The Lord spoke to me very simple and yet complex today. I was digging through my desk and searching through books and found an old add for Cashmere cologne, which was stuck in the back of the book. Then I began to think of the word which defines Cashmere.
Cashmere is very expensive wool which is found in sweaters and also pants and jackets. I looked up the word Cashmere and what caught my attention was the fact that it is wool from a Himalayan goat. This began to penetrate into my thoughts. Himalayan goats; I thought, “what Lord?”
This is where the Holy Spirit began to speak to me and this is what I would like to share with you:
Every month I support a Nepali pastor and I have for a very long time; possibly 7 years. My sister Rhonda and brother in law David are missionaries to the 'armpit' of Nepal, which is Nepalgung, Nepal. I know that through the stories of my sister Rhonda and especially the story of her making history, by stepping foot on uncharted territory back several years ago, while in particular tribe in Nepal, my sister saw and experienced the value a goat. (A cashmere hind footed treasure--is the way I see them.)
After visiting this village and then returning a year later, Rhonda saw a little girl with mud all over her face and body and she was walking toward my sister. Because of the language barrier the little girl and her ‘cute’ little goat led my sister back around this small child's shack house. In a cage, she points to show my sister. In the cage were many more baby goats. (In Nepal this is very rare and quite a gift)
The little girl was talking to her, but only because of the interpreter she heard these words. “Every since you came for the first time and walked into our village, our goats have been giving birth to triplets!” I thought, now that is CASHMERE! (My sister along with many supporters have purchased many goats for the people of Nepalgung and various poverty stricken places in Nepal.)
We might need cologne and or want it, but the voice of the Lord will be heard many ways and I know that this morning he told me that "somebody on the other side of the World needs resources and provision, from you Holly."
With that story in my mind, I saw two things through the voice of the Lord. First of all I am not going to question God about the complexity of finding the old Cashmere cologne advertisement (which I have never bought) and simply see it as a ‘hint’ from the Lord as to what I am going to purchase for Christmas. No, I am not going to buy Cashmere Cologne which is possibly $85.00 for a 3.4 oz spray; I am going to buy a Cashmere goat.
There are many needs and desires and ideas for so many things this Christmas and I believe with my whole heart that the Lord is nudging me to keep in mind what HE sees as important. It’s the need which is important, whatever the need may be. Much like the words of my daddy; “See the need do the deed”—I hear the same voice, only this time it came through a Cashmere advertisement. I hear.
A goat is $150.00 and much like the CASHMERE wool, that is a high price, but I figured the Lord wants me to see this cashmere gift as one that will provide a family with milk and or meat for food on their table and if they are fortunate a female that can provide babies to sell which will aid in other families provision as well as just one. I am not plugging GOATS FOR NEPAL, though I am sure they would not be turned down, I am only stating the fact that if you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, you will hear what He is saying!
Jesus said; “Those who have ears to hear let him hear.” Mark 4:9
Keep your ears open this season and remember that though it seems “high priced” what does it actually cost you.
How much is a STARBUCKS coffee? Just give up a few coffees and see what it could buy someone else who needs possibly………a goat or even a coat…and it doesn’t have to be cashmere!
Just food for thought as we go into Christmas! Christ is the reason for the season! You could actually make this a Cashmere Christmas--for someone else!
I look forward to sharing this Holiday season with all of you as we face many events—parties—challenges—studies—gift ideas and so much more. But, whatever is on your calendar as we finish out this year, remember you could be the deed for a very important need. Be blessed—bless others and remember you are A GIFT!
This is what happened last night at my personal home Bible study prayer group.
I just thought I would give you an ‘after’ the prayer-- report. Sort of like how after the “rain”—it can make everything feel fresh and rejuvenated? A time with 5 sweet gals and a candle lit room with no one but the presence of the Holy Spirit and Us. It was what I call a “SPA” experience. (I will explain in more detail at our TBS Bible study November 7)
Prayer, as awkward as it can be, is actually a rejuvenating and refreshing experience. All you have to do is enter in to His Rest.
Well, tonight was different in the fact that everybody held a prayer for each one in attendance. Let me explain.
On a piece of paper I requested that we each write down ONE prayer request, and place it in the bowl. We did that.
Later in the session after we prayed for missionaries—Whales and the Philippines, were the choice missionaries to pray for this week, we then dipped into the bowl for the prayer request written by each girl at the opening of the evening.
