Thoughts and Jots--Blog Archives

When I'm moody, my family knows it because I withdraw. I want quiet, and lots of it. And if I can't get it, I become tense and irritable on top of the moodiness. When our kids were younger, they knew that when Mom got quiet, it was a quiet storm. They also learned early on not to push my "red buttons" when I was like this, because it could set off my early-B.T.N. (Bed Time Now) system and I would suddenly start ordering everyone into their pajamas and off to bed, regardless of the sunshine beaming through the windows. Wise children, these Taylors. They knew how not to activate the early-B.T.N. system simply by giving me a wide berth and lots of dead air when it was needed. It's a part of human nature to experience mood swings. As one writer put it, some people even experience "the whole mood playground," not just the swings!  This article is not designed to be medical advice. We're looking at this from a generalized perspective. If you have be...

It's great to have a wonderful marriage, but most marriages are not wonderful all day, every day. In fact, a lot of us have experienced some rough waters along the way. People who see "The Taylors" at this stage could falsely assume that we've always had it so good. Not so. We've had to work hard at learning how to love each other and care for each other as God designed it. After all, marriage is really two selfish people saying "I do" without having a clue! Today I'm sharing some of the dumb things that I did as a newlywed. People may learn from success, but failure is educational, too. Grab a beverage and settle into a comfy chair before reading this "NOT TO DO" list: Jumbo Dumbo #1: I complained about my husband's schedule. Ah, the early days, when we had dual incomes and no kids. I hardly noticed my husband's schedule, as we were both gone all day. I was so busy with my job of selling cars; I just looked forward to comi...

Have you ever wondered how a woman could breakup someone's marriage and still sleep at night? The answers are found throughout Scripture, but a total absence of human decency is a major component. As the "last days" are vividly described in II Timothy chapter three, we see a particular description in verse three that is a characteristic of the adulteress: "Without natural affection..." (2 Tim. 3:3a) Not all women would be categorized as such, since there are some who "wander" into an adulterous situation without evil intentions in advance. Women who are genuinely repentant and who turn away swiftly from the sin of infidelity are demonstrating that their hearts have not turned to stone. Those who are without natural affection are hard-hearted, and that's who we're referring to in this article. When you add up all the other perils described in II Tim. 3:1-5, it's easy to see how and why we are facing an epidemic increase in adultery tod...

A man with a head of silvery-white hair named Mr. Owens led me to Christ during a job interview back in 1977. As he shared the Gospel with me in a way I'd never heard before, my heart opened to receive the Living Water of the Word of God. My soul cried "Yes" and my mouth did, too! This was the giant missing piece in the puzzle of my life. My first encounter with a soul winner was in that office, and I've been a debtor ever since. Mr. Owens was always on the lookout for someone to talk to about Christ. He had a boldness that was gentle and yet almost urgent. And most of all, his walk matched his talk. He was real. Not long after trusting Christ, I was taught that my life now belonged to God, and that my lifestyle would be viewed by others as a "billboard" for Christianity. "What? Know ye not that your  body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (I Cor. 6:19) Whoa. I didn't like hea...

When I woke up in the recovery room, I saw my Norman's face. He smiled at me and said, "Hello there, beautiful." Now I know for sure that I wasn't looking beautiful. I was drugged, wrapped in a hospital gown in a weird shade of purple (not my color), and I had a poufy cap on my head, totally ruining the hair I bothered to fix for this adventure. Why does a woman do her hair and makeup if she's going to be admitted to the hospital (maybe you don't)?  I gave Norman a groggy smile as I snuggled into my pillow for another round of sleep. I was still in "La-La Land." Anesthesia lasts a long time in my pokey body, so it took a bit of goading to get me to wake up and get dressed so that we could leave the hospital. "The surgeon said he removed three small pieces of glass from your heel," Norman told me with a little more volume in his voice than usual. Three pieces of glass? That got my attention, because I only remembered stepping on one shar...