Cleaning Out the Cobwebs

There are many things I’ve been meaning to do and haven’t, such as organizing my desk and cleaning out my bedroom closet, and this week has given me time and drive to do just that. Sometimes the way out of a slump is to get into those corners and dark places in the home and get cleaning.

I begin by taking everything out and then decide what goes (to the garbage or thrift store) and what stays.

When Jesus saved me, many years ago, He reached into the darkest corners of my being, shone His light on them, and cleaned me thoroughly. Yet over time I have collected a lot of junk that doesn’t get used or isn’t needed...both in my spirit and in my house.  Speaking in Biblical terms we collect dirt on our feet as we walk along the path and our feet need continual cleaning so we don’t get dirty diseased feet that cannot carry us on down the road of life. This also goes for the home. I do my usual every day and weekly cleaning, tidying up the kitchen and bathrooms, doing laundry, etc, but I have my clutter areas that collect stuff that “I will get to later when I have time”...but that time keeps escaping me, as other more urgent or demanding situations keep diverting my attention in other directions.

In my spirit I have collected memories that are good and beneficial, but also have stored away things that were hurtful and unhealthy, things that I have kept in the deeper recesses, the closets of my being. Just like the closet in my home, these areas deep in my being need cleaning out as well.

Today as I clean my bedroom closet I will be praying that Jesus will clean these deeper areas in my life where I have been storing things that once again require His light to shine brightly illuminating what needs sorting out and throwing out. Let the clutter not hinder my walk, but may I truly serve the Lord by serving others with clean hands and feet and a clean heart that is filled with His perfect light.

Proverbs 4:14-19 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Will it be a long, cold winter?

Winters here in Ontario Canada can be bitter cold, but the last three winters here in Southern Ontario have been relatively mild, thankfully 😊. But last week we had a snowstorm that we don’t usually begin having until about the beginning of January, and although the snow is melting today, this time of year we usually only have flurries and light dusting that disappear the same day it touches down.

This photo was taken last Friday, snowed last Tuesday and Wednesday 

So...perhaps we are in for a long and very cold winter. 

I barely got my tulip and daffodil bulbs into the ground the week before that storm hit. I can hardly wait until spring!!! For several reasons, lol. I hope and pray you will enjoy a wonderful winter wherever you are, and remember that even when we endure difficult times, the joy when we see our Creator and Redeemer will be all the greater. I am still having technical issues with blogger. I may have to begin anew with a new profile. If and when that is the case I shall provide links. Sometimes you just need to start over I guess...

These are what the bulbs are supposed to be like when they bloom...the black tulips will have a slight tinge of purple to them. 

Treasures from “Trash”

Lately I’ve been watching videos on YouTube of people getting junk from thrift stores and yard sales. They see the beauty in that junk which they transform into beautiful houseware items or items of clothing, etc. ; cast offs, what has been rejected by others, to make lovely things. It brings to mind the Proverbs 31 woman who is industrious and does much with little.

It also brings to my mind the fact that Jesus was rejected, and He is received by “the dogs” (Gentiles), as we also, if we are found in Him, are rejected by this world and He takes us “rejects” and makes us new, a new creation. Our old purpose that has outlived whatever usefulness it might have had is repurposed into a new one that we never could have imagined in our “old life”.

Matthew 21:42

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 

Praise the Lord that He makes us through His power and wisdom, it is He who deserves all the praise and glory. He made the universe and everything in it out of nothing, and takes broken and humble lives and makes something out of our nothing. He puts the treasure of who He is in us to transform us by His mercy and grace. 

Mormon Encounters

We just recently came home from a wonderful trip to Hawaii. One of the things we did while there was visit the Polynesian Village on Oahu. Although they had some very nice shows and we took part in their luau which was just....well I cannot find words to say how good it was. Even so, what stood out for me regarding this attraction is the fact that it is owned and run by the Mormon church.

The first person who approached me upon entering the park was a young lady who wanted to bring me into some lecture or perhaps a film (I don’t really know how they present it because I declined the offer of participating in it) that introduces visitors to what they want visitors to their park to know about their “Mormon temples”.

Then on our return trip home we had a connecting flight from Salt Lake City and again encountered many Mormons.

