Unmute Yourself

Choice or Decision©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a decision of choice.

Debating with a conflicting voice.

Yes or no,

I don’t know.

Is this a decision or a choice?

Are you confused by this limerick?

Yeah, me too!

I started to ponder the difference between a choice and a decision. You may think they are the same thing. But they are not.

When we ‘choose’ something, it means we have options. Choice connects us to our desired intentions, values, and beliefs. Decisions are connected to places of behavior, performance, and consequences. Decisions involve the will.

I had the choice of having my deck demolished by my brother, who was available now. Or, wait for the exact time the contractor will be showing up to do the job. The choice was mine. After weighing out some details, I decided to wait.  The options were before me, but a decision had to be made. It was messy with frustrations and misunderstandings, but once it was made, everyone adjusted.

The Book of Joel tells us in chapter 3 that God will decide judgement on the multitudes of people who did not choose to be on His side. In this case, there are only two options.  We are with Him or against Him. Our choice decides the outcome of where we spend eternity.

This month’s blog had many options as well.  As I wait for my friend from Indonesia to return to help me finish the reconstruction of my website, I have the option to not put out the blog because the menu bar still isn’t working correctly. That option/choice would be based on my need for perfection. My decision to continue to blog keeps my behaviour going forward.  It is my accountability belief that I know the consequences if I don’t.

If you recall, I had that unfortunate accident in June of a driver running a red light.  The after affects came in like a flood in July.  My picture for this month’s blog is a shirt I designed. I love the words, but the shirt itself, being a bit wrinkled and disheveled, is how I have been feeling.

 I was taken aback by it all since I refuse to believe I am not superwoman.  Reality check!  My right shoulder developed intense pain and decreased range of motion. I had a few difficult weeks, turning from right to left while sleeping. It required keeping my neck in a neutral position.  Rising out of bed was also a challenge that needed assistance from my nightstand.  I was so focused on wanting to be out of pain, I stopped doing things I did without thinking. 

After five weeks, I had the option to go back to work or keep waiting to be pain-free.  Having no income, apart from social security, was a deciding factor.  During that time, I had to start looking for a new vehicle.  It took three weeks to find something within my budget.  The budget kept rising, increasing the amount of the car loan. There is a reason car salesmen get a bad rap. That could be a small book all by itself!  It caused more stress than I realized. I started to get fatigued by the late afternoon, and the thought of trying to write or create anything for my online stores was overwhelming.  I barely got on my computer at all.  I surely thought once I finally got a car and did all the paperwork, I would be at ease.

NOPE!

As I eased back into work, new symptoms.  My head felt fuzzy and dizzy.  I was weak in my legs. It felt even harder to concentrate.  I would sleep nine hours and not feel rested. Well, maybe the stress is making my thyroid a bit wacky.  Now don’t do this: I thought I would take one pill at night and one in the morning.  I tried it.  It just got worse.

Well, if I just stop thinking about it, it will all go away.  That’s why I will be okay at work. I can talk to my clients.  Accept it didn’t.  I started to feel more anxious if I could not do my job 100%.  WHAT THE HECK!

On the advice of my physical therapist, I went for blood work.  I couldn’t find my medical card. The one that IS ALWAYS IN MY WALLET.  Why isn’t he there today?  Thankfully, they found me in the system anyway.  The first poke, no blood would come out.  We change arms.  Again, no blood. The phlebotomist calls for a shift change.  Huh? This is when the secondary phlebotomist comes over and they gently shift hands while the needle is still in your arm.  Impressive, I thought as I was feeling even weaker.  But still no blood.  A third poke in a different vein finally produced results.  I went home and laid down for a bit.

What am I doing wrong, God, that I am not bouncing back?

Options – just stop everything and go back to being a useless lump until it all goes away? Or decide to get serious and ask God to reveal what is happening. I have been so trained to put all the ownership on me that I can forget I am still a flesh and blood body that needs taking care of.

 I need God!  Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually.

That brings us back around to Joel and the Valley of Decision. God knows how frail we are.  HE also knows our nature to sin and forget about Him. But this I know for certain: when we purposely decide to choose Him, He will always be on our side. We may need to choose daily to remember that. But once the decision to be on His side is made, He will never leave us or forsake us.  All of heaven will back us up.

This Valley of Decision is a judgement place. God has already decided what happens to those who choose Him and those who do not. Eternal Paradise or Eternal Hell.  And in between, His forever help to live this life.

