Jayme Stokes's

Posts

Yellow Begonias and COVID-19

  • April 6, 2020
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Last Thursday, I stepped out of my COVID-19 comfort zone and headed to Sam’s Club for my monthly stock-up. I have done this since I was a young mother with three children born within four years. I keep a stocked pantry from those early habits as a young mom. This month looked very different for me. I took the option of going at 7 am with those over sixty or with special needs. My husband has cardiomyopathy and we have...

COVID-19 For such a time as this

  • March 23, 2020
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In 1982, my last grandparent passed away. Bobby and I had been married a year and we were asked to clean out her apartment in a retirement community. The family had come in and picked up the china, photos, and silverware. Cousins had grabbed mementos and all that was left was “stuff”. Our family told us to keep anything we needed as a young couple and donate the rest. It sounded simple enough but the experience changed my perspective quickly....

Coronavirus can’t understand Middle Tennessee

  • March 9, 2020
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I just came home from a conference in Washington, DC plus I am an avid people watcher. This made for an intriguing week. Coronavirus blared from every TV in airports and restaurants. Newspaper headlines were hard to miss. I saw plenty of masks, empty soap dispensers, Clorox wipes atop luggage/airplane trays and many latex gloves in all strata of folks. My husband had a limit on the water he could buy for our monthly grocery run. Friends canceling overseas trips....

Fear is a Liar

  • January 21, 2020
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When I first heard the song on the radio, “Fear is a Liar” by Zach Williams, it resonated in my soul. Fear is the great enemy of our human condition. Fear is written by the father of lies himself, Satan. Fear creeps in on its belly as the ancient evil one did. What are your fears? Loneliness? your health? your children? your marriage? sobriety? I could type a hundred more reasons for you and me to fill in the blank....

When Advent meets Emmanuel and cries Maranatha

  • December 18, 2019
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The Christmas of 1986 will always be my foundation of faith. I can’t ever remember not believing in God as a child. My grandmother made sure I was in the pews in her arms. I was a member of the youth group, went to a Christian college, married a strong Christian man and by December of 1986 had two beautiful babies and a third on the way. Life was really good and in hindsight going to change into something I...

In this world you WILL have trouble…

  • November 7, 2019
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Life is messy. Jesus plainly told us we would have trouble in this world BUT HE overcame the world. Conflict equals trouble in our modern world. Conflict-resolution, conflict-management, conflict-avoidance, conflict vs. bullying, and conflict-anxiety symptoms were some of the topics that ended up in my Google search bar when I did a search. There are college-degree programs with conflict resolution as a major. You cannot browse your social media feed without finding conflict within a minute or so. Twitter is...

#truthaboutskittles

  • October 14, 2019
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If you follow me on social media, you will often see the hashtag, #teachmetonumbermydays. It is one of my go-to verses in scripture. I try to begin each day with the reminder, my days are numbered; let me use them well. Numbering your days is seasonal in our lives. When we are children and teens, we can’t wait to grow up and be adults. Upon reaching adulthood, we all hit a moment where we realize “adulting” is hard. We always...

A Pinterest Christianity Part II

  • September 23, 2019
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Last month, I did a blog titled, A Pinterest Christianity. Many of you messaged me and shared the blog on your pages and with your friends. Some of you shared very personal experiences of inadequacy, frustration, anxiety, and pain of “living our best lives” (using social media terminology). Let me shout it from the rooftops “GET BEHIND US SATAN!”  Our stress and exhaustion are fed by the father of all lies. Once you are covered by the blood of a...

That Kid …

  • September 3, 2019
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“That Kid” brings memories, some good and some not-so-good for all of us. We all have stories of kids who stretched the boundaries, talked incessantly in school, broke the rules, challenged authority, took risks, made us laugh or cry…you fill in the memory bank. I have thirty years in education and many stories of “that kid”. When I was younger, I, unfortunately, judged those kids pretty harshly. I sometimes equated childish immaturity as a life sentence. I thought I had...

A Pinterest Christianity

  • August 12, 2019
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DISCLAIMER: I love Pinterest. I have tens of personal boards and even one where my psychology students submit their work. I have hundreds of recipes, party ideas, home remodels, teaching ideas, and a zillion other topics. Feel free to follow me. I think its a wonderful use of technology. I am old enough to remember saving magazine pages for the same reason. PINTEREST is great! BUT… With the advent of social media and apps like Pinterest, parties, redecorating and events...