Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

A song, a meme, a memory...all triggers for me. Perhaps they are for you, too. Hearing a certain song can bring a smile to our face or tears to our eyes. A meme can make you laugh, or has the power to may one cry. A memory can make your heart glad, or break it all over again. A week ago tomorrow, I received the news that my life-long friend had passed away. I don't know the particulars, really, just that she didn't have to go. See, she took her own life. I have been avoiding saying this even in person as much as I could, but it is what it is. This, in her eyes, was the only way to fix things. For years she had been suffering. From the first thing that broke her heart, her father's passing, to her last days with mental, physical, and spiritual pain, she felt alone, a bother to those who were helping her. She was sick and tired of being sick and tired, literally. For the last few years, I have been there for her...and this is not ringing my own bell, this isn't abou...

Today, after a very long battle, my best friend passed from this life. Sandy and I have been friends for over 47 years. I look at that number and am amazed. They say that any friendship that lasts longer than seven years will last a lifetime. I tend to agree. I mean, after seven years, a person, a 'friend' can see your quiet side, your wild side...all OCD tendencies you may have or whether you're a slob. Are you an introvert or an extrovert, they see that. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your quirks, if after seeing that for seven years and they still like you, well that person's a keeper. Sandy and I met in Jr. High School, Middle School for you youngsters. We were okay friends then, but when we went to High School, that's when our friendship gelled. To call us polar opposites was an understatement, I was the yang to her yin. I caught my Mom shaking her head on many occasions with us. I even took our mini bike a few times, on the back dirt roads to go over to t...

You know, sometimes I imagine what your faces must look like when you read the titles to my blogs. This is one such title that I can see eyebrows raised right into your hairline, wondering what on earth am I going to blog about today! Actually, it's not as weird as the title suggests. But I want to pose a question to you. Do you know you're surrounded by a sonic song? It's true! Psalm 32 is subtitled The Joy of Forgiveness. It was a song of contemplation from David. We all know that David had his share of interesting events in his life. A shepherd boy who slew a lion and  a bear. A boy who was chosen over all of his brothers to be King of Israel. He slew Goliath...a much bigger task than the bear or the lion, no doubt. He survived King Saul's many hissy fits and attempts on his life. Heck, he could have taken Saul's life, probably more than once, but the most well known occurrence was when he took a piece of Saul's robe, then sent a messenger to tell him all...

Perspective. Everyone has one, no two are the same. For example, take a car accident. There are four witnesses to the accident, yet none of the statements that the police have taken are the same. Yes, they all agree that an accident occurred, and in some cases, they may agree on who may be at fault, but after that, everything is up for debate. So, how do the officers figure out what happened? They take all four of the statements, take into account each perspective,  look at the physical evidence, then draw conclusions from there. The same can be said for our interpretation of the Word of God. I know, I'm on really shaky ground, but bear with me. I'm going to take some examples in the four Gospels...Matthew, Mark, Luke (whose perspective is not first hand, but rather as a result of bringing the observations of the Apostles and others), and John. This is what is known as Harmony in the Gospels. The first such incident is when Jesus begins His ministry. In Matthew 4:12, Mark 1...