The choice is yours. What will you decide?

Joshua 24:14-15 KJV

14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You for making it easy to choose You. Forgive me for so often trying everything else instead of just coming to You first. I choose to be on Your side.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

_______________________________________

If you have never chosen which side to be on, and there are only two, God or Satan, let today be your day.  Simply pray the following prayer.

Dear Jesus,

Today I am choosing You.  I want to be on Your side. Thank You for dying on the Cross for me so all my sins could be forgiven.  I ask Your forgiveness.  Let Your blood wash over me and make me clean.  Fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me live out the rest of my days following You.  I choose You.  My decision is final.  I am on Your side.   In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights are copyrighted. © 

 Get this shirt here.

Mindless Thinking©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a mindless man named Ted.

He thought about these wise words that read.

You are what you think,

Your mind is the link.

But having less mind kept him brain dead.

Friends, being an entrepreneur requires a mind that rarely stops thinking and creating.  It can be overwhelming at times. But I love it!

The picture I chose for this month’s blog is from a recent vendor event I attended.  It was the very first one that I did live for promoting and selling my limerick wall art. It required much thinking beyond creating the limericks. I probably overthought and brought way more limericks than I needed.  I chose the Mother’s Day Theme since it would only be a week away.

As I reflected on the day and my own wise words (really the Lord’s) that I crafted in these limericks, I was reminded again of just what I wrote.  You are what you think. Your mind is the link.

This is how the event unfolded….

As I began to print the artwork a few days prior, my printer kept saying low on ink. WHAT!   I just spent a fortune on the four laser color cartridges that said 2500 copies each. Why are you lying to me, I pleaded with my printer. I tried everything I could think of. Four useless calls to the manufacturer, YouTube videos, Google, and loud rebukes to my printer – which later I would be repenting of.  My patience was gone. After two days and many hours of heated words, I was drained.  The last resort was to go and have it printed at Staples. I was very frustrated, thinking, “Why am I putting myself through all this stress?  Didn’t I buy an expensive laser printer to bypass this step?”

My youngest daughter came by and asked if I had figured out the problem.  She attempted to do some things, also.  We discovered this printer is so sensitive to the paper you use that if you don’t have the right setting, it WILL NOT print double-sided. And if you are off by one wrong choice, you get line shadows, thereby wasting paper. Every good Polak (my father’s generational programming) knows you can’t waste anything or the universe gets angry at you. My printer must be Italian, like my mother, who always knew just the right amount of ingredients to make the perfect tomato sauce but never wrote the recipe down. But at least my thinking was becoming more hopeful.

Printing complete, art pieces assembled, all supplies ready and packed in the car by 10:00 p.m. My evening prayers were, “Lord, send someone to help me put up my canopy and have my limericks sell.” I never doubt God hears me, but He often has different answers. 

There were over 100 vendors.  The weather forecasted clouds and some sun. Well,  it turned out to be a very warm day for May. My canopy had only arrived in the mail the day before, so I had not tested it out yet.  God answered my request for help in putting it up so quickly, I was awestruck.  I had barely gotten it out of the package, when a wonderful gentleman named Richard came over and assisted me.  He was eager to tell me about the books he was selling and that he had brought 50. I was thinking about what confidence he had. I wanted that too. Thank You God, for his help and attitude!

By 10:00 a.m., the people began to stroll in. I had already adjusted my display repeatedly because the wind was just light enough that it kept blowing my things over. More and more people were coming, and as I kept looking across the way, that nice gentleman was selling book after book. My mind was thinking, “Okay, what can I be saying and doing that people buy my beautiful limericks?”

The wind began to pick up at about 1:30.   I had already secured my artwork several times from the wind blowing them over. It was discipline not to think, “I just want to go home!” After several hours of readjusting my display, I focused more on the people. The event was from 10 to 4, and Richard came by around 2 to say he had sold 48 books. I was genuinely happy for him. What thoughts had he generated that his energy output continually drew people to him? I found myself ministering to people’s physical and emotional needs apart from the actual prints I was selling.

By 2:25, the wind was ruthless. Most of the vendors I could see had some serious toppling over of their products. Vendors and customers scrambled to help the items not blow away completely. For me, I ended up putting four of my art pieces away and showing only three.  I still had hopeful thoughts.

