Coffee, Cobwebs, and Curriculum

  ~*~ The result of an affair, she was an illegitimate child born to a single mother.   She grew up in a confusing, dysfunctional home.   She was beaten up on the daily by her older sisters, being subjected to near suffocations and intentional near drownings.   She was sexually abused repeatedly by her teenage cousin.  Riding in the family car each day, she would study the faces of her mother and sisters, looking for cracks along their jawlines, absolutely sure they were wearing masks. She was convinced she had been kidnapped because of how out of place she felt.  She kept waiting for her real family to come find her.  Her mother got remarried to an emotionally-absent man, and this now 7-year-old little girl was even more confused about what love meant.  The family began moving all around the United States, and she ended up attending eight different schools before high school graduation.   She developed debilitating migraines.   One of her older sisters became an alcoholic at age 14

  After a recent youth group retreat, on which I was a chaperone, many of our church members tested positive with the dreadful Covid-19 virus. It spread quickly through our group and was a muddy end to a wonderful week .  Thankfully, the cases were all mild, but unfortunately, my Abbey was one of the first in the group to get sick. So upon returning home, we immediately went into quarantine mode.    That quarantine meant that our grands, who live across the street, were unable to come in and out of our door fifty times a day, per their usual routine. Technology and loud mouths to the rescue —we FaceTimed daily and yelled to each other across the yard to stay connected all week.    One evening, about dark, I heard a knock on the door. Abbey answered it to see Swayze (7) standing there.    “ I need to see Granna, please .” I heard her little voice quivering.  I got up and went outside on our porch where she was waiting, to almost be knocked down by her little arms grabbin

Are you familiar with the story of Jacob in the Bible?  "What is your name?” the Angel asked.  “Jacob,” was the reply.  “It isn’t anymore!” the Angel told him. “It is Israel—one who has power with God. Because you have been strong with God, you shall prevail with men.”   Genesis 32: 27 - 28  J acob, that deceiver, cheater, and schemer, wrestled all night with an angel (some translations say it was God himself) and had earned God's new name of grace--'Israel'.  This story is so, so poignant to me.  I see myself in Jacob. I see myself, not as a schemer and deceiver, but as one who spent too many years not using my gifts for God's glory , just as Jacob did.  Despite my stupid, selfish actions, God still looked on me as worthy of blessings and grace. Oh, so much grace! I will confess that the last few years, Satan has been mocking me and taunting me with my old names--Divorcee', Not Good Enough, Ugly, Disappointing, Failure.   But it is not God telling me

Philippians 4: 12:  " I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want."  ~**~ My sweet grandbabies often spend the night with me, and they are early risers, much to my I-really-need-my-coffee-before-interacting dismay.  One rainy morning last week, Swayze (age 3) asked me why it was raining outside. I quickly and sleepily answered, "I don't know, Baby. You'll have to ask God that question."    With a serious look on her face, she immediately looked up to heaven and, with a very loud whisper, asked, "God, why it 'waining' outside?"  She paused and then looked at me.  "Granna, I not hear him. Why He not answer me yet?"  Bless her heart!  I assured her that God had  indeed heard her, and I proceeded to take more time to answer her question about why the earth needed rain.  She was satisfied and went back to playing.  How many times do we get frustrated wh

"Abraham named the place “ Jehovah  provide s ”—and it still goes by that name to this day." Genesis 22:14 ~***~ Joining Jennifer and other amazing bloggers over at A Glimpse of Our Life ! (click the box to see more photos and scripture!)  ~***~ ©2018-2020 Coffee, Cobwebs, and Curriculum. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. www.coffeecobwebsandcurriculum.blogspot.com Follow me on Facebook or Twitter! Links can be found in the right sidebar on this blog!

If you've been on Facebook for any length of time, you've seen individuals, news channels, and business pages who go "live" to reach their audience.  My daughter does this several times a week to sell her Farmasi makeup brand in real time.  It's a pretty neat concept, and it has been a super successful way to interact with the audience.   Technology never ceases to amaze me.   So, it got me to thinking. . . what would a "Facebook Live" from Jesus Christ look like?  How cool would it be to see a notification pop-up which says "Jesus Christ is now live in Heaven"?!!  Clicking over to His post, what would you like to see?   A strong warrior, fighting off the demons of hell who seek to destroy all goodness?    A gentle shepherd, talking lovingly to a group of children?    A healer, reaching out and touching the hurting to provide instant relief?  A tour guide of sorts, showing us around the portals of heaven and giving us a snea