Thanksgiving

"Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, His love (mercy) endures forever."

“ Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor

and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

"That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, 

And tell of all Your wondrous works."

"We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!

For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near."

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

 

"So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,

Will give You thanks forever; 

We will show forth Your praise to all generations."

 

Thank you, Father God for your indescribable gift of Love, Beauty, Grace, Forgiveness, Mercy and all that is Your Son Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, King of kings and Lord of lords! 

We Praise You for we are fearfully and wonderfully made by You!

With thanksgiving and praise we worship You,

In Spirit and in Truth we worship You!

You are the Holy One,

the I AM

All scripture verses from NKJV BibleGateway.com

 

 

To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

I wrote this a couple years ago...but it still applies to me today.


It is so important to learn this:

"...to obey is better than sacrifice..."

This is only part of a section of God's word that is speaking of the words God spoke through Samuel about Saul, here it is in more of a context from 1 Samuel 15:18-24, this is the Amplified version...

"And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites; and fight against them until they are consumed.

Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but swooped down upon the plunder and did evil in the Lord's sight?

Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took from the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things to be utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.

Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.

And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

Saul went and did some of what was told him to do, but he didn't obey God in all...because of a fear of man. To please God, we MUST do His will fully, this is where I am in this...will I obey FULLY??? I want to, I know I need to...but there is this 'fear of man' that stands in my way...it is a hard thing for me to get past, it is HUGE in my mind. Will I let this stop me from obeying God? I can't let it stop me, so, everyday I continue to battle this small thing that has made itself a giant in my mind. But there is more than that...obeying...Saul 'reasoned' his obedience away and made it 'OK' to take the spoil as a 'sacrifice' to Samuel's God...thus admitting he did not have a relationship with God himself, but relied on Samuel's words. We have to know God, when we know Him, obeying is so much easier...we want to please Him alone...no one else words matter but His.

So I ask myself again...will I obey? My only answer is to seek Him...if I seek Him with all my heart, I will find Him...that is a promise, so I will seek Him in this as I do all else.

Jeremiah 29:13 (amp) Then you will seek me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

He is a vital necessity to me, I need Him, I want to know Him, I can't imagine trying to live without Him. He is my "vital necessity", and I will continue to seek Him with all my heart. This is my choice. What do you choose this day? Will you obey or will you go your own way? Will you seek Him in all or will you be swept away by a deception of your own making? He just wants us to love and obey Him. Time is running out, chose you this day whom you will serve...I will serve the Lord God Almighty. My Father in Heaven. My Savior. My Friend. My Strength. My Shield. My Everything.

Matthew 6:33 NKJV But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

His righteousness...He is holy, we then must be holy before Him...righteousness...what is right to Him, not what we think is right...I choose His way.

What will you choose?

~Courage


To obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money
I want your life
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon
But you act like I'll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet
How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat
And I can't help weeping of how it will be
If you keep on ignoring My Word
Well you pray to prosper and succeed
But your flesh is something I just can't feed

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want more than Sunday's and Wednesday nights
Cause if you can't come to Me every day
Then don't bother coming at all

To obey is better than sacrifice
I want hearts of fire
Not your prayers of ice
And I'm coming quickly
To give back to you
According to what you have done

~ by Keith Green

Let Go

Lord,
I need You
Come rescue me

Lord,
You’re all I desire
You’re everything I see

Lord,
I love You
Please help me love You more

I just want You, more of You, Jesus
My desire is to let You make me who I am
Lord help me let go
Help me let go

You are my everything
You are my everything

What are You teaching me
Let me learn so I don’t have to repeat
No, I don’t want to repeat

Let go,
Just let go
You got to let go
Let go of everything you hold dear

Give it to Jesus, to Jesus
He will make your path clear

Just let go, let go

When you’re down in the dumps
And it hurts way to much
Just let go, give it to Jesus

When you’ve lost all control
And you’re world seems to fall
Just let go, give it to Jesus

LIGHT!

If only words would come to me

and I could speak with clarity.

I would tell you of His love for you,

From creation to this day, here is a clue...

The universe declares His name

By just one spoken sentence came.

"Let there be light!" 

Life began...

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...

