Facebook and me

A few weeks ago, I was sent an invitation to join Facebook. I put it off, just as I put off writing my own blog, simply because I sometimes get afraid of doing something new.

After yet another invite, and some personal persuasion from my dear friend Marie, I decided to give Facebook a go.


There I was being asked questions about where I went to school, college, etc., so that I could re-connect with my old friends. I sat and thought... if I really wanted to reconnect with anyone from high school, who would I want to hear from the most? I figured I'd want to hear from Cynthia, Roberta, Kenny, Jill, Greg, and Dee-Dee the most. Three out of six ain't bad! It has been thrilling to catch up with my old friends, and it has warmed my heart greatly to find out what they have been up to for the past 25 years.


In addition, there are some who have asked to be my friend; that thought sometimes brings tears to my eyes, as I always felt like I didn't quite fit in, almost like a fish out of water. I wasn't permitted to do most of the fun things that my classmates were allowed to do, and it gave the appearance that I was stuck up to some. After I goofed off too much in 7th grade chorus, and I got in trouble for it, it was considered by my parents that I had had my chance at chorus, and blew it by my actions. So, I admired and yearned to be a member of chorus for the rest of my high school days.


Unfortunately, I was not a perfect person, but I felt I had to be perfect to be accepted. What a lie from the enemy! He knows that we will fail in our endeavors, and then will beat us up for it -- and then will give us the stick with which to beat ourselves further! Fear of failure and lack of perfection can make for lonely bedfellows, and that's just the way the enemy likes to see us, whether we're Christians or not -- feeling like lonely failures who are so far from perfect that we wonder if we can ever be looked upon with loving kindness from the King.


I feel God has allowed me to get on Facebook to show me the loving face of home. That's the great thing about reconnections and second chances... they remind us of how our wonderful Father gives us second, third, fourth, and more chances to be more like Him, while reconnecting us to His wonderful embrace and loving family!

(By the way, I'm the girl in the pink vest, making the goofy face... some things never change!)

Who will be the next Elijah?

Let me tell you a little story. There once was a girl, a college girl. She was full of hopes, dreams and visions for her future. She was elated when she got accepted into the college of her dreams, and set forth upon her goal.

Whilst in college, she met him. He was tall, dark and the most beautiful man she felt she had laid her eyes upon. To her delight, he seemed to reciprocate her feelings, and they began a relationship. She had it all: a budding college career that would lead to great discoveries, a man at her side, and a baby on the way.

What?! When did that happen? How did it happen? Well, she knew how it happened, but she really didn't think it would happen. This was the early 1960's! Even though times were changing, they still hadn't changed that much! Not everyone would understand her relationship with a black man, for one. She was unmarried, pregnant, and had so many dreams for her future. A child really wasn't one of those plans at this present time. Maybe down the road, but definitely not now! And it's not like she could "get rid" of it -- Roe vs. Wade wasn't implemented - yet. Besides, she heard about those "back-alley" abortions -- some actually didn't make it out alive, and some couldn't have children afterwards.

Her boyfriend agreed that they must get married, of course -- but little did she know that he was married, himself, with a family of his own in his home country.

Her parents were unhappy, no doubt, but supportive. She would go to school, and the grandparents would take care of the child whenever she couldn't. This young mother got to live out her dreams, even with a child conceived out of wedlock.

Now, in today's world, a college girl who gets pregnant to a married man would be told of one option -- have an abortion. After all, you have a full and complete life ahead of you, and you really can't take care of a child at this juncture! What about your parents; do you really want to place this burden on them? And be sure to know that you will probably live at below poverty level, because you won't be able to get the education you need. Besides, you will always be able to have children later.

And so, many young, frightened ladies make the wrong choice and abort the baby, only to suffer mentally, physically and more. They will actually mourn that child until the day they die. They will tend to fall into worse relationships, abuse themselves, and many cannot stand to hear the sounds of any type of vacuum or suction, as many abortions are performed while these girls are awake. Many will attempt suicide at some point. Every time something bad happens, they will tend to look back on that abortion, and ask themselves if that's the reason why they're experiencing that hardship.

And you know what? Women STILL die getting abortions, and they STILL have problems with future childbirths; some even become sterile. Not much has changed, except that abortion is big business -- and only going to get bigger, now that the lid has been taken off of stem-cell research.

