If you can't tell by the title of this entry, fall is my absolute favorite time of year! What's not to love about fall?? ((just humor me and agree with me, okay? lol))
THIS autumn, in particular, is an extremely WELCOME season this year! What, with 70-some-odd days of 100+ degree heat during the summer, highs of 89 would be a "cold front" enjoyed by me and many others!
Fall leads into the holidays. Once we get past Halloween (which is NOT my favorite holiday), it's all a slide downhill from there! :) It's time to break out the recipes for cookies, cakes and goodies usually reserved for "layering" weather. Christmas presents from me are usually baked goods. People seem to like them! Fall leads to hot chocolaty winters, too! My family is ready for the various soups and chilis that fall weather calls for, as well as creative snacks not usually bothered with any other time of year.
The colors of fall are spectacular. God's paintbrushes are super busy this time of year, dotting each tree with splashes of vivid color against the most brilliant of blue skies. It's a playful time for children and those who are children at heart! Leaves are for jumping into, crisp and vibrant. Pumpkin patches galore! Harvest festivals bring out the kid in you. All of it representative of God's amazing bounty for us all.
This is the season of sports, too! We're in the midst of football season, wrapping up baseball season, and soon to start basketball (if it hasn't already). Don't forget about hockey, too! This is a fun season to be outside. Of course, the most sporty I get is a walk, but those are a joy, too! :) Oh, what wonderful things you can see on a walk! :) Still, any reason to celebrate a sporting event, I'm pretty sure I can rustle up some enthusiasm! : D
It's about this time of year that I really start thinking of holiday plans. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my most treasured holidays. I love seeing my family and watching my boys get to know their grandparents and their local cousins, aunts and uncles. My nieces and nephews have pretty much grown up by now. I'm happy to watch them grow into adults.
When I was younger, my favorite things to do during the fall was draw or do some kind of art or craft. I wasn't particularly talented in these areas, but at the time I liked my sense of creativity. The most favorite thing to do during the fall was to curl up with a weekend's worth of books!! : D THAT was my thing! Sigh. I don't have as much time for that anymore. I sure do miss it. :}
No matter. Times change. Times morph into longer hours of darkness and fewer daylight hours. It's a time of transition into a more cozy and intimate time of year. It's time to embrace hibernation! : D But not for a few days yet. I've got more fall days to celebrate!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
My Damascus Road, and My Journey Beyond
Today marks 17 years as a born-again Christian. Many fellow Christians have asked me about my born-again experience. They've asked for years, and I've never taken the time to write it down...until now.
Micro, Reader's Digest's Seriously Condensed Version~~I was lost in sin, tho I didn't really and truly understand that beyond mere words. A new friend took the time to not only witness to me Christ's Love that I felt in her home but patiently stayed with me as I got my bearings as a new creature in Christ. I received Jesus on Aug 28, 1994, less than a month before I got married. I've not looked back. I've experienced some highs and lows of being a Christian, and I honestly wouldn't trade a moment of it because it has all contributed to the person I've become. Christ has begun a new work in me, and I want to continue to improve.
Novel Version (and I DO mean "Novel", might wanna grab a cuppa som'n b/f you sit down to read this, lol)
We travelled a great deal as a young family, so settling into a church was not exactly a high priority while growing up. Couple this with parents who witnessed so much hypocrisy in the churches they grew up in that they figured my sister and I were better off not being exposed to such an environment (assuming it was everywhere). Occasionally I'd hear a verse that Mom said was in the Bible, or she'd repeat something her mom (my grandma) said came from the Bible, but I honestly don't remember a time when I actually read those words for myself...not as a youngster, anyway. Kind of ironic b/c I was an avid reader. I was a visual learner. You could tell me anything, but I didn't "get it" until I saw it for myself. The only Bibles I remember at my parents' house were the ones completely stuffed with family commentary...obits, stories, awards, etc. Translation? Look but don't touch. :(
In our travels, we'd find the customary Gideon Bibles along with the Book of Mormons (in some hotels, not all). I would pick them up and try to read them, but it was like reading Shakespeare, something that was not at all appealing to me (at the time). Where were the coloring books, huh? Where were books about butterflies, birds or fishies or treasures?? (lol, little did I realize I could've found these very things in the Bible then had I but known!)
I grow up a little bit, and I run into people who called themselves Christians. Some of them were pretty nice, but unfortunately, others were just as mean as they could be. Also unfortunately, the mean ones were the ones I remembered most. :( I have lost count how many times I "received Salvation" only to feel confused, abandoned and frustrated, not necessarily in that order. Only later did I learn that I experienced a variety of soil in my life! (see Matthew 13 to see what I mean) I've been scared into faith with the fire/brimstone, wrath-of-God messages...but they forgot the HOPE; I've been enticed into faith with "When you become a Christian, EVERYTHING in your life will be honky-dory!"; I've been seduced by "God is Love" messages only to receive a sucker punch in the spirit from professing Christians claiming that God's Love is completely conditional according to my works; I've been intellectually intrigued by "scholarly" Biblical topics like Rapture, Prophesy Revelation, Angels, etc, tho the seeming conflicts were extremely confusing. (I DID, however, always feel as though we just might meet Jesus in our lifetime, no other religious figure...strange, huh?) It seemed like I was supposed to have known everything there was to know about being a Christian right off the bat (I'm a new creature in Christ and all that). I had questions about things I've read in the Bible, and I felt like I was dealt the 5-second rule (moms know what I'm talking about here, lol)..."well, it's in the Bible in blah-blah-blah verse or passage." Okaaaaaay, I have a question ABOUT what I'm reading in the Bible! A bell sometimes goes off in their head that I'm not reading the Bible quite the way they are reading it. Occasionally, someone will slow up and try to explain something to me, but sometimes I left even more confused. When I tried to bring it up another time, I received the cold shoulder or the look down the nose like I was a total idiot. I don't mind not knowing something, but I don't take too kindly to being called or treated like I'm stupid or an idiot. So guess what? I turned my back on Christianity...or so I thought. Looking back now, I turned my back on professing Christians, not Christianity. My heart was indeed hardened.
You know that bullies (typically) hurt other people because they themselves are hurt, right? Well, basically I became a Christian bully. Looking back at this time now, I realize that I became a wrathful scorner, a scoffer, a reviler, and ultimately....a fool.
I spent some time spiritually wandering around...not really looking for anything (I didn't think at the time, anyway).... I've met some people who were Pagans (even witches), hung around them for a little while, learned some things, was fascinated by them, then moved on. Met some Native Americans who talked about their spiritual lives with me. Met some Buddhists who seemed to exemplify peaceful living. At any given point, I could've probably become a member of various religious experiences. All had pieces of truth with which I could identify, but none of them really felt particularly complete for me. It's only later that I can put a finger on what was going on with me at this time...God was allowing me to be an outside observer while removing any desire within me to partake of these seemingly sound ideologies.
