Janet's Blog

It's been a while since I've last written a blog. I've been putting it off, maybe because I've been busy with life, but most likely because I've been disturbed by the turmoil in our world right now, so much nasty politics, and so many natural disasters and catastrophic events that always provoke those who can come up with a conspiracy theory for every tragedy. It's maddening, even devastating, to see what is happening in our country and throughout the world. At a time like this, it seems frivolous to write about my simple Christian life in the Nebraska Panhandle. I am sad when I notice how much Christians of any persuasion are misunderstood, mocked, blamed, and even attacked for their very existence. In a nation where our freedom of religion and freedom of speech have always been heralded as two of our most essential freedoms, I don't feel like I am free to say (or write) what I really think about anything of importance. I am frustrated when I realize that t...

Do you remember Aesop's story of The City Mouse and the Country Mouse ? You may know that Aesop was a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece more than 2500 years ago. It's amazing that his tales are still being told, and elaborated upon, so many years later.  In a nutshell, this story is about a country mouse who invites his city cousin to visit him in the country. The country mouse offers simple, country food to his visitor, who turns up his nose at the humble provisions. The city mouse, in turn, invites his poor country cousin to visit him in the city, where the country mouse is amazed at the abundance and variety of food to be found there. However, as the two cousins sit down to eat, their lavish meal is interrupted by a murderous cat. After the country mouse flees to the safety of his own home, the tale ends with a moral, as all of Aesop's fables do: It's better to live happily with little and be content, rather than live with abundance or a lot of someth...