Don't Be a Dried Up Worm

Some of my earliest memories are fishing with my grandfather. I could not swim, so he strapped me into an ancient, ill-fitting lifejacket that reeked of old fish. I hated it, but hanging out with my grandpa made wearing the wretched thing worth it. He taught me to cast a rod and bait a hook. I liked digging in the worm bucket, searching for the juicy ones, his term, not mine.

So, worms don't freak me out, and I developed an unusual habit as an adult. If I see a worm on the pavement, I put it back in the grass because dried up worm carcasses are just sad.

Dried Up Worm

Today, I spotted a struggling worm, barely moving, and beginning to dehydrate.  I stopped to pick it up but did not quite get a hold of it.  To my surprise, it started thrashing like mad, which startled me. For a second, I considered abandoning it to its fate. But when I tried to pick it up again, it kept twisting, and I could not catch it. In the end, I scooted it back into the grass with my toe.  It took a couple of tries, but the worm finally made it.

As I walked away, I realized the worm had no clue it was going to die if it stayed on the path it set for itself.  It certainly did not know I was trying to assist. Instead of embracing the help, it viewed my intervention as an attack and fought to continue its journey to destruction.  But I had a better view of what the future held and took care of the worm, whether it knew it or not.

How often do we behave like the thrashing worm, and how much more important are we to God than a worm?

Sometimes in life, God is like a loving grandfather who puts us in a stinky lifejacket for our safety. Uncomfortable or unhappy in our surroundings, He might be teaching us valuable lessons or giving us treasured memories. And when the time comes to go, instead of struggling when He picks us up, why not relax in the palm of His hand?  If we thrash around, we will miss the view from above and never realize this is a rescue, not an attack. We will be back in the cool of the grass soon enough.

Don't be a dried up worm. He's got you.

(Originally published August 5, 2013)

A Child's Drawing

(Originally published 10/28/11)

Yesterday, as I was driving to work, I was in prayer. I surrendered my day and asked Him to use me in any way He saw fit. As I sat at the stoplight, I realized how inadequate and fallible I am, even in the midst of obedience and faithfulness. In my human skin, this is the best I am going to get. I am doing all the things He direct Christians to do. I am praying, reading my Bible, going to church, surrendering my will to His direction, and humbly worshiping; yet I am still full of sin.

He gently stroked my head and brought this image to my mind. As a parent, your small child will present you with a drawing. Perhaps it is a card or a picture they sat at their table and lovingly made something special. They present their work of art, proud and hoping you will love it. It was the best they could do. You smile broadly and gush over how beautiful it is; you hug and thank them for the wonderful gift. You do not judge it for what it is not, for it is not the Mona Lisa. You recognize the offering is precious because they are incapable of doing better, and you love them and the picture, exactly the way it is. That is the way God sees us and our offerings to Him, not as a critic, but as a loving parent. I am so grateful for that.

We must try to remember, when we look down at our little offerings, that we should not be critics either. For one day, we will stand before the King, and the offerings we gave Him will be more magnificent than any artwork ever created by human hands. His hand will have perfected us and the gifts. We will rejoice together in this marvelous thing He has done.

30 Day Jesus Challenge - Day 18 The Father

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26

In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.  –Matthew 18:14

God the Father

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  –Luke 6:35-36 

The Heavenly Father is a perfect father, caring for His children, protecting them, loving them, caring for them.  He is a God of mercy to his children, to those that are covered by the blood of Christ, he is tender and warm.  In a Fatherless generation, this Father's love is needed above all else.  

Pray - Father in Heaven, I want you as my Father.  I want to know you as my perfect Father.  Protect me, feed me, be merciful upon me.

Can You Be a Christian and a Democrat?

Or restated, if you are a Democrat are you really a Christian?  Jesus was political, don't let anyone tell you he wasn't.  Let's define a Christian as someone who believes the Bible and when God's word contradicts man's desires, the Christian comes down on the side of God.  

1.  Leftists believe in abortion is a "right".  God's word says it is murder and that all life is of value (source)

2.  Leftists believe that Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians.  God's word says that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. (source)

3.  Leftists believe a marriage is between people that love each other.  God's word defines a family as a man and a woman.  (Genesis 5:2)

4.  Leftists believe that rights come from the state.  God's word clearly defines that rights come from Him.  (source)

5.  Leftists are largely Humanists who believe that man is the center of the world.  God's word says that He is the center of the world.

This blog could go on and on, the positions held by the left are in direct contradiction with God's word on so many levels.  Gone are the days when a Democrat could easily be a Christian, now the tw are mutually exclusive.

The Narrow Path

It's called the path, the way, the narrow road, the walk, the race; this walk through life.  For believers, it's a narrow road that requires prayer, discernment, and discipline.  All my Scriptures and study for the last several weeks keep bringing me back to the walk.  One evening, the Lord prompted me to pick up a book I read in 1998, The Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn.  This is a fanciful, allegorical tale of a man who finds himself on a journey.  His only instructions were to take the red road and keep moving forward.  I enjoyed the book more the second time than the first.  So along those lines, I'd like to share with you some of the thoughts I have on this journey.

