Marla's Alphabet Soup

For years I have participated in Lent (celebrated seems like an odd word to use for Lent). I have often tried to give up things like sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Sometimes I am successful, other years not so much. For a while I decided that adding a spiritual practice was a better idea and tried adding devotionals, specific prayer patterns, exercising, new vegetables.

This year, I’m not sure what to do. I almost feel like I’ve been in a Lenten Limbo for months. I appreciate the blasphemous nature of that thought, but I don’t really know how else to describe it. I had a difficult time with Advent this past year as well. Maybe I have grown out of my narrow need to “focus” for a set number of days and have thus expanded to daily practice—or abandoned spiritual practice all together.

Maybe there are so many changes going on in my life that the thought of thinking about one more thing….

The uncertainty of our world as we know it weighs on me.

Daily decision fatigue makes me, well fatigued.

Living in this sandwich moment between parenting my almost grown children and my own parents feels very discombobulating.

Helping my second son prepare for his senior year/college application process is exhausting.

The aging female body in all of its glory and agony.

The waiting game for resolutions of multiple health concerns affecting those I love.

Dear readers these thoughts are not complaints, more like layers of laments. And instead of forty days, I feel like it’s been forty weeks!

Today is Ash Wednesday. I will attend church this evening for my ashes to mark the beginning of this season as well as practice the remembrance of our death, repentance, and renewal. Perhaps this year I will focus on the renewal part as I turn towards the coming of Easter. Renewing those fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians seems like a worthy goal.

I hope you find something with which to tether yourself in the coming days friends. When I need to be carried, you have always carried me. And when you need carrying, I’ll be there to carry you. There is no rule about not enjoying the coming spring days, or new beginnings, or surprises, or having fun during Lent. Sorrow, repentence, grief and sadness make joy and celebration and happiness and laughter so much fuller and sweeter regardless of when they occur. Love and Peace and Joy to you in this season of repentence and rebirth.

Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit” (NRSV).

Take care. Love Y’all,

Marla

This past weekend was Valentine’s Weekend. It was anything but typical. My husband asked me to pick up cards for the boys, which I did. The Valentine card choices were terrible, smarmy, and stupid, so I got friendship cards with blank insides so that we could write our own messages to them. I also picked up a card for my husband. In true form, he said, “I feel bad I didn’t get you a card, but I did pay your visa bill today.” Oh he makes me laugh. We aren’t exactly big Valentine’s Day celebrants.😉

With our younger son on a school trip, we decided to visit our older college son in Fort Worth. He is living his best life his way. I enjoyed the meals, the conversation, the basketball watching, the mandatory pictures (with no smiling), meeting roommates and frisbee friends and church friends.

Sunday was Youth Sunday at the University Christian Church (UCC). We attended the 11:00 service at our son’s invitation. If you’ve ever raised your own doubting Thomas, you know this invitation was unexpected and joyfully received.

The middle and high schoolers did a wonderful job leading the service. It is no small thing to stand in front of people and lead a prayer, read a scripture, sing a song, or give a sermon—and they did all of that! We even shared communion. It was one of the most genuine worship hours I have ever spent in church.

I have not experienced a communion service completely led by laypersons, much less young people. I was overcome watching these teenagers break the bread and bless the juice and start the sacrament of communion with one another and then the other lay persons who then in turn brought the bread and juice to us in the pews. We passed the communion down the pew to one another. It was so different and so moving and honestly it felt just as holy as it does when I go to the alter to receive. I said something to my son about it and he said, “Mom, we have communion every Sunday just like this.” What a beautiful moment to experience each week!

He introduced us to his dear friend and mentor, Bart* (not his real name). Bart is a feisty, articulate, 80 year old retired history teacher from Fort Worth by way of Kentucky. We had a lovely lunch telling stories and sharing our histories with one another. The two of them have obviously clicked and genuinely enjoy each other’s company at church lunches and basketball games and small group meetings.

Our son has become an integral part of the College Ministry at UCC serving on the college board and leading a small group on Thursdays. He just fits right in at church and it seems like the most natural thing in the world to see him there.

We had a long adolescence of questions and declarations and refusals and frustrations with organized religion. Sometimes it takes someone other than mom or dad. Sometimes it takes a new place and new people. I am humbled and grateful for the people placed in our son’s life who quietly, persistently, without judgement or reservation, woo him towards a life of love and service of others. Observing (with minimal comment) a faith journey that is on his terms is a gift. Thank you God for unexpected love in unexpected ways in unexpected places.

