How the stable people at the first Christmas stabilize us today

December 1, 2025December 1, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

Christmas reminds us who the stable people are in our lives and who are not.

The first Christmas defines stability, not with theories, but with people.

Step into the scene. The world is tense, turbulent, and uncertain. Yet the characters surrounding Jesus’ birth move forward with steady resolve.

Joseph Mary stable Christmas — James Tissot, The Journey of Joseph and Mary, ca. 1886–1894. Gouache on board. Brooklyn Museum

A young couple is traveling under pressure.
Shepherds are startled awake in the night.
Wise men are navigating a long and risky journey.

Every one of them shows surprising steadiness amid chaos.

It’s not that different from our moment in history.

Never have so many been so wealthy, and never have so many felt so fragile and anxious.

But the first Christmas still speaks.

Its ordinary participants quietly offer us ingredients for a more stable life.

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Tags: Christmas, Stability

Overwhelming fear? This phone call from God levels chaos

November 25, 2025December 1, 2025Posted by Steve BlaisingLeave a comment

You fear what lies ahead. Why? I am here with you now, and I am with you always. How do you know? The sky, air, light, and creatures mirror my presence.

God wipes out fear — Phone call from God at Lake Athens, November 2019/©Steve Blaising

I formed all of these and surround you every day, calling out to you. Yes, I can manage your cares. Bring them to me. Allow me to help you. Name them and talk with me about each one. Follow me no matter how hard your trials. I love you, and I will lead you through all of them. I will set your feet upon a rock. Let me lift you out of the slimy pit. I will put a new song in your heart. Trust me. Here’s how.

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Tags: Fear, Prayer

How Paper Girl’s World Unlocks the Secret to Lasting Happiness

November 14, 2025December 28, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

The 2025 Book of the Year, Paper Girl’s World, is lighting up happiness everywhere.

Paper Girl's World book — Paper Girl’s World named Book of the Year in September 2025 by ENTREE

Crack open Judy Williamson’s 400-page masterpiece, and joy pours out like sunshine through a window you didn’t know was there. One page sends you off to a Mach 2 happy hour on the Concorde. Next, you’re face-to-face with the mist of Iguazu Falls. Then, romance drifts in at three miles an hour on a French canal barge, where even the clocks seem to take a break.

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Tags: books, Paper Girl's World

How Grief Unlocks Hidden Doors to Peace and Growth

November 2, 2025November 2, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

I never expected grief to open the door to such magical visitations after I buried my parents.

I’m not superstitious. But, I believe the supernatural pokes into the everyday world in a wide variety of forms and places.

An unexpected visitor surprised me at my mother’s grave nine years ago.

Grief and magical places — Grief can land us in magical places/Steve Blaising/Parents’ gravestone, December 2016

But a very different visitor appeared to me days after my father died, the one whose image you see to the left on my parents’ gravestone.

I captured this moment on video.

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Tags: Endurance

OK, time is short: How to use it for the most satisfying life

October 28, 2025October 29, 2025Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

With age 71 just ahead, I’m running after time like Forrest Gump chasing that pickup.

Time pressed Forest Gump

According to the chart below, time’s not exactly on my side, even if I make it to 90.

Time left in life

So the real question is: how can I use the time I have left to live the most satisfying life?

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Tags: Aging, Time