Twinkle Lights at Christmas Time

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 
John 1;1-5 KJV

One of the things that I love the most about Christmastime is the lights decorating people's homes, and the lighted Christmas decorations that are up decorating the main streets of the towns in the area. The lights do not shine during daylight hours, for obvious reasons. Once it gets dark they stand out beautifully, shining out in the darkness.

When Jesus came to live among us He was a bright light in a dark world. The rabbis, scribes and Pharisees should have recognized Him because they made it their profession to know the Word of God through the writings. They knew the writings and yet they didn't recognize the One who the writings were written for and about. The more He tried to reason with them the more they wanted to kill Him, and when the time was right that is exactly what they did, because even that most heinous of acts was within the good plan of God, to use what the devil meant for evil for good because that dark act made the goodness of Jesus shine in the darkness all the more brightly.

There are so many signs that we are seeing while the world grows darker in it's deeds and hatred of Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, and yet as the days become more evil I pray that the light of Jesus and the good news of His grace will shine all the more brightly to bring hope to a lost and dying world.

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 
Daniel 12:1-3 KJV

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 KJV

Peace in the Midst of My Hurrying

This week offered me my last chance to finish up a few things that still required my attention before Winter puts his icy fingers into our soil and coats everything with a blanket of snow. I put leaves provided by Autumn onto the flowerbeds, and cut back some of the raggedy odds and ends, added a large contribution to my composting bins, and pulled up the last of the canalily bulbs. I also had many things that needed attention in the house as well. It certainly kept me very busy but getting it all done was so very satisfying, and being that busy you would think I had no time to waste being online...but I did, and I hope that it wasn't a waste of time, but God only knows ;-)

A few days ago I stumbled into a conversation by a Seventh day Adventist on the topic of the SDA church starting to enter into the eccumenical wave. His remarks about it revealed that many Adventists believe their church is not susceptible to what is happening worldwide, but it said nothing about the greater problem at the root of Adventism: Ellen G. White and her false teachings about Jesus. I shared my thoughts regarding these things, and gave about 3 or 4 replies in answering 2 Adventists who desired me to back up my "false accusations" (which was probably at least 2 too many replies) before giving up, not before sharing that I am praying there might be some (even if only one!) whom the Lord might give sight and understanding.

In previous strivings for the truth I would get very upset and even angry with the "blind ones" for not seeing what I'm trying to "bless them with", but over the past year the Lord has blessed me with a peace even in the midst of such striving that it is no longer striving! Praise be to God! And also the work that needs doing around the house and garden, work that used to often be drudgery is now joyful and wonderful to see these things bringing harmony and goodness and blessing as benefits reaped from the hard work accomplished.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!!!

First Snow of This Season

So much I haven't gotten to yet outside, but we are supposed to get a couple of warmer days this week so maybe I'll be able to do it then...

The pure white of the snow reminds me of what the Bible says about being washed by the Lord’s blood:

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.


Now, back to work on my needlepoint :)

We Can Always Do More....

Yesterday in the comment section of someone's blog  who is always more than happy to point to everyone else's faults (all too human a trait that I confess I succumb to much too often) I was accused of being lazy and thereby letting my laziness dictate my behaviour of a pseudo-religious tactic of hiding behind my husband...if she truly knew me she would see how ridiculous that accusation is, in so many ways, lol, but it had me thinking and praying on the topic, and it makes me wonder how much is too much and how little is too little, because we can always do more,  in fact works based religions work their parishioners to death with zero benefit to their salvation. It also brought to mind the sheep and goats parable, the goats reminding Jesus of all the good things they did in His name and Him having to sadly say to them "Depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you", because it isn't our works that saves us, it is His grace and our humility in the understanding of the  huge chasm between the two.

In pondering the accusation of my quasi-pseudo-religious laziness/hiding under a bushel by "hiding behind my husband"  I considered Sarai who went along with Abram's silly notion of hiding the fact that they were married and didn't rebuke him for it. She trusted God, she had to have, because if I was in that situation I would have had some very choice words for my dear hubby, God bless his patient soul for putting up with the likes of me! But God did turn it all out for good (as we are told that the Lord does so in Romans 8:28, a blessed Bible promise indeed!)...and yet we are told of Abram/Abraham's faith as being the example we are to follow!!! Really? But he messed up so badly! Yes, but his faith in God had nothing to do with his human lack of sound judgment! Praise God!

