12/2/20 12/2/20

Devotion Oh Give Thanks

Read: Psalm 106

Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the lord; for He is good: for his mercy endures for ever.--Psalm 106:1 (KJV)

Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
But not this evening.
I had a rotten day at the office
and have this beastly headache.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Not now! Not when I’ve put up
with the kids squabbling all day.
Jimmy messed his diapers on the way to the store. What a mess!
Besides, I may be coming down with the flu.

Oh give thanks to the Lord! Good grief!
How can I give thanks
when my favorite aunt just died?
We were so close, and I wasn’t ready for this.

For all our many and varied excuses, God’s Word doesn’t change to suit our vacillating moods or circumstances.

Philippians 4:4 (KJV) reads, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV) reads, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Most of our problems, big or small, cannot compare to God’s love, care and power. By complaining and refusing to be thankful, we imply God either isn’t strong enough or doesn't care enough to help us in our times of need.

By our negative words and actions, we deny ourselves the comfort of His presence to lift us up and give us a new perspective on our circumstances.

Do I truly wish always to be unhappy, dragging down my family, friends, and everyone around me? Or do I wish to look up and let God’s life, laughter, and love flow through me, changing my perspective and my attitude?

Help me, Lord, remember to give you thanks, no matter what the circumstances or no matter what my mood. Please, help me develop an attitude of gratitude. Amen.

Meditations: Psalm
Monday: 9
Tuesday: 34
Wednesday: 47; 66
Thursday: 75
Friday: 92
Saturday: 95
(c) 2018, 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
From Listen! Who Me?
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11/30/20 11/30/20

Blog Count blessings during this holiday season

We could hardly see out the front window. Snow obliterated everything. We were snug in our house, but our daughter, scarcely more than a toddler, was very ill. Her temperature had zoomed to scary levels,

We needed to get her to the doctor, but our car would never make it in the blizzard. We had to do something. We called my brother who lived a few blocks south of us. His car might get through.

Paul didn’t hesitate. He said he’d come. I remember Keith holding Cassie on his lap, both of them dressed for the weather. As soon as Paul pulled up, Keith carried her out to the SUV. Paul got them through to the doctor. A good thing. Cassie had pneumonia and needed medicine. She was sick for quite a while, but thanks to Paul, Cassie got the diagnosis and medication she needed.

When Chris and Cassie were in elementary school both of them came home with the flu. It was nasty and they weren’t making it to the bathroom to throw up. I knew I couldn’t be going room to room so had them snuggle down in our bed. By then the hallway didn’t look or smell so pretty good. I could give the kids water and have them take large doses of vitamin C, but I knew, with my disabilities, I would not be able to clean up the hallway or bathroom.

I called Paul’s wife Lorene. Like Paul, she did not hesitate. She grabbed what she had from home and came over. Once she scoped things out, she called Paul. She had him bring orange juice and 7-Up for the kids and more cleaning products.

Meanwhile, she got paper towels, rags, and cleaning supplies together. To handle the smell, she actually clipped a clothespin on her nose. With the help of Lorene and Paul, the house got cleaned up and we got the kids resting comfortably. By the time Keith was able to leave work, the kids were asleep. So many times, my brother and wife have been there—ready, willing, and without complaint.

They aren’t the only ones. Others, too, have been there when I fell, needed a ride to the doctor or to take the kids someplace. We have been blessed by caring family and friends.

This Thanksgiving I was thankful not just for a day in which to give thanks, but also a day to be grateful God put such special people in our lives. Real relationships aren’t about selfishness or all-about-me, but about reaching out in God’s love to those around us. For that I give thanks.

Friendships a Matter of Gratitude

I am thankful for family and friends
The kind who rally round
In times of trouble or need
Who don’t expect a return for their effort and time,
Who give with a hug and a smile,
And give again without complaint
Who cry when you cry,
And laugh when you laugh
And make you want to give back in turn
In their time and need
Reaching out as family and friends we
Make the world a better place to be
Because, like Jesus taught and lived, we
Are sacrificial friends.

Especially during times like this year when it is easier to complain, we need to have an attitude of gratitude, not just at Thanksgiving time and on into the Christmas season, but also on every day of the year.

