4 Day Golf and Hiking Arizona Itinerary

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We often gift a family vacation rather than Christmas gifts to our kids. Sometimes the trips happen right away. Other times they are delayed. On Christmas morning 2020, we wrapped a few clue gifts for our kids to unwrap. We wrapped a cactus, a small toy airplane, and other small hints. Eventually they guessed we were headed to Arizona.

We spent Christmas Day packing to fly out the next morning. Our main goals on this trip were golfing and hiking.

Day 1: Fly to Phoenix, stop at In and Out for burgers, and climb Camelback Mountain to burn off the burgers. Ok Camelback was no joke. It was HARD! I was thinking it would be a hike, but it was definitely a climb. Reaching the top felt like such an accomplishment though.

Next we headed to our Airbnb in Cave Creek, which was just north of Phoenix. This rental was fabulous situated on acreage in the desert with a pool and beautiful views. I loved that you could walk right out of the house onto desert walking trails. I don’t have many pictures, but check out the listing pictures. It was gorgeous!

Cave Creek was such a fun spot to stay. It’s a true Western town. The town was super cute and fun, filled with neat shops and restaurants. I also liked staying just outside of Phoenix surrounded by the desert. Arizona in December was lovely.

We’d walk out of our rental and encounter coyotes and javelinas.

Day 2: Day trip to Sedona, AZ. This was a slightly last minute decision after talking to a friend who lives in Arizona. She convinced me that we would regret leaving AZ without spending time in Sedona. She was absolutely right! It was worth the 2 hour drive north.

We started after breakfast and went straight for a hike. We did the West Fork Oak Creek Trail, recommended by my friend. My boys love hikes with some sort of challenge, adventure, or risk. Otherwise, they call it a walk in the woods. This hike had beautiful views, but what they really enjoyed were the multiple water crossings which took quite a bit of concentration.

 

After the hike, we explored the charming town of Sedona.

Lunch was at the Hideaway House with the most amazing view from our table.

Day 3: We had a hot air balloon ride booked. However, due to windy conditions, our trip was cancelled. They had no availability to rebook us, which was disappointing. We spent the morning exploring Old Town Scottsdale  followed by a late afternoon round of golf at Starfire Golf Club.

This picture is one of my favorites. It was completely unposed, but each person’s expression captures their golf personalities.

It was hard not to take pictures at every hole because the views were simply stunning no matter where you turned.

We chose Starfire because it is a Youth On Course club. With a Youth On Course membership, kids play for $5 a round at golf clubs around the country. It’s truly incredible. At the time, all 3 of our boys were under 19 years old and had memberships, which only cost $20 a year. So playing golf was a very inexpensive vacation activity. To this day our boys say playing golf in Arizona is one of their top travel experiences. Having this membership has allowed us to play golf on several of our vacations.

Day 4: Hiking in Cave Creek. Hiking in the desert is a completely different hiking experience. When we arrived at the trailhead, we met the nicest couple working the gate area. They equipped us with trail maps and suggestions, even pointing out things for us to look out for along the hike that we wouldn’t know otherwise.

We learned about the Teddy Bear Cactus. I wrote an entire post about it here.

After our morning hike and lunch, we headed to Rancho Mañana Golf Club. This course was spectacular. After golf we ate at Tonto’s Bar and Grille  at the course. It was the coolest atmosphere, incredible service, and delicious food. The perfect end to a fabulous 4 day hike/golf Arizona trip.

Typically our vacations are 7 to 10 days. It was a nice change of pace to plan for a shorter trip. We can’t wait to go back to Arizona again!

Midwest 7 Day Road Trip Itinerary – Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota

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In 2019 we embarked on a Midwest road trip from Omaha, Nebraska to Chicago, IL, to Sheboygan, WI to the North Shore of Minnesota. Today I’m sharing all the details with links to where we stayed, ate, and played.

Day 1-3: Chicago

Day 1: We hit the ground running and walked all over the city. We stayed at a Marriott and never moved our car. Walking or taking Uber everywhere was much easier.

We made our way to The Bean. We are suckers for the tourist pictures everyone takes.