In sharing the "good news" (gospel) do we? Do we share the good news? Or do we continually dwell on the bad news and think it our "godly duty" to bash everyone over the head continually about it? And how much bashing is enough to say one isn't lazy about bashing everyone over the head about the bad behaviours and false teachers out there?

Thank you Jesus that you are sufficient and all of our striving adds nothing to what You have done for us.

Can Jesus Do It?

In my internet wanderings I have come across several “former Christians” that I personally see as never truly having surrendered all to Jesus, never having completely confessed their inability to save themselves, and humbly receive the finished work and thereby sealed by Him forever, justified and sanctified by that mysterious union that can only happen through a complete spiritual rebirth. Why then, considering all these many whom I have encountered who also have fallen away, do I feel a special torment and suffering for Alice?

That is a question that I have been asking myself and the Lord for quite some time, and the reason I came back to it here these last couple of weeks is for that exact same reason.

Thankfully, Frank’s comment on my other blog shook the answer loose in my thoughts which kept me going in a circle with this. Thank you Frank, for being so...Frank, lol.

Frank said (among other things) that perhaps the Church had somehow let people like Alice down, allowing her to “slip through the cracks” and there’s the rub. I believe that deep down I think that I am responsible for having let her down by not preventing her from slipping through those cracks, or perhaps even in my flesh, my sinful mortality, saying or doing something that pushed her away from The Truth, the one she claims to still be seeking after.

 In a comment to another blogger I suggested that we won’t change the evil we see all around us but need to take Jesus at His word that He will make everything beautiful in His time, and to continue to rail against all the things we see as wrong does nothing to change it. I need to take my own advice. I need to trust that Jesus HAS THIS under His control as well. I pray for Alice and her family that has been suffering as a result of her “transformation”, and pray that I can honestly let this go and leave her to Jesus to deal with her truly. Amen.

Closer to Winter...

(this isn't the one I'm doing, this was done by someone special)

Today there is a very cold chill in the air; the sky is dark grey and perhaps we might even get some flurries. I have things around the house that need doing...a bit of laundry, a bit of straightening, and a few plants that require repotting. I've also been working on a needlepoint, Pinky, that is only about 2/3 completed (after working on it off and on for about 2 years).

(THIS is my Pinky, but I'm much further along that this

so this encourages me very much :)  

and I made some changes to the face as well

maybe I'll post a "finished" photo in a few weeks)

So I'd best get busy, there's much to get done even if I cannot get to the outside stuff I want to do....sigh...hope you all are getting ready for winter too, it won't be long!!

Autumn musings

Time of year that many “celebrate” death in the form of Halloween. Much better to truly celebrate true life in Jesus, in whom alone we can find true rest for our sin weary souls.

We here in Canada have already celebrated our Thanksgiving, although it isn’t as big a deal as it is in the States. I was surprised to find the stores still open on the Canadian Thanksgiving day.

And then there is Alice Gallagher....who continues to inflate herself by thinking her own “truth” tops all others, but that her “graciousness” extends to accepting others truths such as Hinduism as being in equal standing with her own truth.....all truth except that of those “hateful” and pesky Christians, that is....so very sad indeed, and if there ever comes a time and place for true dialogue which does not seek to vilify our Lord and Saviour, I welcome such a true discussion, but so far I see no hope of that.

Thankful of the real truth that broke me free of the many lies that pose as truths in this world, amen and amen. :) Thanks only to Jesus in Whom all real Truth is found, and in Him alone.

The Stubbornness of AntiChristian Liars

As I stated many times before on this blog, people like Alice Gallagher are self-deceived while at the same time deceiving others. Who can deny that morals have been slipping rapidly as more and more people turn away from Jesus?

The link to the article below gives some sad statistics. I know I cannot convince anyone who wants to believe their own lies rather than the plain truth of the Bible. The Truth is there, none-the-less.