There was silence, and then I first began to pray over my piece of paper. Taking the focus off our own request, we each prayed over the request we held in our hands, out loud, one at a time. It was like someone was discerning your need and it was being spoken before a private group who determined to see this need met.
I have found that when you pray out loud for someone else it strengthens your prayer life into a whole other way of praying-thinking-speaking, especially when you are praying for someone else. Solely concentrating on someone else’s need in a moment is in fact, refreshing and rewarding.
Everybody’s prayer request has been prayed over—specifically and profoundly.
There was no extravagance in the prayers, they were simply sweet words of agreement to the Father about the request we each held in our hands.
It was powerful in the moment and much like a SPA experience, we all left the circle rejuvenated. You can never explain the presence of the Holy Spirit; you just have to enter into a place with Him. Have you?
Oh, and those ‘request’ now belong to the prayer giver to take home and keep praying over through out the rest of the Weeks ahead. (Along with the many request I have taken from individuals throughout the weeks prior) Only God knows what He will do with that prayer seed we planted last night. But I am certain He heard us and we will see the manifestations of those needs.
See, PRAYER is special and prayer is only for the ones who choose to enter into a New Experience with the Holy Spirit.
It is much like a SPA. Have you ever been to one, or had a massage? It’s the unknown and its uncertainty is exciting and though it can seem even a little creepy to think that someone is “getting into your space” in order to make you feel better, well, it’s worth the ache. So, I ask you personally, have you entered into prayer for an hour? Then I invite you and encourage you to come when you receive the invitation to do so. Not for me or anyone else but for you.
I love the SPA treatment. I look forward to the refreshing.
I will explain more about the word SPA, at our next T. B. S.
I PRAY you have a WONDERFULLY BLESSED AND PROSPEROUS DAY!
I pray you find a place of rest!
May I, if you would for a moment allow me to teach: Open your heart?
The Holy Spirit is a full fledge experience of entering into REST. Not the rest that many think about, like slumber, or laziness or sleep but rather it is an actual rest as in Isaiah 28:12 “To whom He said, “This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear.”
The scripture above that one, in verse 11 it says; “With stammering lips and other tongues, He will speak to his people.”
Isaiah was prophesying that the REST was actually the tongues and stammering lips, which is “the SPEAKING.”
Don’t miss being filled greater with the Holy Spirit, written in the book of Hebrews --Hebrews 4:1. The REST which Paul is speaking about is the same Rest that ISAIAH prophesied about in the verse above. Only Paul says; “since a promise remains of entering into HIS REST, let us FEAR, lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” (This is the written Word, not mine.)
I do not want you to miss any of this WORD, and be absent of HIS presence toward our life. Like a luxurious SPA, the Holy Spirit is asking you to come in and take a place with Him.
Enter into HIS REST! Pray—Pray fervently---Pray in the understanding and Pray in the Spirit. Pray in the REST! Enter into HIS REST! Pray—Pray fervently---Pray in the understanding and Pray in the Spirit. Pray in the REST! Like my daddy used to always say; "SHAUNDI!!" A stammered word from the LIP of His people. When you pray, you just don't know what may come out of your mouth. I prompt and encourage you to take time to communicate with HIM!
All I want for your life is to be encouraged in your WALK.
It’s Monday. I have already written a lengthy email to my Tribal Bible study group and I even included some other friends in the email, pertaining to my first ever Mission Trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. However, not thinking at this point I will ‘revisit’ those thoughts I simply want to just say; “I am here to blog about this present moment.”
The sound of September is incredible today. I have so much on my mind and very little time to capture all that is transpiring into my heart as I have thought about the absolute beauty this day has brought to me.
An occasional pounding of some tool, of my neighbor working in the distance is a reminder of how quiet and spectacular this 85 degree weather is outside. All my windows are open and I cherish this moment in time. The hush of the slightest breeze is amazing. If this was Spring I wouldn’t be sitting in this chair relishing in my thoughts I would be pulling the stale remembrance of winter off my sprouting buds, because they would be trying desperately to reach the surface of the earth, to the light of this beautiful temperature. But no, I am inside contemplating all that is coming my way in the months ahead and enjoying every moment of this solace, here in my office.