(Originally Published July 29, 2013)

As a prerequisite, realize YOU are on a path, ponder it, and consider carefully where you are headed. (Proverbs 4:26)  Everybody is walking toward eternity, good or bad; your choice (Proverbs 14:12) and (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Path to Hell

If you choose to follow Christ then here is a bit of a map.  (Proverbs 3:6)

First, the path is indeed narrow and only a few find it (Matthew 7:14).  In some places, it's a tight rope with deep chasms on either side.  These are the areas of your life where you have struggled the most.  One step to the right and you enter into the mire of the flesh; the willfulness in each of us that wants what we want and we want it now. (Proverbs 4:27)

Tightrope

Stumble to the left and you enter the despair and hopelessness of the evil enemy.  Sometimes, we bounce back and forth between the two sides, like a pinball caught between bumpers.  We cross over the path but don't plant our feet firmly on the ground.  On these tight rope sections, we are not capable of staying on the path in our own strength, through our own will, and by our own proclamation; we have to surrender to the Lord and let Him hold us up and get us through.  (Philippians 2:13)

Quicksand

Secondly, don't show off.  How many of us are guilty of trying to impress the Lord, to demonstrate how much we have learned, and how strong we are; we don't realize how often the quicksand is up to our necks before we call out for help.  I hope I stop getting in up to my neck.  It takes a humbleness of Spirit to ask for help, self sufficient, type A achievers like to be independent, we like to take charge and do it on our own; that way we get the glory.  Well, there is nothing glorious about being covered in quicksand.  No one in the Bible knew this better than Peter who writes (1 Peter 5:5-6) that we must be humble before the Lord.

Complacent Christian

Thirdly,  the narrow path has two sides along it entirety.  There is no part of the journey that is not flanked on either side with evil and the flesh.  There is no safe place to let down our guard and coast along, the Word warns us of complacency and if you've walked the path for more than 10 minutes you know this is true.  (Zephaniah 1:12)

Walk with Others

Fourthly, we must walk the road with others.  We are not strong enough to make it by ourselves.  We need godly friends, church folks, and family to help along the way. Help others, live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.  (Micah 6:8)

Pathway of Light

Finally, commit yourself to prayer and reflection every day.  If you seek the face of God in the morning, even if you went off the path the day before, He will set you right.  His mercies are renewed everyday.  If we check our steps regularly, we won't stray far.  (Romans 12:2)

He never promised the road would be easy but He did promise us eternal life in Heaven.  (2 Timothy 4:6-7)  So we strive toward the prize, we groan in our Spirits, we look forward to the end of the journey and to coming Home.  (Philippians 3:14)

The Reckoning

As the world spirals ever downward and the signs of the times manifest on an hourly basis, I am utterly astounded at the slumber most of the population is in.  I am burdened beyond measure to shout at the top of my lungs that people need to wake up, Wake Up, WAKE UP!  The enemy of your soul is at the gate and this unhinged world bent on self satisfaction is gladly ushering him in.

There is no coincidence that in vampire lore evil needs permission to enter your house.  Thus too, supernatural evil requires permission and society is beckoning it in with exultation.  Dressed as a sexy angel, the foolish world celebrates the fleshly desires evil brings with him.  They are drunk on the blood of innocents and scoff at the most High God day and night.  

Do you feel the shaking?  Do you hear the howling wind?  Do you sense the storm raging?  For the unseen is greater than the seen and wicked and dying men are blind to the calamity approaching.  A faithful and merciful God calls for the lost to repent and the remnant cry continuously in the streets, "Repent, return to God for judgement is coming if you do not."  

Deluded men say to themselves, "I am a good person, I have nothing to repent for."  This is a lie, for judged against the standards of perfection we fall short.  We have lived in a society for so long that tries to understand and excuse evil that we are no longer conflicted or convicted in ourselves or others.  We make excuses for everything we do: Well, I was depressed when I abused those drugs.  I was lonely so I slept around.  I was can not be held accountable,  I was born this way.  The rationalizations are as endless as the sins they seek to excuse.  We all do it, our self esteem depends on it.  Our society has taught us that it is harmful to blame ourselves and injure our self esteem but I say the opposite is true.

"If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Do you understand what that means?  That means that instead of making excuses and covering up for ourselves, we can be free of the bondage of sin and death, we can be cleansed and made whole.  We can be right with God and justified through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ.  

You are not damned unless you chose it.  God does not consign anyone to Hell, people chose it themselves.  They shake their fist at God, harden their hearts, and perish of their own volition.  For since the beginning of your life, "God has made himself known to you, through the rocks, the trees, the flowers, that at the end no man will be without excuse."  Seek the Lord, Repent, we have entered the time of the Reckoning.

Partnering With God in the Garden

The Bible uses agriculture to teach dozens of lessons to mankind.  Allegories and stories swirl though my mind, add to that my love of gardening, and the stage is set   Yesterday I was gazing at the Back to Eden Garden whilst sipping coffee and felt the Lord's sweet presence.  I realized that my life, like my B2E Garden, is a partnership with the Lord.  That might not seem Earth shattering but walk this path with me, perhaps the Lord will bless you in the journey.

Several years ago, my original perennial garden was absolutely full.  To continue to add plants would have moved it from a garden to a collection of plants.  I turned my attention to a sun baked spot in the back yard where even the grass and weeds struggled to grow and determined it was the perfect spot for a vegetable garden.  I trudged out there one February morning and began the arduous process of double digging the patch.  Holy Cow, this soil was a mess.  Silt on top where a stream has once run, light yellow compaction full of every tree root that had been left in the clearing of the lot, and underneath saturated red clay that weighed 20 lbs a shovelful.  It was brutal work.  This plot represents our lives before Christ, our flesh.  There is no good thing in it.  We have been baked by the sun where even weeds struggle to thrive.  Our sin runs like dead tree roots and we are weighed down in our spirits like the soaked red clay.

As I dug, the neighbors dogs barked... and barked... and barked.  I became madder by the minute.  Garden time was supposed to be peaceful and full of life and relaxation - this was filthy, muddy, stumbling work punctuated by yapping.  Finally, after two hours, I threw down my shovel and stormed up the street.  The clueless neighbor was no doubt shocked at my appearance at her door, sweaty in the February brisk air, liberally smeared with dirt, hair gone wild in the wind.  She gave me a rather confused look and mumbled, "I wondered what they were barking at..."  This did little to calm my ire but I stomped away to relative quiet.  The dogs in the story, well they are the demons and naysayers who like to condemn, gossip, and torment us.  They were sounding the alarm that good work was being done in my backyard.  Barred from the property, they could do nothing but make noise and aggravate.