It just got worse.  By three o’clock, most vendors were packing it up.  That would include me.  There was too much concern that my canopy was going to be airborne.  Even canopies with weights were no match for the wind.  All my gear was in my car by 3:30.

Okay, so I did not do well with sales like I anticipated.  I sold more of my little Jesus figurines then my limericks, which were really for display, but people wanted to buy them. People need Jesus. 

Driving home, my mind was filled with thoughts of the amount of time and energy I put into this day. Was it worth it?  Help me understand, Lord.

Home now and unpacking the car, I thought of my sister, now in a nursing home.  She used to sell her handmade crafts at events like this. I thought about how often her body was in pain from the constant loading and unloading of all the wonderful things she sold. She did it because she had to provide for her family. I create limericks because I love them. My sister is not capable of thinking sensible thoughts now. How privileged am I that I still can?

Our days are relatively short in this life.  Jesus told us to redeem the time.  It is far too easy to go through our days with mindless thinking.  I have gotten lost at times in mindlessly playing solitaire until I finally get my thinking back, realizing all that time wasted.

Let’s not be like Ted. The Word tells us to think of these things in Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Thinking of the lovely things would be the woman who needed to sit in the extra chair I provided because her knee was in pain from walking. Then there was the little pink fish toy I just happened to notice on the ground. I picked it up and put it on my table, for surely there was a sad child who lost it. A praise indeed, for sure enough, her parents helped her come back and look for it. She was so happy. Then the pure heart of Richard, who helped me put up my canopy. And the kind neighbor who lent me some hooks to display a canvas art I made.

Those are just some of the thoughts I am left with from that day. Others are business lessons I learned for the next event. It’s coming soon. I will rethink some things.

In the meantime, here is a last-minute plug – if you are within a small radius of Cumberland, RI, feel free to email me at Unmuteyourself@gmail.com and pick up a unique Mother’s Day gift.  I have three different Mother’s Day Limerick Wall Arts to choose from.  A Mother’s Smile, A Mother’s Debate, and A Mother’s Grace.  They are ready-made  to frame.  $10 each.  I  have frames also for $3.

Let’s think good thoughts!

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You, Lord, for creating us with the power of thought. Help us be fruitful all of our days on earth. Forgive us for the many hours we fall into mindless thinking. When we link our thoughts with Your thoughts, wisdom comes. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Photo by Studio VIX on Unsplash

Flip Off©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a man who needed a heart.

It stopped the day he was flipping his chart.

His daughter said,

He should be dead,

But he flipped to the page and read  “restart.”

Spring has arrived! But it is still chilly here in New England. That hasn’t dampened the mood!  Already drivers seem to be “happier” pressing harder on the gas as if that will make the temperature rise. Car windows open to the blaring beat of music that makes you wonder how they can drive.  God forbid if an ambulance needs to get by. The loud motorcycles are reappearing. There used to be a law prohibiting certain decibels. Who knows what happened to that one? Sunday drivers are out with their spring/summer-only vehicles.  Scooters and bikes (regular and electric)are on the sidewalks. More pedestrians are out strolling. And horns keep beeping.  We need to be alert!

After you encounter all those things and thankfully you make it home, you just want to sit down to dinner. Your phone starts. The spammers and donation solicitors (hopefully not debt collectors) start blowing up your phone. You just want to say “Flip off!”.

Controlling our emotions can be a full-time job. God, knows I have blown it many times. And will probably still.  What can we do? How do we maintain peace?

It has to be a disciplined decision. We have to consistently remind ourselves to not take it personally.  This one is difficult for me.  I know how overly sensitive I can be. God has to reign me in over and over. But the good news is, I am aware of it.  That allows me to eventually see past the disruptions and annoyances and balance back out. I can flip the chart, restart, and thank God I am not dead.

Do you need your chart flipped to restart too?

God is so forgiving that as soon as we truly “say sorry. I blew it again. Please forgive me Lord and help me do better.”, He answers with a “Yes.”

 Colossians 3:8 (KJV) But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Pray this prayer with me.

 Dear God,

Thank You for Your unfailing love and mercy. You are well aware of the stresses of this life. Cleanse me of all the things I have flipped over, flipped out, and flipped off. Replace them with kindness and patience as You remind me that I too can be the cause of someone wanting to flip me off. Together we flip the chart and restart.   In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 Check out these trademarked products to help you decide daily not to flip out.

https://speakyourrhyme.printify.me/

Photo by George Becker

Persistent March©

 A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

Begin again to do all you can.