A small airplane just flew over my house. I can only imagine the view from up there. The parallel comparison of my husband sitting downstairs in his recliner is just simply beyond my comprehension when we have two recliners on the back porch of our home. He’s retired, why isn’t he out in the beauty of his retirement? Who knows? The view is my remembrance of California and the rush of feelings I got every time I was favored to visit that part of the country. Out in the back yard today as the golfers approach the green after the fairway on number 7, I smiled at the scenery. I love my house, I am blessed beyond measure, and we live very moderately. I can’t even imagine more. It was surreal imagining home, while I was visiting the country of Honduras.
Beauty—wonder—fulfillment—desire and sheer strength of blessing is all around me at this very moment. Now, I can take a minute and compare where I was just seven days ago. Dirty dusty roads, dogs and goats and even horses walking along side of the road where there is no sidewalks. I saw a horse dead on the side of the road. He was hit by a car, a car that has not limits in speed or vehicular offense. The noise of the horns and the anxious drivers changing lanes without a moments notice was so completely appalling. If you decide to drive a vehicle in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, you enter at your own risk. Roads with no boundaries of the officials. If your car is tagged, then you can drive and you can drive however you wish. I love America. I can actually say, “I love law” it helps to keep others safe, assumingly so.
But allow me to take you to my inmost secret and sacred thoughts of my first ever missions trip. The invitation alone was quite memorable. First, the flash back was the month of April and Bro. Roberto Ventura along with his sweet daughter Emma Rachel heard words come from my mouth as I spoke passionately about the written Word of God which I love so much, while at the Harvesters Convention in Grove, Okla. They heard a combination of two people, they told me. They heard my mother and my daddy, in my voice. With that combination and the oracle that God has created me to be, this ignited a flame that became a burning fire which landed me in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I did not see it coming.
I was content to keep landing in my spot every Monday night to teach the written Word of God to my Tribal Bible sisters. And like the very first teaching I ever did in my home on September 15, 2008 I had officially became “The face of an arrow” and I was sent out to the country my daddy and mother had been accustomed to for 32 years. (I never considered going—not until I was ready to go)I stood where my daddy once stood. I was standing with a different passion than He did I am certain, but I had also never anticipated loving the people like I know my daddy once did. I began to understand his missionary heart. I’m 49 years old and since I can remember my parents have supported, traveled and endlessly devoted their lives to missions. Daddy always said; “A church who does not support missions is not a church.”
However as I looked up and saw the roof over my head and realizing it was not the TENT which my daddy personally carried over to the people many years ago, I could actually feel the love of my father, both eternal and natural.
Daddy planted a seed and I was standing in the midst of His deed accomplished. My mother who was there with me and she watched as I declared the message of the Lord to these precious people and I watched her cry. I too shed many tears as the Joy of knowing I was doing a simple act of TESTIFYING about my Savior, and this was clearly coming from my lips. Daddy would have been proud.
I spoke and knew that what I was speaking was only the GRACE of God.
Though Tegucigalpa is only a five hour travel day, we are worlds apart as far as the characteristics of simple and fascinating living that we are offered here in America. Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras and as far as a Capital city; it looks very much like a typical poor uncultured place with a whole 8 million population waiting for what? Raid, violence and poverty are everywhere. Walls upon walls upon walls divide the housing only hoping that they will not be tampered. They are trapped between Guatemala and El Salvador and Nicaragua. Only the waters of the De La Bahia would give them any sign of escape, but then they face illegal entrance to a whole other world. Only the few rich and the Ambassador of the US and the President of Honduras grace such luxury that only few will ever possess. I looked around. I never stopped looking around. They are at least 40 years behind the US and most likely they will never see the destiny I have been able to enjoy in my short span of life. No wonder daddy saw the need and determined to do the deed. But this is what I do know. Daddy saw a deeper need which was to give the people hope. The hope that is found in Jesus Christ is the greatest riches they could ever possess.
In the children’s faces, they know no different. Except that Americans are rich and blessed and we resemble Hollywood in the fashion sense of the Word! When I got out of the car to transfer to the bus where the kids were going, because it was “The day of the Children,”(celebration of the children) two little girls standing side by side, tugged on the sleeve of the other and said; “Look” or Ver in Spanish. I was the blonde American about ready to invade their space. Though they were uncertain of my arrival or what I was about to do and say, they eventually warmed up to me and I got smiles later and even was offered pieces of really bad tasting candy. But I kept it in my mouth until she couldn’t see me and I spit it in my Kleenex.