And it appears that now our tax dollars are once more going to fund abortions -- whether we believe that abortion is okay or not.

Oh, yeah, let's get back to that story... at any rate, this young woman gives birth, and names her child, Barak Hussein Obama. This same person, who could have been aborted if he had been conceived only ten or 11 years later, touts abortion as something he'd like his own daughters to consider if they'd find themselves in a position such as that occurred to his mother!

It utterly blows my mind.

I will still pray for Obama, that God REALLY shakes his heart to the core, to allow the Alpha and Omega to be heard by Obama. My question is, who will be the next Elijah, the one to go to the leader of his day and say, "Thus saith the Lord"? Who will be brave? I've seen the conservative Christian actually shrinking into a frightened ball, afraid to say something amiss about our new president. What if we get backlash and lose our rights? Has anyone noticed -- they're already getting chipped away from us, little by little. We have nothing to lose and ALL to gain for the cause of Christ! Who will stand and deliver the message of the Lord? Who will face the Ahabs and Jezebels of today? If we take a stand for Christ, He will take a stand for us.

May this be our prayer in these perilous times: if it be Your will, send me, O Lord.

They Sometimes Kill their Wounded

That's quite the title to today's blog, I realize. If I offend, I'm sorry,,, but then again, I'm not.

A few months back, I read on a homeschooling site that Ray Boltz left his wife, and declared he was a homosexual. A person on that homeschooling site responded, "Well, looks like I'll be burning HIS tapes and videos!"

You will never know how grieved in the spirit I was to hear of Ray Boltz' decision. You will never know how much more grieved I was in the spirit to read what that person said regarding throwing away his tapes and cd's. Here is a brother who has created some of the most beautiful songs of the modern Christian world, and we're saying, "Let's burn him."

Don't get me wrong; when I read my Bible, it has specific things to say about homosexuality -- and it sure doesn't match with what the world wants us to believe. I tend to believe the Bible -- lock, stock and barrel.

I really, honestly feel that we as a Christian family should be COMPELLED to pray for a brother or sister who has fallen, or who has stumbled. I know that it also says if they don't turn away from their ways to cut off ties. But then, it also says if they repent, that we are to open our arms to them. Ever since I heard about Ray, I have been praying that he actually see that even if there is temptation, that he has not fallen so far from God's grace that God cannot reach him where he is and restore him.

Then, I read about another brother in Christ -- Willie Aames. He's been known as Bibleman. I had been led to pray for him for awhile, and didn't know why. I read why -- I don't need to air anything, but to only say that he's hit some snags in the road and needs prayer, prayer, and more prayer. His wife and daughter need to be held and embraced by the church. What I'm afraid of is that the same type of people who said they were going to burn Ray Boltz's tapes will have the same attitude towards Willie as they did towards Ray. Willie is not a homosexual; he's just been hit by a different ploy of the enemy.

How many of us have fallen? The difference between the regular Christian and those like Ray Boltz and Willie Aames is that they are actually able to be reported on in the news -- our actions and slip-ups aren't blared in the news for all to see.

How many of us can fervently pray for the restoration of these brothers and sisters in the faith? It's time we as Christians get off of our pity pots when someone falls and bursts our spiritual bubble. No -- this is the time that we must strap on our spiritual armor even tighter, and pray for folks like Ray and Willie. It's when we should be crying out for God's hedge of protection to shield and protect Ray's now ex-wife and his children, as well as Maylo (Willie's wife), their daughter and his son. We should pray for them as though they are members of our own family, because, after all, that is exactly what they ARE -- members of our family through Christ. We must pray for them to come home, instead of spiritually killing them off.

Friends

I used to get phone calls from a certain person. I'd see her number come up on the caller ID, and inwardly groan... I know she never wanted to talk to me just to say, "hey", she'd only call when she wanted something. It got to the point that when she'd call, I'd say, "Hello, ___, what do you need?" When I finally said that I wouldn't fulfill a request that I knew would not honor God, she stopped calling.

I have some people who call me just to talk. Sometimes they need me to fulfill a request; other times, they call just to shoot the breeze. It's the same for me with them. Sometimes I need to talk things out that are bothering me; other times I just need to hear their friendly voices. I love to laugh with my friends! And my bestest buddies, Becky, Marie, and Tammy -- and the newly acquired friend, Sue -- are a pleasure to talk to. I wish I would be able to talk to a few others more often, like the beautiful Robin. I look forward to talking to them, no matter the occasion. In good times we share laughs, in bad times we share tears, and prayers.

