How do I explain the unexplainable?

 
   I'm in a spiritual battle. I find myself reacting when I truly want to stop and think it through, and it is difficult to explain. Perhaps part of it is being under so much stress that I react before I can think.
   I know for a certainty that God works all things out for our highest good, even when we don't understand.  Judges 2:20-23, God says He was angry with His people and would no longer drive out the strong, immoral, and strong nations where His people were settling; however, chapter 3:4, says that God Himself left those nations to teach the next generation to fight.  The battles are stronger than we realize; often people have given me a formula for fighting the enemy, saying if I will do such and so I will have no more trouble, but that's just not the way it works.
   This sounds strange, but the enemy of our souls has been trying to get me to leave my church, but I can't; recently I asked God to send me wherever He pleased and I was prepared to move on, thinking it even best for all. So I asked Him if I should go, and He gave me I Chron 28:20, telling me to not be afraid or discouraged for He is with me, and will not fail to be with me until His work here is finished.  And Nehemiah 4:14; don't be afraid, but fight for my brothers.
   We have read Scripture through the filter of church tradition and so miss the ways God wants to interact with us, just like Moses, Abraham, and Elisha, with His courage, and trusting Him to lead us. We do have a mortal enemy that has taken down many ministries and pastors, but God is blocking him and his minions at a place where the leadership wants to follow Him faithfully, and not their own agendas.
   Believe God, trust Him, even when others are not trustworthy; there is a war for the eternal lives of many, and we are all in the thick of it.

 My role as care-giver is kicking into high gear again as my husband has been hospitalized 9 days now with no set time for discharge. Mike is not feeling well yet, and he will likely go to a rehabilitation facility to see how he does, if he can improve, if he can gain mobility back, then make appropriate decisions from there, with a nursing home as a possibility. We don't want to make such a decision; he's head of our home, he needs to be here; yet, I'm not fully capable of caring for someone who may well need 24/7 care.
This is very difficult, and not what we had envisioned for the future.....yet, to see the light of Jesus shine through him, even in his condition, is a Beautiful thing to see! Perhaps because of his condition...instead of complaining or becoming bitter or shriveling up into self-pity, he is choosing to press in to Jesus!
Although I have not understood what God was doing in many ways, this past six years has been about learning the voice of God, learning to obey Him no matter what it looks like, and trusting Him no matter what others think they see...it is about trusting God and choosing Him above all, and Mike has been learning along with me.  No, it's much more, it is all about God's Grace and highlighting our own weaknesses, and showcasing God's Abundant Love  To be so utterly helpless as Mike is, yet choosing to believe God has His very best for us is Beautiful!!  It is seeing what Grace looks like, it is seeing God's heart pouring out toward others.  It is seeing what makes life Rich and Authentic.
Some may say God is cruel in all this, but His kindness is seen in the heart of Mike.  God is not cruel, but we choose to step away from His protection when we don't trust Him. His Kindness is seen in a Dear Friend whom God used to reveal Himself to me.  It is seen in God letting me be a part of the transforming of lives through His Spirit.  It is seen in the transformation of my own life as God said to not be afraid.
The only appropriate response to seeing what God has done is Worship in Joy, even in the uncertainties and sorrows,  Praise God, from Whom all Blessing Flow!

The Mystery of Being the Only one; and Being One with All He has Chosen

~~~  Today I want to walk with Jesus.
~~~  Of course, don't we all, that is, all who have known Him as Savior and Lord?
~~~  Yes, but I want to really be with Him, as a child in delight and safety with an adoring parent.
~~~  But more.
~~~  To see in His eyes the love my heart has always dreamed of; to be swept away to a place only He and I inhabit; a place where my being can just be one with Him, where my heart is fulfilled with the most Beautiful of Loves! Where we dance in perfect step, in perfect harmony, each knowing the shared rhythm as we glide in the glory of His Creation, and joy in the rush of His river, in the story of His stars, in the beauty of His flowers, in the majesty of His mountains, and breathe in the fresh air of His heavens.
~~~  He is my Bridegroom, the Joy of my heart, my Sweetest Dreams come true. He is my Reality, the one who paid the Bridal price for me, who paid the price for my sin and gave me His Purity to cover my shame and make me His own!
~~~  I am the Bride, washed White in His Blood! He comes extending His Hand, and I weep with gratitude as I place my finger in the scar of the nail that should have been mine! And, again, I looked into those eyes full of the most Tender Love I have ever experienced, and I fall in worship...then He lifts me up to sit with Him in the Clarity and Richness of heavenly places!! Beauty beyond dreams.