The job I assumed to be a day or two, turned into three full weekends.  Having read that turning the clay and letting it sit in the weather would help to turn it into good soil.  I waited.  Weeds began to thrive, clods of clay baked in the winter sun and turned into terra cotta pottery.  I spayed weed killer all over the pile of dirt and waited a little longer.  April came and I brought in 20 bags of top soil, compost, and manure.   I sprayed the weeds again.  This phase is like the person who thinks if they dig down and unearth all the bad things in their lives that the airing out of everything will turn them into good soil, instead they are exposed, grow weeds, and certain parts of them harden like pottery.  They bring in pretty dressing that they buy and haul it in arduously spreading and augmenting the soil.  This temporarily covers the mess and for a little while it looks like mission accomplished.  To the outside world, hard work and money have accomplished the desired results.  Until the weeds start to emerge.  

Finally the time came to plant.  Most of the plants were purchased at the nursery but a few seeds were sown.  A few weeks later, a light dusting of pine straw covered the soil and the result was glorious.  I was so excited.  This was prior to my Abigail and Dolley days but I wrote extensively about how excited I was.  I companion planted everything and eagerly awaited the results, which were fantastic... at first.  This represents what we can do on our own, through hard work and money.  We can try and force what we want in our lives.  We sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor and investment.

Then, the last blog written that year is titled, "The Dog Days of Summer".  The unrelenting sun beat down, the rain did not fall, the weeds took over, the pests moved in, and everything fell apart.  I vowed that I would hold back the forces through hard work and recounted a five hour day in the sun pulling back the mulch and fighting the weeds, to no avail. This is where we vow to keep it together, that our hard work WILL pay off through sheer force of will but in the end the forces beyond our control beat down upon us and devour what we have tried to do.  These are the businessmen you see at dinner who can not put down their blackberry long enough to have a conversation with their colleague sitting across the table.  When it is up to you to keep your head above the waves.

In the end, the garden baked to stalks.  I took no picture of this desolation, we do not show off our failures.  We don't document and share pictures, we hide them and hope no one will ask.   My hard work, my money, my time was for naught but toil.  This represents a life lived our way, by our own efforts, and minus the blessings of the Lord.  I doubled down the next year.  I hired a man with a big tiller and had 40 bags brought in.  The results were the same.  Sadly, I repeated this process for two more years before abandoning the entire enterprise as a money pit of toil.  This is the epitome of just working harder, just try harder, just pour more money into it - if it fails it is because YOU have failed.

Years passed and I began to once again speak of my desire for a vegetable garden.  My husband suggested that he would build me one as my Christmas present.  I was as excited as ever but this excitement was tempered by my previous bad experiences.  I determined that this time would be different and I began researching what was new in vegetable gardens.  The Lord led me to the Back To Eden Garden Film and I was enthralled.  This is gardening done God's way, with His methods, and is blessings - without the toil and the hard work I always associated with vegetable gardening and with a blessed return on my investment which would get better with age.

Back To Eden Garden the First Spring

The difference is day and night.  We did not garden in the same spot, which was still sun baked and barren.  This new garden is huge, triple the original plot, and full of periods of shade from the unrelenting Carolina sun.  Yes, it still took time, hard work, and money but there is a partnership in this endeavor that was missing before.  Most of the plants thriving in the garden were grown from seeds instead of purchased transplants.  The weeds are few and can be plucked with a small pinch and a tug.  The wood chips hold the water from the rain and the plants are thriving.  I look upon the creation and I realize that there is a harmony in this garden as there needs to be in our lives.  I am doing my part and God is blessing the efforts.  I do not know if the harvest will be as magnificent as the young plants signal, after all it is up to God to continue to protect and to grow the plants.  We are a small family and it will be more than we can possibly consume or store, so we plan to bless others with the bounty.  I rest in the assurance that past experience don't always dictate future results, especially when you do it God's way.

Finding God's Provision

This Christmas, I have learned, perhaps, the most valuable lesson of the year.  "What lesson?" You ask.  I have learned to recognize God's Provision.  We can do this by stopping, observing, and looking at what is in front of us instead of dwelling on what is not.  He meets our needs everyday but we miss it in the moment, only in hindsight do we see.  

My family determined this year, we were not going to make Christmas a consumption fest.  We were not going to run ourselves ragged or go broke buying gifts.  We kept that promise and the blessings of the Season were amazing.  By looking to the things He already had given us, we bagged all of our presents with last year's bags and tissue paper.  By praying for his provision, we had a bottle of wine when we needed to bring something to a friend's party, we had the ingredients for cookies and cake so we could bring some food.  When our son brought a friend home for dinner, unexpectedly, we cut the chicken breasts in half and shared the food we had on the table.  The next morning when there was four eggs and three slices of bacon, I made 5 omelets and toast and everyone went away full and satisfied.  As I am looking for wood chips, compost, and mulch for my new Back to Eden Garden, neighbors bag their leafs up and leave them on the side of the road, tree services deliver wood chips, and the neighbors who keep chickens say I can have as much manure as I want.  I've desired a compost bin for a while and I now have free pallets to use to make one.  Since the birth of my Sister's first baby in 2007, I have purchased special ornaments for each child.  This year, the $80 ornament was just not in the budget, I was sad about this and rationalized that I would buy it next year and he would never know the difference.  I got a promotional email and for a limited time the ornament was 50% off!  It was still the most expensive present I bought this year but I was so proud of it.  I was so thankful to the Lord that I was not embarrassed over my lack of funds and I was so blessed to be able to keep the tradition.  Looking back over this year, these are just a scant few examples, but I think you get the gist. 

