Picturepocket's Blog

Tag: culture

  • Exodus 6: Inheritance

    Exodus 6: Inheritance

    After Moses’s PTO request to leave Egypt for a religious retreat with the Israelites was denied and punished, Moses complains to God that he has failed to deliver his people.  God goes over the history, saying he identifies as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but didn’t give them his “I Am” name before.…

  • Unreliable Narrators 

    I’ve always found using self-reporting to be a tricky way of gathering information. I think my skepticism probably started with my experience with the Myers-Briggs test. It was all the rage in the 1990s. The test produced a four-letter result based on a bunch of questions to categorize people with personality traits. I had to…

  • Exodus 5: A Turn for the Worse

    Exodus 5: A Turn for the Worse

    Aaron and Moses go to Pharaoh and tell him that the “I Am” demands that he let the people of Israel take a three day trip out into the wilderness to worship.  Pharaoh says he doesn’t know who this “I Am” is, and slaves don’t get holidays. Most Bibles translate the “I Am” name into…

  • Gift Shelf Hack

    Gift Shelf Hack

    About a decade ago, Tim and I both bought the same present for the same person. Instead of returning one, Tim suggested that we save the extra in case we need another present someday. He stuck it in the laundry room and we forgot about it until about a month later. We were headed out…

  • Exodus 4: Accepts The Assignment 

    Exodus 4: Accepts The Assignment 

    We join today’s reading midway through the conversation between Moses and God at the burning bush. Moses is insisting that no one will believe a shepherd wandering into Pharaoh’s court demanding release of the Israelites from slavery. God gives him some up close magic to perform, turning his walking staff into a snake and back,…

  • Old Mexico

    Recently, my Netflix algorithm has introduced some Spanish-language content, including a historical fiction based in Mexico. Despite being our next door neighbors, I realized I was a little foggy on the details of the Mexican revolution. To better follow the story, I dug into the history behind the drama.  Like the United States, modern Mexico…

  • Living Forward 

    Living Forward 

    I just finished the audio book Yesteryear. It was a compelling tale because there’s drama and mystery experienced by the main character. I also enjoy a plot twist that exists in plain sight.  The story highlights a real issue in our society, the desire to run away. If you look online, you can find a…

  • Exodus 2: Baby Basket Blessing

    Exodus 2: Baby Basket Blessing

    The scene opens with a standing order by the Pharaoh for all male Hebrew offspring to be thrown into the river. In the clan of Levi, a couple named Amram and Jochebed have a baby boy and manage to hide him for three months.  When the baby gets too big, Jochebed makes a papyrus basket…

  • Exodus 1: Call the Midwives

    The second book of the Bible begins with a recitation of the twelve son of Israel. Then it reminds the reader that only 70 descendants came into Egypt to join Joseph. The story is now picking up several generations later. The family of Israel has increased during their 400 years of living in Egypt.  The…

  • The God Who Speaks 

    The God Who Speaks 

    There several times in my life that I have sought God’s wisdom. I believe from scriptures that God has wisdom and wants to share it with us. (Proverbs 8:1) (Colossians 1:9) (James 1:5) I have often prayed when facing with a fork in the road. Should I go to college? What should I study? Should…