For dinner we ate at Revival Food Hall where we met up with old friends. If you have followed my blog for a long, long time then you will recognize this face. Revival was so fun and perfect with food court type selections for everyone plus games and entertainment. A low cost meal option was nice too.

Day 2: Architecture Boat Tour River Cruise on Chicago’s First Lady. This was an absolute highlight of our trip. I have never taken so many pictures of buildings. The tour guide was fabulous and we learned things about these buildings and the history we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I’m not one for group tours or anything guided. However, this was excellent, and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it!

Lunch was at Portillo’s. It was worth all the hype. Our boys loved eating hot dogs with all the unique toppings you don’t see often. Or ever.

The Field Museum was the next stop after lunch. If you love museums, you’d enjoy the Field Museum. We flew through it because none of us are big museum lovers. However, you could spend hours here, especially if you have younger children. I’m still glad we stopped in.

Navy Pier was next where we enjoyed a fun drink and snack at Bubba Gumps. It’s very touristy, but still a fun experience if you’ve never been. Both Navy Pier and Bubba Gumps! If you are a Forest Gump fan, you have to eat at Bubba Gumps at least once in your life. When you need service, you place a Stop Forest Stop sign on your table. If you are all good, keep the sign on Run Forest Run. The peel and eat shrimp soaked in garlic butter is our favorite.

You can’t visit Chicago without having pizza. Dinner was at Giordano’s South Loop.  It was everything you think a Chicago style pizza should be.

Day 3: Our final day in Chicago started with a walk to breakfast at Yolk. Breakfast might be our favorite meal so on each trip we try to find at least one or two great spots for a memorable meal. This picture would be the breakfast my middle son, Zachary, chose. Full of sugar.

We took in an afternoon Chicago Cubs game. I’ve never been more impressed by a stadium. Wrigley Field was so clean and had an old, classic look, yet felt so updated. I don’t even remember who they played, but I loved every second of being at that field.

We packed in everything we wanted with 3 days in Chicago. Next stop Sheboygan, WI.

Days 4-6: Sheboygan, WI

The drive from Chicago to Sheboygan is only a 3 hour drive. So we timed our drive in order to visit the Jelly Belly Factory on the way north. This was such a fun, quirky stop. I’ve recently learned this factory closed. So sad as it was so much fun!

Had we known how much we’d love the Airbnb and Sheboygan, we would’ve stayed more than 2 days. This was a nice change of pace from the city.

The house was spacious and spotless. The views of Lake Michigan were incredible. You walked right out the back door through the yard onto your own private beach. Lake Michigan is impressive. I describe it as a lake that behaves like the ocean.

The house was perfect for our family. My husband loved the record player and selection of vinyls. The boys loved the loft with binoculars and lots of board games, particularly Monopoly. I really dislike that game. They started a game that continued for the full 2 days we stayed here. My favorite part of the house was the backyard and beach. It was so nice to grill, sit around the fire, and watch the moon over the lake. This rental goes down as one of my favorites of all time.

Day 4 we simply enjoyed the home, grilled, and played at the beach.

Day 5 we explored Sheboygan. We walked the paths and enjoyed the views at Blue Harbor Resort. The South Pier District was so quaint! We played mini golf at Harbor Pointe, ate ice cream at South Pier Parlor, kayaked, and simply enjoyed the stroll along the pier.

Next we headed to Kohler State Park and raced up and down the dunes. It was an absolute blast.

Days 6-7: Lake Superior, Minnesota, and the North Shore

Day 6: We woke and began the 6 hour drive before dawn. We started our Minnesota portion exploring in Duluth, MN at the southern tip of Lake Superior. Our first stop was the Lake Superior Maritime Museum. This was informative and interactive. We all enjoyed it.

We stopped at pullouts along the drive enjoying the wildness of Lake Superior. We spent the night in Two Harbors. We wished we had not stopped here for the night. To do it over we would have driven straight up and stayed 2 nights at our final destination, Grand Marais.

Day 7: Gooseberry Falls State Park and Black Beach were both complete treats. We hiked through Gooseberry. It was beautiful. Black Beach was our favorite. We played in the sand and climbed rocks. We slowed down and took it all in.