In all of the above small situations, I could have looked at what I did not have, I could have bought what I wanted on credit, I could have tried to provide for myself but I would have failed.  Instead, I made a choice to appreciate what I did have and the experience was so much richer.  I felt blessed, I felt as if I was a good steward, and the excitement of Christmas has returned to my heart.

So dear friends, I implore you to make a paradigm shift in your thought life and learn to appreciate what God has given you.  It will take some creativity, it will take a humbleness, and it will give you back more than you can ever imagine.

Being an Ant

Life can run in parallels; sometimes we are faced with circumstances that seem eerily familiar.  If we repeat mistakes and continue along dead end paths, we should not be surprised that we achieved the same results.  Then there are times when things may seem the same but there are subtle and significant differences.  I am currently living the latter.

On the surface, it appears that once again history has repeated itself but as I dig deeper I realize that while the circumstances may be the same, I have changed.  I am not the same woman who went through this two and a half years ago.  On the mourning day, I wept before the Lord and cried out, "I have been a good girl!  I did not do anything to deserve this!"  He soothed my soul and comforted me in my grief.  He validated my assertion that I was not at fault and assured me that He would show me, in time, why this has happened and that He would sustained me every day.

Over the last three and a half weeks, I have spent countless hours with the Lord.  I walk and pray and write and blog and think and research and talk (my poor husband...).  I am peaceful and calm and am enjoying this fellowship with the Lord.  As we walked yesterday, He revealed to me that while I have given my heart to Him, surrendered my self to Him, and honored Him in my life and my work; I have  never really given Him control of my life.  Immediately, I thought, "Because your plans scare me!"

That's a heck of a thing to admit; God's plans scare me.  Surrender to Him fully scares me.  He is not safe, He is not a marionette that I control on a string, He is not tame, His way might be hard.  I guess I never really reasoned this out before now.

My way?  Oh, that's easy, my way involves being eternally beautiful, losing a few pounds, having enough money to do whatever I want,  a fabulous career, and a house on the beach.  My plans include no pain, no suffering, no obstacles.   His plans?  I am not sure but I bet they involve remote locations with stinky people that I need to feed or something...  Hey, I haven't thought this out before and I think this was the vague imagine in my head.  (Just keeping it real here in Abigail and Dolley World.)

What if God's plan for my life accomplishes many of the things my plan does but has the added bonus of being obedient, serving the King, and storing up treasures in Heaven?  What if God's plan work to my strengths and use my talents?  What if God's plan is a good one?  These were some Earth Shaking thoughts...

So I reason out, nobody is promised tomorrow.  The research I have been doing seems to indicate that the Rapture might be imminent.  What if there is just a short time left?  Could I give God six weeks?  Could I totally surrender my life and my future to His hands?  Does this mean not doing anything on my behalf? I don't think so, Proverbs tells us to behold the hard working ant.  I can be an ant.

Hard Working Ant

Blessings

Abigail and Dolley readers I have been contemplating blessings, the gifts and talents we are all given.  Several weeks back, my son and I studied the parable of the servants and the talents.  We discussed how the Lord had given him many talents and that he was supposed to use them for God's glory, how he was never to become arrogant in the gifts, and how he needed to use them responsibly.  It was heavy teaching for a twelve year old but necessary to prepare him for life.

In the weeks that have followed, the Lord has brought this Scripture to my mind over and over again.  For it is every true believers desire to hear the words, "Well done good and faithful servant!  You were faithful with a little now I give you plenty."  But truly, in our sinful hearts, how many of us are truly humble about our blessings?  I think if you examine your heart, you will find pride, I know I do.

We as a society value money, beauty, and intelligence.  Some are gifted in all of these things, some two, others one, and for others their gifts lie elsewhere.  Let us take some examples, the financially blessed and the financial failure.  Two men with equal intelligence, beauty, and work ethic - one with a financial blessing on his life and one without.  The blessed one's work multiplies, everything he touches prospers; the other is a failure in all that he does.  Both work equally hard.  Two athletes are equally gifted, both work equally hard; one blows his knee out his Senior Year, the other is blessed with health, fame, and money.  One woman is blessed with a lovely figure; another is not.  Both work out at the gym, watch their caloric intake, both strive.  One is successful, the other a failure.

We could site hundreds of examples; students, singers, artists.... the point is that we all have our blessings and sometimes hard work has nothing to do with success.  The American Dream that if you just work hard enough at something you will be successful is not necessarily true.  If God chooses to withhold blessings from your life, no amount of toil is going to change that.

Blessings From God

Of course I am not advocating laziness, slothfulness, and apathy because sometimes in order to fully appreciate the blessing He calls us to labor long and hard as unto Him and not man.  What finer prize is there in this lifetime than to strive and work for something well beyond when most would give up to finally attain the dream.

Woe to us that forget that all blessings come from Him; all good things in life are His gift to you.  We are told to honor Him and to work hard but the failure I see is that we become proud.  The Pro Athlete looks at his college teammate who was hurt and thinks, "I am better than him."  The beautiful trim woman looks at her unattractive cousin with disdain.  The rich man looks at his brother with scorn and self righteousness.  We become arrogant in our blessings, they become our curses, we become their slaves.

I have been just as guilty as you.  There is no finger pointing in this blog, I can look in the mirror and read these words back to myself, the blessing I have been given here is clarity.  He saw this in me and arranged a fiery trial for me in 2011 to burn it out of me.  It hurt, it was painful, and gut wrenching, I didn't like it at all but it was for my good.  You see the blessings that so clearly flowed in my life before the trial have been withheld since.  My beauty is fading, my body is fat again, my health is precarious, my career has sputtered, the magnetism that I drew people to me has dimmed, the favor I have always sought has been tempered, and I have been humbled.