11/30/20 11/30/20

Poetry Reflections

I like new things
And comfortably old
In Christ I am made new
As I rest in the comforting embrace
Of His worn, loved bruised arms.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. —Isaiah 53:5 KJV

11/17/20 11/17/20

Blog Scaring up memories of fun Halloweens

***Erica Marsland Huynh@partyintheshire***

Though this Halloween (during te Covid pandemic) was very different from other Halloween celebrations, it brought back memories of other times in my life when the holiday was different.

When I was a child, Halloween wasn’t a big thing. Stores didn’t carry costumes. Parents and kids made their own. Mine was easy--torn pants, sloppy shirt, a long stick with a bandana pouch tied to it, and I became a hobo.

My friends and I each brought a bag and went house to house for candy. (Then my folks rationed our haul, so we didn’t eat it all at once.)

By the time our children were ready to Trick or Treat, Halloween had become a much bigger celebration and much more dark. It had also become less safe. Razor blades were found in apples and other treats were doctored in cruel ways. Parents were told to only take their children to the homes of those they knew.

Bryant School decided to hold its own Halloween celebration. A college student friend went with Chris and I dealt with Cassie. The kids had a good time and still brought home treats.

Then a person from a large Kearney church conceived of a way to provide fun and food in a safe and positive environment. She and others from the church contacted other churches and formed a committee to plan what became Bibleland Carnival which became THE place to go on Halloween.

The concept was to come in a character from the Bible. This opened costumes up to animals, characters—and not all Bible characters are good characters.

Different booths had a variety of delicious food. There were bounce houses, huge slides, all types of games, including a cakewalk and actual pony and horse rides. For years, our family assisted at Bibleland Carnival.

Of course, we made sure the kids, and whatever friend they brought with them, had time to eat and play games. One year I took tickets for the pony rides by an open side door. (Brr.) I had a stool so I could rest when needed. It was metal with an open center.

That year Cassie kept doing the Cakewalk. She ended up with five cakes we stored stacked up under my stool. Later we gave most of them away. The yearly Bibleland lasted long after Chris and Cassie left home for college and work, and Chris married.

One year, Chris and his wife brought their three littles to enjoy the carnival. Another generation of memories. Without Bibleland or kids at home, we returned to sitting by the front door and offering treats to the kids who came to the door. By then, also, we attended a church in the area and knew a lot of the kids. Besides candy, I tried to offer little toys, pens, etc.

But even this next generation of kids grew up and the nearby neighborhood aged. Finally, with almost no one coming to the door, we stopped buying treats to give out to nonexistent Trick or Treaters.

It is sad with the circumstances this year, most parents chose to keep kids at home. I have memories, my children and grandchildren have memories of Halloween. Our daughter took her two little ones to a park. A lady who was giving out treats gave them each a treat bag. I’m glad our youngest grandkids will have good memories of the day.

However, next year, I hope we can celebrate in a safe, positive way—and with kids going house to house, filling their bags with treats.

11/3/20 11/3/20

Blog Creativity needed in connecting with loved ones

The situation with the Coronavirus has, pretty much, quarantined families and limited contact with family and friends. For introverts spending time at home may not be so daunting. Extroverts find the lack of human contact frustrating and imprisoning. However, there are creative ways to stay in contact with the outside world.

I am thankful for today’s technology which allows us access to friends, family, and work in so many ways. We do not simply have phones, we have smartphones that are an extension of ourselves and makes us available.

We have email and social media, all of which helps us stay in contact. How can we make contact feel more intimate and close? My voice isn’t always easy to understand, especially over the phone, and even worse if the person with whom I am speaking has a hearing problem. Like many other older persons, I remember getting cards and letters that touched my hearts and that I kept to read, and to reread.

In an era of digitizing, few take the time to send cards and heartfelt letters. When my 94-year-old father-in-law went into lockdown in a senior care home, he found it difficult to communicate with me via phone, Instead, I communicated with him by snail mail, writing about our lives in a weekly card in which I sometimes added a picture or two of the grandkids—his great-grandkids.

During this time, Keith and I learned to use Zoom for meetings, and with family and friends. Keith has recorded books on video, showing the different pictures, to send to our three and one-year-old grandchildren.