In Him was Light and the Light was the Life of men...

What Are We Full Of?

If thou could'st empty all thyself of self,

Like to a shell dishabited,

Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf,

And say, "This is not dead."

And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou art all replete with very thou,

And hast such shrewd activity,

That when He comes He says, "This is enow

Unto itself- 'twere better let it be,

It is so small and full, there is no room for Me."

Thomas Browne

1605-1682

~Courage to you!

Patterns

It is amazing to me how God works in our lives, there is a pattern to everything and when we recognize the patterns we can see just a bit more clearly what it is He is trying to teach us as we follow Him. I love those moments!

Below is a plant, it is called, remarkably, Solomon's Seal.  It does not grow 'naturally' in the state we live in...it has been removed and transplanted in a place far from home.  However, it is still a Solomon's Seal plant even though it is far from home.  It has beautiful flowers that grow along it's stem but hidden under the foliage out of the sight of onlookers...unless you purposely look for them, you might miss them, these turn into fruit.  The real Solomon's Seal  is growing here, even though it has been taken from it's ideal environment and it is keeping with  what it's true form is.  It is holding on to it's flowers in a very orderly and even way and will soon have fruit but not fruit that just anyone will see, besides the fruit the whole plant can be of use medicinally and for food.   This plant grows to be about 3 feet high.

Next on the list is a 'native' plant, it resembles the other plant called by the name of Solomon's Seal, but it is NOT!  It is an 'impostor', commonly called False Solomon's Seal and it mimics the real deal, except it's flowers grow right out in the open for everyone to see, but this plant is rather puny, only growing a fraction of the size of it's namesake.  The False Solomon's Seal is faking, it isn't real, it is showy out front, it's fruit is edible but bitter and of no use.

The last plant is called Clasping Leaved Twisted Stalk and it also grows here, it looks remarkably like the False Solomon's Seal, in it's size but the stem is not straight and it seems to grow through it's leaves rather than the leaves being attached to it.  The flowers are small and bell shaped and grow on the underside in a haphazard way along it's stem.The Clasping Leaved Twisted Stalk is of a different family altogether and even though it can be used it's main purpose is to purge.

As you can see, these plants look a lot alike, but are quite different if you look closely at them and pay attention to the 'signs' that they are actually quite different from one another inside and out.  There are patterns all around us some for good some for bad.  It is our responsibility to search out the matter in everything we think we believe, we propose to do or think, in all things asking God for His truth, eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to obey and follow hard after Him.

Courage

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Courage, also known as bravery, fortitude, will, and intrepidity, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.  ~Wikipedia

Luke 12:4-5

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! 

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.  ~Ambrose Redmoon

Joshua 1:7
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.  ~Winston Churchill

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.  ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd;
         I shall not want.
 ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
         He leads me beside the still waters.
 ³ He restores my soul;
         He leads me in the paths of righteousness
         For His name’s sake.
    
 ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
         I will fear no evil;
         For You are with me;
         Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
    
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
         You anoint my head with oil;
         My cup runs over.
 ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
         All the days of my life;
         And I will dwell^[a] in the house of the LORD
         Forever.
 Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.  ~Raymond Lindquist

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Courage is doing what you're afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you're scared.  ~Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”^{[a] 6} So we may boldly say:


      “ The LORD is my helper;
      I will not fear.
      What can man do to me?”

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.  ~Dorothy Bernard

Psalm 91

 ¹HE WHO ^[a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].    ²I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
    ³For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
    ⁴[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
    ⁵You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
    ⁶Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
    ⁷A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
    ⁸Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
    ⁹Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,^{(A)
    10}There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
    ¹¹For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
    ¹²They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.^{(B)
    13}You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.^{(C)
    14}Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
    ¹⁵He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
    ¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Psalm 61

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. [A Psalm] of David.

 ¹HEAR MY cry, O God; listen to my prayer.    ²From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].
    ³For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary.
    ⁴I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
    ⁵For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name.
    ⁶May You prolong the [true] ^[a]King's life [adding days upon days], and may His years be to the last generation [of this world and the generations of the world to come].
    ⁷May He sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God; O ordain that loving-kindness and faithfulness may watch over Him!
    ⁸So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.