Perhaps this little blog is just for me, perhaps it will touch you, perhaps it will convict you and send you to your knees in repentance.  I hope so because humbling hurts.

Signs in the Heavens the Harbinger Continues

Abigail and Dolley readers I once again find myself looking to the sky, the infinite, the Creator.  Last month, the book, The Harbinger came into our household.  My husband was enthralled and encouraged me to read it; I was busy but committed that I would.  The Lord insured that I would be a lot less busy... I read it last week.  From the opening chapters, I was hooked.  I devoured it like a starving man who wanders into marriage supper of the Lamb.

The omniscience of the Lord, His guiding hand, and His divinity are scattered throughout the pages.  We know in our hearts that He is bigger than we understand but we tend to make Him pocket sized.  We do not trust the supernatural, we doubt the still small voice, we dismiss miracles as coincidence.  This is a grievous offense and has no place in a believer's heart or life.  For His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.

So God shows up in a BIG way and I begin to eat the strong meat of this Word.  I highly encourage everyone to read the prophetic word in the Harbinger, it is from that worldview that I write.  I will also assume that you have a fundamental understanding of End Times Prophecy because this will be a blog, not a scholarly article citing chapter and verse.  It is truth from this Pre-Tribulation believers point of reference and any small error I may make will be entirely my own.  My blog, my rules.

Every seven years Elul 29th is the end of the Shemittah or Sabbath year.  All accounts are wiped away and all debits and credits are returned to zero.  This command is only given to Israel but starting with 9/17/01, it came into play in America.  We had the largest stock market crash in our history to date, 6 days past 9/11.  This was our warning, repent and turn back to God.  We failed.  Seven years later, on Elul 29 (9/29/08), we had a global economic collapse.  We were called to repent as a nation, we did not.  Prophetic circles began to buzz, what would the next Shemittah year end Elul 29th bring?  What date is it?  (I need to remember to set a calendar reminder to divest before 9/13/15).  The date happens to always herald Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of the Trumpets.

This made me go, hmmmm.... it has long been surmised that the Rapture of the Church would take place on Rosh Hashanah, what better time than during all that trumpet blowing?  So I keep digging and I find there is a solar eclipse on the same date.  Sun signs are signs to the world and Moon signs are signs to Israel, so this date holds significance for both Jews and Gentiles.  The solar eclipse sent me to the Heavens....

Genesis clearly tells us that He created the stars, the sun, the moon to be signs for us. Not surprisingly, there is some pretty amazing stuff in the celestial calendars for the past few years and in the next couple of years; the researcher in me was on a roll.  Now, after the Fall, the Natural World was tainted by the stain of sin.  We live in a fallen world where EVERYTHING (except the Word of God) is tainted.  If you are going to investigate anything in truth, you must first deal with the sin element in it.  The sin element in astronomy is astrology and the Christian church has thrown the baby out with the bathwater.  We ignore it, we don't teach it, and frankly, we just don't understand it.  The Lord himself said numerous times that there will be signs in the heavens and that we are fools to not look for them.

This is where you need to be careful, well the whole subject requires care, but I have to point out here that when Jesus speaks directly about the Second Coming, he is talking to Israel not the Church.  The Second Coming and the Rapture are two different events, don't confuse them.  Now, I have to restate, when we are talking about the Moon, we are talking about Israel, keep that in mind.

Blood Moon

A Blood Moon Tetrad is an occurrence of 4 Lunar Eclipses on the Jewish Feast days of Passover and the Tabernacles.  They call it a total lunar eclipse a blood moon because the diffused rays of the sun through the Earth's atmosphere can make it appear red, historically this scared the crap out of everybody.  A BMT (as they are called) has occurred 7 times since Jesus ascended into Heaven and each time it was a sign to Israel.  BMT's herald a terrible period of trouble for Israel followed up in deliverance.  When you add in the solar eclipse calendar to the lunar eclipse calendar, you get an even deeper picture.  When you add in the Elul 29 Shemittah, you get something else all together.

We had a Blood Moon Tetrad that coincided with the rebirth of Israel in 1948.  So Holacaust, then birth of the nation, then BMT 1949-1950.  19 years later, 1967-1968 we have the Yom Kippur war or the 6 day war and Israel regains their capital, Jerusalem.  48 years later, we have another BMT 2014 - 2015.

Coincidentally this is the second time the spacing between triple occurrences has been 19-48, the year Israel was born again.  If you play with that number you see that by adding 1948 years to  the destruction of the temple in 70 AD you get 2018.  Folks in 2009 and 2010 were using this figure to predict a 2011 Rapture... we see where that got them... still here.  I am not trying to set dates, what I am trying to do is to get you to THINK.

There are youtube videos and charts everywhere but I couldn't find one that had everything I wanted to publish.  My handwritten notes and charts won't cut it, I may not be a professional, but I do have my standards...  I encourage you to watch the video and check out some of the charts, do your own research.  A number of charts have great info but some enterprising soul determined we were going to be Raptured in 2011 or 2012 and they may have false information on them.  Others are pdf formatted only and blogger won't let me embed a pdf file, so for all you visual folks check out the below:

Lunar and Solar Chart 2014-2015

The above chart fails to note the two solar eclipses that occur on 4/29/14 (Yom Hashoah/Holocaust Memorial Day) and 10/23/14 (Rosh Chodesh Chesvan).  Whether they are significant or not, I can not say but felt the above was not inclusive and they warranted mention.

It is also noteworthy that in the 7 weeks model of Daniel, the number of days in a 7 week period is 17640.  Using the Biblical calendar we see that  9/23/2015 is exactly 17640 days from the recapture of Jerusalem on 6/7/1967.  Which happens to be on Yom Kippur.