We made it to Grand Marais, the most adorable harbor village. After checking into our hotel at The Best Western Plus Superior Inn (which we loved because the rooms came with incredible views of the lake), we hit the pavement once again to explore all the town had to offer. I quickly found an adorable bookstore, Drury Lane Books. I almost never travel without visiting a bookstore. Or several.

We ate dinner on the rooftop of one of the many restaurants and went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before driving home the next day.

This was a perfect 7 day road trip and I wouldn’t add or take away a single day. My only change to what we did is that I would skip staying in Two Harbor.

The fun is in the discovery and the exploration. The memories you make traveling with the people you love last a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

What is your go-to weapon when attacked?

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Stepping through the dark room, I turned on the nearby lamp. I reached for the blanket to cozy up on my favorite sofa spot. With my steaming cup of coffee, Bible, and journal, I was ready to spend a few quiet moments with the Lord. Then my nightmare began to play out in real time.

Right out of the blanket covering my lap crawled a black, eight-legged creature from hell. I froze for a split second trying to determine if I was actually awake. I was.

A scream escaped as I jumped from the sofa watching the blanket and Bible fall to the ground. The spider froze on the floor where he fell from my lap. Just writing it now brings back all the terror feels.

He and I matched each other’s frozen positions momentarily while I looked for the nearest weapon. Side by side lay my Bible and a toy gun. Time to choose my weapon. I hated to do it, to smear his body with my beloved Bible, but I did it anyway. I took that giant Bible and came down with a force to ensure that spider was fully dead. And yes, I did squeal as I killed him.

It took me a minute to settle back in after cleaning my Bible. As I sat waiting for my heart rate to slow, I did what I typically do. I began seeing the spiritual parallels to my physical experiences.

I realized that spider was in fact my enemy. He lay in hiding out of my sight until he didn’t. We have a very real enemy. Sometimes he is so good at hiding we forget to shake the blanket. We are so focused on our comfort and experiences, we forget he is tucked in somewhere nearby, watching and waiting for the moment to break onto the scene.

Just like when I assessed my weapon against the spider, we look at our lives when we face attacks and try to find the nearest weapon. Our temptation is for what we can see and touch. We look for something tangible we can do to fix our situations immediately. All the while we have a weapon with us at all times for every single situation. And this weapon wins every single battle.

“For the word of God never fails.So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10 NKJV

“No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants, and their righteousness is from Me.” Isaiah 54:17 HCSB

While this was written about the Israelites, we have been grafted into their heritage through Jesus, so this promise is for us as well.

No weapon will prevail against us. Some may read this and respond with, “Oh yeah, then how come I feel I’m losing in life right now?” We face many hardships in life, but ultimately, if we are in Christ, we win despite the struggles and battles we face here.

The enemy’s plan is to kill, steal, and destroy. The plan of God is to give us life, eternal life.

Our hope isn’t here in the battle. Our hope isn’t in how every circumstance here turns out. It’s in eternity where everything will be put right. Every wrong avenged, every hurt healed.

When life comes against us, we need to remember what our best choice of weapon is. The Word of God.

Ephesians 6 instructs us how to fight our enemy. Before a soldier goes to battle, he makes sure he is clothed and equipped properly. So should we do the same. Ephesians 6:17 tells us our sword, our weapon, is God’s Word.

A sword is used both defensively and offensively. We battle against the accusations hurled from the enemy with the truth of God’s Word. At the same time, we take ground by declaring the fullness of His Word in the power of His Spirit.

So, it turns out I chose wisely when I picked my weapon against the creepy crawly spider. A toy gun, which was made to look like an actual weapon yet was completely powerless. Or the Bible, large enough to smack down on that spider, crushing him completely. Just as the Word of God breaks through the enemy’s fight against us. It wins every time.

Never leave home without your sword. Keep it tucked into your heart.

With love,

Renee

 

 

 

 

Graduates forget doing big things, go do small things instead.

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I read a graduation sentiment advising the graduate to go do great big things, go change the world. A verse popped in my head from Zechariah 4:10. The context is different, so I’m not attempting to make scripture fit where it doesn’t. But the sentiment still rings true. “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

In the book of Zechariah, the Israelites had been back from exile in Babylon for 20 years and were discouraged. The beginning work of the temple rebuilding started strong but tapered off because of much opposition. In verse 10 of chapter 4, he is reminding the people that God is always at work even when we can’t see it. Often God’s “big” works are seen after many years of small acts of faithfulness and steadiness. Zechariah was reminding the people that though they despised their days of small works, they would soon rejoice when they witnessed the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel, the leader of God’s people at that time.

