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Barbara Brabec’s
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Short Takes on Life

October 2026 Blog Post
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— CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS —
Lord, we need YOUR peace!

“Do you feel it too, a sinister shift in the human sphere? A shift that defies measuring?

“It’s the lack of peace we grieve most, unsettlement deep within when truth goes AWOL. Sleep-stealing restlessness. Nameless nibbling fear. Stabilizing truths people have believed for centuries have been kicked to the curb like so many fallen leaves.”

“We hear forgiveness is optional. That our parents caused all our problems, so cut them off. That the Bible can’t be trusted. That no media source is credible. That everything is a conspiracy. And obeying the law—what’s law?

“This fomenting isn’t unique to our times. It is unique to human beings. Social media, media in general, has only magnified it. Truth is whatever you feel. Whatever those you follow believe. A favourite author.

The above clip is from Kathleen Gibson’s Canadian Sunny Side Up newspaper column for the week of 5-4-26. In it, she discusses the fact that so many people today believe that “their truth” is best defined by how they feel about it. Click here to read the column with Kathleen’s tips for dealing with the sinister shift that is grieving all believers today.

— MIND AND BODY —
How Professor T Actor
Benefits from His OCD

I love the TV series Professor T. This charming British crime drama stars Ben Miller as Jasper Tempest, an eccentric Cambridge criminologist with OCD and germaphobia who assists police. The show, which returns to PBS on October 18, blends mystery with character-driven drama, focusing on his complex relationships, traumatic past, and brilliant, analytical mind.

What's unusual about this show is that actor Ben Miller has OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), and in this short interview video, he shares how the therapy he got for it changed his life. “I was born to play this part,” he says as he talks about the treatment he got and the magical adventure children’s stories he writes. “I test all of them on my kids, and they are my biggest critics.”

For more info on OCD, see Mayo Clinic’s web page.

— ENGLISH LANGUAGE FUN —
The Men Who Ruined English Spelling

“Why is there a B in DOUBT? Why does RECEIPT have a P in it?
And what's with the B in DEBT?”

I tip my hat to Rob Words, the narrator of this entertaining video. His YouTube channel will be a delightful find for every writer, word lover, and anyone who’s trying to learn our often-confusing English language. Rob has many videos I look forward to watching when I have more time for this kind of fun.

Thanks to Steve Laube Agency for bringing this informative and amusing video to my attention. His advice to writers is always informative, and I especially love his “Fun Fridays” videos.

— AUTHOR’S REFLECTIONS —
On Writing a Book

I hope my book updates for Call of the Heart have reminded you of the importance of writing a book about your life. If you Google “How many people think they could write a book?” you will learn that 81% of Americans, or about 200 million people, say they have a book inside them and want to, or think they could, write a book. If you’re one of them, you might find “Success Tips for Aspiring Writers and Would-be Authors” helpful, just one of my many articles in the Writing & Publishing category.

We all have different reasons for writing about our private life. Call of the Heart had to be written to answer not only the call of my heart, but Ginger’s heart as well. She made it clear that she yearned to communicate with us, and we reasoned this was because she wanted to show how thankful she was to have a good home after years of abuse and loneliness.

I didn’t realize until I got into PART Three of this book that I wasn’t only telling Ginger’s story, but stories about my adventurous life with Harry when he was producing two International Crafts Expositions for Busch Gardens and we were traveling abroad. Later, in PART Four of the book, as his career as a professional musician and show producer was ending, mine as a writer was just beginning. And when a dramatic life-changing event forced me to become the breadwinner, it turned our marriage upside down, with Harry becoming chronically depressed because he could no longer support us.

In those dark days, Ginger’s love and devotion to us were sometimes the only glue holding us together. While the main theme of the book is how we educated her and taught her to communicate with us, another underlying theme of the book is how our marriage survived those “for better or worse” times as we struggled to make our second home-based business a financial success. (Did I ever mention that there are shots of Harry’s humor throughout the book?)

BOOK UPDATE: My book will have about 130 pictures embedded in the text. Since I don’t have a good photo editing program, I’m now learning how to use Photopea’s Online Photo Editor (just $5/month for unlimited photos). I have several digital photos ready to load, but I must also scan some 60 print photos to add to them. I have no idea yet how long it will take me to scan and edit this many images, but I’ll give you a review of this service and my progress next month. 

— BARB’S SNIPPETS —

Through decades of running a home-based business, I learned that everything takes longer than expected, and something is always coming along to upset our well-laid plans.

Do you know which 10 vitamins and minerals boost brain and heart health—more specifically, improve cognitive function, ward off memory loss, and improve blood pressure? Answers and an infographic are here.

P. S. Visit the HOME page for Timely Quotes and a link to 15 categories of life-related topics discussed on this website.

Archived Brabec Bulletins
Publication of the Brabec Bulletin ceased in
June 2025, after 25 years of publication.
Year 2021-2022 <=>  Year 2023  <=>  Year 2024 <=> Year 2025

Brabec Bulletin Tidbits on Life are archived here.

See below for
Musings and new Blog posts About Life
published in 2026
Earlier Musings About Life posts and
other faith-building articles are archived here.

September 2026 Post: Short Takes on Life. This month’s Medley of Life-related Information, Facts, Ideas, and Observations from Barbara and others includes: The 10 Best Virtual Museum and Art Gallery Tours <> The Little Bird That Sleeps While Flying <> International Cat Day <> Facing a Huge Challenge? <> Why Old Writers Can’t Stop Writing <> Book Update <> Barb’s Snippets.

August 2026 Post: Short Takes on Life. This month’s Medley of Life-related Information, Facts, Ideas, and Observations from Barbara and others includes: Aggravating Real Life Intrusions <> Book Update: Knee-Deep in Editing <> A Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch <> Do You Know What and Where “The Cloud” Is? <> The Odd English Language <> What Will Heaven Be Like? <> and Barb’s Snippets.

July 2026 Post: Writing and Publishing a Book + A Ginger Story. Barbara discusses the many hats a writer must wear to turn a raw manuscript into a self-published book, comparing this to how our changing technological world has greatly complicated this process. A short Ginger story concludes this post.

June 2026: A Behind-the-scenes look at Barbara’s book helpers. This post introduces readers to the two book strategists who are helping Barbara bring new visibility to her earlier memoirs while also introducing Call of the Heart to a wider audience of readers on Goodreads and Amazon.

May 2026: Special Announcement. Needing more time for her new book in progress, Barbara decides to take a three-month hiatus from writing new website content and use her blog page differently. This premier blog post includes an introduction to her book, Call of the Heart: A Rescue Dog's Dream. 

April 2026: What It Means to Be “Born Again.” In walking with Christ for more than three decades, I’ve learned that some Christians don’t understand what it means to be born again. If you’ve wondered about this, you’re not alone.

March 2026: Thoughts on the Reality of Loss and Death. There’s something about turning 40 that wakes us up and makes us look at life through different eyes. Few people want to think about the eventual end of their lives, but sooner or later, we all must accept that we won’t live forever.

February 2026: My Encounter with the Living God. God has a plan for your life that will astonish you once you give Him the reins and trust Him to work all things together for your good.

January 2026: My $2,000 Guardian Angel Miracle. Every day, God sends His angels to guard His people on earth. I’ve journaled many instances when I believed I had angelic help. Here’s the story of one of them. 

Copyright © 2026 by Barbara Brabec. All Rights Reserved.