Now, I'd like to be Raptured as much as any believer reading this blog, I'd like it to be today.  While the above information is intriguing there are two celestial signs in Revelation 12 that I am not convinced we can pinpoint. It takes place at the exact middle of the Tribulation and corresponds chronologically with the Abomination of Desolation. "A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars".   Computer models can place the Woman but not "a huge red dragon,with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems" where "the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth."  Now can God make a dragon appear in the sky when he wants it too?  Yes, of course, he made the one below captured by the Hubble.  The point is we have no conclusive evidence of the Dragon that will appear at the same time as the Lady of the Apocalypse. 

Red Space Captured by Hubble

The Bible say there will be signs in the Heavens of His return.  We often hear quoted in Christendom that "That no man knows the hour or the day of Christs return, only my Father."  Did you know that is an idiom for a Jewish Wedding?  If I say to you as modern American Christian, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."  You know I am talking about a wedding.  The same is true for "No man knows the hour or the day."  In Jewish marital customs after the betrothal the groom returns to his Father's land to build his new bride a home.  He was not released to go pick up his bride until his father said the house was ready.  When people would ask when he was returning to his bride he would answer, "No man knows the hour or the day only my Father knows."  Using that logic we can see that we are not be ignorant.  

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 

Again, we are told it is the uninformed that will be surprised, not the elect.   If you read carefully, you will see that each time Jesus talks about the End Times he notes the signs in the Heavens and says the wise will see the sights and not be ignorant of His coming, it is only the uninformed that will be surprised.  

We as a church are called to be waiting for his return, I for one am keeping my lamp full of oil, how about you?

Mourning My Dad

Mourning my Dad is hard work.  Being who I am, ya'll know I have done my research on grief.  I do not expect that I will go through all the stages in perfect order, nor do I think there will be a timetable.  I merely wanted to understand what was coming my way.  I'm still in the shock and disbelief stage right now, it is hard for me to fathom a world where Jack Robinson is not here.

The grief comes in waves and I am comforted by talking about him, comforted by writing about him.  Nobody is sick of me yet, so I am taking advantage of their sympathetic ears while they are willing to listen to me.  I am in regular contact with all of my family, even my extended family is feeling the loss of such a good man.

In the days leading up to the funeral, I had to think about what I was going to say.  Each Daughter had a minute or two to say something about him and I struggled with what I could possibly convey in such a short period of time.  The night before the funeral, I was talking with some of the family and feel like the Lord laid on my heart that I should tell folks how Dad mirrored God the Father.  This is what I said:

"When I was four years old, someone pointed to picture of a man I did not know and asked who he was.  The answer was "The best man at Jack and Pat's wedding".  I was appalled and quickly spoke up saying, "MY Daddy was the Best Man at that wedding!"  I believe I speak for all of us girls, when I say we all felt the same way.  Dad was one of the rare people in this life that preached the Gospel without saying a word.  He modeled Godly behavior to all of us and especially showed us what a loving Father was like.  As a result, I have a wonderful relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I understand the reverential fear that the Proverbs speak of.  I understand the protectiveness and intense love that He feels for me and how no matter how bad I screw up, I can never loose his love.  I understand loving discipline and even at my age Dad would come and talk to me if he did not agree with something I was doing.  I carry with me a fierce desire to make Him proud of me.

Everyday, when I pray the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father" carries with it all the warmth and love that it is supposed to and I have my Daddy to thank for that."

In the days that have passed, I realized that my relationship with the Lord has been primarily with Jesus.  My prayers, my conversations, my images - they were all about and to Jesus.  The other night as I was praying, I felt a strong presence of God the Father and was comforted beyond measure.  When I was feeling bruised and battered and buffeted by guilt and regret, I felt the protective hand of the Father on my behalf and I was safe.  I will trust in this process, I will thank God for his provision, and I will rest while He keeps watch.

Migdal Eder, "The Tower of the Flock"

Abigail and Dolley readers some years ago I read the story of the shepherds, the significance of Bethlehem, and the wonderful plan of God.  Every Christmas I am reminded of the story and wish that more folks knew and understood the significance of Bethlehem.

You see, Bethlehem was where the lambs of the temple were kept and raised.  These were the perfect lambs of God.  The shepherds who tended them were trained in the laws and the rules of the law.  They were special, set apart, and holy unto God.

Midgal Eder - over the fields of Bethlehem

It was no accident that there was no room at the inn, for the true Lamb of God would not be born in a house but in a pure, clean, and holy lambing barn.  The final sacrifice for our Sin, the Holy Lamb of God, born for us in that special place.

The depth of the story, the significance of the place, the foreshadowing of the event in Genesis is full of wonder and majesty.  We do indeed worship a Holy and Blessed Lord.  If you'd like to read more, check out these links:

Why Bethlehem? and Christmas Past Messages from Abigail and Dolley

Merry Christmas, Friends.

No Longer One of the Statistics

Abigail and Dolley readers many of you know I lost my job in January.  It has truly been one of the most difficult periods of my entire life.  I have ALWAYS worked and have never been out of a job.  It is really tough out there and I am very fortunate that my industry has not evaporated in this Depression.  I feel for the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and construction companies that have seen their business disappear.  Many private companies are surviving only through the patronage of the behemoth Feds.  It is indeed a sad state of affairs and does not seem to be getting better.

Alas, I am happy to report that I have secured another position and began today.  It was glorious to awaken this morning with somewhere to go!  It was wonderful to meet new people and to live outside my own head again.  I have to also give a praise report that the Lord saw me and my family through this difficult time and I am eternally thankful for His provision, protection, and guidance.

God Bless you Abigail and Dolley readers.  Thank you for visiting and for your support during this tough time.