~Have

As Vacation Ends

 Today is Saturday.  I love Saturday, it has quickly become my favorite day of the week as a day set aside to rest physically from the things of the week.  Every Saturday is different and this Saturday marks the end of a vacation time.  During our vacation we worked on the garden, the animal shelters and fences and many other small 'must dos'.  There is so much more to do...but without play we would soon experience burnout.  Our plans had fallen through on a trip with some friends and our second choice didn't work out either, so we made a decision and went to the ocean for a few days to end our vacation time with play. 

The first day at the ocean was sunny and in the low 60's, by sunset it had become quite chilly with the wind blowing.  The kids were building sand cities and sculptures behind me as I sat and watched the sun set on the first day, knowing the weather forecast was for rain for the next two days at least and hoping it would be different.

Sunset on the first day...lovely.

We were awakened by the pitter-patter of rain on our travel trailer the next morning, but after breakfast it had eased up enough to venture down to the beach.  Our oldest son had already taken a walk when the sun rose so he stayed behind to read while we enjoyed watching these little birds skitter across the sand stopping only long enough to eat something in the sand (probably those pesky sand fleas) or sleep.  If they weren't running full speed to their next meal, they were hopping or standing on one leg, it was quite funny to watch them.

Our youngest son brought his bike down and he had some fun chasing them.  They would fly up into the air and come right back down behind him.

Love how she is so often in her own world.

Later we took a drive up the coast 16 miles to another beach, our oldest had a good time getting the dog totally wet.

Oldest and youngest spending a second together watching the waves.

Sunset of the second day.

The third day at the ocean was my husbands birthday, we went for a beach hike out to Damon Point, this sign says it all.

The deserted washed out roadway.

My husband found a door, possibly to the old Catala ship wreck that used to be here, the boys had fun digging it out of the sand and setting it up to document there find with the camera.  It was a great example of archaeology.

Coal washes up on this shore quite often and there are lots of wonderful rocks and shells too.

The waves here are especially loud and very beautiful, the boys had fun running from them.

As we were heading back to the truck we noticed that our way was quite covered by water as the sign warned it could be...I had to overcome my fear...it wasn't as deep as I thought it would be but we did get our feet wet except the dog who was carried by our oldest son. I was very relieved to get across and too overwhelmed by the experience to take a picture.  We had a nice dinner out at the Galway Bay Irish Pub and went out to watch the sunset...what a wonderful day for my husband.

Wednesday was a windy chilly very sunny day, I walked to the beach alone it was very peaceful and so beautiful.

At the beach we flew our kites...

...and played in the sand.

Then we drove to town on the beach and saw this coyote...

...that is the Shilo Inn in the background.

Later that night we walked down to the beach, it was kind of scary after seeing a coyote, it's one thing to know they are there, another thing entirely to have seen one in broad daylight with people around.

The next morning was very rainy, we didn't go back to the beach...before we left it had stopped raining and we got one last picture.  This is the tree in our campsite, the kids had a great time climbing it.

We had a great vacation together but had to get home for one more birthday on Friday...our youngest son is now 14...time really has gone by fast and I am so glad to have this vacation to remember.

~Blessings

Have Courage!

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Unleavened Bread

1 Corinthians 5:7-8
 

Therefore purge out the old leaven,
that you may be a new lump,
since you truly are unleavened.
For indeed Christ, our Passover,
was sacrificed for us.

Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with old leaven,
nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

It is the Feast of Unleavened Bread and I have been dwelling on the thought of being unleavened (without sin) and what that means right now for me.  What has been brought to my mind and heart is that I am quite indecisive and suffer from a lack of confidence in who God is making me to be.  Setting me free from the fears that surround me, such as the inability to make decisions or communicate because of the 'what if's'...

Many times I think of coming here to write, but nothing comes to me, so I push the thought aside and busy myself with mindless things, Facebook...or on good days exploring the endless expanse of the internet searching for some answer to some question lurking in my mind with my Bible opened beside me and praying for direction from the Holy Spirit.

Today is a mixture of all those things as I try not to be too discouraged about the weather and my husbands massive headache.  UGH!