As I said, my parents have been coming to Honduras for years. My mom was sheer delight to watch in the country she calls home. She also says that Honduras is a place of restoration for her and a place of restitution. When we were to visit the Valley of The Angels (which is a simple yet quaint tourist spot) her face lit up. It was in the Valley that God restored her soul, she said. She tells this story to all who will listen, and many listened as we did much ministry while we were there. After my dad died in 2006 my mothers’ life changed as she knew it for more than 50 years. But it was in the Valley 3 years after his death that God met my mother in the Valley of the Angels and God in fact restored her soul. My mother impressed me with her ability to communicate to the Spanish speaking people though she knows no Spanish. My mother has a language which speaks of its own brogue; it’s one of laughter and the sound of enthusiasm. Who wouldn’t understand that? It’s boundless, it’s much like love.
Though I slept like a baby and arose like a trained farmer, it was in the church of Gerizim (pronounced Hair-o-seam) that I found my solace. Every morning before the sun came out to shine over the mountain and into the church’s east side window, I was there, walking, praying, and contemplating. The concrete floors surface was perfect for my morning exercise, but the heavenly language that waited for me every day refreshed me and awakened me to a new idea of living out the rest of my life. Let me explain.
It was 5:05 am on the Sunday morning of September 11, 2011 that I laid in bed asking God to tell me what He wanted me to say to his people of Gerizim church. The moment I asked, He answered in a vision. I heard thunder and I saw horses. The horses were wild and they were coming out of the mountain with furry. Suddenly I was in the church in this vision and I was standing in the church and I could see them coming from the mountains of the eastern sky. (If you look up from the windows of the back side of the church of Gerizim you can see the tips of mountains and if you are there early enough, which I was, you will see the sun bust through and the rays of its splendor touches the first window of the east side of the church.) So, in this vision I saw them coming fast and furious! I saw the first horse, white with fire in his eyes and the dust was billowing along side the hoofs of these incredible beasts. They came rushing inside the church without a thought and without a missing step and as they exited the ‘entrance’ of the church they scattered within the compound of the property. (These horses were much like the horses in Rev. 6, they were not righteous horses until they were trained by God!) But as they scattered they began to graze and they became at peace and when I asked the Lord what happened to their furry, He said to me this; “They will come from the mountains wild and full of furry but it is here that they will be taught and they will be trained and they will be loved.” I began to see the purpose of the church.
When I asked Brother Roberto if he positioned the church’s windows to face the east, and if that was a plan? He answered no. But I said, “I believe it was Gods plan.” He agreed after I shared with him my yearning to go to the church everyday I was there. It called me so to speak.
This vision was not taken lightly when I shared it with the 3 services I spoke in that day on September 11, and I will always cherish the instant vision I got from the Lord at that very moment when I asked. It was 5:15 when I arose to enter into the backside of the church building where I would only wish to revisit this vision. I saw the confirmation in the multitude of faces that day and then I remembered the horses became tame, and that brought me a peace I can only give praise to God for. It was amazing to stand where the heart of my father once stood. Maybe, just maybe I was a horse, trained.
In my home now, I am looking out my office window which faces the North and I have a 5 ft. butterfly bush that’s planted just outside of my window and all around this purple flowering bush are monarchs tasking the purple pollen. Gracefully they enjoy and graciously I enjoy them. One, two, three and four they land lightly on the flowers and soon, very soon this will pass, but certain it will be a part of my complete solitude and gratitude once more. I am completely undone by the wonders and actions of my God.
Why wouldn’t I leave my comforts to see the strength of Who God really is in another place? I will. Though peace may not be apparent in places with less comfort, there is one thing for certain. He is my peace and He goes with me every where He sends me.
My Doctor walks into the waiting area, where an assembly line of women gathers to change their top and wipe off their deodorant and sit nervously, till their name is called.
I get my usual yearly mammograms for the past 10 years. But never has a Doctor came in to speak my name, in the dressing room, only the Tech’s. I waited intently, and then I heard her speak my name.
This was my first call back to ‘re-take’ and examine my left breast. I was sickened with fear when I got the call, the day prior, but I persevered my fear by the faith which I was trained to have, yet, this ‘call back’ caused me to almost doubt my positive nature of faith. WE are still a mortal body even though we live by faith—“news” of any sort from a Doctor is always hesitancy in your soul. But we must live by faith. Believe for the best.