Keith’s family stays in touch through a texting loop as well as a private Facebook page. Birthdays and other events can be celebrated with colorful graphics and even animations via email, Facebook or other social media, many of which can be found and used without cost.

It was difficult not to be in personal contact with Keith’s dad because of the lockdown. Keith’s brother Randy found a way to see dad. He’d go to dad’s window where Dad could see him and communicate via the phone.

When Keith’s brother Mark died of a freak accident at the end of April 2020, the surviving siblings—Keith Randy, Rhonda, and Tim—needed to be together and needed to spend time with dad who just lost a son. They conceived of a way. With the assistance of Bethany Home staff, the siblings brought chairs and settled into a small secondary entryway. The staff settled Dad on the other side of the door with his phone.

Dad got to see all his remaining kids close up, saw they were OK, and got to speak to each one. Keith said Dad had a big smile the whole time they were there. It was good for them all.

Though restrictions loosened for a while, some restrictions are back. For now, it may take some creativity and thought to stay in contact, but if we’re willing we can stay in communication until we are free to come and go and receive and give what is so important to our mental and physical health—personal contact and hugs.

10/28/20 10/28/20

Devotion Ask His Direction or Go My Own Way?

Joshua 9:14-16 And the men (of Israel) took of their (Hivites) provisions and didn't seek counsel at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them (the Hivites), ... to let them live: and the princes of the congregation swore to them. ...at the end of three days ...they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them.

It is easy to think, “Hey, I can handle this situation and not bother God about it.” The problem is—when we do we mess up.

As the Israelites discovered, all the physical evidence in the world can lead us to believe a lie because we don't have God's perspective. In doing things “our way” we're actually in rebellion against God. Not a good place to be, as the Israelites discovered. We need to look up and follow Him, not our own logic or rationalizations.

Joshua 9:19-20a But all the princes said ...We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us,...

Lord, help me seek your guidance for my life and not depend on “doing it my way.” Amen.

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10/20/20 10/20/20

Blog Saying goodbye not a one-step process

Saying goodbye to a loved one may seem like something we can capture like a snapshot in our memories. We know the last time we saw or spoke to that person. We may even be present when our loved one takes that last breath. But there is so much more to death than a simple goodbye.

When we lost my husband Keith’s dad earlier this year in the midst of Covid-19, and though the virus wasn’t the cause of his death, it did change the situation. When he went to the hospital the family could not be with him to encourage, hug or pray with him. At least one family member could be there--until he chose Comfort Care rather than aggressive care. It meant family could be with him.

It meant our two children who’d come for a visit with our daughter’s two little ones were able to see their grandfather one last time. They didn’t know how quickly he would be gone, but knew since they did not live here, they probably wouldn’t see him again. He was gone a day later. A goodbye. A memory.

Shock turned into planning the funeral, which we were able to hold in his church and with guests--family and friends who loved him. We filed by the casket, stopping, swallowing hard, and wondering how could a fall so quickly deteriorate to this?

Yet there we were, suffering and encouraging each other at the same time. We said our face-to-face goodbye. After the service, we said goodbye once more at the cemetery where he was laid to rest four years after the death of his wife, my husband’s mother. We heard the pastor’s words of comfort, and heard the 21-gun salute to a former WWII veteran.

As the oldest sibling, Keith who received the flag was overwhelmed and honored. Another goodbye, but goodbyes do not end with a funeral.

Instead, it has become a new chapter of grieving and goodbye’s as the siblings deal with a lifetime lived well. I lost my dad to a heart attack in 1988. He’d been my dad since my birth in 1950. He left a hole in my life and heart. But I also had another father I respected and was glad to share Keith’s dad for the next 32 years. I’d rather have Jiggs back than his inheritance.

But that was not to be, God called him home and I am sure he would not wish to return. It was a goodbye for who knows how long. But one of the hardest goodbyes was getting together with family to go through Dad’s things left in his home.

He hadn’t changed much of anything after Keith’s mom died in 2016, so we had her as well as Dad’s material possessions to go through. Before going to Minden, I’d asked our kids what they wanted from the house. Chris and his children wanted books. I went through boxes and boxes of books, pulling out those our family would enjoy or appreciate. I got recipes for Chris, an amateur chef. It was so hard.