In the last three days we have accomplished virtually nothing we were planning to do, doing things that were not on the 'list' and trying to figure out and make 'semi-commitments' for the rest of the vacation time.  Realizing I don't like commitment...when it comes to planning I would rather wing it or have someone else plan it, and we don't like doing things alone, we like to be with friends or family...oh well, God had other plans for us, we just had to commit to His plan and go.  So, with a deep breath...sigh...we made a decision....and that decision has led us to going somewhere alone as a family. 

I know how silly this all sounds, really I do, which is why I am writing about it.   It parallels my life... these small seemingly impossible virtually unimportant decisions I have to make.  However, it all comes to this...if I can't make commitments on the unimportant matters...how can I commit to the most important matter of all?  Following Jesus...am I following or am I indecisive in my following doing what seems right but not doing what is right?  Have I truly committed myself to Him as I have said or am I as wishy-washy as I feel I am with life choices?

So no matter how silly these daily decisions may seem, they ultimately define who I am and where I stand.  Will I continue in my indecision?  Or, will I choose to make decisions and stick with them with confidence that even if the decision is wrong, God will direct my path? 

The path He chooses for us is most often not what we would choose ourselves.   

As for our short vacation...I really believe God has directed this path and have peace with the decision made and am looking forward to this quiet time with God.





 

Reflection on my Life

This first month of the new year is a month of reflection for me of where I have come from and all the events in my life that have made me who I am today.  I have had dreams about aspects of my past, those in my life and the things I struggle with.  Right now I am unsettled in a way that is hard to explain...not happy with where I am, but not out of the peace of God. 

In 1983 my family lived on 10 acres of beautiful wilderness with a creek.  It was up in the mountains and was quite hilly land, our driveway was treacherous and we went off the side of it several times 'taking a run at it' in the rain and snow.  Besides the open spring well we dug with it's water pump we had to bring our drinking water in from the creek or from a relatives house.  We often took showers at our grandma's and sometimes at the state park or in the summer sometimes even at a lake when it was almost dark.  Our light source were lanterns filled with gas, our heat source a handmade wood stove and for cooking we had propane.  We had a fire that year in December which started the separation of us from the land we called home.  Looking back on that time is difficult, filled with emotions that contradict themselves.  Loving the land we call 'the property' and hating living there and yet missing that simple time. Many memories both good and bad.   It has marked my life.

Many things have taken place since 1983,  leaving 'the property' did not change our living entirely and if anything it got worse for a time, many close loved ones have died, including grandma, little brother and dad and I am married and have children myself.  I have been separated from my parents journey and am on my own journey with my husband and our children.  I used to pray and wish that I would not have to relive those days of my childhood to the point of being fearful and putting a burden on my husband to provide for us.  Two years ago that all changed.

It was time to face my fear of losing all.  Nothing was working out financially, no matter what we did paying tithes, living on nothing, eating as inexpensively as possible, never going anywhere or having any fun, getting one card to pay off another, trading in our cars for less.  Something always came up and prevented us from getting out of debt.  So we tried the opposite, taking a chance to make money and be free of a confining job and of the worries of life...we tried lots of different 'schemes', starting out with small payout and eventually ending in thousands of dollars spent for absolutely nothing but injustice...which created a looming financial crisis and the knowledge that that way is not for us who were asking God to show us what it is to follow Him in 'spirit and in truth'.  But it looked good...I mean we could help so many people if we had money, right? 

During this ending time of striving to make money, we had been praying that God would show us His way and teach us His way.  That we would know what it was to worship Him in spirit and in truth.  He was teaching us by letting us make mistakes...I hate making mistakes...but they are how we learn.  If I stand still and wait it is for a time and if I go forward that is also for a time...I cannot always wait and I cannot always go forward.  Everything has a time.  My problem was fear was causing me to be frozen in place, so I had to go forward with a plan that ended up not being right, but was for my own good all the same.  So, because of the consequences of the prosperity I was looking for there was a price and that was losing all to follow God.  He was telling me and my husband that He had a better way for us, follow Him.  The way is narrow and few find it and how to hear His voice above all the noise of the world.