In the middle of all of this, I have a few friends who I knew are Christians, and for various occasions I'd get them a Bible as a gift, and a King James Bible, at that! I didn't "seek" to get them KJ Bibles because at the time I wasn't aware of the differences among professing Bibles. Do you see God's Hand in this?? I do now. :)
I went through various phases of "trying" to be a Christian. I didn't like most Christians, but I was smart enough to know that there is something unique and special about their professing faith. I attempted to read the Bible many times. I'd read Scriptures quoted in various places; sometimes I got it, most times I didn't understand. I didn't know it at the time, but I was reading Scriptures through human eyes. The Scriptures basically read no differently than the hundreds of other books I've read, and I was an avid reader with a very vivid imagination. I thought I said Christiany things, did Christiany things, acted the way Christians are supposed to act. Although I'm glad I tried, I had no idea at the time that my human efforts were basically done in spiritual vain.
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Matthew 7:11
I've spent a couple of years scanning groceries for one particular customer who seemed to seek me out when she shopped. After some time, I got to know her and her two very young children. She commented with amazement that both of her children were very shy and reserved around strangers, but that they seem to really like me and would even look for me when they enter the store. She got to where she was kind of comfortable inviting me to her home.
This was the start of my turning point.
I walked into her home and felt a presence I had NEVER felt before in my whole life. Her home was full of peace, full of joy, full of love...full of home. Her children were obviously happy there. Evidence of her Christian faith was throughout her home, a small token here and there. Her home was truly inviting in every sense of the word.
We had lunch, and we chatted about a variety of things, and then she guided the conversation to Salvation. She wanted to know where I stood as a Christian...or not. Can you say, "Put on the defense armor?" Oooooh, ye-ah, I did. Arms crossed over my chest, attitude, everything. However, as guarded as I felt about the topic of MY personal faith, I found myself actually trying to listen to her. She spoke with me as a fellow human being, not as an object or a poor sucker cornered for preaching.
I didn't get the sense of judgment from her. We talked for a good couple of hours (maybe 2 or 3), and she gradually got the sense that I had plenty of puzzle pieces, but I was unable to fit too many of them truly together. She sensed that I had been hurt by professing Christians, and she picked up that while I "knew" of Jesus, maybe even "believed" Jesus, but because of the actions of so many people in my life, I never came to TRUST Him. She illustrated trust and faith using a chair. If I didn't trust or have faith in that chair's ability to hold me, I would either sit down timidly (belief, but no trust) or not at all. However, if I am to put my trust in that chair's ability to hold me while I sit down, I would confidently sit in that chair without a second thought for security. She explained that Jesus is a FRIEND who supports us like that chair. We can rest on Him.
She also explained the gulf between man and God through sin...the sin beginning with Adam and individual's personal sin. Jesus is the bridge that reconciles man back to God. Jesus is the means by which we are cleansed of our sins. Those sins are removed from our lives when we allow Jesus to enter into our hearts. I've lost count how many times I've been "witnessed at" (trust me, there's a difference between being witnessed "to" and "at.") This time, Jesus was witnessed THROUGH me. Jesus was finally able to breach a stone wall that I didn't even know surrounded my heart. I now understand the passage in Ezekiel 36 where God says he will remove the stony heart and replace it with a fleshly heart. The burden of all that I have gone through in my life suddenly left me. I felt the weight of my world lifted from my heart, my body, and my spirit. I had no idea such a burden oppressed me! I melted from the sudden removal of that weighted burden. I could not dam the flood of tears that poured from my eyes, heart and soul. My friend's sowing occurred finally on "good ground."
Imagine my astonishment as I picked up the Bible to read it that night. I wasn't reading it just to read it. I wasn't even reading it just to acquire knowledge from it. I finally read the Bible as God spoke those words. Amazing words. My spiritual eyes became opened as I wore spiritual glasses for the first time in my life. His Words literally became ALIVE in my own soul. I finally understood what it meant to be "Spirit-filled." That doesn't mean I became "Super Sister Christian" with a big ol' fish or cross plastered on my chest and a white cape draped about my shoulders doing goody-goody things...that's nice and all, but I suddenly understood David's struggles in his life even as a man after God's own heart! I don't believe God expects us to be perfect, especially in the sense of how man would measure perfection, but He wants us to trust Him and His wisdom which is expressed in His Word. I understand that God indeed meets us where we are, and begins again the walk from where I left Him.
I've looked back over my life from time to time, and I've seen the Footprints of God in my life where I never noticed them before, not enough to acknowledge that it was Him, anyway. I've been told, and indeed I've read, that God does not answer a sinner's prayer. Personally, I beg to differ. I only love Him now because He first loved me! He showed mercy when I deserved consequences, He showed me grace at the most amazing times in my life. I genuinely believe that God preserved me from harm where I could easily have destroyed myself in sin. God sought me. I finally received His Son.
I had since married my husband. He is not a believer. Instead, I see myself in him before I finally gave my life to Jesus. I believe it is simply a matter of time before he becomes a believer, too. We've had struggles from being unequally-yoked, make no mistake about that. However, when I do my part as the wife of the family unit, I see the Lord's hand upon my husband's life for my sake. It took me a few years to understand the concept of submission. I was one of those women who balked at the idea of "obeying the husband" and that was even taken out of our wedding vows. Now I understand that I'm not submitting to my husband as an invitation for being a doormat, but when I do my part, God has a very interesting way of turning my husband according to His will which complements His will for me to obey him. Submission can indeed work in a marriage. Our strengths complement each other's weaknesses, proving to create a strong single unit...just as I believe God invisioned for us.
We have since had two sons, both of them being raised with Biblical training, and I take them to church with me. I do my best to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It has been rough going at times because my husband does not understand my convictions, but I do believe that God has His hands on my children (AND my husband!), just as He had his hands on me. No matter what tests my boys go through, they are developing testimony. No matter what trials may lay before them, I expect them to become triumphant! If they are ever victims of anything, they will eventually obtain victory.
Micro, Reader's Digest's Seriously Condensed Version~~I was lost in sin, tho I didn't really and truly understand that beyond mere words. A new friend took the time to not only witness to me Christ's Love that I felt in her home but patiently stayed with me as I got my bearings as a new creature in Christ. I received Jesus on Aug 28, 1994, less than a month before I got married. I've not looked back. I've experienced some highs and lows of being a Christian, and I honestly wouldn't trade a moment of it because it has all contributed to the person I've become. Christ has begun a new work in me, and I want to continue to improve.
Novel Version (and I DO mean "Novel", might wanna grab a cuppa som'n b/f you sit down to read this, lol)
We travelled a great deal as a young family, so settling into a church was not exactly a high priority while growing up. Couple this with parents who witnessed so much hypocrisy in the churches they grew up in that they figured my sister and I were better off not being exposed to such an environment (assuming it was everywhere). Occasionally I'd hear a verse that Mom said was in the Bible, or she'd repeat something her mom (my grandma) said came from the Bible, but I honestly don't remember a time when I actually read those words for myself...not as a youngster, anyway. Kind of ironic b/c I was an avid reader. I was a visual learner. You could tell me anything, but I didn't "get it" until I saw it for myself. The only Bibles I remember at my parents' house were the ones completely stuffed with family commentary...obits, stories, awards, etc. Translation? Look but don't touch. :(
In our travels, we'd find the customary Gideon Bibles along with the Book of Mormons (in some hotels, not all). I would pick them up and try to read them, but it was like reading Shakespeare, something that was not at all appealing to me (at the time). Where were the coloring books, huh? Where were books about butterflies, birds or fishies or treasures?? (lol, little did I realize I could've found these very things in the Bible then had I but known!)