No one fought. What needed to be saved simply needed to go to some family member. Saying yes to another item and packing it away seemed like another goodbye.

Before long what was left in the house would be turned over to the auctioneer. Soon the house that rang with so much laughter from family get-togethers would also be gone. Death isn’t one goodbye. It is a series of goodbyes.

Maybe we need the time in order to grieve. All I know is that I am thankful for life today--even if that means I’ll be saying goodbye again and again as something comes to mind and grief overwhelms.

It happened with my folks and still, though less often now, with my brother who died in 2019. Through it all, I can say goodbye because I know God’s comfort and care through His Word, prayer and through the love of family and friends. Though I know grieving has not ended, I am thankful for today, for the memories and for the knowledge that this life is not all there is.

10/18/20 10/18/20

Devotion Staying on Track—Don’t Be Misled

Satan doesn't care how He gets God's people off track as long as he does so. One way he trips us up is to get us entangled with details of life and faith that take time and energy, but that leads others away rather than to Christ, divides rather than unifies, and makes us more concerned with format and legalism than a living relationship with and faith in Jesus.

Timothy 1:3c-5 ...charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of true faith:

We need to be wise to Satan's tricks, and always, always realize we are saved by God's gift of grace not by works which we do. It's about allowing Jesus Lordship in our lives, not about earning our way. About following Him, not “me.”

I Timothy 1:15 (KJV) This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

10/7/20 10/7/20

Devotion Walk By Faith NOT Fear

It is so much easier to follow that which we can see or hear or read. But as Christ followers, though there can be many Christian mentors, we need to remember they are all but pale, fallible copies of the real thing.

Feeling alone can be scary. That's when we need to center our focus not on ME, but on He who died for you and me. Our focus first, last, and always needs to be on our Savior, on testing all by His Word and prayer. If we're afraid to stand up for our faith, we deny our Savior.

With Him we do not need to be afraid for he doesn't let us go.

Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God goes with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you. ...And the LORD goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: fear not, neither be dismayed.

We do not need to live in fear when we make Jesus the center of our lives. He is our comfort and refuge as we follow Him.

10/5/20 10/5/20

Blog Curb cutout mats with bumps not safe

When at thirteen years old I first got ill with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, there were no ADA laws for the disabled. We lived in a world created for those with few if any, physical limitations. Going places with curbs took my father some deft maneuvering to get my wheelchair up and down without spilling me out of the chair.

Though he tried to be gentle, my pain levels often had me gritting my teeth so I wouldn’t cry out. Imagine my relief when cities began replacing those high curbs with ramp access. My wheelchair would go smoothly up on the sidewalks, down to the street, and up again on the other side. This was especially welcomed when I had massive surgery to help me walk again.

At first, I was encased in a brace that went from my shoes to above my waist. Add crutches and walking was slow going. The ramped curbs weren’t easy to negotiate, but, with assistance, I could manage.

Eventually, I got rid of both brace and crutches. Even so, managing curbs has never been simple or easy. My balance comes in to play as does the possibility of tripping. (Now that many of my friends are dealing with limitations due to age, I share that learning to walk heel to toe cuts down on tripping because the toe is less likely to catch on something like a crack.)

For years I managed the smooth concrete ramp curbs. Some were more accessible than others and, often, as the concrete crumbled, there were few, if any, attempts to repair curbs that became increasingly dangerous for those with limitations. Still, most were better than a high curb.

That is no longer the case. The last few years, many smooth curb cutouts sported something new. Many, probably most, curb cutouts now have a rubber-like mat at the top of the ramped portion. I can understand how a flat rubber-like mat could assist in keeping a wheelchair or a foot from slipping, especially when it is raining or snowing.

What I cannot grasp are the almost suction-like raised dots all over the mat like mushrooms. I’d like to know the thought process behind this concept. These mats have turned what were perfectly acceptable curbs into something I now avoid if at all possible. (If a car is close to the curb, I can use the car to hike myself on and off the sidewalk.)

I have since learned these added rubber mats are meant to assist those with less than perfect sight. But did anyone speak with persons like me for whom the original design was meant? Did anyone check what this meant for those of us who are already unsteady on our feet?