In 2007 we tried to save ourselves by hiring a credit consolidation company in August to help us pay our debt, in September the economy started it's downward spiral and this company did not help us, again we experienced injustice. 

Injustice...how angry it makes me especially if it against me or someone I love.  It makes me so very mad and yet, God is more angry than I, this is Him showing me how He feels about the injustice of the world, the killings of His people, the babies whose lives are ended...injustice is evil and it will only get worse before He comes back...how will we handle it?  I am thankful for His direction and for showing us these things before they happen on a large scale.  The love of money is the root of all evil...so how can I desire more money?  Be content with what you have, do not covet.  He is our provision, He gives and He takes away.

Early in 2008 we decided it was really best to go ahead with bankruptcy, we already knew this back when we made the choice to try to save ourselves from it...'bankruptcy is only for losers' was the words going through my head...so this was a new low for me...I had always felt like a loser and now it was true, in the worlds eyes I was a loser...

It happened rather quickly, we filed and were told we could save our motorcycle and house...we quickly said no, that is not what God wants and by June of that year we were homeless.  It was heartbreaking...it still hurts.  It is a wound I am glad to bear but dread all at the same time.  Basically I went through the motions in a state of grief, different than losing a loved one but very much grief all the same.  We thought we were to buy a travel trailer and sure enough one was provided to us miraculously by a 'Craigslist' add posted by a distant relative of mine, our Land Cruiser was not able to pull it so a friend helped us get it home and then helped us get it to their home the day we left our home for the last time.  I will always remember standing in my empty home by myself and crying only to be disturbed by my sweet daughter and the hug I received from my friend when I got to her house.  It makes me cry still, but , after all we were not promised a life of ease, so why should I expect it to be so?

We stayed with our friends in our travel trailer until October while we prepared it for travel and saved up enough to buy a bigger vehicle to pull it.  Living with others is hard when you like to be alone to deal with things going on in your heart, there is nowhere to hide really and feelings are hurt more easily and well, it is hard work.  I hated the day we left there, my heart was again torn and I felt so alone...and for the next three months I felt that way.  It is hard to believe it was only three months now, it seemed like forever at the time.  It's not that I hated it, it was a good time of reflection and time with God.  We lived close to a state park and would go for walks and bike rides there.  I saw a 'shooting star' and it snowed a couple feet of snow.  My family was closely brought together.  But our life in the travel trailer ended on January 1st 2009 at least for the time being.  My mom's roommate moved out in December and we moved in to help her prepare the place to sell for the next 3 months.  In March we were planning to move to a rental close by, but found out while at our friends, that the guy had rented it to someone else...injustice again.  Guess we might as well get used to it, it is bound to keep happening.  Besides, God must have something else in mind.  I even remember saying it would be nice to have a view of the mountains...I love the Olympics.  It was just a wish, I sure didn't expect it.

There was nothing...we needed a 4 bedroom home and there was nothing at all in our area.  I was beginning to wonder if we had really heard right.  What we thought we were suppose to do...I didn't feel stressed though...my mom was on her computer in her room looking for rentals, my husband was in our room looking for rentals and I was in the front room doing something on my computer...but it wasn't looking up rentals.  I just thought well go look up Belfair...so I did, and there it was a 4 bedroom house for rent...they could hardly believe it was there and were trying to find it on their pages and it wasn't there.  It was called on and my husband went and looked at it the next day and was there for 4 hours...our bankruptcy did not matter to the renter, but he wanted to make sure I would not be disturbed by the 'stuff' on the property.  And there is a view of the mountains!

So, here I am sitting here typing this in the bedroom of this house God provided for us to live in for now...it isn't a perfect house, it has it's problems, for one I am again mostly alone..but it is for my good.  The mountains are beautiful this time of year with all the snow...when they are visible.  There is a price to pay when you decide to follow God in all you do...this year we will be giving up our anniversary 'trip' because the goats will be due...that is my small struggle right now...I am selfish with my time with my husband and was looking forward to his days off at that time...but having milk for my family when it is possible to be in need of it is more important.   It is silly really, we will still be together, just not alone. 