I grow up a little bit, and I run into people who called themselves Christians. Some of them were pretty nice, but unfortunately, others were just as mean as they could be. Also unfortunately, the mean ones were the ones I remembered most. :( I have lost count how many times I "received Salvation" only to feel confused, abandoned and frustrated, not necessarily in that order. Only later did I learn that I experienced a variety of soil in my life! (see Matthew 13 to see what I mean) I've been scared into faith with the fire/brimstone, wrath-of-God messages...but they forgot the HOPE; I've been enticed into faith with "When you become a Christian, EVERYTHING in your life will be honky-dory!"; I've been seduced by "God is Love" messages only to receive a sucker punch in the spirit from professing Christians claiming that God's Love is completely conditional according to my works; I've been intellectually intrigued by "scholarly" Biblical topics like Rapture, Prophesy Revelation, Angels, etc, tho the seeming conflicts were extremely confusing. (I DID, however, always feel as though we just might meet Jesus in our lifetime, no other religious figure...strange, huh?) It seemed like I was supposed to have known everything there was to know about being a Christian right off the bat (I'm a new creature in Christ and all that). I had questions about things I've read in the Bible, and I felt like I was dealt the 5-second rule (moms know what I'm talking about here, lol)..."well, it's in the Bible in blah-blah-blah verse or passage." Okaaaaaay, I have a question ABOUT what I'm reading in the Bible! A bell sometimes goes off in their head that I'm not reading the Bible quite the way they are reading it. Occasionally, someone will slow up and try to explain something to me, but sometimes I left even more confused. When I tried to bring it up another time, I received the cold shoulder or the look down the nose like I was a total idiot. I don't mind not knowing something, but I don't take too kindly to being called or treated like I'm stupid or an idiot. So guess what? I turned my back on Christianity...or so I thought. Looking back now, I turned my back on professing Christians, not Christianity. My heart was indeed hardened.
You know that bullies (typically) hurt other people because they themselves are hurt, right? Well, basically I became a Christian bully. Looking back at this time now, I realize that I became a wrathful scorner, a scoffer, a reviler, and ultimately....a fool.
I spent some time spiritually wandering around...not really looking for anything (I didn't think at the time, anyway).... I've met some people who were Pagans (even witches), hung around them for a little while, learned some things, was fascinated by them, then moved on. Met some Native Americans who talked about their spiritual lives with me. Met some Buddhists who seemed to exemplify peaceful living. At any given point, I could've probably become a member of various religious experiences. All had pieces of truth with which I could identify, but none of them really felt particularly complete for me. It's only later that I can put a finger on what was going on with me at this time...God was allowing me to be an outside observer while removing any desire within me to partake of these seemingly sound ideologies.
In the middle of all of this, I have a few friends who I knew are Christians, and for various occasions I'd get them a Bible as a gift, and a King James Bible, at that! I didn't "seek" to get them KJ Bibles because at the time I wasn't aware of the differences among professing Bibles. Do you see God's Hand in this?? I do now. :)
I went through various phases of "trying" to be a Christian. I didn't like most Christians, but I was smart enough to know that there is something unique and special about their professing faith. I attempted to read the Bible many times. I'd read Scriptures quoted in various places; sometimes I got it, most times I didn't understand. I didn't know it at the time, but I was reading Scriptures through human eyes. The Scriptures basically read no differently than the hundreds of other books I've read, and I was an avid reader with a very vivid imagination. I thought I said Christiany things, did Christiany things, acted the way Christians are supposed to act. Although I'm glad I tried, I had no idea at the time that my human efforts were basically done in spiritual vain.
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Matthew 7:11
I've spent a couple of years scanning groceries for one particular customer who seemed to seek me out when she shopped. After some time, I got to know her and her two very young children. She commented with amazement that both of her children were very shy and reserved around strangers, but that they seem to really like me and would even look for me when they enter the store. She got to where she was kind of comfortable inviting me to her home.
This was the start of my turning point.
I walked into her home and felt a presence I had NEVER felt before in my whole life. Her home was full of peace, full of joy, full of love...full of home. Her children were obviously happy there. Evidence of her Christian faith was throughout her home, a small token here and there. Her home was truly inviting in every sense of the word.
We had lunch, and we chatted about a variety of things, and then she guided the conversation to Salvation. She wanted to know where I stood as a Christian...or not. Can you say, "Put on the defense armor?" Oooooh, ye-ah, I did. Arms crossed over my chest, attitude, everything. However, as guarded as I felt about the topic of MY personal faith, I found myself actually trying to listen to her. She spoke with me as a fellow human being, not as an object or a poor sucker cornered for preaching.
I didn't get the sense of judgment from her. We talked for a good couple of hours (maybe 2 or 3), and she gradually got the sense that I had plenty of puzzle pieces, but I was unable to fit too many of them truly together. She sensed that I had been hurt by professing Christians, and she picked up that while I "knew" of Jesus, maybe even "believed" Jesus, but because of the actions of so many people in my life, I never came to TRUST Him. She illustrated trust and faith using a chair. If I didn't trust or have faith in that chair's ability to hold me, I would either sit down timidly (belief, but no trust) or not at all. However, if I am to put my trust in that chair's ability to hold me while I sit down, I would confidently sit in that chair without a second thought for security. She explained that Jesus is a FRIEND who supports us like that chair. We can rest on Him.
She also explained the gulf between man and God through sin...the sin beginning with Adam and individual's personal sin. Jesus is the bridge that reconciles man back to God. Jesus is the means by which we are cleansed of our sins. Those sins are removed from our lives when we allow Jesus to enter into our hearts. I've lost count how many times I've been "witnessed at" (trust me, there's a difference between being witnessed "to" and "at.") This time, Jesus was witnessed THROUGH me. Jesus was finally able to breach a stone wall that I didn't even know surrounded my heart. I now understand the passage in Ezekiel 36 where God says he will remove the stony heart and replace it with a fleshly heart. The burden of all that I have gone through in my life suddenly left me. I felt the weight of my world lifted from my heart, my body, and my spirit. I had no idea such a burden oppressed me! I melted from the sudden removal of that weighted burden. I could not dam the flood of tears that poured from my eyes, heart and soul. My friend's sowing occurred finally on "good ground."