Using the car method is safer than negotiating those awful mats. When I must use them, I need assistance and hang on for all I’m worth as I wobble my way over the raised dots. The mats unbalance me and are a huge trip hazard.

If I had my way, they’d all disappear. A flat mat. Fine, but leave off the suction-like cups. I wonder how many others, like me, have been frustrated with this addition to the curb ramps.

I hope someone with some common sense will come up with a better plan. Until then, park close to the curb, I just might need to use your car.
© 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
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10/5/20 10/5/20

Devotion God's Principles Don't Change

Deuteronomy 29:9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant <contract/promise>, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Moses was addressing the Israelites. If they followed God's principles, clearly laid out, and served Him alone, God promised fulfillment and success. If they didn't, they would lose His protection and favor.

God hasn't changed. His Word doesn't change. God has promised abundant life to all who follow and serve Him.

Colossians 3:5-6 (GW) Therefore, put to death whatever is worldly in you: your sexual sin, perversion, passion, lust, and greed (which is the same thing as worshiping wealth). It is because of these sins that God's anger comes on those who refuse to obey him.

Like the Israelites we have a choice, follow God to blessing or turn away and lose the peace that only comes through Him. What will we choose?

9/30/20 9/30/20

Blog Politics No safe place for females of any age

It took most of the last century to raise women from the legal and natural consideration that women were little more than appendages to the men in their lives. Women finally came into their own.

They gained the right to vote. In WWII they handled factory and other jobs men were used to having, except now most of our younger men were far away fighting for freedom from the Nazi menace. Women also followed the soldiers as nurses and in other critical roles.

After the war, many women chose to remain in the workforce and earning their own money. Still women struggled. Women were at a disadvantage in men’s sports. They fought hard and finally founded the right of women to hold sports that highlighted their unique abilities. This was followed with higher pay for those playing in women’s sport and with scholarships that helped young women attend college.

Women also struggled with safety in vulnerable places such as lockers and bathrooms. Eventually, such places were designated for gender and they had safe spaces for women and children. They could go into public female facilities without concern they would be intimated, threatened or assaulted.

Then the culture changed, wiping out the gains women strove so long to attain. This change is once more, making women into second-class citizens whose wishes and desire for privacy and safety no longer matter. This change comes on the heels of the transgender movement.

This didn’t seem all that important when there was a definition for who a transgender was. That, too, has evolved into something deadly for women. Many in our culture say that science doesn’t matter and biology doesn’t matter.

What matters is who I feel like being today. This means that without any medical changes, anyone can wake up one day and declare “today I am...”

Manly Craig likes women. He likes looking at them, fondling them, and exposing himself to them, which is intimidating. He may even have a criminal record for assault. It doesn’t matter.

Craig has the key to feed his lust and violence—and it is perfectly legal. The key is a simple phrase. Without any background, any stated desire to change, without any therapy or drugs or even desire to become another gender, all Craig has to say is, “Today I am Candy,” and he has legal access to every safe space meant for women.

He doesn’t have to be transgender, just state that “right now” he feels like a woman and no female is safe. This fluidity of self-identifying gender opens the door for pedophiles and perverts to assault women at will in their own spaces.

Without definitions, no woman is protected. This is already been played out in the courts. A man in prison for assaults and rape of a child, claimed, when it was time to transfer to another facility, he was now transgender—though he’d made no efforts in that direction.

On his word alone, the court forced a women’s shelter to accommodate him. The women at this shelter were already traumatized by assault, rape, and other violence perpetrated against them. They were in what they believed to be a safe space.

They were not safe. This man assaulted women in the facility, leaving them more traumatized than before. I read of a man entering a women’s bathroom to assault a young girl. In this case, the girl’s mother and the other women stopped him. Do you believe that girl will ever feel safe in a public restroom again?

The media is all in on these laws that refuse to define who a transgender is and seldom refuse to report growing attacks on women by men claiming the right to invade female sanctuaries simply by repeating the key, “today I am female.”

No one realizes how this degrades women and shreds everything women have fought so hard and for long to attain—an acknowledgment of their uniqueness and safety.

Time we let those making these decisions and laws know that saying something doesn’t make it true and has opened the door for every male out there to intimidate and threaten women because public bathrooms, even your daughter’s locker room, is open season for bullies and voyeurs.

