Betty Whitaker Jackson

Day 4 The world calls unexplainable situations various names: circumstance or chance, coincidence or accident, serendipity or freak of nature, luck or magic. Culture has its explanations. How many times have we heard: • “It is what it is,” • “That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” or • “That’s life.”? I, on the other hand, live in the sure knowledge that God is in charge of my every experience; therefore, I know by those experiences that He designs them for…..

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Day 3

I reject the opinion that religion is an opiate, a crutch, a fantasy, or worse, irrelevant. Again, I respect others’ belief systems, or the choice to believe nothing.

However, and eternally, I maintain that God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform, because I have seen it fulfilled.  I call His way Godincidences, because they have proven true in my experience, and with astounding clarity, frequency, and intentionality.

Today’s Scripture: “I was pushed back and about to…..

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Day 2

It seems to me we learn to cope with life’s circumstances through facing them with an attitude of gratitude for what we can learn from them. That being said, when we successfully overcome episodes, crises, or intense situations, upon reflection, we are thankful for the experience because it has:

taught us something, resulted in something unexpected, or served a greater purpose.

True, not everyone looks at life as I do. I respect that. I am a Christian, and…..

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Today let us remember the legacy of faith presented to us by those who have lived the Christian life before us. Perhaps it is the prayers of a grandmother or parent that has brought you to faith. Perhaps it is a Sunday School teacher who not only taught you, but exhibited Christ’s message even without using words or flannel graph figures. Perhaps it is a pastor or youth leader who inspired you to think about the spiritual life which is…..

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In a world filled with TV news of war, intrigue, murders, and campaign promises, it’s hard to focus on the great things people are accomplishing. Yesterday afternoon at Eau Gallie, there was just such an interlude, and the nine members of our family were refreshed and our faith in the future was bolstered.

For what was announced to be the fourteen the Mel-Gallie Orchestra Festival, the orchestra students from these two high schools sent their orchestra students to an all…..

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As I listen to news broadcasts, on EVERY channel, all I hear and see is WAR.  While I intentionally stay apprised of current events, I find watching these broadcasts to be revolting, depressing, and endlessly repetitive, and while the old adage “blood sells papers ” is endlessly true, it’s way out of bounds now. Is there nothing else in the world to cover? Surely, there is.

I can’t do anything about this devastation and concern, but I can pray. And…..

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By the world’s standards, we Americans are blessed to have a standard of living which is the envy of the people of the world. We take so much for granted. This weekend I went shopping, not in high end stores, really, but was once more amazed by the variety, the colors, and the sheer volume of things available for people to purchase. I remember the long-ago dime stores where we found daily items from sewing supplies to bathrobes to furnishings…..

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it’s taken me a while to put the Israel conflict in perspective.  After several days of wall-to-wall media coverage, my mind and the world’s is saturated in its horror and utterly dismayed by the coverage it’s received in full color and disgusting reality of barbarism beyond belief. And the prospect that hostages, if they’re still alive, have already been tortured, probably starved, and suffering intolerable conditions for five days already, s alarming as the world waits, and they wait for…..

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Sorry, blog followers, I’ve been absent for a while. I chose today’s title on purpose: New Creation. I’ve needed reminders of that this past week. I’ve longed to just be back to normal. Ev and I have had severe colds the last ten days or so, and we’ve had responsibilities during that time we’ve just barely accomplished. I hate to think it might have been another COVID visit. We didn’t test, but we’ve been hacking and coughing, and just plain…..

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Once more we see the videos and hear the names read. Once more we remember where we were on that fateful day twenty-two years ago. I remember thinking I was glad my parents never saw it. Now, I am happy our grandchildren never did.

I was teaching a class at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. I was “firing up” the computers in the media center. My class was about to enter the room for a lesson I had prepared…..

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