Ever on the Journey with all of you. Love y’all big,

Marla

Friends,

I know many of us are discombobulated. Some of us are dismayed. Some of us are excited. Some of us are plain freaked out about the first two weeks of the current administration.

I myself am a firm believer in the process of American democracy and our government. I have to believe that the Constitution and the good sense of the American people will prevail.

But. just. damn.

I feel compelled to give us all some brief information (ahem, legalese) that may assuage some of our fears and doubts—or make them worse, regarding the executive branch.

Per the American Bar Association website, the definition of an executive order is:

An executive order is a signed, written, and published directive from the President of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. Proclamations, which are also signed [by the President] communicate information on holidays, commemorations, federal observances, and trade. Both executive orders and proclamations have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies. Executive orders are not legislation; they require no approval from Congress, and Congress cannot simply overturn them. Congress may pass legislation that might make it difficult, or even impossible, to carry out the order, such as removing funding. Only a sitting U.S. President may overturn an existing executive order by issuing another executive order to that effect.

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-an-executive-order-/

Said another way, by Eric Kashdan and Maha Quadri of the Campaign Legal Center:

The President is not a king nor dictator, and executive orders are not a blank check for the President to exercise his will without Constitutional checks and balances….Executive orders (or EOs) are presidential instructions that direct executive branch agencies and staff to take (or stop taking) specific actions….To be permissible and have legal effect, an executive order must be rooted in one of the president’s powers as outlined in the Constitution or in a law passed by Congress.The authority of executive orders is not final. Federal courts can be called on to review an orders’ lawfulness and determine whether it is a valid exercise of the President’s power. No President can issue an order that contradicts or violates the Constitution, federal laws or Americans’ fundamental rights.

https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-are-executive-orders-and-how-do-they-work

Take heart friends. If you are concerned about recent EOs, know that a) you have recourse through our country’s system of checks and balances—it’s a slow slog but doable, and b) these EOs will likely be rescinded on January 20, 2029 as approximately 78 EOs of former President Biden were on January 20, 2025. Incoming Presidents have been issuing, revoking, amending, terminating, expanding, and consolidating each others’ and their own EOs since George Washington first became President. The difference is past Presidents didn’t hold a casual, but calculated press conference on television from the Oval while doing it. Perhaps if EOs had been more visible we wouldn’t be in such a panic? I’m not really sure to be honest. I used to think EOs were rare until I looked them up. Google executive orders of past Presidents.

More importantly, we have to pay attention now more than ever. We have to show our Congressional representatives of both houses that we are not unaware of the changes going on in our government. Call, visit, write, email your elected officials about what you agree with and certainly with what you disagree. Vote! Early, often, and every time. Your vote continues to be the strongest voice you have in changing or maintaining the direction of the country.

In 2018, Charles Krauthammer wrote in his book, “The Point of it All”:

“The good news of the early Trump presidency [the first one] is that America’s political institutions, so decried as weak and pliant, have proved a resilient and powerful check on antidemocratic tendencies in the executive. The courts, the states, the Congress, and the media have provided a resistance few would have predicted.” (p. 312)

Let’s not lose that power America. We cannot lose our voice unless we give it away through apathy, acquiesence, or fear. We cannot fall prey to rhetoric, nor can we give into vitriol because it makes us feel better. We the People are the ultimate check on our government—and each other.

I, like you, am justifiably worried about the current administration’s “shock and awe” aimed at the citizens and the previously protected legal immigrants of our country and our historic friends abroad. My main question continues to be, what is the purpose of this action/reaction? “Make America great again” is a slogan not a platform.

What’s the end game? Revenge against the opposition seems out of step with the desire to be great again. Petty flexing is one thing (albeit in poor taste), but firing everyone who is not in lock step is dangerous.

I am not accusing President Trump of morphing into an elected autocrat. I am concerned that his brand of American “greatness” is a shot from the hip with no real agenda other than to blame, dismantle, and destroy anything with which he does not agree.

And I have questions.

Is it possible that President Trump is trying to serve two masters? His own desire for wealth and power is absolutely at odds with both the best interest and the will of the American people regardless of how he articulates (or doesn’t) his agenda.