As I conclude my reflection on my life, I want to make sure that I give God thanks and praise for always being with me even when I am distracted off the path He has for me.  He always brings me back and shows me the way to walk.  Back in 1984 He gave me a real vision of what Jesus did for me which I had forgotten,  I often forget the important things when I am distracted by others testimonies, it is nice to be reminded that I too had a life changing experience even if I have grown up knowing who He is.  It was good to share with my children as well.   I am thankful for God's provision in my life as it gives me hope for hard times that I have already experienced and lived through that He is always with me.  And I am thankful for the love of my husband in which God again has shown me His love for me is far greater than I can imagine.  I am thankful for the children He has given us to train up in His ways and the small freedom we do have in home schooling them.  I pray for courage always to stand up for Him in the day of trial. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope my words have given you hope in your journey!

 

Thoughts on the Old Year

It has been several years since I have looked forward to the new year starting, all the fireworks and the countdown just has no excitement to me.  I see the new year as the beginning of wondering 'what will happen this year'.

As this year ends and the new one begins I want to just touch on some things that did happen during 2009.

January brought a new president for us in America, one who, by all accounts, should not even be president as there is still the underlying wonder if he was even born an American and absolutely no desire to make the people happy by providing real proof, only a cover-up that involves much deceit and treachery , let alone his obvious lack of experience.  As time passed this year he has certainly showed his true colors as he has let people call him the messiah, has acted in a most humiliating way towards world leaders, and seems to have little time for anyone who does not see things his way, including the American people who have all but been shunned as non-people.  It amazes me, yet I am not surprised by how many still think he is so wonderful. 

Due to 'global warming' we have also experienced a great amount of snowfall and low temperatures.  January 1st, 2009 came in with snow, then it snowed again on the 4th and the 27th.  February brought more snow for us on the 10th and the 26th, then March with snow falling on the 7th, 9th and 15th...it even snowed here on April 1st!  Not to mention the previous deluge of snow in December of 2008!  It was a crazy year of snow here in the Pacific Northwest.  All across our country and Canada we had record snowfall December 2009 brought a great amount of snow across the country and here we have been experiencing below freezing temperatures for day on end, to the extent that even the salt water is getting a layer of ice on it.

This year on the 30th of July (which is the 9th of Av, Tisha B'av) a group of Israelites began building the altar for the temple they hope to build soon:

"The Temple Institute began work on the sacrificial altar Thursday, Tisha B’av, the day the Second Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago.
The Temple Institute has already built several of the Temple vessels such as the Ark and the menorah, and has now embarked on an ambitious project to build the altar, which will ultimately measure 3 meters wide by 3 meters long and 2 meters tall.
During Thursday’s ceremony, which took place in Mitzpe Yericho just east of Jerusalem, the Temple Institute laid the cornerstone for the altar and demonstrated how tar will be used to cement the stones together. The Institute plans on bringing the altar to its proper place on the Temple Mount when the Temple is rebuilt.
“Today, Tisha B’av, is not just a time to mourn the destruction of the Temple,” said Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute. “It is also a time to build.”" (taken from Arutz Sheva Israel National News)


The significance of this is HUGE and yet few really know of it taking place.  Mitzpe Yericho is a religious communal Israeli settlement near the site of Jericho.  They are training priests for temple duties there as well.

Major deaths for the year were Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, Billy Mayes and Farrah Fawsett all considered 'kings' and a 'queen' in their field of entertainment and all dying within a few days from each other during a time when the House was voting on the Cap and Trade bill, which passed through the House and Iran was in the middle of voting fraud.  Quite a distraction to be sure. There were over 140 celebrities who died in 2009, including Patrick Swayze, David Caradine and Ted Kennedy.  Oral Roberts also died this year.

As mentioned above we had the 'Cap and Trade bill during the summer of 2009, we have had several other bills that are trying to be passed through Congress as well as the Bail-outs/Stimulus/Cash for Clunkers thing....lets see...spend and create more money to get out of debt and destroy perfectly good cars, makes sense right?