I noticed two things about my Doctor, immediately. She had on RED and she was wearing two “Lady Bug” Pins on her fine linen jacket.
I recall a lady bug represented “Good luck” and for me at that very moment she in fact brought to me, good words. Was it luck? I think it was an answer to prayer!
Though my sweet little 5 ft. something, 69 year old Doctor, came with good news, I however fell on her with a hug as I shed many tears of joy when I heard her good report!
She encouraged me with the wisdom about ‘boobs’—She told me about the density of some boobs, even if they are small or large, she described them as the ‘busy’ ones and the not so dense, were considered not so busy ones. Strange I know, but this was her sentiments, not mine.
She put mine in the ‘busy’ boobs category, which was why I was there for the return photo shots! They didn’t get a clear picture. (It’s not a good sign when they see too much density in the photo, they want to see LIGHT.) I thought that was pretty powerful…once again, Light is a good thing! Light is good!
I was secretly laughing as she told me she was young with boobs that were ‘busy’. She said that her breast being dense as they were, she could have had horses running through them and she would have never known it. Again, strange words, but my eyes kept falling to her “Lady Bugs” and I was tickled and content, so I didn’t care if she told me Elephants were running through her boobs! I only wanted good news!
After consoling my weary soul and taking the time to talk to me right in the dressing room where she pulled the curtain, I was relieved with her words of humanitarian compassion. I am sure other women sitting in the unusual setting for consolation were getting the education because of my fatigued mind. They too found her words, like I did, soothing!
I believe God sent the Two Lady bugs to remind me of how precious and yet how comical life can be in such a serious situation. GOD HAS EVERYTHING IN HIS CONTROL, yet we panic in the time of crisis and suddenly He brings two lady bugs!
Was it good luck…..I don’t really think so, but God knows exactly what will encourage your faith when you feel fear? Trust that He will always bring you the smile that you need, right when you need it.
I am cancer free.
I get my regular breast Exams!
I encourage you to do the same.
“Good luck!”
Baseline exam is 35 years old.
After 40 every year!
Here’s to your health Women---“Good luck” ……….nah, GOD LOVES. Trust Him.
I know if you are anything like me or most human’s living in America, you desire to have what you want in this life, in order to feel fulfilled!
I just got back from visiting a million plus dollar house, right here in Wichita.
Although I am fully satisfied with my house, there is always something enticing me to want and desire more. Phooey!
I do not care where you are, what you have or with what you are striving for, we always want MORE! If you say you are not this way then you and I are nothing alike and you have a deeper and more faithful walk with the Lord than me too. However I know the instinctive nature of humans; SINCE I AM ONE, and I know that it is difficult to live within our means. I mean, look at credit card debt! We want it…we want it….we buy it! We might buy it on a card, but we must have it. I’ve lived it in my past. I still have to restrain from desires that try to lure me in! RESIST!!
Now I cannot go out and buy a new house, but I can ‘desire’ to do it with other things. Though, I am trying faithfully to maintain my DECADENCE AND DESIRE!
Wow, we are spoiled in America……I can see why we are to control our desires and instead ‘desire’ to become more Diligent.
I was reading the second letter that Peter the Apostle and slave of Jesus Christ, writes and how he explains the difficulty of humans. He tries to lead us into a sweet letter of how we can essentially lead a Christian life which is not contrary to ‘desires” of this world, but rather they truly can be DILIGENT to the faith we say we have in our Christian growth through Jesus Christ. I know sometimes I wonder what the Lord was thinking when He encouraged us to lead a life of excellence to knowing Him more. Actually I know for a fact that He desires that we know Him BETTER than we know Him now. This is not HIS sake, but for ours. He knows us, but do we truly know HIM?
We all backslide. All of us backslide. We might not do it blatantly, such as affairs or stealing or killing, but we all do it. We tell white lies, or lead others into contempt because we get self centered or disrespectful of our loved ones. Regardless, we all do it. We all backslide. THANK GOODNESS, there is forgiveness and Peter explains it so well in his second letter to ‘us’ the reader and believer and the seeker of God.