The plumb line could be considered a small thing, but it was crucial in the building of the temple. The plumb line guided the wall building, keeping them lined up properly in order that they last over time. The big work of the temple would have been impossible without countless small acts easily bypassed as unimportant.

Some graduates will go on to do “great” things like find a cure for cancer or invent the next technological advance. But those graduates are in the slim minority. We’d do better to encourage them to build a life doing small things with dedication and faithfulness. Small things aren’t applauded by the world. Small acts of faithfulness create a heart of humility, one who doesn’t seek attention and accolades. We need more of that.

Graduates, go do your small work well.

  • Wake early and make your bed daily.
  • Work with your hands. Scrub a toilet, take out the trash, pull the weeds, build something.
  • Notice your surroundings and fill that need. Even if it’s not your job.
  • Study hard even if you think you don’t need to.
  • Serve someone other than yourself every single day.
  • Smile at people everywhere you go.
  • Open the door for the person walking behind you.
  • Let the car out instead of jetting out first.
  • Bend down and pick up the trash in the parking lot.
  • Tell the person that nice thought you had about them.
  • Master your gift or talent. Practice until the boredom is too much to bear.
  • Listen even if you disagree.
  • Become a person who keeps your promise even to yourself.
  • Read books – they will change your life.
  • Find life work that brings you life.
  • Be kind to everyone. There’s never an excuse to be rude.
  • Look up. See the world around you. Screens offer counterfeit moments of life.
  • Show up on time.
  • Don’t quit because things get hard.
  • Do that thing you don’t feel like doing. Feelings don’t dictate your life.
  • Learn how to problem solve.
  • Love learning. More learning happens outside the education system.
  • Love God with your whole heart.
  • See, really see, the people around you.
  • Be confident in your small work even if culture sees it differently.
  • Tell the truth. Always.
  • Spend time with God daily. It’ll change your life too.
  • Pray.
  • Be a good friend.
  • Pick up the phone and call someone.
  • Whatever you do, do it unto God.

So this list isn’t really about what work one chooses to do, it’s about the person you are becoming as you do the work set before you. That’s what matters most. As you move about your day and your life, do every small thing faithfully, humbly, and steadfastly.

Who am I becoming? Who I am in the Lord sets me up for whatever work I do daily. Small or big, I can celebrate it.

Living an honest life in the Lord, doing small acts daily, will build into a life you simply can’t imagine today.

So, graduates, you are free to choose the path of small work. Your small work matters! The things that don’t bring recognition on stage and applause from the masses, God sees them all. One day you will stand before God and see how every small thing accumulated into a treasured life.

 

 

 

 

 

Life Update

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In the last year, I’ve only written eight times. That’s less than I’ve penned in the last 15 years of my life by a long shot. I’ve long accepted the seasonality of life – the opening and closing of time and talent. Despite my acceptance, I continue to wrestle with the want. I want to write more. In fact, I wish I wrote full time for a living. That would be my dream job. Writing often feels so impractical though. It’s a soul salve for me, so is it so impractical?

Now that summer has arrived, I hope to carve out time to sit with my thoughts held before God, allowing Him to sift them. That was how I actually began writing on the regular initially. After spending a full day with my little ones, I’d sit with God in the evenings and find I saw Him in all the crevices of moments. He was everywhere. And I wanted more of Him. The more I wrote, the more I saw Him.

I’ve been seeking God’s guidance in what’s next for me and writing. Do I keep writing christian encouragement? Maybe I spend more time developing my freelance writing. Travel writing would be exciting. Or an opinion column no one asked for could be fun. Or is it time to shift completely? I slightly did that last year. Since today’s post is a rambling of sorts, maybe it’s a good time to update you on the last year.

I went back to work part-time last year as the campus director for a hybrid homeschool, A Latere Academy. Two days a week my heart was filled by kindergartners through second graders and their hard-working, homeschooling parents. To come alongside these families has been a true gift. The highlight of my year was bringing Andrew to work with me. He completed his school day and simultaneously developed a love for these kids. Watching him connect and grow was a true joy.