Imagine my astonishment as I picked up the Bible to read it that night. I wasn't reading it just to read it. I wasn't even reading it just to acquire knowledge from it. I finally read the Bible as God spoke those words. Amazing words. My spiritual eyes became opened as I wore spiritual glasses for the first time in my life. His Words literally became ALIVE in my own soul. I finally understood what it meant to be "Spirit-filled." That doesn't mean I became "Super Sister Christian" with a big ol' fish or cross plastered on my chest and a white cape draped about my shoulders doing goody-goody things...that's nice and all, but I suddenly understood David's struggles in his life even as a man after God's own heart! I don't believe God expects us to be perfect, especially in the sense of how man would measure perfection, but He wants us to trust Him and His wisdom which is expressed in His Word. I understand that God indeed meets us where we are, and begins again the walk from where I left Him.
I've looked back over my life from time to time, and I've seen the Footprints of God in my life where I never noticed them before, not enough to acknowledge that it was Him, anyway. I've been told, and indeed I've read, that God does not answer a sinner's prayer. Personally, I beg to differ. I only love Him now because He first loved me! He showed mercy when I deserved consequences, He showed me grace at the most amazing times in my life. I genuinely believe that God preserved me from harm where I could easily have destroyed myself in sin. God sought me. I finally received His Son.
I had since married my husband. He is not a believer. Instead, I see myself in him before I finally gave my life to Jesus. I believe it is simply a matter of time before he becomes a believer, too. We've had struggles from being unequally-yoked, make no mistake about that. However, when I do my part as the wife of the family unit, I see the Lord's hand upon my husband's life for my sake. It took me a few years to understand the concept of submission. I was one of those women who balked at the idea of "obeying the husband" and that was even taken out of our wedding vows. Now I understand that I'm not submitting to my husband as an invitation for being a doormat, but when I do my part, God has a very interesting way of turning my husband according to His will which complements His will for me to obey him. Submission can indeed work in a marriage. Our strengths complement each other's weaknesses, proving to create a strong single unit...just as I believe God invisioned for us.
We have since had two sons, both of them being raised with Biblical training, and I take them to church with me. I do my best to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It has been rough going at times because my husband does not understand my convictions, but I do believe that God has His hands on my children (AND my husband!), just as He had his hands on me. No matter what tests my boys go through, they are developing testimony. No matter what trials may lay before them, I expect them to become triumphant! If they are ever victims of anything, they will eventually obtain victory.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Just Wilted
Yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm complaining about the summer heat. I HATE SUMMER HEAT!!! And no, I DON'T stay in the kitchen in the summer~~I DO get out of it until about fall!! I hibernate to the best of my ability. I'm indoors doing inside things. The longest you'll see me outdoors in the summer is to walk across the parking lot.
We are experiencing a dreadfully hot 2011 summer. It's only July 21, and we've had over three straight weeks of over 100-degree temperatures, and this has been by far the hottest summer since about 1981 or 1982. I wilted then, I'm wilted now. :P For the last couple of days, the weather people have been talking about the largest "heat dome" we've had in a loooong time. Even the people NORTH of me, near CANADA, are even hotter than we Texans are at the moment! :O I'm not taking the time to investigate those kinds of records...that would be even more depressing to me. I do pray they have the means to get cool. Those poor people are not used to this kind of weather. :(
Another thing that greatly upsets me and many people during this hot weather is that sometimes we don't think about our pets, children and elderly. I've seen each shut in hot vehicles, often with devastating results. Not only is this disgraceful, but this is very costly carelessness. Babies and pets have literally died because the driver was "only going to be gone a minute." Even with windows rolled down, the vehicles just get too blamed hot for survival. Check on your elderly neighbors and friends. Sometimes they're not able to think about turning on the air when they truly need it.
Okay, okay, so what are the pluses for summer? You can save on oven heat by cooking on the grill...or the sidewalk. You can save on your dryer bill if you hang your laundry out to dry...prob'ly be dry in less time it takes you to put it up! :O You can do that sun-tea business that was so popular back in the 80's. Put the water out in the sun in the morning, and I'm sure you'll have perfectly brewed, strong tea by lunchtime. Your bath temperture will probably be perfect.
You can also.....
Well, there's......
And then there's......
Well, I'm sure my summer-lovin' fun folks can fill in the blanks better than me. ;}
What brought me to writing this blog entry is that Salvador Dali came up in conversation. If you're not familiar with his name, I'm sure you'll recognize his work called The Persistence of Memory. Well, I think he must've experienced an even hotter summer then than we do now. Why else would he be so inspired to paint this?? ;)
We humans don't stand a prayer, do we? lol
Disclaimer:
(Yes, for the serious artists and art students reading this blog, I'm well aware that there is a far deeper and independent meaning than my immediately flippant observation of art according to circumstances.)
We are experiencing a dreadfully hot 2011 summer. It's only July 21, and we've had over three straight weeks of over 100-degree temperatures, and this has been by far the hottest summer since about 1981 or 1982. I wilted then, I'm wilted now. :P For the last couple of days, the weather people have been talking about the largest "heat dome" we've had in a loooong time. Even the people NORTH of me, near CANADA, are even hotter than we Texans are at the moment! :O I'm not taking the time to investigate those kinds of records...that would be even more depressing to me. I do pray they have the means to get cool. Those poor people are not used to this kind of weather. :(
Another thing that greatly upsets me and many people during this hot weather is that sometimes we don't think about our pets, children and elderly. I've seen each shut in hot vehicles, often with devastating results. Not only is this disgraceful, but this is very costly carelessness. Babies and pets have literally died because the driver was "only going to be gone a minute." Even with windows rolled down, the vehicles just get too blamed hot for survival. Check on your elderly neighbors and friends. Sometimes they're not able to think about turning on the air when they truly need it.
However, some people thrive under these circumstances. My best friend is one of them. She can't stand the cold (and it can get pretty cold in our part of Texas) and hurries summer along. Me? I'm revelling in the cold because I know that, aaaall too soon, whatever cold we experience will end.
It's been said that Texas weather is either hot, hotter, hotter than hades, and oh...with only a couple of weeks of real cold, and that doesn't last too long because within 48 hours, most snow we might experience goes away. Thankfully, so does the ice (which we get more of than snow WHEN it gets cold enough). (as a side note, though, I TOTALLY enjoyed last winter!!!! :D anyone who knows me knows this, lol) My T13 claims to love being out in this heat. Only for this reason do my husband and I question that he's really our son. :P
Okay, okay, so what are the pluses for summer? You can save on oven heat by cooking on the grill...or the sidewalk. You can save on your dryer bill if you hang your laundry out to dry...prob'ly be dry in less time it takes you to put it up! :O You can do that sun-tea business that was so popular back in the 80's. Put the water out in the sun in the morning, and I'm sure you'll have perfectly brewed, strong tea by lunchtime. Your bath temperture will probably be perfect.
You can also.....
Well, there's......
And then there's......
Well, I'm sure my summer-lovin' fun folks can fill in the blanks better than me. ;}
What brought me to writing this blog entry is that Salvador Dali came up in conversation. If you're not familiar with his name, I'm sure you'll recognize his work called The Persistence of Memory. Well, I think he must've experienced an even hotter summer then than we do now. Why else would he be so inspired to paint this?? ;)
We humans don't stand a prayer, do we? lol
Disclaimer:
(Yes, for the serious artists and art students reading this blog, I'm well aware that there is a far deeper and independent meaning than my immediately flippant observation of art according to circumstances.)