I myself had joined the Mormon church right after high school, and even had a temple recommend, just as a little background, but don’t wish to go into all the details about it. I say this only so you might understand that my feelings about this excursion are different than if I had never had that in my past.

While I was at the Polynesian Village, I also had a chance meeting with a young woman who was waiting for her fiancé to finish his work shift. Everything about it was so supernatural, my husband and I sensed the power of God bringing all of it together. We had a wonderful conversation with Ahule-ee (I’m probably misspelling her name, but that is how she pronounced it) and pray that Jesus will reveal the real truth to her and send other Christians to her who can help her transition out of all the lies and the facade.

Ahule-ee came to mind again yesterday when I watched a video series on YouTube. Sandra Tanner is a great granddaughter of Brigham Young. She saw the truth at an early age and thankfully did not become an atheist as a result. About half of the people that leave Mormonism give up on there being a true God altogether and become atheists. Sandra encourages Mormons leaving Mormonism to seek the Lord Jesus out truly, to study the Bible without the Mormon books and teachings, and to do a proper research on the authenticity of the Bible.

This is part one of a 4 part interview with Sandra Tanner

Wanting Recognition, Afterthoughts

My recent problems with blogging voiced in the last two posts before this one brought this comment from Brenda:


“Hi Susan, I believe that whatever we have been given to share brings glory to the Lord, and I usually state this if people say nice things about what I might have shared on my blog. There is no way I could claim credit for what I have written, as even the poems and songs that I have shared just dropped into my head after I became born again of God's Spirit. I believe absolutely that it is God that speaks through us, and that is His way of bringing all to Himself. All glory goes to God the Father and His wonderful Son Jesus, we have nothing to boast of. I always like to know who I am interacting with though. God bless.”

The first portion is for me a “no brainer”...absolutely it is for the Lord’s glory that I live at all, and if I do share anything truly good, wholesome, and true, it is because His truth resides in me.

The last thought in that comment, wanting to know who we are interacting with in comments, is an interesting and important facet to this “internet world” puzzle. Yes it is Jesus who inspires anything truly good and truly True or truthful of course, yet we want to ascribe a name or personality to a person who is conveying words to us in our online conversations....and there are some things about this that I want to consider.

The first is that aside from what people reveal about themselves in their blogs and comments, unless we know them personally in real life, as a close friend or family member, we still do not REALLY know them. We get a feeling of knowing them, or knowing about them, and yet how well do we really? Often we do not really even know people we are in some physical contact with such as work situations or the other interactions that we have with people on a regular basis. The contacts with online personalities are even more disconnected in some ways. This fact has led people to unfortunate situations in online relationships, as I was recently reminded of in a situation that occurred in a Facebook group in which I have contributed posting  and some moderator functions.

How much do we truly know except the perhaps half truths or even outright lies the other person might be telling...Facebook and other online groups can only do so much to police these things, and those who are telling the whole truth (hopefully that is the case for the majority of online posters? Maybe, but who really knows?) can be looked at with suspicion and possibly be blocked or removed by Facebook or Google or Twitter, etc, because of suspicions caused by similar actions, seemingly anyway, that puts everyone in a bad light.

I don’t know if perhaps my little blog is somehow a casualty of the trouble caused by the somewhat anonymity of blogging. Or perhaps I have somehow been hacked and that being the reason for the problems I am now experiencing. These possibilities  makes me uncertain of how much longer I can even post here at all, I have the feeling of being removed from Blogger bit by bit, and don’t really know why. These online platforms seem to be disintegrating into who knows what? Or maybe I’m reading too much into this?

But if you, like me, have been paying attention to what is happening to computing, and online scamming, and the desire for greater “online security”, in light of many other things going on today, it just makes me a little bit uneasy to consider the many possibilities of the direction this all can go.

In the meantime I shall continue to try to plug along here as long as I can, and answer comments as much as I can, given my current restrictions. AND I must not forget to also say that I am very grateful for my identity in Christ. Having that anchor when all of these other means of identifying myself are becoming so skewed, it is a blessing to have that anchor and solid foundation which cannot be moved nor removed.

Wanting Recognition

This morning I was looking at my blog account reading my “anonymous” comments, and feeling a bit sorry for myself, and I considered the situation with the thought that perhaps there might be a lesson in it for me...perhaps the Lord is helping me to step back and take a back seat in this, humbling myself to accept that putting my name to my thoughts isn’t all that crucial, especially if and when they are Holy Spirit inspired....doesn’t the Lord Jesus receive all the glory after all?