In her latest book, “Autocracy, Inc.”, Anne Applebaum writes:

“modern autocrats need to be able to take money and hide it without being bothered by political institutions that encourage transparency, accountability, or public debate.” (p. 41)

Sound familiar?

The creation of the DOGE with Elon Musk in charge—outside of the reach of Congress—is a perfect example. Is the DOGE really out to cut unnecessary wasteful spending? Perhaps. Is it likely that this gross overreach of the executive branch will, intentionally or not, create avenues for siphoning money from the treasury down the line? Who knows? The lines between Musk’s personal interest, this administration’s purported interests, and national interests just got blurrier for me.

Manipulating the message by exploit the emotions of the populace by picking fights with a country’s push button issues —immigration, LGBTQ rights, abortion, religion, minority populations—anything to fan the flames of “us versus them” is a well-worn textbook manuever in politics used by all sides. However, “autocratic information operations” go a step further by exaggerating the normal divisions and anger in politics using what Applebaum calls, “the fire hose of falsehoods” (p. 97):

“Given so many explanations, how can you know what actually happened? What if you can never know? If you can’t understand what is going on around you, then…[ultimately] you will avoid politics all together.” (p. 79)

Sound familiar?

Autocracies worldwide are becoming stronger and democracies (America included) are, for whatever reason—oil, gas, foreign investment, natural resources, the devil you know—looking the other way (Krauthammer, pp. 293-295). The revival of President Trump’s “zero-sum game approach to foreign policy” from his first term (Krauthammer, p. 290) combined with a growing penchant for isolationism in our country will create a perfect storm of trouble for America over the next four years.

President Trump likes to play hardball. He appears to enjoy being the bully. But what happens when the other guy doesn’t blink? What happens when his tiresome tirades cease to work? Who knows? Please read a history book friends.

So what do we do now?

We remember what does make America great.

• Our people.
• Our belief in democracy.
• The understanding that we live out each day constantly redefining the tension between what is good for me versus the greater good of my fellow Americans.
• We stay informed as neutrally as we can.
• We talk to each other.
• We love each other.
• We help each other.
• We defend each other.
• We call our Congressional reps on behalf of each other.
• We believe in and call for checks and balances.

Our democratic experiment is almost 250 years old. We’ve been in trouble before and we will have trouble again in the future. To quote from one of my favorite movies:

“America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say, “You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.”

From the 1995 movie “The American President”

This speech from the press room of fictional president Andrew Shepherd goes on to galvanize his own political team and presumably the American people into action.

I still believe in our American Republic and I still believe in you dear readers, advanced citizens. Red, blue, purple, or indifferent, I still love y’all so much.

Marla

Bibliography:

Applebaum, Anne. “Autocracy, Inc. The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.” 2024. NY: Doubleday, Inc..

Kashdan and Quadri, “What are Executive Orders and How do they Work?” January 31, 2025. https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-are-executive-orders-and-how-do-they-work.

Krauthammer, Charles. “The Point of it All.” 2018. NY: The Charles Krauthammer Trust.

“The American President.” 1995. Written by Aaron Sorkin. Directed and produced by Rob Reiner.

“What is an Executive Order?” January 25,2021. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-an-executive-order-/.

P.S. Apologies if my bibliography is not perfect APA format. It’s been a minute.

We’re ten days in to 2025, so I decided to make a top ten list of my favorite things about this year so far.

1. Fires in the fireplace. There is no substitute for a wood burning fire in the living room on a cold night.
2. A snowy day. Today it snowed 6 inches here in East Tennessee. I love watching it. I enjoy looking at all the posts about it. I really love knowing all my people are right here with me in the house.
3. The days are getting longer already. I have great respect for the solstice. I also truly dislike long, dark days. Going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark cannot be good for a person’s soul.
4. Using, wearing, eating my Christmas presents! All those goodies come in handy in wintry weather. New clothes for the new year are morale boosters. And new candles, kitchen gear, and wine glasses make for pleasant dinnertime prep and enjoyment.
5. Church. The first Sunday of the new year, our minister said, congrats you’re batting 100% (@1 for 1). Funny. True. And motivating.
6. Pilates. I pretty much threw up after both of my sessions this week. For someone who viscerally hates working out, getting back into the groove of taking care of me felt weirdly good.
7. I get to have extra time with my college boy. Yes he holes up in his room and complains that I have no food. But, I get extra hugs and thank yous and lunch dates.
8. Books! Books will always make my list. I have read 3 books this year. Reading is my favorite. I’m always looking for a new novel or biography. Send me your suggestions!
9. Socks! Yes, it’s corny. I got several new pairs of warm fuzzy socks to wear in the house and I’m obsessed.
10. Photos. I’ve been organizing and updating my photos and a scrapbook of the boys I started a while back. It’s a monumental task. Iphones, Facebook, and Instagram just made it harder not easier!