I also completed my second year of teaching Logic to middle schoolers. The surprising thing that brought to my life is how it changed my own brain. I learned how to problem solve better. I learned how to think more critically and logically. I’ve actually considered packaging it somehow as a class for adults online.

I’m loving this stage of life with our boys. Here’s a quick update on each of them.

Jacob will be 20 in the fall. Insane to believe. He graduated a year ago and is working part-time while he’s launched his own lawn care business. His courage to go against the norms and expectations of our culture has inspired us. He’s always been mature beyond his age, and we continue to see that in him. He didn’t want to spend 4 years in college to come out in debt and potentially never need that degree. He’s entrepreneurial in spirit and desires to own businesses and real estate. Landscaping is a low risk way to learn to start and grow a business. He’s going for it and we couldn’t be prouder of him!

Zachary turns 18 in the fall and begins his senior year. He plans to start flying lessons this year and pursue a career as a private pilot. Like his brother, he is courageous and bold. He’s driven and is ready to become an adult. He is celebrating his one year anniversary with his girlfriend and has been working at Chick-fil-A for nearly 4 years.

Andrew begins his freshman year this fall. He started working at Chick-fil-A this summer, following in his brothers footsteps. He is wrapping up what will be his last season of baseball this summer. We’ve been with this team since he was in 3rd grade and will be so hard to say goodbye. It’s been a good run, but he’s ready to shift his focus to golf and work. He’s playing tons of golf and dreams of going Pro one day. He also has an entrepreneur spirit and continues to be as strong-willed at 14 as he was at 4. Pray for us.

Steve and I are treasuring up all the time we have with our boys. We’ve always parented toward the future and are soaking it all in. At the same time, we are realizing that before long, we will enter a new season again and continue to focus on our marriage and creating lives that don’t center on our children.

As I’ve written all of this, I realize I almost never update our personal lives here anymore. When I first started my blog, it was more personal in nature than anything else. As my children have aged, I’ve tried to keep private much of their lives. If you’ve read this long, bless you. And that probably means you’ve been here with me from the start. If you are new here, please stick around. This isn’t the content I publish typically.

On that note, I feel I need to connect with you all and see who all is reading and what you are hoping to read. The internet is so filled with noise. The last thing I want to do is add to the noise. If you are receiving this via email, hit reply and let me know what you enjoy reading and would like to read more of.

 

The secret to becoming younger inside despite aging outside

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On a recent ski trip with my family, I had one of those pivotal moment experiences. The kind that makes you look at your life and decide you will do whatever it takes to make a change. After only a short half day of skiing, my quads tapped out. To be fair to my screaming muscles, they did work harder than normal as I labored to help my son’s girlfriend down her first ever green run. It took us two hours, we were lapped about three times by the family, and I had multiple moments of helping her up and back into her skis while trying to keep myself from back skiing down the mountain.

The remainder of the trip, my muscles reminded me we are aging. I am forty-six years old, but I forget. I feel young at heart and in fairly good shape. The mountain proved to me it was time to make a change. When we returned from our trip, I found a personal trainer and committed to six months of training in the gym with her three days a week. I committed to a strict diet in conjunction with strength training to help me gain muscle mass. I went all in.

After my first training day, I stood on a scale that spit out all types of metrics I know nothing about. However, the one that made me most excited was my metabolic age. 31 years old. I knew it! I knew I felt young for a reason. Inside I feel younger than my outer body lives out on the daily.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” 1 Corinthians 4:16

We live in the physical world. We age, our body breaks down; however, if we are in Christ, our inner self is being renewed daily. Just as I work with my personal trainer to strengthen my outer body, when I spend time with God, spend time in His Word, choose to obey Him, spend time in prayer, meditate on scripture, and serve the body of Christ, I am putting my inner self through spiritual strength training.

My trainer coached me through chest presses I would have never done without the pressure of someone standing over me. She knew I could do what I was convinced I couldn’t do. I didn’t tell her, but inside I was telling myself it was impossible to do even one more press. Yet, I did five more simply because she stayed by my side telling me to keep going.

