They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come. (Luke 7:4) Many times I ponder why I'm still here. My mother's sister began falling at age 38. We said goodbye to her at the age of 43. Doctors had no clue why she wasting away so fast. At her death, the diagnosis was not clear. ...

Judge Less Not.... In my mind, I try always to be understanding and open. Everyone has a story. The world all treats us in unique ways. Sometimes we draw the short straw and aren't blessed with a secure, loving family. We are all born with our own life path. Bad situations encounter us as we walk through this valley on earth no matter what faith we choose to guide us to our eternal life...

Your faith flourishes ever more. (2 Thessalonians 1:3) The past two weeks have been valleys. I trudged through them and at some points begged for an end to my time here. The struggles of my family to care for me and the expense medically to be here weighed on me. ...

Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. —Psalm 55: 17 (NLT) Today is one of my pity party days. My body is crying out in distress. I think every inch of me has an ache. The super, quick road trip to Vanderbilt in Nashville and back is the worst. My body is breaking down and I have to face it. By the time I arrive home, I'm on the brink of a mental breakdown, sore, and dehydrated. No fun. So, I cry out in distress and He hears me...

“God. . . has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3: 11 NLT). When I was born, my family lived on Perry Circle in our small town. Although it was part of our government housing authority or the "Jets" or "The West Side," it was home. ...

Choices We all have choices. These are what shape our lives. As a teenager: Do we avoid the happening parties of our youth because we want to keep ourselves from smoking pot or drinking underage? Do we risk our reputation of being cool? Do we risk awakening a demon of addiction to fit in with the popular clique? Do we trade sex in hopes of receiving love? Do we miss a social gathering to complete important assignments? Do we sleep in or go to church on Sunday? Do we text and drive? Do we study? Do we complete our assignments? Do we cheat on tests and homework? Do we skip school? Do we embrace others or snub them? Being a teenager is so hard. ...

Ah, today is the beginning of a new school year in my little town of West Tennessee. It's the week of inservice before the students begin. I had twenty years of inservice before my health forced me to retire. The excitement of it always made me giddy...

Last week the verse "And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." haunted me. I tried to interpret it into my own being. I have this flaw within me that wants to help and give until it becomes unhealthy. ...

Thorns In my thoughts today I'm reminded of thorns. Thorns come in all shapes and sizes to the human existence. We have emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical thorns to deal with all throughout our lives. Summer is the time of relaxing, holidays with family, and lazy days. ...

Fathers Have you ever seen a man that loves to hold infants? The babies that are fresh to the world and just little squirmy, helpless creatures? This is one of the reasons I love my husband so much. He loves holding tiny, helpless babies. It's just so endearing to watch him...

I've been on earth almost half of a century. My life has had many highs and several lows. To stay sane you have to just roll with the changes trusting that whatever storm we are facing will pass just as those fun, love-filled times did. Through it all we have to put our best foot forward and finish our race. Which foot should we use? What pace should we run? All these come from our moral compass...

Just a Dog In my mind I'm thinking about beloved pets specifically dogs. Remember your childhood days? Were you lucky enough to have a family pet? If you didn't, I can honestly say you missed a lot of love. I have always loved animals and much to my mother's dismay brought several home as a child. ...

Mother's Day is upon us. Mothers come in many varieties. They leave such a strong imprint on their children. No matter the type of mother you are born to, you always yearn for that mother's acceptance, approval, and love. When I think of my mother I remember her whipping up the best meals and rarely sitting down to enjoy them. ...

In Acts 14:11 the crowd cried out. They were amazed. A man lame from birth was walking about. The crowd starting announcing thanks to Hermes and Zeus. The apostles were distraught. How dare they when they had witnessed a miracle in the name of Jesus, the son of God. Where is their faith?...

In my mind today I'm focused on my first cousin. I attended her wake this past Monday. Her precious mother sitting there receiving visitors to give condolences for losing her oldest child. Aunt Linda is now a member of the "Parents who outlived their child club" or as I like to call it "The Eternal Hole in My Heart Club." Heart-crushing...

In my mind, I'm thinking of how 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It makes me ponder if we are any better for it today? What would MLKJ think of our country? Watching a PBS presentation at home with my kids the other night, I shuddered. ...

In my mind today I'm thinking of Holy Week on the church calendar. Sal the Youth Minister Gal is weak and weary. I had a very long, busy week and weekend. I could barely hold the communion cup at mass Sunday. We pulled off a pancake breakfast and egg hunt between services. I'm so proud of my church and the youth. It is melding into such a group of loving servants...

In my mind today I'm thinking about how spring break engulfed me. Boy, students I really took a sabbatical. Back row, that means a huge break. I indulged myself in watching college basketball, making out tournament brackets, and reading. Oy vey! I made out twenty-five different tournament bracket predictions. ...

In my mind today, I have lots of situations in Sal the ALS Gal's world that need attention. There are loose ends which need tied everywhere! I need to make calls, make lists, organize my calendar, and run errands. Ack! I'm drowning! I had to literally force myself to open my meditation materials first before diving into the tangled web of loose ends that are looming over me. I hear the back row snickering because Sal the Cool as a Cucumber Gal is having a bit of a meltdown...

In my mind today I'm thinking like Brittany Spears, "Oops I did it again." I haven't been able to write as of late because I've done it again. I'm going to ballgames, teaching at church, and being a youth minister. Some call it "burning the candle at both ends" but Sal the Dharma Gal calls it living with ALS not dying. ...