And there you have it. My quiet, normal, everyday life full of favorite things help balance the life changing, upsidedown, frantic moments that never stop coming. There are alot of big moments in life, so I’m working hard to savor the small ones.

Love Y’all, Marla

What if the New Year didn’t start on January 1? Thanks Pope Gregory XIII for helping those of us with orderly minds and real problems with Leap Year for setting the Gregorian calendar. But what if we celebrated the New Year on the Lunar New Year like South Korea? Or China, which celebrates on the second new moon following the winter solstice? Or if we celebrated, akitu, on the first new moon after the spring equinox like the people of Mesopotamia in 2000 BC? * (*thanks Google for all this info.)

Personally, I find January 1 cold, dark, and tiring. The first new moon after the spring equinox when the sun starts coming back earlier, the days are longer, the ground greens up, and the early spring bulbs poke out makes so much more sense to me. I could feel a real stirring of new beginnings from within if we waited until spring. Just sayin’.

And oh man, starting 2025 gently like I aspired to do is not happening quite like I imagined. So far on this first day of the New Year I have experienced all the feels. The dissonance of reports from New Orleans of deliberate violence while watching College Game Day and taking down the Christmas tree is difficult to digest. Today is also my husband’s birthday. It is hard to make holiday birthdays special, but we’re gonna try! We continue to be dismayed by my very sick inlaws and their health journey this season.

But as I said about 2024, I make choices about what to hold on to. I choose to be delighted by texted pictures of my sister and her family in Disney Land. I choose to find happiness in texted pictures from our exchange students’ family skiing in Austria. I choose to enjoy all the likes and birthday wishes sent to my hubs on the book of face and IG. These lovely expressions help me hold appropriate space for those suffering from the ugliness and unfairness of life. I can process the dissonance and respond more effectively when I have room to think and a lens of love to view through.

The world keeps on keeping on—good, bad, or ugly. All we can do is what we can do. Keep doing the next right thing my darlings and Micah 6:8, “what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Regardless of when and where and how you mark the New Year, I hope 2025 is full of good things for you from Jan 1 through Dec 31.

Peace and Love, Marla

Dear Friends,

For so many, this has been the toughest year yet. Inflation is rampant. War continues. Loved ones have died. Families remain unreconciled. The election was traumatizing. It was not an easy year.

As I close the book on 2024, I am encouraged by the lightness in my step and the opening of my heart. I am not immune to the heartbreak of 2024, I promise. I chose to work through my disappointments, the worries, and the unkindnesses of others. I chose to see silver linings, new beginnings, and alternative endings when life did not go as planned. I chose to believe I always had a choice. I could love or I could hate. I could persevere or I could despair. I could rage or I could show compassion. I could choose whether or not to engage.

I am choosing to leave 2024 softly. I choose to disengage and seclude myself from the fray with a glass of water (or wine) and a book. I choose to go to yoga and take my vitamin C and renew my intentions for love. I choose to take outdoor walks with cleansing breaths. I choose to nap when I’m tired and eat when I’m grumpy. Self-care may be an overused “buzz word”, but that doesn’t make it wrong.

As I let 2024 go, I am preparing for 2025 gently. I will be kind to myself and others. I will be intentional with my time and talents. I will create space for personal growth—and also healing. These are not resolutions (I cast those off a while back), but spaces—clearly marked and clearly intended for new love and new learning and new acceptance.

So welcome 2025. I look forward to our time together. May we learn from each other and lean on each other in the coming days. May we dance together through the good and not so good. May we soak in the bluebird days of sunshine, so the blizzard days of gray do not overtake us. I will hold space for you friends as you hold space for me. Together may we find more likeness than unlikeness and love, love, love all the time, always.

❤️ Marla

There are few things I love as much as my yearly Christmas tree. Always a live tree. Always 8’ or taller. Always color lights. I could go into the why, but let’s go with I have my reasons.