Forget what looked like a failed plan.

Failure is success.

A test just to bless.

So March on forward, persist on man.

Persistent March

There is a good probability I’ve shared this limerick in previous years of blogging. It is included in my March Monthly Journal. This year marks a new chapter in Persistence. Since January, I committed to a weekly Wednesday Facebook Live session at 3 p.m. In March I experimented with pre-recorded Zoom videos, but we all know Facebook’s algorithm favors live content. Regardless of” playing for favor”, I remain resolved to PERSIST!

My entire March Journal revolves around three words of power: Persistent, Insistent, and Consistent.

As I have entered into a new season of my journey, transitioning to working very part-time at massage therapy and spending much more time on expanding my writing business, I am reflecting on how persistence shaped my massage business.  I held a clear image of myself massaging clients – using my hands to transform their awareness of the connection to their whole being: spirit, soul, and body. It would take nine years to finally be released from my corporate job to enroll full-time in massage school.

Looking back, I saw why God had “taken so long.”  My healing journey needed its own time to take place as God persistently cared for and restored me. Back then my dream was to be a massage therapist and have my own practice. Those things came to be and along the way, a new dream emerged. I desired to become an author.

When pursuing dreams and desires with persistence it can often appear nothing is happening because we haven’t reached our endpoint. The years slip away and we feel all our plans have failed.

I want to remind you, and myself: no plan fails if we remain persistent in what we desire to achieve. Consider the persistent dandelion that grows through sidewalk cracks. It may get trampled on but it continues to reach upward up until its vibrant yellow flower blooms.  We view dandelions as lawn-destroying weeds. But research proves God created dandelions with a powerful purpose. They are so effectively persistent that they multiply every year!

As March is upon us, let’s march forward with this persistent mindset: Failure is a test of success.  A test to bless us and others. 

Jesus exemplified persistence in fulfilling His Father’s plan. He endured 40 days of testing in the Wilderness. What looked like a failure as He suffered a horrible death became the power to overcome death. The world perceived it as a failure. Believers understand that death gave us life.  With His life flowing in us we can persist in what only appears to be as a failed plan. We will pass the test. We will be blessed. We will persist.

March onward and keep persisting.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 16:3 (ESV) Commit your work to the Lord,  and your plans will be established.

 Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You for Jesus persisting in all You called him to do. Jesus, you are our role model in persistence. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. We cannot fail any test when we give our plans to You. Keep us on Your path.   In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Photo by Kostantinos Livadas

The Safe Tower©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a plot to be in power.

Evil thought it could command the hour.

Many lost heart,

Scattered apart.

The righteous ran into the strong tower.

Proverbs 18:10

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Where can you truly be safe on the earth?

Our world is filled with mistrust, greed, lies, and scams.  Add to that murder, rape, and all kinds of violence.  Add to that fires, floods, airplane crashes, and railway mishaps. Everything seems so uncertain. If we constantly focus on all these evils life may feel unbearable. There would only be hopelessness. And sadly many live in that place of despair.

The Bible talks about the Lord’s Name being a strong tower. Righteous people run into it and they are safe. Imagine being chased by an attacker intent on robbing and killing you. Suddenly you hear a voice shouting to you, “Come this way.  It’s safe over here!”. Would you trust them?

Our current experience of society has made it very difficult to trust anything or anyone. The Bible makes known, that Satan, is roaming about as a lion looking for someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8)

Is there anyone we can trust?  

What if God was God waving you over from the attacker trying to rob, kill, and destroy you? Would you automatically run His way? How would you believe it was God? How would you be able to trust His call?

Trust takes time.

Think about someone in your life that you do trust, how did that trust come about?  Most likely with time spent together. They were reliable. They did what they said they were going to do. They showed up when you needed them. Experiencing each other’s company through conversation and shared experiences develops a bond of trust. At the mention of their name, you instinctively know it is someone you can trust. If that person you spent time with saw you running from danger and waved you over, you would not hesitate. You would do the same for them.

God can be trusted. ALWAYS.

God cannot lie. (Numbers 23:19)  He is eternally faithful – even when we are not. (2Timothy 2:13)  When we are willing to spend time with Him through reading His Word, praying, and having everyday conversations we begin to trust Him more and more. We are more aware of His Presence guiding and directing our daily activities.  The small trusts become bigger trusts as He forever waves us to His tower of safety.

