I thought I'd take a break from the heavy blogs and introduce my feline son, Angelous (Yeah I was a bit of a Buffy/Angel fan back in the day.) 

Anyone who's owned, babysat, or even saw a cat knows they live life on their own terms. 

On this particular beautiful day, birds chirping, a gorgeous sun in the baby blue sky, I came home from a long day of customer complaints, resets, and all that comes with working retail to find my fur baby snuggled under the covers with this head on the pillow like he owned the bed! 

I'm tired, hot, sweaty, and a bit frazzled from my day of work, so I'm in no mood for his shenanigans. 

As I'm telling him just how unappreciated his presence is on that pillow, he gives me the look you see in the picture like, "Whatever..." 

So you know what I did? Yeah, I showed him. He never knew how mean and horrible I could be. 

I snapped a few more shots, begged him to remove himself from the bed, and ended up walking away cause my feet hurt. 

He may have won this battle, but there are many more battles for me to lose!

Wait...I may have gotten that wrong.

I don't claim to be a prophet or preacher. I'm not as intellectual with deciphering Bible texts as I'd like to be, but even a layman such as myself can see the changes going on all over the world. 

I'm not just talking about the political agenda for marriage equality or the war against racism. I'm talking about everyday life for the ordinary person. Changes that you can see on your television or looking out of your bedroom window. 

#1. Television has gotten out of control with it's programming. There's murder, sex, carnage, and profanity.... and that's on so-called children's/ young adult shows. When I can't sit down and watch a cartoon with my nephew because it embarrasses me, something isn't right. 

#2. The weather and atmosphere. There's something going on outside. This past weekend, we had the fourth blood moon. But not just that, we have weird seasonal shifts, horrible storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions. 

#3 All the political agendas have people turning against one another. We have an ongoing war over Facebook posts supporting this or that, and if you don't share this politically correct post then you're a horrible person. IFfyou share this picture of God, He will bless you financially (which let's face it, God isn't checking Facebook for blessings). 

My point is this: There's a shift happening right in front of our very eyes. God's trying to get our attention, and anytime God needs to tell us something, it's important. Let's stop fighting one another on Facebook and start helping God get the world's attention before it's too late. 

In the world today, there are a lot of lines being drawn in the sand between groups of people. You have the Racial issues, LGBT rights, Pro-lifers, and Christians. 

I'm not here to start a fight or proclaim someone is going to Hell for their life choices. I have enough skeletons in my closet to repent for, but I can't help feeling attacked on social media for my beliefs either. I scroll to a post about the Kentucky lady who refused to issue a marriage license and read the comments. There, people calling Christians bigots, idiots, morons, and other vulgar terms. I'm not getting into the issue of whether this woman was wrong or right in her choices, but I will say this: she had guts to stick to her guns with all the hatred she knew would rain down upon her for making those choices. 

I say all of this to enlighten non-christians to what I believe to be a "True Christian Mindset." The way I see the world and events going on in the world and how that directly affects the choices I make. I know you've probably heard it all before that Christians are supposed to love and show God's love through their lives. And how can standing against someone's life choices be showing them love?

Let me ask you this...if you saw someone at a party, and they picked up a cup with Rat Poison in it, maybe they didn't know it was poisoned, would you stand by and let them drink it or would you try and talk them out of it?

Most would do whatever it took to stop them from drinking the toxin...some may stand by and let them die (I mean, Hey it's not my problem right?). This is how I see people choosing sin over and over and over again. They're going for the Rat Poison, am I going to try and save them or watch them die?

Christians are taught through Jesus to spread His Gospel (the cure) to help counteract the Rat Poison (sin). 

I do not go around sticking my self-righteous finger in every person's face calling them a sinner and screaming that they need Jesus, but I do spread the Gospel in my own way to people I see drinking the Rat Poison. I use God's guidance in my books and my blog posts to reach people. 

Please don't call me names, spit in my face, or spout hate speech because you don't understand my faith. In my mind, I am trying to keep you from poisoning yourself. 

I may loose some readers or step on a few toes, but I've been watching this war on Facebook, Twitter, the News, and everywhere else. We have all these #____livesmatter. You fill in the blank with whatever side of the agenda you're on. But I think we're losing focus on what's really important. 

It doesn't matter what race, religion, or job you have. Your life matters. My life matters. ALL LIVES MATTER. Why is anyone's life more important than someone else's?

God created all life. I've read the Bible and don't recall God saying Jesus' life mattered more than Joseph's. If that were true, God would have spared Jesus and put someone else on the cross. Jesus didn't say "I'm dying for Jewish people only." He put himself on the cross for every human both dead and alive. 

Now here is where I get really angry with #___livesmatter. The same people that are throwing up certain lives matter are also the one's praising abortion and supporting the mass murder of babies each and every day. Why does a helpless unborn child's life not matter as much as someone else? Is it because they are unable to live on their own? 

Can you live without air? What if the world stopped producing oxygen and everyone had to walk around with a tank? Would their lives matter less? 

My point is this, we need to come together and realize that All lives are important. Let's stop fighting each other about certain lives and band together so we can save all lives through Jesus Christ. 

Yes! I was looking cute as ever for my night out with some friends. We went  into town to listen to a band, and it was amazing! I laughed and sang along to the great music. It felt great to get out and forget about all the pain from the past few months.

 

Jamie, a good friend and co-worker. 

Nancy and I have been friends for years. 

The band is Tom Cat and Bark the Dawg. They play Classic Country all the way to Rock 'N Roll. The lead singer is charismatic and greeted everyone when the band took a break. 

This is a former student of mine. She was an amazing trumpet player, and her voice is even better! So happy I went out and got to hear this lovely lady sing. I can't wait to do it again sometime. 