The memories that decorate my tree sustain me all year long. I have ornaments from old friends, parents, children, siblings, my childhood. Every year as I unwrap each ornament I spend a few moments thinking of the person or persons involved with that ornament.

Sometimes, not every ornament makes the tree. But for the most part, there is a spot for every ornament.

My mother loved Christmas. She had beautiful trees. Mamma gave us ornaments every year. She encouraged the making and giving of ornaments between my friends and myself from the time I could hold a bottle of glue. My mother also created a crismon tree at our church. Our children and youth designed all kinds of ornaments based on Christian symbols. I was so proud of that tree.

My father also loved Christmas, more than most people. He loved playing Santa. He encouraged and perpetuated our Santa story long after other children lost their faith in the jolly guy in a red suit. I have many memories of old Santa’s tricks that were more real to me then than today’s Norad online tracking system is today.

Even after my parents’ divorce and the subsequent decade long winter storm in my heart, the Christmas tree was my tender spot. I could think of happy times and remember special moments that may or may not have included them.

I have two very distinct memories of Christmas tree crazy with my friends! Once, at a party at my house, we all piled into someone’s car and went joy riding through the neighborhood. We parked and jumped a neighbor’s fence, circled their lighted outdoor tree and recreated our own Charlie Brown’s Christmas “Hark the Herald…” moment.

Another time, my sister, my oldest friend, and I were running around my friend’s neighborhood. Gasping for air we ducked under this enormous tree in the neighborhood all decked with outdoor lights. We could practically stand up under it. We enjoyed what felt like an illicit moment away from the required “Christmas visit” of our parents. It was cold and I don’t remember what we were doing there at all, but I remember it happening!

I love to turn off the lights and just sit and look at the tree. It brings me peace and happy thoughts and a smile. I don’t care about what is or isn’t under the tree. I care about what’s on the tree. Every grade school ornament. Every church school ornament. Every family picture-turned-ornament. Every ornament gift exchange. Every homeade dough ornament. Every pipe cleaner, cross-stitch, bead, glitter, and popsicle stick.

If you are having a low moment this season, I encourage you to take a minute and sit by a tree. Look at the lights. Smell it (if it’s real). Think about the time and dedication someone took to make those ornaments. Even if it is a commercial tree, someone had to design and decorate it. I hope you can find a sweet memory to sustain you through all the feels of the holidays.

Love Y’all, Marla

Today we performed our Christmas Cantata at church. It was lovely and full of joy and praise and wonder and thanks. I just had the best time. I love to sing.

As a chorus/choir participant almost all my life, I am well-versed in singing Christmas carols out of season. We start rehearsals for Christmas concerts in September!

So in true stream of consciousness, Marla fashion, I started thinking about what makes a Christmas carol a Christmas carol. Honestly, alot of Christmas carols could be anytime hymns! As I listened to Celine Dion’s recording of “O Come all ye Faithful” this morning on my way to church, I couldn’t help but wonder, why we don’t sing this hymn during other times of the liturgical calendar? It is clearly not only about Christmas.

Adeste fideles, Latin for “O come faithful ones” could easily be invoked at any time. In fact, according to hymary.org, the authorship and actual date of writing for “Adeste Fideles” (O Come All Ye Faithful) is unknown. (https://hymnary.org/text/o_come_all_ye_faithful_joyful_and_triump)

Verse One,

O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant.

O Come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of angels. Oh come let us adore him Christ the Lord.

Is this not a call to worship? It could so easily be a call to worship on any Sunday morning.

Verse Two,

God of God, Light of Light,
lo, He abhors not the virgin’s womb; very God, begotten not created. Oh come let us adore him.

Yes this is about the virgin birth, but it’s also about God choosing to come among us to bring forth his light.

Verse Three,

Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation; sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! 
Glory to God, all glory in the highest!

This verse is about communcating with the Lord. Singing is an expression of praise, prayer, joy, lament, and every feeling in between. And angels are among us all the time. They appear numerous times in the Bible—not only at Christmastime.

Verse Four,

Yeah Lord we greet thee, On this happy morning. Jesus to thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing. O Come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

You could make a case for “O Come all ye Faithful” to be an Easter hymn. We, the faithful, have come full circle experiencing the birth, life, death, and ressurection of Jesus.

We are so ingrained to think of “O Come all ye Faithful” as a Christmas hymn, but imagine if it wasn’t. What an amazing promise-filled song. It is a call to worship. It is a promise to the faithful. It is a command to praise and adore the promise of God.