 Trials will come.

The hard truth is bad things still may happen. But the greater truth is this: in the safe tower of God the enemy can never destroy your spirit. Satan is not allowed to rob or steal from you eternal things like joy, peace, and eternal life. Your spirit is the part of you that will never die. The moment you call out the name of Jesus He is there.

The Bible says the righteous run into the tower and are safe. What if you aren’t righteous? Or you are,  but don’t feel it to be true.  How would you be sure you could run to the safe tower?

Let’s settle that right now.

Righteousness is something no one can ever earn. Your spirit becomes righteous the day you ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. His death and resurrection are payment for His righteousness that covers you no matter what you have done. It is part of the free gift of salvation. The safe tower now opens when we call His Name. It is the place we can go to all the time. Jesus will always be there. Here we can converse with Him over every detail of our lives.

He is a really good listener.

As your trust grows with Jesus you also become a good listener.  The miracle of complete trust grows in your heart. You will never be lost or scattered. You are safe in the strong tower the moment you call His Name.

Are you ready to run to the strong tower?

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You for Your Name being a strong tower of safety. I call on You, Jesus, to cleanse me of all my sin. Come live in my heart forever as Lord and Savior. Thank You for Your righteousness that covers me. I am made righteous by Your blood. I call on Your Name now as the strong tower I run to and am safe. I trust You completely.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Perfect Peace©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a mind struggling to be at ease,

Hiding behind lies that peace means no dis-ease.

Perfection is near.

Make this truth so clear.

Mankind alone can never create true peace.

Is there peace anywhere on the earth?

Have we not just come through the Christmas season where every year is recited Luke 2:13-14 .  “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The news first week of January 2025 has been filled with the senseless killing of people all over the entire earth.  How can those Bible words be true? Ramming a truck into a crowd of people doesn’t paint a picture of good will toward men.

What was heaven really announcing?

It may be hard to understand in our finite human minds that evil was around before the forbidden fruit was eaten. That act allowed all of humankind to know the difference between evil and good.  Decisions matter. Choices are critical. God could have chosen to let the fall out from Adam and Eve’s decision to not obey and eat the forbidden fruit thereby introducing evil for all eternity. HE could have crucified Satan instead of Jesus.

BUT HE DIDN’T.

 PEACE DID COME TO EARTH.

It was sent in the form of a man named Jesus.  He is the personification of Peace and Good Will toward men. He is Perfection.  God was heartbroken that day in the Garden. HE  had already seen what was about to happen.  But can we open our minds to this truth?  It is all part of the plan to destroy the destroyer, Satan himself.  Oh, I know what you may be thinking.  “C’mon Paula, God couldn’t just flick His index finger and send Satan to hell in a nanosecond? And then all this evil would be done with?”  HE could.  But He didn’t.  The Bible says, “His thoughts are higher than ours.  His ways are not man’s ways.”   So rather than try to understand with a human mind, allow faith to help you believe and trust the Word.

Our lives here on Earth are relatively short compared to eternity. Eternity is for every human because our spirit will never die.  Where you spend Eternity is up to you.  It’s a choice, a decision must be made.  Jesus made his choice to come to Earth to fulfill God’s plan of dealing with evil.  His blood and sacrifice have made it possible for Peace to have its way.  Again you may be thinking, “Couldn’t God choose a better way than crucification?”  Maybe. The Word says cursed is every man that hangs on a tree. Back to that tree thing again. Once the sin of disobedience by eating that fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil happened all were cursed. It had to be on a tree to end the curse.

The curse is ended. The fallout has not. Choices have consequences. They are often long in ending. But that is not a reason to despair. We must still keep choosing good over evil.  Peace has come: no matter what it looks like. Evil will end. Man has the free will to be involved in the plan of ending evil or adding to it. Peace is always nearby. We decide if we want that kind of peace inside us.  When we do then along with  The Perfect Peacemaker we can create true peace.

____________________________________

All scripture is taken from The King James Bible.

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You for Your Perfect Plan.  I may not fully understand it all but please fill me with Jesus who has always been near. Jesus Your Holy Spirit is what I must have to create the peace that passes all understanding to live this earthly life. There is nowhere or no one I can go to, to get this kind of peace.  Forgive me for all offenses I have had against You and the way I see things.  You are Peace. I need that Peace. Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.