Bridesmaids - The Movie

Abigail and Dolley readers recently I spent a wonderful afternoon with a friend.  We had lunch and then a chick flick.  We heard Bridesmaids was entertaining and funny and since I was preparing for my 10th time down the aisle as a bridesmaid, it seemed like a great choice.  I will admit that I laughed, but much of the humor is about being embarrassed for the main character.  That kind of humor has always been unsettling to me.  You know what I am talking about, sort of that "Meet the Faulkers" humor?  I kept saying out loud, "Oh, no... don't do it..."  In addition,  there are parts of the movie so crude and disgusting that I just could not watch.

The movie is not appropriately titled, in my opinion it should have been called, "She's Coming Undone" or "Hitting Rock Bottom".  It was painful to watch the horrendous decisions the main character made throughout the entire movie.  Time and time again she self destructed, allowed herself to be horribly used, and succumbed to jealously and selfishness at an alarming rate.  She debased herself on a number of occasions and made a complete fool of herself throughout the movie.

2011 has been the most trying year of my life and I have said dozens of times, "How do people without Christ get through something like this?"  Behold, on the big screen was my answer in the form of Bridesmaids.  The character had no center, except that she loved to bake, it had been her passion and she stopped.  Everyone around her thought that if she would just bake again, her life would turn back around and she would find salvation in the "Nice Guy".  To give the movie credit, it took more than a cake to get her life back on track but even with the "happy" ending it was quite pathetic.  It left me feeling the overwhelming emptiness that must accompany those without faith and hope.

Ironically, I was reading a book called, The Upside of Down: Finding Hope When it Hurts. 
It is a work that takes the reader through life changing crisis and allows them to not only get through it, but to become stronger at the end.   It is a journey through understanding, accepting, healing, and empowerment.  It is a gentle reminder that God loves us even when times are tough and He is strong enough for us to rely and depend on him.  So if you find yourself at the end of your rope, do yourself a favor and do it God's way, otherwise you might find yourself starring in your own "Bridesmaids" movie.

Seeking God

Abigail and Dolley readers today's Scripture was 2 Chronicles 7:14 “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

Books could be written about this Scripture and indeed a search for the term "seeking God's face" will return pages of results.  Many of these talented authors are far more articulate than I on the subject but I will endeavor to convey a small amount of insight.

Often when we begin to seek God, we seek Him for His hand.  We have fallen on our faces, we are in times of peril, and we know we must go to the true and living God for His divine intervention.  Our prayers are for help, deliverance, healing - things God can do for us.  Our relationship with Him at this point is one of a servant to a master, we humble ourselves before the Lord in supplication and submission.  These prayers will often take time, we do not serve a God that has a drive up window, His timing is not ours.

While we are seeking His hand, He will reveal His face.  We will begin to understand His love for us  We will get glimpses of Him, not just His works.  He will give us a hunger for a deeper relationship with Him, we will feel a devotion and a closeness to Him.  The Holy Spirit within us directs our gaze to the Son and the Son allows us to see the face of the Father.  Our relationship with Him now is one of child to loving parent.

When we come outside of ourselves and our circumstances, He will then take us to the next level, that of seeking God's Heart.  This is when we begin to look at the world through His eyes and not our own.  We begin to love the unlovely, to hurt for the lost, to pray for others in their need.  Our hearts are changed to be more like His.  Others see God through our lives and actions.  Our relationship with Him now is that of a mature child in service to the King.

Ironically, at each step we must sacrifice ourselves to move to the next level.  We can be full of self and seek God's Hand, but we must begin to sacrifice some of our own wants and desires to begin to see His face and we must humble ourselves completely before we see His heart.  In each step, we must be diminished and God must be magnified.  When you think about it though, is it really much of a sacrifice to be diminished within ourselves, are we all that great to begin with?

I found this handy little chart, Seeking God's Heart that I would like to share with you.  Many blessings to you friends and may you find peace and rest in the Lord today.

Saying Goodbye

Abigail and Dolley readers we lost our cat today.  In the grand scope of things, maybe not such a big deal, but it has me thinking.  I take solace today knowing there is a Lord.  I have a deep unshakeable conviction that we are not here by accident and that there is a Creator who made us and regularly attends to His Creation.  There are no direct Scriptures on whether or not pets go to Heaven, but as one pet owner put it, "I can't imagine Heaven without my animals."

The Lord we serve is infinite and He cares for us, better than an earthly father.  If our fathers on Earth, who are sinful, give us good gifts, how much more so does our Father in Heaven give gifts to those He loves?  Jesus said, "In my Father's house there are many many rooms. I go there now to prepare a place for you that where I am you might also be."  Thus, I believe the mansion I have in Heaven has a new occupant today, my sweet Tiggamarroo. He was a good cat, and the last words I said to him this morning were, "Tell Jesus I said, hello."

The Vase

Abigail and Dolley readers this will be a deeply personal post but I hope that you will be inspired by this story.  I hope that some of you will find this blog and read this story and recognize yourself in the words.

I feel like when God created me, he started out with a beautiful white vase.  On it, He wrote the story of my life.  Each experience, each triumph, each trial was the art that He drew on the vase of my life.  It was fired in the oven, glazed, and shone with glory.  When I was 29 years old, I rededicated my life to the Lord and the Living Water of the Holy Spirit filled me completely.  I prayed for a ministry and He put flowers in the vase.  Beautiful creations that were there for a time to drink of the love of the Living God.  These were my friends, my family, and my coworkers.  The water was sweet and abundant and I was so proud of how beautiful the vase looked with the bouquet of people God had picked to keep me company in this life.

As the years went by, my work began to take a toll.  The stresses of life were overwhelming and water began to leak out of the back of the vase.  From the front, which everyone could see, all was well but the water was leaking.  I stopped going to the faucet and getting filled up, the number of people in the vase was a heavy burden to carry and they started falling out of the back.  Every month, little chunks fell off the back of the vase, but nobody noticed.