Friday, July 8, 2011
An Admittedly Odd View of Casey Anthony Trial
First, I want to say that Caylee Anthony is in a better place, feeling no fear, pain or sorrow. She has been in the arms of Jesus these 3 years since she was killed, allegedly by her mother, Casey Anthony.
On July 5th, 1:15 PM EST, Casey Anthony received an acquittal for Caylee's death. This stunned many Americans who diligently watched this trial unfold. I was not one of the watchers but read commentary throughout the trial from time to time.
Even I am convinced of her guilt. So why and how on earth did she receive an acquittal from the jury?? If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, it is indeed that God has "unconventional" ways of doing things and intervening on behalf of human life's issues.
By many accounts, Casey is as guilty as sin of killing her darling little girl who has captured the hearts of so many people. The first unforgivable rule of a mother broken by Casey is the delay in reporting her daughter missing! MOST of us mothers would report our child/ren missing within MINUTES (if we could!), and definitely within HOURS, of discovering that our child is missing! :O But yet, she was merely a "negligent" mother because it took her 31 days to report her. I'm sorry, I admit that I can't seem to get past that one fact alone.
The rest of the evidence presented in the case was basically ruled "circumstantial", including HER OWN CAR smelling horrible, like a dead body was there. How do you get PAST that?? I don't recall anyone suggesting that someone "borrowed" her car and returned it to her smelling bad. I guess trash bags are too generic? Duct tape found on the toddler is a generic, "normal" thing to find on a dead child? Most people can forgive an accident, but this is purely murder.
Unfortunately, her "lot" in life seems to be that of a liar and a sociopath, as well as (allegedly) a murderess. Her credibility with the public has become nil, void, zero, nada, zip before she even got started with this trial, now most of the world hates her. Why a mother would lie to law enforcement who are trying to help her "find her child" is beyond my comprehension. I hope this was panic mode speaking, but I'm afraid I don't believe that's the case here.
What caused the jury to acquit her? There are a few technical reasons that have been presented over the last few hours and days (after the shock kind of wore off, that is). The defense celebrates a victory because they did such a "great job" countering evidence with lies that happened to be believed by the jurors. The prosecution did not do an adequate job in either submitting the evidence or the how behind them. The defense encouraged Casey to appear in the trial as a dowdy, frumpy "poor little me" victim. Somehow the evidence presented in the trial became merely circumstantial, rather than proven physical ties to the defendant.
No matter, though. One of the main reasons I didn't pay such close attention to the trial is because it truly doesn't matter what verdict she would receive. Either she would experience life sentence or death row; or she would be free, but her freedom would become costly.
Think of Cain in the Bible. After killing his brother Abel, he "walked." Granted, jails and prisons did not abound then, but upon reading his sentence, he probably wished he was in jail or prison. After all, Cain received a mark as a warning to other men not to kill him. He may have been free but he was never free from the judgment he received for killing his own brother.
Think of David, who killed a man so that he could marry his wife. He was a man of God, but he committed some horrible sins! He may not have been physically imprisoned, but the weight of those sins nearly crushed him. Read through Psalms...read his conversations between God and himself!
Think of Judas Iscariot, the DISCIPLE who betrayed Jesus! True, he didn't actually kiiiiill Jesus, but he might as well have! He was a man who knew what he was doing all along, but it wasn't until later before the true impact of what he had done set in. We do not read of him being buried in a dungeon, prison or jail somewhere, but he hung himself trying to free himself of that tormenting guilt. Jesus would've forgiven him if he had let Him. Jesus knew what he was going to do before he did it.
Think of the thief who hung on a cross with Jesus. Yes, both he and another thief were crucified with Jesus. One did not understand why Jesus would not free himself physically from the crucifixion (and free him, too!). The other, however, knew who Jesus was and correctly answered that Jesus did no wrong, and yet he is being crucified. He knew the magnitude of his own sins (who did wrong) and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus said that he could join him in Paradise.
Think of Saul/Paul, who killed Christians under orders. Jesus met him and asked him on the Road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul had no idea that he was not "just" killing a people who opposed the religious order of the day, but he was hurting (persecuting) Jesus with each and every follower he killed. Jesus transformed him into one of the greatest apostles of the Bible. He truly had much to overcome in order to convince those very Christians that he has become one of them.
Jesus died so that we can be set free of our sins. Jesus paid the price of death with his own blood so that we can live without the wrath of God and instead live an eternal life. Jesus was made sin so that we can be made righteous. Jesus became poor so that we can be blessed and to bless others.
Sin is sin is sin. We have a tendency to put sin on a sliding scale, but the Bible is clear that God views sin the same way. We have all sinned to some degree or another. But yet God's grace and mercy abounds more than sin. Most of us have already pronounced sentence upon Casey Anthony, believing that she is guilty of murdering her darling little girl and deserving of death. Jesus tells in a passage that anyone who harms one of His little ones would be better off with a millstone tied around his neck and tossed into the sea. Obviously, something happened to prevent her from human juror conviction. Does that mean that they messed up? I don't think that's necessarily true. But for now, the trial is out of any one's hands...what's done is done.
From what I can see, God has a different judgment in mind for her. IF she is indeed innocent of killing Caylee, then the truth will eventually prevail, although it may be too late for her to be personally vindicated. IF she is indeed guilty of killing Caylee, she will not have a free walk in life...she will eventually pay for the murder. The ostracization will become overwhelming unless she can somehow renew her life (think of Cain). God will either let her be destroyed by other means (Judas), or God may have mercy on her and give her a new reason to live (Saul/Paul). Even if she is doomed to a sentence she must endure, she can still receive forgiveness from God. (thief on the cross)
God is not slack concerning his promises as men count slackness.
We are told in Psalm 37:1-2 (and Prov24:19):
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Casey may be free, but she has a long, potentially lonely road ahead of her. I do pray that she may one day come to repentance and salvation, if she hasn't already. Jesus sent the Comforter, who is ready to care for her and be by her side every step of her new life. Once He is in her life, she will never be left or forsaken, and it will not matter what man would attempt to do to her in order to seek justice for the murder of precious Caylee Anthony.
On July 5th, 1:15 PM EST, Casey Anthony received an acquittal for Caylee's death. This stunned many Americans who diligently watched this trial unfold. I was not one of the watchers but read commentary throughout the trial from time to time.
Even I am convinced of her guilt. So why and how on earth did she receive an acquittal from the jury?? If there is one thing I've learned since becoming a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, it is indeed that God has "unconventional" ways of doing things and intervening on behalf of human life's issues.
By many accounts, Casey is as guilty as sin of killing her darling little girl who has captured the hearts of so many people. The first unforgivable rule of a mother broken by Casey is the delay in reporting her daughter missing! MOST of us mothers would report our child/ren missing within MINUTES (if we could!), and definitely within HOURS, of discovering that our child is missing! :O But yet, she was merely a "negligent" mother because it took her 31 days to report her. I'm sorry, I admit that I can't seem to get past that one fact alone.