“As we come to know Jesus” he says right off the bat, (II Peter 1:2) to us that everyday is a choice to ‘come to know Jesus’
I don’t know about you, but when I am in ignorance of knowing something, there is an excitement when introduced to something new. Unfortunately when you begin to learn more about something, the excitement begins to leave, simply because you already know. True with relationships and true with our walk with the Lord. Admit it.
When you come to know the Lord, like you did when you first learned about Him, you were excited. Are you now? Probably not, because the more you learn about Him, the more you have to apply yourself to become excited again, Right?
I know I am right about this, because I am trying to live a moral excellent life and sometimes I just FAIL. So, I say, stop whining and straighten up!
It takes FAITH to stay excited about the things of God and it takes FAITH to escape the decadenceand desire of this world. How do I know, because my FAITH is always being put to the test! ALWAYS.
Peter tells us in the 9th verse of II Peter 1 that if we fail to develop virtues (goodness, moral stability—self control etc) then we are blind.
So, I want to challenge you. If you are blind because of your own inflictions of lack of self control or coveted ness or endurance to keep the faith, then TRY toget excited about your ignorant backslide ness which has caused you to become distant to what you knew and THIS should excite you to begin to learn what you still do not KNOW!!! What in the world do I mean; “Get excited?” I am saying just that. Get excited because you get to have more knowledge which will bring a greater excitement to your life, just like you were when you were IGNORANT to knowing God. When we are blind, and light begins to come through, there is an excitement!!! Get excited. I am giving you some light in your “eyes of ignorance.”
When we fall back into a situation that takes us away from what we knew in the Lord, we do not have to remain there, we can simply forgive ourselves and lay the past behind and more foreword into another way of thinking….THINK FAITH AGAIN. Get excited again! Think about the GOD (your first love) you left behind to do whatever in the world you decided to do to get your eyes off of HIM! Now come back to the decadence (EXCESS) of the diligence in serving Him.
He’s got a million plus mansion $$$$$ in Heaven waiting for you anyway……so lose the desires here and develop virtues that are waiting to bring you, as Peter says in verse 5 “knowing God better.” Now that excites me!
It’s the 4th of July and I do not know a better reason for blogging than to blog on the freest day of the year. Why is it free? We see it as a celebration, but we live it every single day. The fact is every single day is a celebration of our freedom.
I am a Christian and ‘they’ say do not mix religion and politics in the same conversation, but I cannot help to mix the two, as the two are not so dissimilar to the truest meaning of freedom.
I sat here on my computer for a while this morning reading many post on Facebook and I appreciate the fact that so many people are Patriotic and hopeful for this America. I got to thinking about other countries—places--people who are less fortunate and other friends of mine who are possibly not as blessed and or free, but what I do know is that we are all considered FREE. We enjoy civil liberties and we are not bound by ‘too’ many restrictions.
In Religion I have learned a great lesson. If I live by the Word of God and rest in its promises and do my part to abide in the Love and the Law, I find that I am freer, because I allow God to fully bless me as He wills. He always wills to bless for His glory, for those who choose to abide by His plan and purpose for our lives.
With every piece of freedom is a law for protection. With every blessing comes an obedience package, handed to us by the Lord Himself. An obedience package is a set of rules/guidelines that help to make you free from restrictions. (Restrictions which we bring on ourselves) When you abide by the rules you are then freer. For instance, getting pulled over while driving too fast supplies for you a ticket with a big price. Are you free? Of course not, you are now in restriction to your very own disobedience. If one simply abides by the FREE law which is provided, (driving the speed limit) you are unrestrained from restrictions.
When I listen to the voice of the Lord through simple instructions written in the Word of God, The Holy Bible, I then find that I am actually freer than I was in my aggravations before realizing this truth. I lived and experienced a life of trying to do my own thing and making all kinds of bad decisions, but in the long run, I found out that when I do as the Word of God says; I am FREER! My life is then open to receive all that He has promised for me all along. BECOME FREE. (Joshua 1:8—II Timothy 3:16-17 are a couple of examples.
In Patriotism –I did not have to go out and fight for my freedom, somebody did that for me. (And I thank them) I am simply asked to Honor this freedom by recognizing that someone laid down their life for me. I must return the recognition by abiding close to the divine will, which keep me safe.
It is the same as Religion—Jesus Christ came and died for my freedom. In Patriotism many men have chosen to lay down their lives for this Awesome and Incredible Country we live in and we must protect them by honoring the rules of obedience to the ONE who first died for them!