I stopped wanting to be around others who were full of the Living Water, they reminded me of what was missing and I resented it.  I tried to fill the void with smoke, but it just evaporated.  I could no longer hold on to all the people in the vase as the water leaked out.  July 20th, 2010 I took a huge blow and the entire back of the vase blew out, shards and water flew everywhere.

I thought if I changed jobs that everything would be okay, I only looked at the front of the vase now.  I presented the front in all its beauty but the back was missing and I was leaking water everywhere.  The vase could no longer hold any flowers and the front began to show cracks.  My family saw a crack here and there, my husband saw others, my friends saw others still, but I am a master at makeup and I quickly covered the cracks and everyone just said, "Well, sometimes vases get cracked."  It's stress.

Over New Years weekend, the vase shattered.  Now, everyone could clearly see the cracks and they began to tell me what they had seen.  I insisted I was fine, no big deal, and I limped back into work, with only a little of the vase still in tact.  That was the part that was making a lot of money, but they knew the vase was gone, too.  When they asked me to leave the last remnant of the vase completely shattered.  I was shattered into a thousand pieces.

I've been wandering around my house for the last few weeks looking for the glue.  I have been wondering how in the world I am going to superglue this vase back together.

What I realized today was this, those broken pieces, the ones that broke off long ago are cemented in the table the vase has rested upon all these years. 

The table is made of concrete and the Lord has taken those broken pieces and has been embedding them.  If you look closely you can see each piece pressed into the mosaic.  Those last few pieces scattered about are the just new pieces in the project.  It's not yet done, the only thing that is certain is that it's not a vase.

I've put down my Super Glue.  I will never be a vase again, but I'll be a table which is infinitely more useful.

The Engine That Makes the Economy Run

Abigail and Dolley readers there is a lot of talk about getting the economic engine of America running again.  We have all sorts of government programs and they will all fall flat and cost us a fortune for little or no return.  The economic engine of this country has been and will always be small business.  There are millions of Americans out of work right now and I can tell you what they are thinking - how do I make a living now?  Many will start or have started a small business.

What is the biggest impediment to small business?  Regulation and red tape.  We must remove these impediments to get the economy rolling again.  We must make it simple for the guy that knows how to fix engines, to fix engines.  We must make it easier for business to get patents to protect their inventions.  We must make it so the small business person can get a loan to start their business.  We need government to get the hell out of our way so we can make it.  We must rethink the way we've always done things.  We must look for new processes, innovations, and technologies.  There is no shortage of entrepreneurs but there is an overabundance of bureaucrats.  What we are trying to right now is dig out of is an environment that hampers the great American Spirit. 

As for me and my family, we are going to make it happen for ourselves and in the process, we are going to live the American Dream.  May God Bless you and may God Bless America.

The God Spot

Abigail and Dolley readers I am in the desert right now.  Everything in my life has changed and I find that I am once again clinging to the Lord for direction and guidance.  There is a lot of writing that will pour out during that time as HE reveals truths to me and I will explode with revelation if I do not write them.  HE talks to me on a regular basis.  Sometimes through a breeze, sometimes in an audible voice in my head, sometimes through other peoples words, sometimes by confirming truths to me in objects, songs, and scriptures.

Am I crazy?  I don't think so, but some might disagree.  I do not believe I am any crazier than those that have been called before me to do the mighty works of God.  It must have seemed crazy to the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea.  It must have seemed crazy for them to walk around the city of Jericho and blow horns.  It must have seemed crazy for the disciples to leave everything and follow a Preacher.  It must have seemed crazy to Saul on the road to Damascus.  Daniel, John, and Ezekiel must have felt crazy for writing what the Lord showed them.  Those that loved them and knew them must have felt all of their loved ones were nuts.

I have said these words multiple times in the last three weeks, "I cannot explain this to you right now."  I cannot explain this peace that surpasses all understanding.  I cannot explain what HE has revealed to me or what HE has shown me, I do not understand it all myself, yet.  I will say though that HE does still talk, HE does still listen, and HE does still answer questions.

So let's just take this one little bite at a time and talk about the still small voice of the Lord.  Up to this point in my life I have heard him clearly only on a few occasions and the subsequent confirmation of the voice has proven that it was HIM and not me.  Why do all men seek to put a name on the voice?  One thing can be said for man throughout the ages is that he is incurably religious.  If there is nothing out there why have men always sought to explain it?  I believe it is because within us, there is a God spot.  A hole that was created in our Spirits that can only be filled with God.

Some seek to fill it with food, sex, drugs - things of the flesh that turn black and destroy their souls.  Some seek to fill it with Religion, rituals, rules, and structures - they are seeking to put God in a nice little box.  They are seeking to explain the unexplainable and they try to tame the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  Some seek to fill this God spot with science and in the process create their own secular religion that leaves out the Creator.  There are a myriad of ways that men try to fill the God spot but all will leave them cold and wanting because there is only one true filling of that spot and that is from the One who created it.

In these days, the Holy Spirit fills the God Spot and only HE can stop the endless pursuit.  Only HE can give your spirit rest.  Only HE can give you life, peace, and hope in this fallen and dangerous world.

If you are searching your restless spirit, if your soul feels empty, if you KNOW something is out there and nothing you have done thus far has given you rest, I can tell you what you need.  You need the Holy Spirit.  HE comes to you through the shed blood of Jesus.  HE does not glorify HIMSELF but points you to the Savior.  So if you are tired of questioning, tired of struggling, and tired of trying to figure it all out you've come to the right place.

It's a simple thing: pray, ask, and accept.  You KNOW the truth and let HIM take you the rest of the way.  Father, I believe.  Help my unbelief.  Send your Holy Spirit to fill my heart, my life, and my mind.  Take away the doubts.  Thank you, Lord for your Son who gave us the power to pray this prayer through his shed blood at Calvary.  Lord, I need rest.  I accept you, I worship you, I thank you for the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.