I might have “O Come All Ye Faithful” sung at my funeral! I envision myself entering heaven to this beautiful hymn. There I am with all the angels and they are singing for me and my heart is overcome with the joy of promises fulfilled—and finally understood. Sing it at my funeral y’all. I want everyone there to share in my joy. No tears for me, I’m singing with the angels.

So on this second Sunday of Advent (between the candles of Love and Joy), we the faithful, express our hope through Adoration.

Ever on the journey. Love Y’all, Marla

Usually by this time of year I am readying my Advent wreath, finishing my month long gratitude journal, or simply basking in the glow of having all four of us together for a whole week. This year, I keep waiting for “the moment” but it hasn’t happened—yet. Thanksgiving is later in the calendar. The Christmas push is already on us. And my family togetherness is still two days away. We have been like four ships passing in the night for weeks!

Truthfully, I’ve been floating along on various waves for a while now. I have been known to say, sometimes we just have to by buoyed by others. When we aren’t in a place to fully participate or engage in the hard work of the faithful, it is okay to be carried by others—for a while. I still stand by that thought, but ever since Covid, I have felt my attachments weakening. Without my tribe of the faithful, I have become unmoored. Floating along is not the same as being carried. Floating does not have connection. There is no gravity to give it weight.

That ends today.

I yearn for the gravitational pull of community and commitment. It is time for me to reattach myself to those who have carried me. So I will, and I begin with gratitude. And then I will sing. And I will keep showing up at church with my fellow believers. And that tether will become stronger—not harder or more rigid—but supple and flexible enough to wrap around my heart and center me on the axes of Love of God and Love of Neighbor.

The gravity of gratitude is unfailing. When all else fails, start with a list. In the darkest moment or merely a day of gray, begin with one statement of gratitude. The amount of energy generated with a simple thank you is enormous. When our children are tiny we teach them to say please and thank you. As they grow we ask them to reflect on what they are thankful for. If we are lucky, we will receive unprompted thanks from time to time from them for food and shelter and gas and tuition. Even as they begin to leave home for long periods of time, we sense the gratitude behind the weekly calls and the signs of relief from parental intervention (wanted or unwanted).

Dear ones, as we draw closer to the table—or however you celebrate Thanksgiving—let gravity be your guide. Anchor yourself to thankfulness for small things like your favorite kind of cranberry sauce, or a good weather day so you can escape outside away from the fray, or airpods hidden by your hair, or the knowledge that you don’t have to be here again for 365 days. If this is not the holiday for you, be kind to yourself. If this holiday is for you, use the time to enlarge your heart and store up gratitude for a time when you will need it. Families are complicated. Life is hard. We can rely on the gravity of gratitude for our friends and fellow believers and the kindness of strangers to keep bitterness away.

Gratitude is simple. It can be trusted.

Love Y’all, Marla

My friends may be wondering, “where is the blog post about the election?” As much as I enjoy social media and I like to use a blog to share my thoughts, I haven’t been able to summon the energy to write about the election. Whatever I say, someone will make sure that I know, that they know, how ultimately wrong I am to have my own thoughts and feelings. I have read so many articles analyzing this election that my eyes are going to melt. I have heard so much vitriol my ears won’t stop ringing. People who are my friends are yelling at each other, not just on social media, but at social gatherings! People who I find to be normal, kind, people loving people still are spewing forth all kinds of nonsense at one another.

I say, Enough. We had an election. We will have another one in four years. Stop spending your energy in the wrong place. This election was about many different things to many different people. The pendulum of American politics is ever swinging.

Don’t over-simplify the American voters. They can be pragmatists. They can be dogmatists. They can be unaffiliated, party-liners, or single-issue voters. They can be first-time voters or every-time-the-polls-are-open voters. I myself am rather complicated. The American voter is as varied as America itself!

Our elected officials reflect the full spectrum of America from far-left to far-right and all points in between. But the power of the elected official is given by us—not taken from us. Mandate or not, the declared winner of any election becomes the representative for the entire constituency. We have serious work ahead as a nation in holding our leaders in all three branches of government accountable whether elected, appointed by the elected, or confirmed by the elected. The future of our Republic demands we pay attention and fight for it.

And that is all I’m going to say.

Still a patriot.

Still a voter.

Love y’all, Marla