But having said this, if you happen to read this Laurie Collett, please check your “waiting for moderation” section, I think some “anonymous “ comments of mine might be amongst them, unless you’ve already deleted them, and that’s okay too ❤️😊 ...it’s all good.

If my ways are His ways, the Lord is to be praised, He is the one who deserves the glory in all things that are good.

Laurie Collett and other fellow bloggers...

Wanted to let you know that I’m having technical difficulties with my blogger account. For some strange reason I cannot post in comments of other bloggers anymore, and even had trouble logging into my own blog. I hope by this that you know that I do read your posts but am no longer able to participate in conversations with you on your blogs. My husband did his best to get things working again and only by his expertise was I even able to log back in my own blog, but when I tried to post comments on other blogs, once again I couldn’t get it to go through. 😭 🤷🏼‍♀️
Brenda, Frank, Aritha, and a few others that I visit I love your blog posts, so please know that even though I cannot respond anymore I enjoy your blogs very much. ❤️

Edit to answer Brenda:

Thank you Brenda, I tried 3 different ways to answer your comment and none worked, not even answering under “anonymous “....it’s so frustrating. Thank you for your encouraging words.💕


 Another edit to add that I think possibly some of my attempts at comments may have ended up in “awaiting moderation” areas.

Autumn

Summer won’t officially be over until September 23rd and yet the change in the weather over the past week tells me that autumn has decided to ignore the calendar. There is a chill in the air, and it happened suddenly...one day it still felt like summer and then the next day it didn’t.

I’ve been trying to catch up on yard work, repotting plants, weeding (always weeding) relocating some of the flowering plants in our garden...I can never catch up! Soon I’ll have to remove some of my bulbs (canalilies, calalilies, dahlias, gladiolus) and divide our hostas and sedum, and trim down or remove the rest to prepare for winter.

I saw this guy so I had to look him up, 

turns out apple farmers don’t care for this one

at all! 😯

Over the summer I got to spend some time with my mom, my brother, and my sis-in-law in California while my sneaky husband did some outdoor redecorating 

Next spring we plan on adding shrubs and maybe a couple of dwarf fruit trees.

We are blessed ❤️

Christian Persecution and the Great Falling Away

This morning I watched this YouTube video of a woman who gets it right. She talked about the main reason many are falling away; besides of course the obvious one that many are not even saved at all, the ones that are will show that they are by the fact that they do not remain fallen away, but I digress. Doubt is often the reason these days that many are choosing “the easier way”, doubt and fear, and cowardice to face ridicule, persecution, other people’s doubts....it’s simply easier to go with the flow of the world, choose the wider road with more people on it, you know the one, it’s the one that leads to destruction. Hang tight to your loved ones, encourage them in the Lord to not be afraid of what’s coming because Jesus already went through it, and He is there for us. Be blessed and keep your armour on, the battle is only just beginning.

The Rainbow

image link

When I went to school (eons ago) we were taught there were 7 colours in the rainbow. 

In church I was taught it is because 7 is a number that often comes up in the Bible and depicts a number of perfection or completion. There are 7 days in the week, for instance, which began all the way at the time of creation...and there are 7 churches mentioned in the book of Revelation, as well as 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowl judgments. 

Studying numbers mentioned in the Bible and what context they are used in is a fascinating study. Nowadays the popular way to depict a rainbow is with 6 colours, leaving out the colour of indigo. In the Bible the number 6 is the number of man. Humans were created on day 6 of creation. The "man of sin" aka the antichrist is going to be recognized by his number 666 (a trilogy mocking the triune God). But if you click on the image link below the rainbow they give another reason for the 7 colours, and state that it is an arbritrary number that can be divided into millions of hues.

The Bible tells us that the rainbow was given to us by God as a sign of a promise from God, a covenant, that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood of water. (Genesis 9:12-15)

But how do we see that covenant sign displayed today?  It is used as a sign of open rebellion, of poking God in the eye saying my sin is my choice and I choose to sin without shame nor fear of judgment.

I saw this meme recently and wholeheartedly agree:

and how about this one:

Amen. If the eyes of your understanding are open you can see this is true.