The rest of the evidence presented in the case was basically ruled "circumstantial", including HER OWN CAR smelling horrible, like a dead body was there. How do you get PAST that?? I don't recall anyone suggesting that someone "borrowed" her car and returned it to her smelling bad. I guess trash bags are too generic? Duct tape found on the toddler is a generic, "normal" thing to find on a dead child? Most people can forgive an accident, but this is purely murder.
Unfortunately, her "lot" in life seems to be that of a liar and a sociopath, as well as (allegedly) a murderess. Her credibility with the public has become nil, void, zero, nada, zip before she even got started with this trial, now most of the world hates her. Why a mother would lie to law enforcement who are trying to help her "find her child" is beyond my comprehension. I hope this was panic mode speaking, but I'm afraid I don't believe that's the case here.
What caused the jury to acquit her? There are a few technical reasons that have been presented over the last few hours and days (after the shock kind of wore off, that is). The defense celebrates a victory because they did such a "great job" countering evidence with lies that happened to be believed by the jurors. The prosecution did not do an adequate job in either submitting the evidence or the how behind them. The defense encouraged Casey to appear in the trial as a dowdy, frumpy "poor little me" victim. Somehow the evidence presented in the trial became merely circumstantial, rather than proven physical ties to the defendant.
No matter, though. One of the main reasons I didn't pay such close attention to the trial is because it truly doesn't matter what verdict she would receive. Either she would experience life sentence or death row; or she would be free, but her freedom would become costly.
Think of Cain in the Bible. After killing his brother Abel, he "walked." Granted, jails and prisons did not abound then, but upon reading his sentence, he probably wished he was in jail or prison. After all, Cain received a mark as a warning to other men not to kill him. He may have been free but he was never free from the judgment he received for killing his own brother.
Think of David, who killed a man so that he could marry his wife. He was a man of God, but he committed some horrible sins! He may not have been physically imprisoned, but the weight of those sins nearly crushed him. Read through Psalms...read his conversations between God and himself!
Think of Judas Iscariot, the DISCIPLE who betrayed Jesus! True, he didn't actually kiiiiill Jesus, but he might as well have! He was a man who knew what he was doing all along, but it wasn't until later before the true impact of what he had done set in. We do not read of him being buried in a dungeon, prison or jail somewhere, but he hung himself trying to free himself of that tormenting guilt. Jesus would've forgiven him if he had let Him. Jesus knew what he was going to do before he did it.
Think of the thief who hung on a cross with Jesus. Yes, both he and another thief were crucified with Jesus. One did not understand why Jesus would not free himself physically from the crucifixion (and free him, too!). The other, however, knew who Jesus was and correctly answered that Jesus did no wrong, and yet he is being crucified. He knew the magnitude of his own sins (who did wrong) and asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus said that he could join him in Paradise.
Think of Saul/Paul, who killed Christians under orders. Jesus met him and asked him on the Road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul had no idea that he was not "just" killing a people who opposed the religious order of the day, but he was hurting (persecuting) Jesus with each and every follower he killed. Jesus transformed him into one of the greatest apostles of the Bible. He truly had much to overcome in order to convince those very Christians that he has become one of them.
Jesus died so that we can be set free of our sins. Jesus paid the price of death with his own blood so that we can live without the wrath of God and instead live an eternal life. Jesus was made sin so that we can be made righteous. Jesus became poor so that we can be blessed and to bless others.
Sin is sin is sin. We have a tendency to put sin on a sliding scale, but the Bible is clear that God views sin the same way. We have all sinned to some degree or another. But yet God's grace and mercy abounds more than sin. Most of us have already pronounced sentence upon Casey Anthony, believing that she is guilty of murdering her darling little girl and deserving of death. Jesus tells in a passage that anyone who harms one of His little ones would be better off with a millstone tied around his neck and tossed into the sea. Obviously, something happened to prevent her from human juror conviction. Does that mean that they messed up? I don't think that's necessarily true. But for now, the trial is out of any one's hands...what's done is done.
From what I can see, God has a different judgment in mind for her. IF she is indeed innocent of killing Caylee, then the truth will eventually prevail, although it may be too late for her to be personally vindicated. IF she is indeed guilty of killing Caylee, she will not have a free walk in life...she will eventually pay for the murder. The ostracization will become overwhelming unless she can somehow renew her life (think of Cain). God will either let her be destroyed by other means (Judas), or God may have mercy on her and give her a new reason to live (Saul/Paul). Even if she is doomed to a sentence she must endure, she can still receive forgiveness from God. (thief on the cross)
God is not slack concerning his promises as men count slackness.
We are told in Psalm 37:1-2 (and Prov24:19):
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Casey may be free, but she has a long, potentially lonely road ahead of her. I do pray that she may one day come to repentance and salvation, if she hasn't already. Jesus sent the Comforter, who is ready to care for her and be by her side every step of her new life. Once He is in her life, she will never be left or forsaken, and it will not matter what man would attempt to do to her in order to seek justice for the murder of precious Caylee Anthony.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Dust Bunny Party on the Ceiling Fan
"We gotta fight...for our right...to paaaaaaaarrrty!!" (imagine that Beastie Boy song sung in Alvin and the Chipmunks squeak, lol)
I mean, seriously. I crashed a heck of a dust bunny party on my living room ceiling fan. I just cleaned all my fans a couple of weeks ago! I feel like the parent who goes out of town for a weekend, only to come home early to a house sardine-PACKED with teens and strangers I'd never seen before in my life with the music volume at a decibel loud enough to be heard in the next state.
Okay...maaaaaybe I'm exaggerating a liiiiittle bit! ;) That's part of the fun of writing for me. :)
On a slightly more serious note, though, we did have a somewhat serious gray dust storm this afternoon! I came home to a hot house this afternoon, and it dawned on my older son, T13, that we haven't changed the direction of the fans in the house yet. We started in the living room because that's just where our center is located as soon as you open the door. Son climbed up on the coffee table to change the direction. He stopped the fan, switched the little switch, turned the fan back on, and while it was still on the "high" setting, we suddenly became inundated with dust bunnies EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It looked like Tom came to visit our house and shed his fur everywhere! Great, now I'm lookin' for Jerry. I sure hope Miss Kitty doesn't find him! Unlike Tom, she is no respecter of mice!
After T13 and I had a good laugh about all this, I got out the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the floor, the ceiling, the furniture, the table, the books, etc. I happened to glance down at my coffee that was sittin' on my desk a little ways off. Hmmmm, I don't see any evidence of dust bunnies in a mini hot tub, but I'm not taking any chances. Down the sink it goes. I've always told my hubby that I don't drink nearly as much coffee as it looks like I do, there's proof of it right there. :}
I had other cleaning issues to attend to today, but evacuating dust bunnies from the ceiling wasn't part of my intended agenda today. Evidently I need to get that filter changed, and we need to do a better job of keeping the outside doors shut! I'm sure the deceased dust bunnies have youngsters who will mature into more dust bunnies next week or so and will attempt the same party, probably a different "crib", though...like under our beds! No problem, I'll just bring out the vacuum again...to drown out their music and to transport them where all dust bunnies eventually must go.