If you don’t know Jesus yet ask Him today to come live in your heart.  Tell Him you are sorry for all the things you know are sinful and all the things you still don’t know yet.  Ask Him to help you live out all your days with the help of His Holy Spirit.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

The Most Famous Name©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was the most famous Name of all.

Not like the most famous reindeer of all.

A King’s Name.

A King’s Fame.

Yeshua, that is the Name above all.

I will never forget the year I was Christmas shopping and feeling a bit lonely. I was at a mall full of people but feeling invisible. I ventured into a small but extremely packed  toy store to shop for my two young daughters. Christmas was about a week away and I just wanted to be home. I divorced when the youngest was just over a year old and after 5 years of dating someone else we were no longer together. Christmas always felt lonely even if I was married or dating.

So there I was, perusing the toy isles, trying to feel some kind of Christmas cheer. I had let Jesus into my broken heart 6 years before. There was a lot of emotional pain He was helping me work through that I wasn’t even aware of. Although I was in the store by myself I was silently talking to Jesus the whole time, very much aware of His comforting Presence.

It’s funny how childhood memories come back during holidays. They seem to fill our mind and body with different emotions.  I used to wonder what it was that I loved so much about Rudolph, that most famous reindeer of all.  I would never miss the show every year. When the song Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer began playing on the store sound my ears and heart were instantly in tune. I started to be overpowered my a flood of emotion. My heart began to feel intense sorrow and my eyes were filling up with tears.  You know the kind of tears that feel so huge they just run down your face. What is going on!?  I’m gonna lose it, right here, right now in the game aisle. I never had that intense reaction all my childhood. Not even in the years when I would watch it with my little girls. God was speaking a message to me. It was a deep cry of my own soul that changed forever the truth of Rudolph’s story.  He did go down in history, just like Yeshua.

Rudolph is the story of the outcast, the one who doesn’t fit in, the misfit. Have you ever felt that way?  I just don’t belong, even in my own family. Those emotions were flooding my soul as I tried to stay in control in that toy store. God was revealing how His Son felt not because Jesus didn’t belong to God His Father but because the world was trying to make him an outcast.  He would feel those feelings because He knew how many of us would experience that pain.  I suddenly understood. If Jesus could feel what I could,  then He understood my pain.

Christmas is our time to reflect on why Jesus came.  It is no trite thing when we say He was born to die for mankind’s sin. Jesus comes as the innocent, spotless baby but that is only the beginning. We can’t just see the baby in the manger. We must see the whole story. He is the One who came to live in the flesh as a man so He could experience every kind of pain and betrayal we feel.  He knew what it was like to be abandoned by men who said they loved him: Even at the last breath when He thought his own Father had forsaken him.

The miracle of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus must be shouted every Christmas as the reminder to the whole world. Jesus spoke so gently to my spirit that day. I am not an outcast, a misfit. I am never alone. My heart grew lighter but also heavier for every heart that feels as I did. I can never watch Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer now without remembering that special Christmas season.

HE is the Most Famous Name of All.

Deuteronomy 31:8 Living Bible

Don’t be afraid, for the Lord will go before you and will be with you; he will not fail nor forsake you.

Rejoice this Christmas Season.  He came to bring good news.

Luke 2:10-11 KJV

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Thank You for sending Jesus, the One who knows everything we feel. Jesus, please reveal more of Yourself to our spirit, soul, and body this Christmas season and all the days of our lives. We are never alone and with You we always belong.

If you don’t know Jesus yet ask Him today to come live in your heart.  Tell Him you are sorry for all the things you know are sinful and all the things you still don’t know yet.  Ask Him to help you live out all your days from now on. In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Find my writing journals by clicking here.

Election Direction©

A Limerick A Day To Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a historical election.

Exhausting the people with constant flexion.

Left, Right.

Fight, Fight.

All that was needed was Godly direction.

God loves to help his creation. The only prerequisite is to ask. AND that so often is the last thing we do.  Our nation has been heading in the wrong direction for the last several generations. It was easy, not right, but easy to get comfortable with believing it would be just fine to let everyone live how they wanted.  After all, isn’t that the freedom of America?

Is it?

Without God, the sinfulness of human nature grows steadily. The Word tells us our hearts are deceitful.  Jeremiah 17:9-10 (KJV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

What has been the fruit of our doings?