Christ stands at our side. We will not be shaken. We will not be moved. He knows that we are weak, but He is strong. He knows He will give us every bit of strength to walk out this life in a way that makes our inner self strong and lovely.

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 1 Corinthians 4:17-18

What light momentary affliction are you facing today? Is it a tantrum throwing toddler, a rebellious teenager, an aging parent, a marital struggle, loneliness, rejection, job loss, financial hardship? Sometimes the weight of our worry, anxiety, and struggle feels too much to bear. And it is. He never intended us to bear the weight alone or stand without our trainer at our side. He is there, assisting you, holding the weight for you.

But the training the Lord has us in is preparing us for eternity. What we walk through here on Earth is preparing us to carry an eternal weight of glory! Just stop and meditate on that for a moment. We will be entrusted in eternity to carry the weight of His glory. So we train now in godliness.

Give little attention to the physical world. Keep your eyes fixed on what is unseen and eternal. This life will be over in a nano-second.

“So we do not lose heart…..”

Lord, Thank you that you promise to renew us day by day as we stay close to you. Thank you for your Word that instructs us how to lift the weight of this world off of us and onto your shoulders. Thank you that your yoke is easy. Thank you that you are always near so we need never lose heart. Strengthen us on the inside so that we can walk in this physical world well. Prepare us to carry that eternal weight of glory. What you have for us, the mind has never conceived. Wow, Lord. You are too good to us. Forgive us for forgetting you so frequently. Keep our eyes fixed on you and the unseen. We love you. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

Why you can relax about politics, culture, and evil in the world

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After the 2008 election, we attended a church service where the pastor preached a sermon about how regardless of who wins elections, God remains on the throne. With our lips, we declare God is sovereign, but watch our actions and attitudes when our candidates lose elections. Our belief statements often misalign with our attitudes.

Fast forward to 2020, the year that traumatized souls at a deep level whether from pandemic living, political climate, or uprises in cities. Now we sit on the verge of 2023 and the anxiety has reached new heights.

I had a conversation recently with someone who was deeply upset about what we are seeing in the world. Culture is changing at a rapid pace and evil seems to have increased. Maybe it has, or maybe we simply see more through media, particularly social media, than at any other time in history. Regardless, it is creating traumatized souls.

I prayed for the person I’d had this conversation with, and later that day my radio station landed on religious talk radio. The pastor preached from Psalm 37. I went straight home and opened the Bible to see for myself. This Psalm has become a soul balm.

The verse literally begins by telling us not to worry about the wicked.

“Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.” Psalm 37:1-2

We are far too worried about the wicked. We are much too weighed down by the evil. As humans we cannot possibly handle carrying the burden evil brings to our souls. It’s time to be done once and for all. God’s Word tells us the reason we don’t need to worry about the wicked, or envy the fact they seem to escape punishment, is they will soon be gone.

Whatever we get rid of, we must replace with something better. If you’ve ever fasted, you realize how important it is to fill what once took your time and attention with something different.

Psalm 37:3-4 tells us what to replace our worry over evil with. “Trust in the Lord, and do good: dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Practically speaking, replace giving your attention to the news and decide to do good. Live your life trusting God. Be faithful with what He’s given you. Go love on your family, serve in your church, talk to your neighbors, smile at strangers, sit for extended times with God in prayer and reading His Word. Delight in Him. Delight in living your life.

Verses 7-8 are key. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.”

Don’t worry. Don’t be angry. Be patient. Trust God. Why? Because our anger will only lead to more evil and because wrath is for God not us. Their time is coming. Thankfully, we can simply live our lives doing good and leave the handling of evil to the only One capable of administering justice.

2020 damaged my soul. I allowed myself to fret over evil and to sit in my anger over all the media told me to be angry about. Three years later, I still feel the effects it had and am only now seeing the waste of time and energy it was.

I don’t watch the news. I lost all trust in their reports, which are not much more than fear-mongering and propaganda. All sides of the news. All sides have an agenda. They want our reaction and attention.

Psalm 37 tells us exactly how to handle living in a world of evil: Don’t worry. Live where you are. Dwell. Do good. Keep your focus on Jesus. Trust He will take care of everything in due time.

“In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” Psalm 37:10-11