I mean, seriously. I crashed a heck of a dust bunny party on my living room ceiling fan. I just cleaned all my fans a couple of weeks ago! I feel like the parent who goes out of town for a weekend, only to come home early to a house sardine-PACKED with teens and strangers I'd never seen before in my life with the music volume at a decibel loud enough to be heard in the next state.
Okay...maaaaaybe I'm exaggerating a liiiiittle bit! ;) That's part of the fun of writing for me. :)
On a slightly more serious note, though, we did have a somewhat serious gray dust storm this afternoon! I came home to a hot house this afternoon, and it dawned on my older son, T13, that we haven't changed the direction of the fans in the house yet. We started in the living room because that's just where our center is located as soon as you open the door. Son climbed up on the coffee table to change the direction. He stopped the fan, switched the little switch, turned the fan back on, and while it was still on the "high" setting, we suddenly became inundated with dust bunnies EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It looked like Tom came to visit our house and shed his fur everywhere! Great, now I'm lookin' for Jerry. I sure hope Miss Kitty doesn't find him! Unlike Tom, she is no respecter of mice!
After T13 and I had a good laugh about all this, I got out the vacuum cleaner to vacuum the floor, the ceiling, the furniture, the table, the books, etc. I happened to glance down at my coffee that was sittin' on my desk a little ways off. Hmmmm, I don't see any evidence of dust bunnies in a mini hot tub, but I'm not taking any chances. Down the sink it goes. I've always told my hubby that I don't drink nearly as much coffee as it looks like I do, there's proof of it right there. :}
I had other cleaning issues to attend to today, but evacuating dust bunnies from the ceiling wasn't part of my intended agenda today. Evidently I need to get that filter changed, and we need to do a better job of keeping the outside doors shut! I'm sure the deceased dust bunnies have youngsters who will mature into more dust bunnies next week or so and will attempt the same party, probably a different "crib", though...like under our beds! No problem, I'll just bring out the vacuum again...to drown out their music and to transport them where all dust bunnies eventually must go.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Morphed Tangent of Horton Hears A Who
LOL, leave it to me to have a metaphorical observation of Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who. :}The story has been around for decades, but a movie has been made a few years ago of this beloved classic. I watched this movie earlier this week with amused fascination.
How often do we think God doesn't or can't hear us because we are so small? Have we ever thought that we are all there is? How often do we think God can't exist because He's so huge we can't see Him? We are a smaaaaall community on a little clover in a huge patch, and we're still an even smaller speck than what can be seen, when you pull out the telescope and see more of the galaxies that exist! Our life literally is but a vapor. :O But yet, each of us are important to God, we are so important that He knows the count of each hair upon our heads!
I believe God created us with a an innate desire to be with Him. I believe that we are sometimes limited in how we try to see Him because we become cluttered with our own immediate vision of life. I believe that God calls out to us, but we don't hear Him because we are, again, cluttered with the mere act of living in our immediate world.
Unlike what some believe, I believe God knows and cares more about our intimate details of life than we can ever imagine. That's where the comparison between Horton and God leave off. Horton hears only one voice and knows very little of that voice, or even that an entire "great" community exists! Horton must prove to others of his world that the Whos exist! I believe God created our very world, and the worlds beyond what we can see with the naked eye, and even beyond what we can see w/ our most powerful telescope we possess!
Can you imagine what early mankind experienced as they tried to figure out who or what God is? This is if they even cared! Can you imagine the true marvel that must've flowed through Abram when God finally spoke specifically to him? Generations have passed since God had made Himself known to Noah, and generations had passed between him and Adam! How about Moses? What caused these men to BELIEVE in the invisible God who presented Himself to them as THE one and only true God? How much ridicule these men must've faced from their contemporaries! What caused the Mayor of Who to believe that he heard Horton as a being so much larger than he could ever imagine?
Is it any wonder some fellow Christians have a difficult time convincing other people that God is indeed real? Is it any wonder that some people think we're nuts that we can hear from God? Is it any wonder that some people mock and scoff at Christians who stand so faithfully upon God's instructions that run so contrary to the world's way of thinking?
But what happens when the fruit of all that faith finally manifests itself? Eventually, that grows into curiosity and desire to share that fruit! It took a collective effort of the Whos to prove to Horton's friends that they exist. It took a desire from the Mayor to share Horton with the rest of his community! The Bible says that one day EVERYONE will know who Jesus is! The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS indeed Lord.
God wants all of us to know Him! He knows about us already. He's been knocking patiently on the door of our hearts for some time, waiting for us to recognize that His voice is different than that of any other voice we'll hear and that we can indeed hear Him! God is not a being so large that we attempt to put Him in a box. He can't be boxed! But He is so expanse that we can't comprehend him in His entirety. He loves us! He desires to protect us and to bless us. All we need to do is let Him.
*****DISCLAIMER*****
The words expressed in this blog are not at all shared by Dr. Seuss.
How often do we think God doesn't or can't hear us because we are so small? Have we ever thought that we are all there is? How often do we think God can't exist because He's so huge we can't see Him? We are a smaaaaall community on a little clover in a huge patch, and we're still an even smaller speck than what can be seen, when you pull out the telescope and see more of the galaxies that exist! Our life literally is but a vapor. :O But yet, each of us are important to God, we are so important that He knows the count of each hair upon our heads!
I believe God created us with a an innate desire to be with Him. I believe that we are sometimes limited in how we try to see Him because we become cluttered with our own immediate vision of life. I believe that God calls out to us, but we don't hear Him because we are, again, cluttered with the mere act of living in our immediate world.
Unlike what some believe, I believe God knows and cares more about our intimate details of life than we can ever imagine. That's where the comparison between Horton and God leave off. Horton hears only one voice and knows very little of that voice, or even that an entire "great" community exists! Horton must prove to others of his world that the Whos exist! I believe God created our very world, and the worlds beyond what we can see with the naked eye, and even beyond what we can see w/ our most powerful telescope we possess!
Can you imagine what early mankind experienced as they tried to figure out who or what God is? This is if they even cared! Can you imagine the true marvel that must've flowed through Abram when God finally spoke specifically to him? Generations have passed since God had made Himself known to Noah, and generations had passed between him and Adam! How about Moses? What caused these men to BELIEVE in the invisible God who presented Himself to them as THE one and only true God? How much ridicule these men must've faced from their contemporaries! What caused the Mayor of Who to believe that he heard Horton as a being so much larger than he could ever imagine?
Is it any wonder some fellow Christians have a difficult time convincing other people that God is indeed real? Is it any wonder that some people think we're nuts that we can hear from God? Is it any wonder that some people mock and scoff at Christians who stand so faithfully upon God's instructions that run so contrary to the world's way of thinking?