Meanwhile, females have no say at all and are basically told, “Move to the back of the bus.”

Wake up parents, grandparents, pastors, and teachers. Stand up for biology, science, and reality for the safety and security of women.

9/29/20 9/29/20

Devotion. How to Be a Good Person

We like to think we're basically good people. We're not. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” —Romans 3:23.

All. Not some, but all of us make bad decisions and choices that hurt ourselves and others. All. Without Jesus inside we don't even understand what good is. We certainly can't understand love because God is the embodiment of love.

Without God in Christ, we can't even know either goodness or love. Everything we do will come with an agenda and sometimes not-so-altruistic motivation. If we truly wish to do good and be good, we need to learn love from the one who loves us best because He made us--Jesus Christ.

We begin to reflect on what and with whom we spend our time. How much time do I spend communicating with Jesus each day? How much time do I spend each week, each day, reading, studying, meditating, and even memorizing God's Word?

Becoming a ‟good” person starts with becoming a ‟Godly” person and that starts with a daily walk with Christ Jesus. What steps will I take today to start this journey?

Help me Lord not to think I am good without You. Help me, instead, to allow You to show me how to be the Godly person You want me to be. Amen.

9/27/20 9/27/20

Devotion Fighting for Truth

The world seems to be going to “hell in a hand- basket” as one saying goes. It does seem anti-life, anti-family, anti-everything good and righteous is taking over the culture, the schools, and the government.

But this is not the time to give up or to give in. This is the time to recognize we're fighting a spiritual battle with opponents using both willing and duped participants. We're fighting very real darkness and evil.

Ephesians 6:12-13 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

We need to fight not with fury and reciprocal evil, but with knowledge of God's Word, His truth, integrity, righteousness, and grace. To fight, we must stay in close fellowship with Jesus, know His Word, and live for Him in a way that makes a difference to those around us.

The only way to fight evil is to fight it in God's way, with faith in his Word, with His truth—and with His love.

Ephesians 6:14-16 Stand therefore, wrap truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness; on your feet wear the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, take the shield of faith, whereby you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

9/18/20 9/18/20

Poetry Time—A Wink, A Blink and a Nod

Where has this week gone?
Each moment a wink.
Each day a nod.
And the week disappears in a blink.

Gone childhood where time
Stretched forward endlessly day by day.
When even the afternoon, tomorrow
Seemed a forever delay.

We grow, mature and time quickens.
Days slide one into another in an uninvited race.
Faster, faster time flies.
We age, children grow
Until we are frantic to slow life’s pace.

Hair grays. Wrinkles show.
Time zips on, yet I am comforted to know
I need not worry the speed of my journey,
For my life is more than here below.

However long or short, fast or slow life’s ride,
I trust in Christ, secure He has a plan
That today, tomorrow and forever
I rest safely in His hands.

9/16/20 9/16/20

Devotion. Empty Inside? Make Life Count

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

After trying everything the world had to offer, power, prestige, wealth beyond our imagination, sex, accomplishments in building, shipping, even literary and philosophical pursuits, and more, the wisest man who ever lived summed it all up as superficial and worthless.

In the end, he came to the truth. The meaning of life is to follow and serve God. Solomon tried it all and found it empty.

Lord, help me learn from Solomon's bad choices and not follow His path of bad choices. Help me, instead, follow You and make my life count for something today.

Deuteronomy 13:4 You shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cling unto him.

9/15/20 9/15/20

Blog What is the American Dream?

Today we have those who seek to tear down America’s heritage by vandalizing and destroying memorials to those who went before. But while some have torn down statues memorializing those who fought in the South during the Civil War, now what is coming down are memorials to President Lincoln who ended slavery.

These thugs and American-born terrorists are also destroying statues to African American heroes. Many committing these crimes want to destroy America, others are simply ignorant of American history and what the American Dream is all about.

Before America, there were individuals and groups who wanted to live and worship without undue government influence. Those who held views that differed from the “approved” government religion often found their families broken up when members of the family were jailed or even hung or burned at the stake.

Then they heard about a land across the ocean and they began to dream. These persecuted people groups felt called to the new land. Groups pooled resources, others sold all they had for passage to the new world known only to sailors and merchants. Pilgrims and Puritans and others came and settled into the new world.

