By Nancy Patrick On August 18, 2024, Dr. Matt Cook, interim pastor at First Baptist Church, preached a sermon based on Acts 2:44-47.  The text describes the fundamental nature of friendship as that of gathering, loving, and sharing.  Matt referred to an often told and sometimes exaggerated story of the 1976 Special Olympics in Seattle, Washington. The story illustrates the

By Nancy Patrick People who know me know that I have fought a battle with despair and depression my entire life. Addicts confess they will always be addicts even if they have maintained sobriety for twenty years. My type of depression resembles that description. I may have periods when my depression lightens, but the shadow it casts in my spirit

By Nancy Patrick With political wars going on around the world, I find myself in the middle of a spiritual war. The thing is—the politics of war often conflict with my spiritual values. I might add that when I speak of my spiritual values, I include the values that encompass both emotional and psychological aspects of my life. Throughout my

By Nancy Patrick Sometimes when I think about my next writing topic, my mind runs rampant through the endless lists of issues that people face on a day-to-day basis. I don’t know enough about some of the topics to write a complete article, but I have opinions on most of them that I sometimes get an itch to express. To

By Nancy Patrick Those of you who know me personally know that for many years I have experienced various problems with my muscular-skeletal health. It actually started twenty-five years ago when I developed a painful condition called De Quervain’s tenosynovitis requiring surgery in Lubbock.  Then I realized I had carpel tunnel syndrome in both hands. On top of that, my

By Nancy Patrick I recently wrote an article that left some readers feeling depressed. I think the tragedy and sorrow in the world had overwhelmed me when I wrote that one. It got me to thinking about the nature of humanity—is it good, evil, or a mixture of both? I recently shared a lunch table with several professional “religious” people.

By Nancy Patrick I have decided that watching news programming on television, listening to podcasts, and creating blogs may contribute negatively to my mental health. I actually have friends who limit news time on television to thirty minutes per day to avoid overdosing on the information about world’s tragedies and atrocities. Of course, podcasts and blogs typically focus on the

By Nancy Patrick Progressive Insurance Company spends a lot of money on marketing. I have to admit I find some of the advertisements fascinating. The company’s choice of actress Stephanie Courtney to portray the sales representative Flo was a mark of genius.  Courtney has played the marketing character since 2008 and shows no sign of disappearing anytime soon. As much

By Nancy Patrick Have you ever felt so full of competing emotions that your brain, heart, and gut could not sort them out for labeling purposes? I find myself in that commingled state as I write this article. We like to think that we can bounce back to our former selves after any bad decision we make—that we can receive