Here is a list of some other important to remember things that took place during 2009 in no particular order:

1. Austrailia experiences major brush fires and a sand storm that turns the sky red.
2. H1N1 Virus claimed to be a pandemic and vaccines pushed.
3. American flight makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River due to complete engine failure, everyone survives.
4.Guantanamo Bay is scheduled to be closed by the end of the year by the President on his second day in office.
5. President is sworn in 'incorrectly' making another swear in necessary 'behind the scenes.'
6. Recession/Depression causing much turmoil in the Stock Market and bankrupting countries such as Iceland and Dubai and bringing the U.S.A. down greatly.
7. Huge 'meteors' coming through the atmosphere and lighting up the night sky, creating loud explosions and shaking the earth. See here: Fireball Nov 18th, 2009 and Monster Fireball Dec. 14th, 2009 , More on Monster Fireball
8.Solar Eclipse over Asia and Pacific Ocean.
9. G-20 meets in Pittsburgh, preventing protesters to have a voice by keeping them well away from the area.
10. Lisbon Treaty voted on, passed and signed by EU, now becoming European Law, taking away sovereignty.
11. Herman Van Rompuy, Prime Minister of Belgium, becomes the first permanent President of the European Council.
12. President Barak Obama receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
13. The UN Climate Change Conference is held in Denmark.
14. An unusual 'spiral' in the sky of Norway and a strange 'pyramid' are visible in the sky on the same day, weird stuff.
15. A man with no passport is allowed on plane to Detroit from Amsterdam, he attempts to blow up the plane, but fails thankfully.
16. Four police officers are killed.
17. 29 recorded earthquakes of magnitude 5 or higher with multiple aftershocks around the world including Italy with over 300 dead.
18.  Volcanic eruptions of Mt. Redoubt, Alaska, many other volcanoes are erupting as well.

This has been a busy year indeed!

Can hardly wait to see what happens next...it is surreal to take this time to look back at what 2009 has been.

About Christmas

How can I as a follower of Jesus not celebrate Christmas?  By celebrating I mean these things...not put up a tree or decorate, party or give gifts.  Many use Jeremiah 10:1-5 as part of their reason for not having a tree and I do agree it is a good argument, even though it is talking about making a tree into an idol...here it is:

Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. 

And then there is this passage in Revelation 11,which speaks about the two witnesses being killed, makes me wonder what it means?

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

I do not mean that we don't get together with family, that we be rude to others who do not see it 'our way', or not talk about Jesus at all during this time because he wasn't born on Dec. 25th, that would be a wrong way of dealing with not celebrating Christmas and God does not want us to be this way at all!  We are however called to be set apart from the world, so we cannot do Christmas like everyone else.  At this point there is no difference between the Non-Christians and the Christians, they both set up trees and decorate, make cookies and give gifts to each other in the name of Santa Claus...you virtually cannot tell them apart, what a shame that is!

Most people know that Jesus was not born Dec. 25th, but it has so been ingrained in us that this is when we celebrate, it is hard and uncomfortable to change and sometimes we hurt others unintentionally when we make the choice to end the madness of Christmas.  That is inevitable.  The truth is hard and not everyone will see it no matter what it is whether because of tradition or memories or they just do not care to know or whatever their reasons or blockages...we are all imperfect after all.  Thankfully, our salvation does not stand on these things but on Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again so we could be set free and there is grace for those who believe in Him!

Knowing it is not Jesus' real birthday and has become a time for spending money we don't really have, eating too much and talking about Santa coming to town is enough for me to not celebrate let alone the pagan roots which I won't go into here.  So what do I do about the time of year when most people are open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  This is the dilemma we face when choosing to not celebrate Christmas.

For us, we have chosen instead to celebrate Hanukkah, which is the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication and falls in December, but not always during Christmas time.  The last two years we spent much time learning the root of this holiday and finding Jesus in it and acknowledging it (John 10:22).  He says that He is the Light of the world, the Menorah in the temple was also known to be called the 'light of the world' and the windows in the temple were built to shine the light out to the world.  He also calls us who follow Him the light of the world.  We have also found that He was sent of God more than likely during Hanukkah and was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the reference Immanuel, God with us.  So Hanukkah has become very important to us now that we understand it better.