We know by now one of our great mistakes was to take the bible truths out of the public school. I can hear you now saying separation of church and government. But that’s how the government wormed its way into the public schools to the insanity we have today. Once we had two generations moving away from God’s directions for living we produced minds left to be easily manipulated into what was called situational ethics. It got so far left we had laws saying boys could go in the girls’ bathrooms, play girls’ sports, and become girls with surgery and hormones (and of course the other way around). It’s mankind thinking whatever they feel is right in their own eyes.

The same thing happened in The Book of Judges.

 Men did what they thought was right in their own eyes. The Lord desired men to freely worship Him and live according to His ways. But because our propensity is to unrighteousness and lawlessness He gave the people judges. Eventually, many judges became corrupt so the people cried for a king. This displeased God because He is King. If the people had just said all we want is You, God, understanding that to live under God’s rule would have been freer and more prosperous than any earthly King’s reign, they would have saved themselves much heartache. They cried out until  God relented and gave them what they wanted. The first king, King David, walked in God’s ways and Israel was blessed. His son Solomon also blessed the people because he walked in God’s ways except he married a woman who worshipped false gods.

The one-degree separation of the wrong direction.

And after that, every generation would experience more evil kings than good kings. The one-degree separation became wider and wider. Wars, plagues, slavery, judgments, and eventually destruction. The people would become desperate and realize they left God. They would repent and God would always show up.

We are no different than the people of ancient days. In America’s beginning days, God was part of everything. There was (and is) no separation of church and state. God was part of the government for wisdom and decisions. The call for separation was not from God in governmental affairs but rather in the government staying out of your personal decision on how to worship Him that would not be controlled by the government.

The issue of separation has contributed to this great flexion. Flexion in this sense is the deviation from a straight or normal course.

If you were living in the crisis of WWII you may remember how the country came together to fight against the evils of communism.  Prayer and belief in God weren’t anything abnormal. The President was not condemned when he asked the people to pray on D-Day. Victory came and unified the people. America felt safe and proud again despite the next twenty years of the Cold War. Our prosperity as a country increased dramatically even though we would still face many issues now within our borders.

Some of these were Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Abortion Rights, Marriage Rights, Disability Rights,  and 1^st and 2^nd Amendment Rights. I was young when Martin Luther King was assassinated but clearly remember the rights of women wanting the same pay as men because that one specifically affected me in my professional career. I had no problem if other women wanted to abort their babies even if I would not do so. I didn’t care also if men wanted to marry men or women women. It wasn’t affecting me. UNTIL…God got a hold of my eyes.

I was living in my own “what is right in our own eyes” thinking. There was no thought of how it may affect the next generation.  

The problem is we all have a right and left eye. They aren’t meant to be separated so that each eye can go its own way.  The Bible tells us to have a single eye.  Matthew 6:22 says, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” To have this single eye means if I follow God He will lead in one direction, which is always the right direction. And it usually means a change in how I think.

This historical election became known as the Right and the Left when it came to voting. It was so far from the straight, normal course of how elections should go.  I pray America remembers the amount of prayer it took to begin to correct itself to biblical values taking their place again. The fight to stay right will not end just because the election is over. The fight to stay right is won when our eye is focused completely on God in one direction. If not we will revert to what we feel right in our own eyes, being left to once again head in the wrong direction.

2 Peter 1:10 KJV

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

We thank You for hearing our desperate cries to save our nation from evil’s corruption and tyranny. You know the heart of men and it’s a propensity towards evil. Cleanse us, heal us, keep us forever fighting to see evil defeated. Thank You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Vain Gain of The Profane©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a people plotting in vain.

Devising a plan believed for their gain.

The God-deniers,

Jesus-defiers.

God laughs for His Son will break the profane.

God exists regardless of man’s belief or non-belief.  The  Written Word of God is a gift to all of mankind. The power of the Word has the power in itself to bring it to pass. We can either gain knowledge and wisdom with understanding by reading it or perish by our rejection of knowledge.

Hosea 4:6 KJV

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

God has always told us how to live. Time is running out.  We are in the Valley of Decision.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP

Joel 3:14 KJV

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

It’s decision day. Are you a God follower or a Jesus denier?

Read the following instructions from His Holy Word, Psalm 2.  

Psalm 2 KJV

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

The times of this present world are not shocking You. If I have denied You without realizing You are the True Judge, Lawgiver, and King of the earth please forgive me.  Let me now take refuge in You. Teach me what it means to worship You and not the world. Help me live only in Your Truth. Thank You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. ©