I originally posted this on Facebook on April 16, 2017. Of course, the time of year is reflected in the content - Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. I want this on my blog, though, because I want my thoughts here for those interested to read. FULLY BAKED If you place a pan or bowl of uncooked dough in a room or outside, it will rise, becoming softer and more puffy. It will do so whether you include a leavening agent, such as yeast, or not. Yeast, and other leavening agents, will certainly hasten the process, but the process will occur either way. This is because the spores that cause leavening exist in the air we breathe and are activated by the warmth generated by our sun. They are physically unavoidable. Leavening is used in scripture as a type of, an analogy for, sin. We are told to extricate it from our lives for a period of seven days each year. This, of course, is a reminder for us that we must focus on the sin that infiltrates our lives, on its pervasiven...
I originally wrote this on July 9, 2020, as a Facebook post. I think it belongs in my blog. FOCUS THROUGH TRIALS Historically, I have been an avid writer on various topics. My preferred genre has always been my thoughts about improving relationships and declaring positive thoughts about relationships – mine and those I see. For quite some time, I have been silent. My silence has been primarily due to medical issues at home. Last year, in 2019, I finally had to deal with a shoulder injury I sustained in January 2017. That meant undergoing surgery for a torn labrum in my left shoulder. The shoulder had been giving me problems for the entire time, but, in 2018 and 2019, it became intolerable. I underwent the surgery and looked eagerly forward to healing and moving on with life. Two weeks after the labrum repair surgery, I was out walking around as instructed by my surgeon and slipped and fell on a muddy sidewalk. I was determined to not reinjure my left shoulder by falling on...