luxury of time.  It’s not boring. To quote Cicero, “ If you have a garden and a library, you have everything.”  But when, like me, you live alone, the hours are long, especially on...

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Sunshine in My Soul

Spring brings us signs of new beginnings, new hope. This Spring of 2020 has certainly been a time for renewing our faith, hope, and love in God. There have been many challenges that no one ever expected. Quarantine, isolation, social distancing, schools closed for the rest of the school...

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The Year of Living Differently!

In December 1982, a Mel Gibson film entitled “The Year of Living Dangerously “was released.  We are only a few months into a new year but I have already dubbed 2020 with the same title as The Year of Living Differently. For me, the difference began 17 days into...

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Simply Sophy…

Dear Janine, The coronavirus seems to be the only topic of conversation these days, assuming you can even find someone to have a conversation with  . . . as we stand separated by our fears.  I write this sitting on the front steps of my little cottage in Massachusetts,...

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Angels Coming to Our Rescue!

  The accompanying photo is from a correspondent, Pam Urquidi-Wilson, who sees angels in the clouds. On crutches, with painful spinal issues, she lives with a generous, boundless faith in the Holy Spirit, seeing angels everywhere. It’s been a long time since I told a story of angels coming...

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God’s Love

February is the month to celebrate Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and President’s Day. Valentine’s Day is time to exchange loving gifts, cards, and phone calls with family and friends. In I John 4:16 (KJV) the Bible states “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in...

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Learning to Heal…

  A few weeks ago I “pulled a muscle.”  You’d think at my age that I would know better than to break up the packed ice on the sidewalk outside my house, and heave the snow over my shoulder to the verge; but it was such a pretty, blue-sky...

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The Best of Intentions. To Connect!

Here we are in January. The new year. This time the new Decade. January is the month when we make Resolutions—and usually forget them in a week. Instead of resolutions, I offer myself one word, an Intention, that I can muse on and meander beside throughout the year. One...

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Do You Hear What I Hear?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”  1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT What is your favorite Christmas song (hymn or carol)?  I’ll admit that I’m hard pressed to pick only one but would have to...

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