I started out writing this particular blog entry in honor of my friends. As I got to the second paragraph, it hit me... are we the kind of friend to God who only calls on Him in times of emergency... or are we the friends that God looks forward to hearing from, no matter what the occasion? Wow... Lord, please forgive me for the times I forget to "call" (pray) just to say, "Hi."

So Begins the Journey towards that Highway called "normal"

It is said that the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a road I never thought I'd land upon. It's one that, with the help of a Christian psychologist, I'm planning on exiting it and traveling the highway back to normal.

I was told that those who experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder actually experience a change in the brain. Certain chemicals in the brain become askew. That's why a person becomes hyper vigilant, easily agitated, emotional, bouts of anger, nightmares... so many other symptoms that I've been experiencing since that trauma hit me. Many times it's treated with talking things through and medications. I asked not to take medications, because I've read about the side effects -- they seem as bad as this disorder. However, the therapist did say I needed to go to the health food store and get some things like multi-vitamins, Omega-3, Gaba, and 5-HTP.

I've actually been able to sleep without dreaming about the events of that night. The therapist also is having me write down things from the past that have been traumatic. That has been hard to do; there are quite a few things that I've survived, and I've had to walk away from it a few times while writing things down. BUT -- I know that this will help me -- and hopefully be a chance to help others if I write this stuff down and do what the doctor says.

I'm not saying that God was not able to heal me of the anguish that came with the discovery of someone who committed suicide -- He's putting me in touch with others that are His followers who have had training to help in cases that seem too hard to handle, so that total healing can come to pass. It says in the Word to make your requests known -- my request was that someone help me get through this. God is true to His word.

Why am I writing this right now on my blog? If just one person reads this who thinks they're alone and that God isn't there to help them, I'm here to say, you're not alone -- we can make it through the trauma. If you've experienced something horrendous and you feel as though you can't make it to tomorrow, please, I urge you -- get help. We can make it -- we must make it.

"Forgiven"

This week at the library to which we go as part of a library club is having a "Cancelling of the Library Fines" week.

I'm ashamed to say, I had misplaced a video tape of "It Happened One Night" (starring Clark Gable and Claudette Cobert), and so it became overdue. However, I was told not to worry, that the fees were going to be waived! I stood at the desk, watching the librarian do her stuff, as she typed this and that on her keyboard to eliminate those fees. Then, she sighed and said one word: "Forgiven."

Forgiven! Do you know how wonderful that word sounds: forgiven? I made a mistake; therefore, I owed a debt for that error. But this week was a time for forgiveness of that debt, and the knowledge that I didn't have a huge fine rearing its proverbial head at me was a nice release.

On the way home, I pondered how we've all made horrendous mistakes in life -- much worse than a misplaced videotape. Heaven knows I've made more than my fair share of mistakes. But the amazing thing is that we don't need to rely on a special week of the year to attain forgiveness -- we can go to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to ask for forgiveness. And when we do, He states: "As far as the east is from the west, I have cast your sins far from you, and they shall no longer be remembered." (Becky paraphrase)

Forgiveness -- provided at moment's notice by a loving Savior. What a wonderful sound!

There's No Need to Fear....

Our church is having a week of prayer and supplication to the Lord. It seems like the enemy wants to strike at all areas of life, and wishes to instill fear in the hearts of all -- including the elect. I see it in the ministries, the talk of people. They are really afraid. Funny -- the Lord has told us over 365 times -- Do not be afraid.

I have to admit -- I was getting very afraid of a wide variety of things. Then on Saturday, I got sick. Who would think that getting a stomach virus was a blessing? But for me, it was. I got to spend some time in the Word, and talking with God. I was telling Him what I was afraid of, and I was shown in His Word why I am not supposed to fear. I will have to keep going back to that, and I know that God will direct my way.

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I was playing a game of "Do You Know" with my children tonight, when I asked my daughter a question -- that's almost like Uno, but when you change a color, you ask someone a Bible trivia question. If they answer correctly, play continues in the color you chose. If they answer incorrectly, they pick up two cards.

At any rate. I asked her, "Who did Pilate release instead of Jesus?" She looked at me, paused and said, "Ummm, some guy?"

Needless to say, she drew two and learned how to say "Barabas."