It's been a crappy few weeks with all that's been going on. I found myself deeply depressed for a good bit. 

But then, I got encouragement from all my friends. I made the right decision getting out of that relationship, and I'm the type of person that doesn't like to look back and wish for things to have turned out different. After I have my pity parter, I want to move forward and come out with a new plan of action. 

As a reward for coming out of my funk, I'm gonna go out this weekend and hear a live band play! I'm excited to hang out with friends and listen to good music. I may even have myself a drink...or two. 

Next week, I'll post pictures and an update on my first outing since becoming single yet again. 

Don't let yourself stay down too long, because the longer you stay on the ground, the harder it is to get back up. This may be caused by your legs falling asleep due to lack of circulation...but you get my point. 

GET UP AND LIVE!

I know I've been gone for a while. It's been a crazy few months, and now I'm trying to get back to where God wants me. 

I fell in love with the wrong guy. I won't go into details because it's still to fresh and painful, but I spent months trying to please this person only to realize I'd lost myself in the process. 

So I had to make the hard decision: Marry someone whom wanted me to be different than I am, or let them go. 

I let him go so that he can find the woman God wants him to be with. I'm heartbroken over the loss, but I know it was for the best. My heart still yearns for him while my mind reminds me why it didn't work out. I find myself reaching for my phone to send him a text, but then I stop and curl my fingers into fists instead. 

But now it's time to get back to the basics of me. I will claw and climb my way out of this deep depression that threatens to swallow me and step back onto the path God created special for me. Writing and storytelling is my passion as well as helping other singles who may be going through the same stuff I am. 

I  get tired of everyone telling me I shouldn't be unhappy about being single. Sometimes being single sucks, and that's just the truth about it. 

I know there are a lot of advantages to being single, but it doesn't stifle that yearning deep down for companionship and family. 

I think sometimes I try so hard to be happy as a single that guys think I'm not interested in them. They see me as happily independent. Would I want to date someone who doesn't seem interested in a relationship because they're so content being alone?

In today's day and age, it's hard being over thirty and still single. People look at you with a stigma. They think there's either something really wrong with you (third eye or some other physical horror), or you're batting for the other team. 

Well I'm tired of being single! I want to make a change in my life. 

So, I have a plan to turn my luck with men around. I am going to send out the I'm available vibe...especially to that one certain person I'm interested in. I'm going to give guys a chance instead of always looking for the downfall in their personality. My mission is to put myself out there once again. 

Stay tuned for weekly updates in my progress for seeking true love in 2015!

Recently I decided to get back into the dating game. My friends tease me about how picky I am with the guys I'll date. They say have too high of demands, which makes me feel bad. So, I decided to give a guy I met a chance. We'll call him Cheapy (You'll understand why later.)

Chance 1:
Cheapy asked me out to dinner three weeks ago, but I had plans on the night he wanted. I asked if we could switch to the next day, and he said okay. 

When I asked Cheapy to set a meeting time, he kept putting me off. Then, he said he needed to check his bank account to make sure he had enough money for both of us.

I don't know about other girls, but if I get asked out on a date, I expect the guy to have already checked his bank account for the funds. I was dumbfounded and highly offended. 

I waited a bit and cooled off...

Chance 2:
I suggested we could meet for coffee instead (and I had planned to buy my own cup of coffee.) Cheapy gets offended and asks why I want to change the plans because he does have enough money. He refuses to meet for coffee, and I can't fathom going out to eat because in the back of my mind, I'll be wondering if he's gonna go broke over my meal. It would take all enjoyment out of the date. 

I get really ticked off at this point and tell him to just forget the whole thing. I'm over it. 

A few days later, he asks for another chance. I feel bad and decide that maybe I was a bit too harsh on him. I agree to try again. 

Chance 3: 

Cheapy asks me out for coffee on Tuesday, but my co-worker needs me to switch shifts. I ask Cheapy if we can change it to Thursday. He agrees. 

Again, I ask him to set a time for us to meet on Thursday. He says he needs to check his schedule. 

By Wednesday evening, I am fed up with waiting on him. I ask him what time we're supposed to meet, and he says he needs to check and see if he has the money!

At this point, I am red hot with anger for this guy. Obviously he really doesn't want to get together. I mean three chances and all three he messes up. 

Am I wrong to think this. Should I give the guy another chance or not?

To be read in on April 28, 2020

Dear Janie, 

I hope this letter finds you happy and stable in your life. By now, you should have finished your first book series and moved on to The Singlehearted series. I bet you're an accomplished writer and helping others as they begin or continue their writing journey. 

By now, you're inching your way toward 37...I hope we've found the soulmate God planned for us to have. Did you wear the wedding dress we picked out in college? Was mom crying and smiling? Knowing us, it was a small wedding. Did we get married on a cruise to Europe like we wanted? Did you get our brother on an airplane without heavily medicating him first? 

I know you're older and wiser than me, but I hope we kept our promise to not make the same mistakes and wait until marriage to become intimate with our soulmate. Everywhere I turn sex before marriage is the thing to do. People ask me why I would deprive myself, but I don't see it as that. God intended for us to fall in love and help each other, not to just want to get physical (sorry for the Olivia Newton John flashback). I know that if it's hard for me right now, it must've been harder for you as we waited. I bet it was well worth it. 

I know we would never settle for someone we didn't truly love, so I have all the faith in the world that you made the right decision.

Did you hear the pitter-patter of little feet coming your way? I know how much we want a child. I'm sure you're a great mom, and I know the kid's got a wonderful grandma. 

In reading this letter, I want you to remember that I still believe in all of our dreams. Whether they've all come true or we're still working toward them, I believe in you. Stay faithful to God and continue living our life in His Will. 

Love,

Me