I did something I have since regretted -- I had acrylic nails put on. I have always wanted to have nice nails, but the reality is they are weak, brittle and I absolutely hate to wear rubber gloves when doing dishes.

It was back in March that we said goodbye to our older Bonneville and welcomed a Fusion into the family. (When the kids leave, vehicles and animals become your kids -- sort of.) I had only driven the new vehicle a couple of weeks when driving to town the low tire-pressure warning came on. I thought I would just go to the post office and then stop to get air when I returned.

But when I parked at the station and looked at my right rear tire, it was flat. How in the world could a brand-new tire be flat? I asked the attendant, Davey, to put enough air in the tire so I could park and he could fix it for me later. But the tire wouldn’t even hold air, and that’s when he discovered there was a hunk of metal in it. When I picked up my car, he said there was a utility knife blade stuck upright in between the treads and there was no holding air. But he got the job done.

“I just don’t want to go there!”

“There is nothing to praise in this situation!”

“You must be kidding; worship when I feel the way I do?”

Have you ever been at that place where you were devastated by a situation and at the height of frustration and uncertainty? How do you ever get turned around from thinking there is no hope and the end of a situation will never come? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like conflict and I don’t like when things get messy because I can’t see the way out while being in the thick of it.

“‘But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, “You are Myservant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.” Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

--Isaiah 41:8-10

It was a Monday from the pit.

You know those days, don’t you? Nothing goes right from the moment you take the puppy out for her walk to … let’s just say it was not a good day! She would not do anything she was supposed to do and she did much that she should not have. I will leave that to the imagination.

I love this journey on the road to glory. It is filled with all kinds of bumps, curves, crossroads and even potholes along the way. To say the least, it is exciting because one never knows what will appear around the corner.

Welcome to the new year.

I am pondering this new year and wondering just what will be in store, not only for me, but also for our country and world. Will this be the year our Lord returns to take us home? Will we be able to continue to freely worship, unlike our brothers and sisters of the persecuted church? There are a lot of situations out there that are on the precipice of change today, and some are rather scary while others are welcomed. But naturally I am wondering how the year will unfold for my family’s lives.

This is the season of lights. If you are Jewish, you celebrate Hanukkah -- or Festival of Lights -- originally a celebration of the rededication of the temple at Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Greeks. Hanukkah also celebrates the miracle of the lamp, which provided light for eight days despite a lack of oil.

Two of my grandsons seem to have the gift of prayer. The older one is always the first to pray if there is a need. He has even been acknowledged for being the first to be willing to pray in a group. And I also have a little guy who, at the age of 2, loves to pray, and he does it in such a simplistic way (as only a 2-year-old can).