With all of the rain we have been experiencing it is a good reminder of the fact that we worship a loving and caring God who does not enjoy wiping out the earth, and He revealed that fact with the promise of not repeating the total destruction by water again....but the Bible also says there will come a day in the future where the earth will be judged and destroyed but this time it will be by fire. Fire purifies and refines. God will accomplish all that He promises, but through mercy and grace He gives signs and warnings before He sends that cleansing destruction. I pray all who read this will heed the warnings and be "wise virgins" before the coming of the "great and terrible day of the Lord.

For more interesting facts about the rainbow, check out this link:
 https://mocomi.com/seven-colours-of-the-rainbow/

Spring is here!!!

I have been ready for spring for months, and yet now that it's finally here, I feel I'm not ready! Yeah, quite the conundrum. Last week and the week before that we've experienced a lot of rain and wind and I've been battling a terrible cold. Today is a pretty nice day out, a little cool and breezy, and if I weren't still sick, I'd be out there right now digging up the weeds like crazy to prepare the ground for all the goodies I wish to plant but like I said, I have a bad cold so I will go out in a few to do a bit, but don't feel well enough to overdo it yet.

But that brings me to the topic of planting another type of seed...the seed of the Gospel. It's easy enough for me to do online in the anonymity of my cyberspace persona, but what about in real life? I must confess that I am lacking in that area.

I love watching Ray Comfort videos on Youtube, seeing the ease with which he approaches strangers on the street by laying out the truth of us being horrible sinners in need of saving, and then go on my merry way thinking that I will witness to people as the Lord moves me, but yet it seems I never get moved to do so, sigh. To my way of thinking it is wrong to have cookie cutter answers to people's objections, and yet I should begin somewhere, and the Lord can and does use even the most meager offerings for His good, doesn't He? Just like my wanting to get my garden ready for planting, we should also prepare ourselves to be able to talk with people and try to answer all their objections lovingly and prayerfully. Just as the ground needs to have weeds removed, we too musst be able to prepare and remove weedy objections so that the seed might find the good ground to take hold and not be carried away by birds, or choked out by weeds.

Anyway here's a video put out by Ray Comfort's organization that gives some tips on how to get out there and talk with complete strangers (and also friends and family members) about Jesus. Let's get out of our comfort zones and stretch those faith muscles out in the real world planting heavenly seeds with the intent of seeing people's lives truly changed for Jesus.

The Bible Warned us of Days Like This

2Timothy 3:1-5  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.   For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,   Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

It's almost as if the Apostle Paul was seeing clearly into our day and seeing the self-destruction through "self-love".  I don't even know where to begin with all the disturbing headlines being beamed into our homes these days. The United States of America has never been more divided: black vs. white, Democrats vs. Republicans, Muslims vs. Christians and Jews, "gay and whatever else you want to label it" vs. "straight", legal residents and American citizens vs. illegal aliens, pro-life vs. baby murderers...it's just overwhelmingly mind-boggling.

Psalm 2:1-3  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?   The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,   Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 

I go from being outraged, to sorrowful and unbelief in what I'm seeing when I witness the latest of the absurd activity that is now commonplace. It's almost like people are deliberately trying to outdo the last heinous act, and for what? To gain a few moments of ill-gotten fame on the evening news? 

When I was younger in the Lord I thought it my duty as a Christian to be vocal about everything that I noticed which wasn't lining up with Bible truth...but these days I have come to understand that Jesus has us here to call out to the lost, to rescue the perishing, and that often we will fail in getting them to understand. Jesus said to watch and pray in Matthew chapter 24, and that is the wisest thing we can do, actually. We need to be aware of the time we are living in, to heed the signs, just as we would heed the road signs that  lead us as we travel to a new destination. Like Pilgrim in Pilgrim's Progress, we cannot allow others to keep us from continuing on the journey the Lord has us on. When Pilgrim was in Vanity Fair, the distractions and the fun and games, and the funny people made it difficult to leave. But if they do not want to join us on our heavenly journey, we sadly have to leave them to their fate.