Recognizing that there really is no separation between the two is the first thought of truly keeping this country free—and feeling the freedom from your own bondages. God chose to Bless America and as long as we honor the divine truths of His Word—we are then blessed.
Religion and Patriots:
Many men died and still die for our freedom. My hope is in the militant men, but my eternal hope is in my relationship I have in believing that our first Freedom is found through acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior of this world. All are free when this happens, even the less fortunate.
One man died for our freedom from restrictions and bondages and our sins that restrain us from His ultimate blessing. His name is Yahweh—Jesus Christ.
ARE YOU FREER THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN? True freedom is not a place of proximity—it is a close relationship with Jesus. You will not live in America forever. You will have to choose where you will eternally spend your freest life.
Choose the obedience package and live free.
Defy all odds against you. Choose freedom in Jesus Christ—and you will know the truest meaning of FREEDOM. John 17:1
It’s been way too long since my last ‘scribble’ and after today's lunch, I felt it was the perfect contemplation.
I just spent three of the quickest hours of my life with 17 year old TWINS. (soon to be 18) My invitation to lunch ended oh so quickly.
We ate sandwiches at my bar and sipped Tropical/mango tea as we laughed at the fact that they have never eaten an avocado. I melted cheese on ‘blue’ chips, which they also never had eaten. Adamame was the appetizer….hmm? I completed the lunch with Betty Crocker brownies, with which they were very familiar.
My time was precious with these two very sweet, polite, genuine young ladies.
Christina, who I learned came into the world first—then one minute or so later, Rebekah was born to a precious family; “The Stockton’s.” There are four girls; the twins are in the middle.
Although I never gave birth to a child, other women’s children have been “loaned” to me, on many occasions. I feel in life, I have been the one highly favored by God, since I have ‘mothered’ many children without all the grueling heartache of parenting. I do not think these girls ever gave their mother heartache, at this point in their young lives. Not really sure they will. I pray they stay as sweet and protected as they are now, but even a mother knows that possibility is a chance. I recall seeing the uncertainty in my own mothers’ eyes, toward me. All I can do is pray, like a mother would do.
God has always rewarded me, when I at times felt barren, here comes the love.. I’ve never been without someone to love; Never. This time, I got a double portion.
This set of twins is the first ever in my life. Well, they are the first to find me interesting enough to get their attention, I should say. I still find their authentic love for my life a gift which waited to happen, after 17 years.
Although the twin gene runs in my daddy’s side of the family, no one has given birth to twins in at least 60 years. I had a twin Aunt and Uncle. God gives rare and unusual gifts, when he chooses. I hope the gene is still in my family somewhere. It remains to be seen in my nieces and nephews.
I have always found this creativity of God amazing.
I have heard people say about themselves; ‘I can’t imagine two of me’—well, if you get to know the character of twins, you begin to see the distinctive qualities separately are matched only by blood.
Twins are Two people—very different. Although the outside looks very much alike, on the inside runs a deep reservoir of passion and talent dissimilar, but relative to the very nature of an incredible Creation by God. The time they spend together, because they are friends, make them a copy of trait. But isn’t that so with many ‘girlfriends?’ I am quickly taken back in my thoughts to high school and my best friend Sandy. Yep, we tend to carry the traits of our dearest friend.
It was difficult to differentiate the girls when I first met them, but then I began to see the design of God and how crafty He is with each and every individual HE creates; I began to see Christina and Rebekah—two different people. (although it’s still difficult to decipher with the eye at times!) Christina is more easily moved to tears than Rebekah. Much like my blood sister and I, Rhonda who can cry at the drop of the hat is still much like me in many ways. I’m as sensitive as she is, but she cries more easily. Rebekah patiently waits to speak. Rhonda waits to speak if I am talking. It’s just friendship. I am not saying that Christina is overly out spoken; nor is Rhonda quiet, she’s not. But like me, Christina is just quicker to say what’s on her mind. Rebekah observes the situation—like Rhonda.
Twins are two different characters with like features but very much their own person. God did not make anything duplicate. He created us to duplicate His nature and Christina and Rebekah duplicate the nature of Christ more so than they duplicate the nature of each other—if you will just take the time to notice.
You are as rare as a duplicate friend or blood kin. We are all made in the image of God. Christina and Rebekah are separate gifts, given to me single handedly by Love.