Millennials Abandon Belief In God For Belief In Everything Else

Excerpts from article:

G.K. Chesterton once said, "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing -- they believe in anything." 

This has proven true time and again in history. Now, we're seeing it in America...

....Ironically, as American morals continue to slip and slide, the MarketWatch article notes that, "The majority of Americans now believe it is not necessary to believe in God to have good morals." That's according to a study released last week by the Pew Research Center.


Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1705#i0CZWQqPMS6YQ65Y.99
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1705#i0CZWQqPMS6YQ65Y.99

David Wilkerson's Message

Today I posted a warning from David Wilkerson on my other blog (see side bar on the right ----> )

My heart has been very heavy lately, I sincerely hope and pray that many will heed the warnings and will be given the gift of repentance and true faith.

Our Old Maple Tree

the only photo I could find (I know I have others but too lazy to look right now)

of the maple tree we took down

...took this a few weeks ago when we noticed the wasp nest

about 25 or so feet up

Last week hubby decided to have our old maple tree cut down. She was old and every little breeze blew off branches. A couple of weeks ago we had some really strong gusts that knocked a big wasp nest right onto the spot where we often park the car close to our back door.

It took the tree guys less than two minutes to bring her down. Then they removed the branches from the main trunk and asked me if I wanted to keep the wood chips. At first I said “no” and then thought they would be great for keeping the weeds down by the fence, but I didn’t realize there would be so many! So the rest of the day was spent moving wood chips, wheelbarrowfulls of chips.

After many trips with the wheelbarrow and the pile of chips only half of what it was at the beginning, I decided it was time to quit for that day. I came into the house, checked my phone, 8 messages from my husband “Don’t keep the wood chips!!!” LOL



....it’s good the tree is gone, more morning sun shines into our little kitchen, no more piles of maple leaves to rake and humongous branches to drag to the garden rubbish pile...and yet I kinda miss her.

On the Topic of Alice Gallagher

It’s a touchy sore point for me, and it is probably the main reason I stopped visiting this blog, but there is unfinished business in it for me. It made me angry to think that someone I had counted as such a wonderful friend could have lied about her love of Jesus, and turn against Him by proclaiming that she “no longer” believes in Him.

And because “the falling away” became that personal, that painful, I did a lot of soul searching and internet searching on the topic of the falling away, and although I have been angry that she had me fooled (probably because it made me feel so foolish) I still cared very much as evidenced by how much I was bothered by it. At every thought of her, and people like her, who make false confessions of faith, I pray that one day she will to the blessing of herself and all who know her, will come to TRULY love and confess Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

 Over the recent years there has been a veritable flood of people falling away from faith in Christ. It seems that even many pastors are confessing that they do not really believe what they have been preaching for years. Jesus did warn us that this would be one of the signs we would encounter in the last days, and mockers of course  mock that the “last days” have gone on for centuries, yet while true the Apostle Peter spoke on that topic...one day God’s patience will run dry for this world, and I continue to pray that Alice and the many others like her won’t be found on the wrong side of that ending.

I believe there are many  that, like Alice did in the past, put on a charade, pretending to believe and giving a very convincing performance, and not born of the Spirit...they too will eventually fall away.

This sermon by Henry Mahan speaks on the topic of being “Religious But Lost”.

.https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=42016757490

It's a Beautiful Day

This morning's view outside our back door...

Just a relaxing morning, enjoying my coffee....have lots to do today, but for now, peace and tranquility :)

Hope you have a blessed day as well.

Christmas in California

It was time to take a break, from the cold, from the snow....although it's been a mild winter so far this season, but California seemed like a great get away.....

.....but it seemed we had brought the snow with us!!! Ha!

 A few photos taken December 24, 2016....Christmas Eve in California:

This was taken on route to my brother's home from my daughter's home going through the Cajon Pass. It had just snowed the previous evening. It was weird seeing the desert flora together with the white stuff.

We did get to spend some time at the beach...

 

Brr the water was chilly!

The birds didn't seem to mind it....

When we got back home the temperature was definitely colder,  I caught a cold while in California....I'm almost recovered, still coughing and sneezing, but not as much :) I wore my flip flops most of our trip, but I put them away when we got back....