~~~  This is My Beloved; I am His, and He is mine, alone! Then He takes my hand, lifts me to my feet, and we walk together, just Him and I, and we walk the earth the show others this Beauty and bring life to their own Dreams!
~~~  Just Him and me. The two of us, in Love, in Majesty.
~~~  This Love grows and can't be shut up to be consumed by us alone, it must be shared to remain Love. It will always be just Him and I. And it will always be you and them and Him and I.
~~~  The Mystery of being the only one, and being as one with all He has chosen!
~~~  Come, you have accepted His Salvation, now accept His Invitation to Dance, to be Loved as His Adored, to be His one and only! Come, awaken to His Beautiful Gaze. Come, walk with Him and share His Love. Come, let Love wash another in His Blood, and walk with the Newly Redeemed, and let all be Loved with this Most Sweet of all Dreams!
~~~  And I weep in gratitude and worship!

The Greatest is love...

    When children don't know Jesus they grow up thinking that the relationship between a man and a woman is the ultimate experience of love, and when those relationships prove less than had been hoped, their lives can becomes battlefields of great frustration. Media, and other insecure individuals, pile massive amounts of insecurity into hearts which are longing for acceptance and genuine love, and some kids are so destroyed they end their lives. Some kids act out in many destructive ways in a downward spiral; some take a higher road to personal achievements; others plod through life in the best way they know how, compensating for perceived lack of character, abilities, etc.
  What if Jesus was known as a Savior, Lord, and Friend in these early years? What if He could be known as the deepest desire experienced? What if He could be known by children in schools, by children who have no other sources of knowing Him? What if there was a club, unrestricted by government policies, in which kids would be exposed to history that is true, including the knowledge of the foundation of our country, and that the Same Person who led our Fore Fathers to form our nation, could be known by the kids personally, and find the ultimate relationship?
  I'm not speaking of pie-in-the-sky smooth sailing for life, but Someone who loves them with a deep passion and longs to guide them through life in what is the very best for them, and an easing of the struggles of growing up just because He is there.
  Friendships given as gifts by Jesus are closer than those without Him, because He wants His Church to be united by the Holy Spirit, and wants us to have great Joy in Him and each other. In New Testament times brothers were greeted with holy kiss, but we are too afraid of such closeness in our society, and that was accepted then because the Church was to be one Body. Still, Jesus makes friendships with strong bonds, and these precious friendships, through Jesus, are what many kids are looking for today, second only to knowing Him.
  Jesus said, 'don't be afraid'; He wants to bring us these friendships to reveal Himself through each other and to each other; I want to lift up and encourage my Friends, even though I fail too often for whatever reason. Because Jesus wants this even more than we do, I will pursue Him first, and be grateful for His Gift. Marriage, while not the ultimate relationship, is a pattern of Jesus and His Church and to be greatly treasured; while we are afraid to acknowledge that He loves each of us with such a passion and closeness, it is Blessedly true, except His Love for us is all giving, and not self-serving in the least. I pray such a blessing for the kids, now, and as they mature and grow toward Him.
  This is why a kid's history club is in the works, and if only one is helped, then that one is our hearts' reward, and the Great, Great Joy of Jesus!!

Does it really matter?

   Some say we need to learn history, ''because it is fascinating'';  this true, very true.
However, for some reason they have not said this, but a people without their history is an enslaved people. Even if they have no master over them, a people without history is enslaved to an ever increasing Godless society that makes gods out of money, prestige, youth, convenience, and whatever else will serve as a pretty bauble in the moment.
   A people without history cannot know the difference between a Hitler and a Churchill; they cannot know the signs of someone who wants to rule for their good as a servant, or someone who wants to use them for personal power, and to use people in any manner for personal gain.
   As for the most accurate history book, the Bible is discarded in an ignorant society, and that society will turn increasingly barbaric and have no clue they are doing so. We have become so ignorant as a people that we have let Roe v Wade stand for more than 40 years, and girls and women are still believing that the child in their womb is merely tissue.
   We have equated daily showers and pressed clothing with civilization, and we have so bought into that idea we are no longer able to know truth from lie.
   We must, with all possible speed and will, bring full world history back to our nation...and that history MUST match original documents, or it is mere opinion.
   We must rescue our children from those in many public schools who teach treason and Godlessness, and so doom our next generation to self-destruction as a people. We have somehow accepted the idea that we can survive as a people without knowing Jesus Christ, but an honest and full study of history will show clearly that this simply has no basis in fact.
