Here is my question for the third week of September. "Do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?" A Thought Provoking Prompt: Write what the verse Jeremiah 33:3 is saying to you. It reads as follows:

"Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come."

So many things both within our nation and around the world are going into a tail spin. It sometimes feels like the game Pin the Tail On the Donkey. You tape a picture of a donkey on your wall with his back end showing. The donkey is missing its tail. Someone gives you a picture of a tail with a piece of tape on the top, then someone blindfolds you and then spins you around until you are dizzy, they tell you to head where you think the donkey is and attach the tail. It is really funny to watch people head toward the opposite side of the room, go out a door and end up on the back porch. It is not so funny in real life, and getting lost at night can be really really scary.

Years ago Joe and I headed out to the Penturen Church in the Beltrami Island State Forest. We arrived with no problem because there was a man in a truck who led us in to the location. After the wedding, it was dark. They told us, "Oh its easy to find your way back! All you do is go there, and turn left and then take two rights, and look for three trees standing together, and watch out for deer!" We did. We got lost. It was a very long road and we ended up in Fourtown, a township in Minnesota 45 Minutes from Roseau. Knowing where you are is very important, and knowing the right way to get there is HUGE!! I am a planner. To plan is wise.

So what about everything you hear about COVID, and where are you getting your information? I posted this to a few friends this morning, "We have to completely trust the Lord in all of this...Joe and I are vaccinated..as of August 25th, out of all of the recent 36 COVID cases in Roseau county, 35 of them were not vaccinated. COVID is not just a flu which we also can get a shot for. COVID is a killer, you and I have friends who have died or lost family members from it. These Roseau deaths are not a political deception. This issue is not only about your rights but about your responsibility.

At this time EVERY report you hear will probably contain a certain amount of deception (part of the deception is you don't have all the facts). This ranges all the way from CNN to FOX. Half truths, slanted opinions, we see what we want to see and say what ever we say according to our bias. Sometimes stupid looks really good if it comes from a source we respect. Where is your foundation? Where does your core belief rest?

Have you ever prayed asking God to speak to you? Pray and ask for wisdom and guidance before and after EVERYTHING YOU LISTEN TO! Then don't go to the News Media for your confirmation! Stay objective not swallowing everything that comes across YouTube.

James 1: 5-6 reads "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Be careful who you get your advice from, even reputable Christians can get off on a questionable path.

Back to the Penturen Church, this column's photo depicts one of my daughter Londa's pencil drawings. The Church is often photographed both from its back and its front. This photo of "The Church in the Pines" is from its back. I am sooo proud of my daughter's artistic talent and her fortitude.

Blessings,

Julie