My Crazy Faith

So, I'm just wondering, are anyone else's children playing the song "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" at unexpected, random times throughout the day for the past week, simply so that it gets stuck in your head and you can't stop singing it the rest of the day? No? I didn't think so. (Go ahead and take the challenge: Listen to this song once and see if you don't sing it the rest of the day, too.  That little, warbly, chipmunk voice rattling around in your brain.  And yeah, I know, this is a cruel and inhumane challenge.  I'm sorry!  But if I gotta suffer, I'm takin' you all down with me!😏)

(I slightly rewrote this previous post of mine for the Christian Prodigal I sent a letter to.  I thought it might speak to them and their situation.  This is the original version and the edited version I sent them blended into one.)   “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”   ( Psalm 34:18 )    “Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.”   ( Psalm 9:10 ) Having grown up with a biological dad who had almost nothing to do with me and two ex-step-dads whom I lost contact with eventually (one after a really, REALLY messy divorce) and a current step-dad who . . . well, I am just too old for a new dad . . . I have never really felt like I belonged to a dad, like I really mattered to one.   I grew up always feeling like the outsider, a step-child who didn’t quite fit in or have a place to belong.   I never felt like I could be my...

If you enjoy watching live bird cams, here is one of Bella the hummingbird.  She is sitting on two eggs which should be hatching in a few days (not sure exactly when), so you can watch her raising her babies from the very beginning:  Bella Hummingbird Live Cam .  (You can also find the live video here: https://www.bellahummingbird.com/ .) I started watching this one when she laid eggs back in February 2019.  But shortly after I started watching her (and was really excited about it because I needed something to brighten up the depression/anxiety I was going through), she was attacked by something and didn't come back to her babies.  And they had to give the babies to rehab.   I felt like a jinx , like I shouldn't have these kinds of little delights in my life because something always seems to go wrong when I do, when I get my hopes up.   So I refused to watch another bird nest cam ... until now, when I clicked on it out of simple curiosity, just t...

I was dreaming about this song the other night.  In fact, in my dream, I was singing it over and over again.  (And, wow, was my dream-singing incredible!) Anyway, this is such a beautiful song that I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian a few weeks ago.  Her voice is amazing!  Enjoy! The Call by Regina Spektor  (I'm not sure what the lyrics all mean, what the author meant.  I'd love to look up the meaning behind them someday.  But I think there's something in there for everyone, for all of our situations.  And those are some of the best kinds of songs.) [Update 8/30/2026: Here's a different video version of The Call , with different movie clips.  This is like the original one I found years ago which has one scene in particular that I love.  It starts at 1:04 when the kids are walking up to their hideout, and the kingdom creatures line up and raise their swords along the pat...

This is a letter I did not want to write.  It's one that breaks my heart to write.  But I had to write it.   This is a "tough love" letter that I wrote to a Christian prodigal whom I love who is (in my opinion) trapped in and by their sins and lies, who made a mess of their life, and who - instead of coming clean when they had the chance - is choosing to dig in their heels, to pretend they did nothing wrong, making everything messier and dragging other people down with them.  (I have altered some of this letter for privacy's sake.)   Those who love a prodigal, who are praying for them, and whose hearts are repeatedly broken by them will, sadly enough, understand this letter.  But remember that even when we can't reach the prodigals in our lives, God still can.   And take heart in knowing that God Himself is the Father of the prodigal you love.  God knows what it's like to be in your shoes, to love someone who's making a mess of their lives, ...