   A free people knows its history, and the men who founded our nation, both in the 1600's, and their descendants of the 1700's, were education far beyond our currant  concepts of learning.
   God, help us!  Draw our hearts to Yourself, and rescue us from our immense ignorance!

''Need You'' Bracelet

   The Need You Bracelet is a conversation starter; a reminder that we all need each other, need Jesus Christ, every day.
   In the late 1700's and into the mid 1800's, Muslims had very active slave markets just as they do now, and in this time period much human cargo was shipped to the America's. Since there was little communication among people, the horrors of slavery were not widely known until twenty-some newspapers, many smaller publications, and books, were distributed; and the Underground Railroad was active, but had to remain secretive for the safety of all involved. These anti-slavery men and women came from all walks of life and communities, Black and White.
   When books like Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' was distributed, the people of the United States became incensed at the brutality of many slave owners. There were some slave owners who were kind, and some broke the Democratic law that slaves must not be taught to read or attend any kind of Church service. Some of the publishers of the abolitionists are detailed in other articles of this blog.
   The Democratic party stood firm for slavery and made many extreme and harsh laws to keep their 'businesses' in human trafficking alive and prosperous. The Republican party was formed in 1854 by anti-slave activists who worked hard against the self-serving slave owners who forced their way in government.
   The Bracelet is also an encouragement to learn much of our history that has been cruelly denied the past few generations, and a people without their history will soon implode through ignorance. History must come from a full and honest research from original documents, or it is mere opinion.
   People who were enslaved were forbidden to speak their native language, to speak of their homeland or any memories of family, they were forbidden to read or have any means of communicating in large crowds. They were isolated, demeaned, treated worse than animals. they were forbidden their history...how vital it is for us to have our history...and that history includes Scripture...we must fight for our history, for each other, and purposefully put Jesus Christ in the center of our lives.

Freedom through Jesus Christ and Brotherly cooperation.

Memories of Aunt Lydia are sweet and lovely. An occasional whiff of an odor or fragrance can send me right back to her kitchen with the mismatched cupboards, pie safe, stand-alone sink, and coats hung behind the back door. Through either doorway sat the small dining table, jams, jellies, butters, and condiments were gathered to the center of the table, and an oil-cloth neatly covered it all. To the side was a smaller roll-top desk, always open because there were just too many papers to close it. Not just bills, but writings and plans for the next garden club she began some 30 years before and often hosted; then there were several articles waiting to add to the local paper column she had been writing for several years; and, of course, 4-H papers for the many lives she impacted, along with many cards of thanks for her selfless work.
How sweet these memories were as I think back on the summers I spent with her as a teen, and my mind treasured and carefully put away as the sweetest of memories. These memories are sweet beyond saying, and they have had a significant impact on who I am today. Grandma Buttolph, although I barely knew her, also made an impact on my life that has influenced me to this day. And the stories through the diary of my Great, great Grandfather, Rev John Buttolph, makes my heart swell with gratitude for my heritage.

But, what if the family stories passed down had been of slavery, of cruel and humiliating treatment on a daily basis, with every day filled with hard, back-breaking work, and no thanks given, as the work benefited a 'massa' and his family, while Great, great Grandparents  returned to accommodations unfit for animals. What if those memories were of a child's Momma being 'sold' like cast-off merchandise and the child ripped away from his Momma's side and given to others who were so beaten down they had nothing of kindness to give. What if my stories had been of my Great, great Grandmother being whipped until blood flowed to the ground because she refused to give her body to whomever it may have been demanded.
These are stories that throb in the terrible memories of many people who are our neighbors, and we do not understand what drives them because we have chosen, over the decades, to remove history from our schoolrooms.

Yet, what if we could bring out the true history of this mass injustice, and see a people who often put all their life on the line to escape enslavement, and with great courage, set their hearts to escape their captors and find a new life!  Many did not survive such a venture, either by death, or a return to the living nightmare of forced hard labor and certain torture for even considering escape. Death, was indeed, preferable to forced labor, and solely for the benefit of another. Then their was great courage as those who did escape returned to help others find a way out of their living hell.
Where did this courage come from? Courage, justice, kindness, and civility come solely from God Almighty, through Jesus Christ, who is the one and only original source of civilization, because He is the Creator of all, and saved humanity through His sacrifice for our sins. Freedom and the Judeo-Christian faiths are inseparable, historically so, and can be seen throughout the past thousands of years.

As we learn, and pass along, this three-fold history of Black and White cooperation, and love of Jesus Christ, we can build bridges where division seems nailed in place.