 What does celebrating Hanukkah look like?  It could be different for each family and even from year to year.  For us this year, we bought and hung up around our windows some white and blue snowflake lights, because white stands for purity and blue for loyalty and we want to be pure and loyal to God.  We made our own Hanukkah menorah, called a Hanukkiah, a few years ago and it sits in our window all year long.  So, each night of Hanukkah we light the servant candle which then lights one candle for each night eight nights in all.  Thus remembering the 8 days of the first Hanukkah in which the oil of one day lasted for 8, and remembering that Jesus (the servant candle) has made us the light of the world (the other candles)with his Holy Spirit (oil) and has given us enough 'light' to make it to the end.  We then have to chose to shine brightly for the Lord and not put our light under a bushel but set it out for all to see.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. Luke 11:33


 As for Christmas what do we do?  We get together with our family of course...God is not afraid of the ways of this world and neither should we be. Maybe they don't understand and maybe they never will understand us and what we do and they might even choose to think we don't celebrate Jesus coming, but we do each day in our hearts we are so thankful that God sent His only begotten Son because he loved the world, that whoever believes on His Son might be saved!  In our freedom from sin and death we celebrate!  Praise God!  How will they know if we avoid or ignore them on this day or any day?  We may not be of this world, but we are still in it, therefore, we must do what we can to shine the light of Jesus whether received or not. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14)

Please check out this link as well, it is very interesting:


http://bethlehemstar.net/stage/stage.htm

The Sadness of the Coming Days

Two days ago in Lakewood, WA, four police officers were shot and killed in a local cafe`.  There were no warnings this would happen, there were no words exchanged, no visible reason could be seen in the incident.  But, the similarity between the ambush and the killing of the one officer at the beginning of the month were eerie...could it be the same assassin?  As the day progressed, they found who their suspect was...a very disturbed individual who was suppose to be serving a life sentence in another state far away, but mysteriously was let out only to be arrested again and let out on bail again...why???

Nothing happens by accident...there are reasons we cannot understand, maybe it is our fault for not praying enough???  Maybe it is our fault for forgetting God as a nation???  There are always the fall guys...but what is the real reason he was let out?  God forgive us!  It isn't any one persons fault...it happened...and by all accounts it is suppose to get worse as time creeps towards the end...not very excited about that, it is maddening and distressing and discouraging and we demand justice...but there is no justice...'because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.'  (Isa. 5)

Today I heard that the suspect was shot and killed last night...I am relieved that he was found and no one else was killed by this cold-hearted person filled with such hatred...but I am sad that he died not being forgiven and will be forever separated from God...

What terrors await us in the coming days...more senseless crimes and murders..more tragedies and natural disasters...more fear...more chaos not known to most of us here in America...a great sadness and apparent hopelessness.  Will we be prepared for this?  Will we be able to stand against such things?  God help us!  We are weak, we are but a shadow of what we should be, we have placed our trust in men and they have failed us, we have not looked to the Lord and trusted in Him!  God forgive us!  We have let ourselves grow fat and lazy!  We have despised the way of the Lord!  God forgive us!  We have traded our good things for that which perishes!  We have forgotten the Lord and must return to Him!  But, will this nation turn?  It is a pattern, it is laid out...the abominations are great like that of Sodom & Gomorrah or the days of Noah...and are growing it seems daily.   We have compromised with the world for security, for comfort, for pleasure...and is it any wonder that Jesus asked, 'will I find faith on the earth' when He returns? 

God forgive us for not following You!

Asleep in the Light

Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care
Are you gonna let them drown

How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done

"Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord"
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear

But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in,
Oh, can't you see it's such a sin?

Cause He brings people to you door,
And you turn them away
As you smile and say,
"God bless you, be at peace"
And all heaven just weeps
Cause Jesus came to your door
You've left him out on the streets

Open up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay

God's calling and you're the one
But like Jonah you run
He's told you to speak
But you keep holding it in,
Oh can't you see it's such a sin?

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
Cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed

Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on, get out of your bed

How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done

Don't close your eyes
Don't pretend the jobs done
Come away, come away, come away with Me my love,
Come away, from this mess, come away with Me, my love.

~Keith Green

Giving Thanks

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Psalm 105:1-3

Have a happy Thanksgiving remembering all you have to be thankful for!