Lifestyle

It is Monday, February 24th and I am in Arizona. Today my husband and I and a couple of our friends golfed all afternoon. It was about 82º, sunny, and no wind. I did put some sunscreen on so that this Minnesota-winter skin didn’t burn too badly. But I can definitely see that I got some good sun today. That’s what I was thinking about when I was reading the story in Exodus 34 about Moses coming down from the mountain after he received the commandments from God. The author of Exodus wrote, “When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him” (Ex. 34:30). I don’t know that Moses’ face was sunburned, but somehow his skin miraculously held the divine light of God which made him glow. It was so scary for the people to see Moses’ face that Moses put a veil over his glowing face so that the people weren’t so afraid of him—or maybe of God.

Did you know that Prairie Five offers tax preparation services? We have tax clinics available in several locations in the five counties we cover (Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Yellow Medicine) provided through our partnership with the Internal Revenue Service’s VITA program. VITA is the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and the initiative was designed to support free tax preparation services. If your annual income is less than $84,000 (with wages paid by an employer; self-employment of less than $10,000 only), then you qualify for this free service. Tax services are available by appointment only and while there are still spots available, I’d suggest calling the Tax Clinic Line at 320-226-8118 soon to get yours reserved.

We are nearing the end of the season after Epiphany with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. Remember that this season is about us finding God in our lives, just like the Magi or the Three Kings when they followed that star.

In my last article, I shared about the different varieties of fish - and how each have their own “look.” The same is true about dementia. Dementia can present itself differently depending on the type and what part of the brain is being affected.

In Isaiah, we read about King Ahaz. King Ahaz was the king of Judah, who is shown as a fearful and unfaithful king. It was an uneasy time as their neighboring nations wanted more power. When King Ahaz was faced with a military threat, God told him to ask for a sign to confirm God’s protection. King Ahaz refused. And so, it was this refusal that led to God giving him a sign regardless, it was the famous prophecy that the “virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14), meaning that God’s presence would be with his people despite Ahaz’s lack of faith. That is where we are when we read Isaiah 9:2-6, Isaiah is foretelling God’s plan to bring God’s people out of the darkness. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

Many people have been caregivers at one point or another but often don’t see themselves as such. The term “caregiver” can sound a bit formal or like it’s a specific job title when most people who are caregivers say they are just doing what is right, being helpful, or fulfilling their responsibilities as a family member. A caregiver is a person who helps another with any of these: providing or coordinating transportation; buying or organizing medications; taking care of money; making meals; monitoring medical conditions; making medical appointments; talking with health care professionals; helping with activities of daily living such as getting dressed, taking a bath or shower, eating and using the toilet. Caregiving may be short term, like helping a neighbor after a surgery, or longer term such as when a spouse has dementia. Most caregivers have no formal training and don’t feel prepared.

I teach a dozen confirmation kids. They are quite good kids, but not unlike me when I was that age…it isn’t always an exciting topic to learn about or to teach. So, I add art and creative things for them to do to try to help them remember our topics. For our last project they each created a string art cross. It wasn’t an easy task, they had to press pushpins into a wood board in the shape of a cross, then they used string to make a design between the pins. They all turned out so cool!