 Psalm 2:4,5,&9  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.   Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 

We cannot save everyone, that isn't what we are called to do. Jesus saves, not we, we are to warn and to bear witness to the good news of the the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Who suffered for us that we do not need to bear the burden of our shame. He bore our guilt for us and nailed it to the cross. But that grace is offered out, the warning cry is being sounded, and who are the wise who will answer the call? One day our voices will be silenced, and the door of decision will close, and the final curtain call will have passed. On which side of that door will you be when that door closes? Will you choose the wicked pleasures of this world and join the enemies of God as they shake their angry fists at Him to accuse Him of their own wickedness? I see the men and women that now lead the United States of America, or what used to be America...  calling evil good and good evil, while they boast of a better way. They blaspheme God while they speak evil of the land of Israel. Be warned! Time is very short.
 

Psalm 2:10-12  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.   Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.   Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. 

Is Life Just A Numbers Game?; Revised

I tried to fix a font problem on the last blog post and ended up losing it completely....sigh. I changed some settings on the format of the blog, and hope it will help resolve some of the problems I was encountering....we'll see.....

You've heard it said that 

age is just a number....

...and it's usually said to flatter someone on their ever increasing number of birthdays or by a person of the higher range who wants to "date" someone of lesser number of years but however then that usually only works if the person that is the more aged also has a greater accumulation of dollars in their bank accounts, but is that truly all there is.....really?

To say those words "age is just a  number" seem so callous to me, as if the years we spend here are nothing more than valueless days adding up to empty years that contain nothing more than a digit or two attached. The older gentleman seeking the company of a much younger companion soon finds out that the difference between them is much more than simply a few extra years in between. The generational difference cannot be "fixed" with cosmetic surgery, hair plugs, and a pithy saying. When I talk with my grandchildren some of the things I used to do when I was their age, or when I mention a favourite old movie actor, and they then look at me quizzically to say "who?" ...after two or three minutes of trying to explain it to them I see that they have lost interest but are pretending to care to spare my feelings, and then I have to wonder what these "autumn - spring romance" couples can even talk about, besides food and the weather, and the possible problems of other family members viewing that youngster as simply a gold digger hoping for a large inheritance.

As a Christian I look at the years that have gone by and what the Lord has done in my life. How can an atheist exclaim that "there is no God" and still find a reason to live, if each day adds up to years of numbers that contain nothing of eternal value? Oh, but they will say that it is to pass on their wisdom and love to children and grandchildren....but those children and grandchildren also will add up to eternal nothings (according to that foolish logic) who will spent years that eventually will add up to nothing, and for what? What is it all for, if there is no God? I've never had one atheist explain that sad fact to me, not even once....and I think that perhaps the incredible increases in depression and suicides are explained by this same foolish logic coming to it's logical empty conclusion.

The Bible says "The fool says in his heart 'There is no God' " Psalm 14:1

Psalm 14:1-5 

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. 

Oh, but they will tell you that they are a "good person", and that they have no need of "a god" to be good. Hypocrites! We have all fallen short. We have all done something or other that requires our repentance, an apology, an act of penance to try to make up for our missteps... but that doesn't require the intervention of a Creator, does it?...well, in order for it to really be true, it does require His interaction with our action, or else it is fake, done for selfish ends to get our get out of the performance...to get others to like us, or give us what we want...but the act is not therefore sincerely done with the mindset of our sinfulness, our need to humble ourselves by the fact of our shortcomings. Only the grace of God can supply that Truth, the inner conviction of the fact that we cannot be perfect and require the graciousness of others to be considered any good at all.

And so, as the years go by, are there any good and true things that are stored up in those years for you? Or are they simply empty of any meaning, just moments wasted going through the motions, and then a waiting to die?

Ecc 1:2-3; 2:7-8; 3:8-9; 12:13-14

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.   

What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?   

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 

And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 

 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. 

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.   

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 

Let us therefore be wise and walk circumspectly knowing that each moment is given to us, a gift and a treasure from our Lord and our Creator and Saviour. Let us live lives that are numbered with the fullness and richness of lives fulfilled and meaningful, lives that when we reach our mortal end, we can look back with wonder and gratitude to a generous and merciful God who has graced us with many good things.

Is Life Just A Numbers Game?

For some reason I am having all kinds of issues on blogger, sorry about that. I had to remove this post because I couldn't get the font right, grrr!! Sheesh. I will try to repost this later. Ièll give the ole puter a reboot (again) to see if I can resolve this problem....