Regardless of the work involved, regardless of losing loved ones, they built homes in the new world where they worshipped in peace, accepted personal responsibility for their choices, and were involved in the governance of their settlement. While some of the settlers did not get along with the natives found in America, others such as the Pilgrims hashed out a mutually beneficial treaty that lasted 50 years.

Other settlers followed, dreaming of freedom of choice and faith, dreaming of a place to build homes and a future. While many early and later immigrants came to worship in freedom, others simply wanted new opportunities or to escape dictatorial governments.

When the American government became a reality, the core of the America Dream was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Dream was about faith, freedom, and family on a solid foundation of Judeo-Christian ethics and principles of honesty, morality, and hard work.

The American government system turned the usual method of governing on its head, making citizens the masters who chose their own leaders and the right to get rid of those leaders who did not govern for “the will of the people.” As citizens got comfortable and the government grew, those in government accumulated more power, leaving less for citizens. Still, we vote for our local, state, and federal representatives, senators, and presidents.

In the 1950’s the American Dream became owning a house (not a mansion) with a white picket fence in a nice neighborhood with a church and school. Citizens could find a place safe for raising a family, and where a person could have a job to support the family.

Even though America is no longer the “land of the free and the home of the brave” it once was, even with all the turmoil, mainly from those whose hatred and/or ignorance of the truth about America’s past—and some of these work in the media or in government jobs, America still offers more individual freedom and opportunities than most other countries. This is why so many still seek to come to these shores—to make their own American Dream come true.

By those we support and vote for we choose to destroy the American Dream or keep it alive. Please do your research beyond the media agenda.

9/6/20 9/6/20

Politics Do you pray for our leaders?

Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.

Can we in America expect God's blessing when too many of our leaders are anti-life, anti-God's standards for sexuality, and anti-faith?

We need to be on our faces before God in repentance. We need to not assume the media is truthful in what they say or write and look for truth beyond a media more interested in headlines and causing division and conflict than in dealing in truth. Don’t let media dictate attitude.

Instead, wherever we stand, we need to be in constant prayer for our President/leaders that they will truly seek to know the truth and will listen to wise, Godly counsel. Prayer is the key.

Scripture tells us to pray for our leaders. Do we?

8/31/20 8/31/20

Blog Bio Before the KSC/UNK campus was accessible

Recently my oldest grandson and I exchanged emails. I asked him if he would be able to attend his college courses in person this fall or still have to attend online. He answered that he would be able to physically attend classes, but he preferred online.

I told him I hadn’t had such choices which led to some interesting stories. He wanted to hear them and that got me remembering. Back in the early 1970s, my parents were looking for a college for me to attend. At the time, my father had no church so we were free to move to any place with a suitable college, one with a journalistic program and one where I could get around on campus. (I had one year at a community college all on flat ground.)

Getting around to classes was no small thing as I was in a wheelchair I couldn’t even wheel myself, though I could peddle a bit with my feet. Also, there were no ADA laws making it clear that colleges and businesses needed to accommodate those with disabilities.

After visiting what was then KSC (UNK), we were told they would help me get to my classes. Obviously, no one really considered what this meant. Nevertheless, my parents, my younger brother Paul and I moved to Kearney, which felt like home right away. (My older sister was married and lived in Kansas.)

After we settled in Kearney, my pastor father was once more called to serve a church—this one in Canada. Since we all loved Kearney and Dad would soon retire, Mom and Dad decided only Dad would leave to serve the church, while the rest of us stayed here in Kearney.

That created an interesting problem since my mother did not drive, leaving my high school brother as our only driver. He took me to college on my first day and got me to my first class. Somehow, I did get from class to class that day. At the end of the day the person wheeling my chair left me outside a building that is no longer on campus. I wore a warm cape, but the skies were threatening and mist threatened to become rain.

Paul was supposed to pick me up, but he didn’t. I tried to turn around. I saw he and two friends entering a building too far away to hear if I called. Obviously, they were looking for me. I was getting cold, praying, and wondering what to do. A woman saw me out of the window and took me back inside.

We tried to call my home but got no one. There were no cell phones. She knew who I was from church and decided to take me home. I was so grateful. On the way home we passed Paul who’d gone home to check if I were there. When I wasn’t, he headed back to the college.