But what happens when the fruit of all that faith finally manifests itself? Eventually, that grows into curiosity and desire to share that fruit! It took a collective effort of the Whos to prove to Horton's friends that they exist. It took a desire from the Mayor to share Horton with the rest of his community! The Bible says that one day EVERYONE will know who Jesus is! The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ IS indeed Lord.
God wants all of us to know Him! He knows about us already. He's been knocking patiently on the door of our hearts for some time, waiting for us to recognize that His voice is different than that of any other voice we'll hear and that we can indeed hear Him! God is not a being so large that we attempt to put Him in a box. He can't be boxed! But He is so expanse that we can't comprehend him in His entirety. He loves us! He desires to protect us and to bless us. All we need to do is let Him.
*****DISCLAIMER*****
The words expressed in this blog are not at all shared by Dr. Seuss.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 22, 2011...Back to Business As Usual
Hmmm, yesterday the world didn't stop quite like Mr. Harold Camping and his followers predicted..... The bad part is that he thinks he "miscalculated" and that it'll be sometime in October 2011.
He and his followers evidently missed some passages from Scriptures, especially Jesus' own words in the Gospels that said that no one on earth or in heaven knew the hour in which He will return, NOT EVEN JESUS HIMSELF, only the Father knew and knows. Last I checked, the only earthly being that had any divine powers was Jesus. If He didn't know, NONE OF US CAN KNOW.
That is not at all to say that He is NOT coming. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that He will indeed return. Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that a Rapture DOES take place. It just is not taking place according to mankind's schedule or blueprint. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as men count slackness." Jesus gave events and signs that need to be fulfilled before His return. Ancient prophets saw signs and visions they personally did not understand, but some our current generations can. Our greatest prophetic compass is to watch the events unfold for the nation of Israel.
While every day I keep wondering if we have yet to see the days like those of Noah, and of Sodom and Gomorrah, obviously we have not gotten "worse" just yet. Given time, we will. It may be before I'm finished typing this entry, or it may be another 2000 or more years before this takes place, but I believe in my heart of hearts that it WILL take place. It's something that has been in my heart even before I became a born-again Christian.
My greatest concern regards Mr. Camping's irresponsible "prediction" as catastrophic for weak-spirited Christians. The rest of us, believers and nonbelievers alike, can laugh at his folly and crack jokes about his missing the mark and his scrambling around to save face in the midst of his failed prediction. However, some serious consequences have been paid for his careless and irresponsible declaration that the end of the world happened according to his calculations. A few suicides have been reported because these people who trusted and believed him did not want to be judged among those left behind the proclaimed "rapture." They have been deceived, greatly deceived. :( Contrary to the seeming attitude of many congregations, we individually are responsible for our own salvation. We are responsible for our own personal relationship/friendship/fellowship with the Lord. We cannot trust every word that comes from the pulpit at face value, we must verify and learn it for ourselves by reading our Bible, listening to God's voice behind His Word.
This is why the Bible says very clearly, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." That doesn't mean that we can't know the truth, but that what we know needs to align up with what God says is true. Our hearts can be deceived if we don't guard it against falsehoods. There are many things that belong to the Lord until He reveals it to mankind, and we can have the mind of Christ as we read God's Word, but we are still not God. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our own. We may possess greater wisdom than another person, but God's foolishness is still far greater than any wisdom we can have bestowed upon us.
We should not be attending church or reading our Bibles so that we can have a religious experience, like we might have attending a concert or a sporting event. God's Word has an awesome capacity to transform us into the likeness of Christ, and like Christ, we can make a difference in others through Him. If we are attentive to the Lord's voice, we can know what He means for us to know and to have confidence even in what we don't know while still having faith in it. No one can know the moment in which the Lord WILL return, but we can know what to observe until He DOES return, and we can know when He HAS returned.
In the meantime, I do pray that, if he hasn't already, Mr. Harold Camping comes to truly know God's son, Jesus Christ. I pray that, before it's too late, that he accepts Jesus' gift of eternal life, and lets Him be his Lord and Saviour. May he accomplish this before he passes away, whenever that day or hour for him is.
He and his followers evidently missed some passages from Scriptures, especially Jesus' own words in the Gospels that said that no one on earth or in heaven knew the hour in which He will return, NOT EVEN JESUS HIMSELF, only the Father knew and knows. Last I checked, the only earthly being that had any divine powers was Jesus. If He didn't know, NONE OF US CAN KNOW.
That is not at all to say that He is NOT coming. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that He will indeed return. Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that a Rapture DOES take place. It just is not taking place according to mankind's schedule or blueprint. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as men count slackness." Jesus gave events and signs that need to be fulfilled before His return. Ancient prophets saw signs and visions they personally did not understand, but some our current generations can. Our greatest prophetic compass is to watch the events unfold for the nation of Israel.
While every day I keep wondering if we have yet to see the days like those of Noah, and of Sodom and Gomorrah, obviously we have not gotten "worse" just yet. Given time, we will. It may be before I'm finished typing this entry, or it may be another 2000 or more years before this takes place, but I believe in my heart of hearts that it WILL take place. It's something that has been in my heart even before I became a born-again Christian.
My greatest concern regards Mr. Camping's irresponsible "prediction" as catastrophic for weak-spirited Christians. The rest of us, believers and nonbelievers alike, can laugh at his folly and crack jokes about his missing the mark and his scrambling around to save face in the midst of his failed prediction. However, some serious consequences have been paid for his careless and irresponsible declaration that the end of the world happened according to his calculations. A few suicides have been reported because these people who trusted and believed him did not want to be judged among those left behind the proclaimed "rapture." They have been deceived, greatly deceived. :( Contrary to the seeming attitude of many congregations, we individually are responsible for our own salvation. We are responsible for our own personal relationship/friendship/fellowship with the Lord. We cannot trust every word that comes from the pulpit at face value, we must verify and learn it for ourselves by reading our Bible, listening to God's voice behind His Word.
This is why the Bible says very clearly, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." That doesn't mean that we can't know the truth, but that what we know needs to align up with what God says is true. Our hearts can be deceived if we don't guard it against falsehoods. There are many things that belong to the Lord until He reveals it to mankind, and we can have the mind of Christ as we read God's Word, but we are still not God. God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our own. We may possess greater wisdom than another person, but God's foolishness is still far greater than any wisdom we can have bestowed upon us.
We should not be attending church or reading our Bibles so that we can have a religious experience, like we might have attending a concert or a sporting event. God's Word has an awesome capacity to transform us into the likeness of Christ, and like Christ, we can make a difference in others through Him. If we are attentive to the Lord's voice, we can know what He means for us to know and to have confidence even in what we don't know while still having faith in it. No one can know the moment in which the Lord WILL return, but we can know what to observe until He DOES return, and we can know when He HAS returned.
In the meantime, I do pray that, if he hasn't already, Mr. Harold Camping comes to truly know God's son, Jesus Christ. I pray that, before it's too late, that he accepts Jesus' gift of eternal life, and lets Him be his Lord and Saviour. May he accomplish this before he passes away, whenever that day or hour for him is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)