He saw us and, thanks to the kindness of a stranger I was OK. When he got home, Paul added to the story. After unsuccessfully searching, he contacted the security office—campus cops.

He explained the situation. “My sister’s in a wheelchair and I need to find her.”

The officer on duty appeared bored. He glanced at his watch. “I’m going off duty now. If you haven’t found her by morning, let us know.”

Thankfully, unlike Campus Security, a stranger cared enough to get me home.

The old administration building consisted of three or four floors with no elevator. When I had classes in the ad building, I’d call my professor and explain I was in a wheelchair and couldn’t do stairs. Most professors assigned young men to wait at the bottom of the stairs and carry me up chair and all. Those were some wild rides.

These guys were kind and treated me with respect.The problem came during test time. As soon as someone finished the test they were to leave. No one thought—including the teacher—how that affected me. It left me at the end of the day stuck on a top floor of the ad building, mostly emptied of teachers, students and almost everyone else.

Paul would never find me, though by then he pretty much knew where I’d usually be for pickup. I had one option—prayer. It was frightening to be stuck with no options. Suddenly, up the stairs came someone I knew.

For some reason, she had business up there that afternoon. She was surprised to see me and shocked at my situation. It didn’t take her long to find some strong arms to carry me back downstairs. I was so grateful!

I can’t say how many times I needed a ride and how thankful I was for the kindness of complete strangers who helped me get around when I “got stuck.”. That was especially true in Winter when sidewalks were cleared with only a narrow path for walking.

I graduated with many good and some scary memories and a heart of gratitude that I would remain in the town that, for the most part, welcomed me—Kearney NE.

© 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
Published in Kearney Hub 8/31/2020
Read my autobiography The Day Secretariat Won the Triple Crown

8/18/20 8/18/20

Blog Winning friends, influencing people and respect

We live in a culture that has lost one of the strengths of America. That used to be the right to the free exchange of ideas. We listened to ideas different from our own and we learned from one another, even if we basically held the same opinion as before.

Today we live in a culture that spends way too much looking for, finding, even manufacturing reasons to be offended. We’ve made name-calling a first response along with anger that almost automatically engenders a negative response.

This desire to hurt others who offend us all too often and without provocation, uses the race card, physical harm, or trashing someone’s reputation or job simply because a person might say or write something not fitting the current politically correct fad.

People from all walks of life are losing jobs and suffering insults because of something that surfaces. Whether true or not, one person may pick up on one aspect of something communicated, chooses to be offended and targets the person through the media. They gathers others to the cause until employers are intimidated and a person, who might be perfectly innocent or who stated something awkwardly, loses a job that may well support a family. This has a name—bullying. Too many in our society have become bullies. Are you one?

Why do we think we need to trash a person personally simply because we don’t like what they said or wrote? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Also, on many issues, there are often more than one legitimate side, backed up by “experts.”

Whatever happened to self-control, reading without blowing a gasket and considering another side—without anger and without the desire to lash out?

Those who really wish to change someone’s perspective need to realize response matters. No matter how “off the wall” you may think someone might be, that person is a human of worth. That person probably has family and friends who care and may well respond in kind on behalf of a family member or friend who gets trashed in public forums.

Think before you write something in anger. Consider where you might be in agreement and start with those points of agreement. This gives you a more neutral platform to state, respectfully, your reasons for disagreeing.

Maybe when you read or listen without rage you might gain a different perspective of what was communicated. Maybe you will realize no harm or disrespect was meant. Maybe you’ll discover things that may need more research—and not just from one point of view.

When you respond without rage fueling the response, you are more likely to reach an audience who will consider your point of view instead of turning off your reasoning because of the way it was presented. We live in a culture that nourishes anger and hurts and, in doing so, creates circles of hurt and wounded.

How much better to treat one another, especially those with whom we disagree, with respect and learn to think first and respond rationally and without anger.

Romans 12:21 says it best, “Do not be overcome by evil. But overcome evil with good.”

Extending and accepting forgiveness never goes out of style. Who knows where respectful dialogues will lead.

© 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
Published in Kearney Hub 8/17/20 as “Winning friends with respectful dialogue”
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