STAYING BLESSED

What do we have to do to stay blessed in this crazy world? There are so many overwhelming things that we become influenced by. They flood our minds with all kinds of thoughts and images. There’s TV (hundreds of channels to choose from), movies, newspapers and magazines, computer games, music, cell phones, cars, traffic jams, traffic lights, poor drivers, no parking spots; cold weather, hot weather, humid weather, windy weather; taking care of pets. What about neighbors, hobbies, causes, bills? So many things attack our thoughts and then our minds.

With all of this going on, how do we stay blessed?

James 1:25:
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

James 1:12:
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Psalms 1:1-3:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

I hate to burst all y'alls bubble

I really didn't want to have to say this, but I am sick and tired of this Jesus Jesus Jesus thing. Honestly people, what does it take for you to know the truth. Just a desire is all. First of all Jesus was the man who was on the earth. When he died and God raised him from the dead, he became our savior. Our savior is Jesus CHRIST. When you proclaim "Jesus", you had better be careful because there's evil behind it. There is no where in the Bible where anyone ever prayed to Jesus or Jesus Christ. We magnify God. We are unbelievably thankful for what Christ did for us, how could we not be, but God the Father is the creator of the heavens and the earth and HE made everything possible. Christ sits at the right hand of his Father. Jesus and the cross and all of that solemn crap is not right. We don't magnify the negative, we magnify the risen lord and savior. Doesn't that make sense?

Now about this Christmas celebration, the following explanation is taken from "Jesus Christ our Promised Seed":

Biblical scholars have long recognized that Jesus was not born on December 25. As you go back in the records, there is no record of a holiday designated in observance of Jesus Christ's birth before the fourth century A.D. This observance on December 25 can, however be traced back to 336 A.D. in Rome; in Antioch, 375 A.D.; in Constantinople, to 380 A.D.; and in Alexandria to 430 A.D. The celebration of Christ's birth on December 25 was unknown in Jerusalem until the sixth century A.D.

Long before Christ, in ancient times many cultures had a festival in late December at the time of the winter solstice in celebration of the birth of their sun gods. There was Tammuz who was worshipped in Babylon, Surya in India, and Osiris in Egypt. Other gods supposed to have been born at this time are Horus, Bacchus, Adonis and Mithra just to name a few.

This midwinter festival was known as Saturnalia or the Feast of Saturn when it was adapted in Rome. It was characterized by devil worship, excessive drunkenness, orgies, and other unrestrained sexual activity. It also involved exchanging of gifts, decorating of fir trees, the yule log and other customs which we see now in the modern Christmas celebration. Saturnalia was celebrated over a period of several days, December 17 - 24.

In 274 A.D. the Romans designated December 25 as the birthday of the unconquered sun, being the time when the sun begins noticeably to show an increase in light, resulting in longer daylight hours. By 336 A.D. the church in Rome was adapting this festival spiritualizing its significance as a reference to Jesus Christ, and calling it the "Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness". Attempting to Christianize and incorporate the ancient pagan traditions, the church in Rome adopted this midwinter holiday celebrating the birth of the sun god as one of its own observances, somewhat changing its significance, but retaining many customs of the pagan festival. As the Roman Catholic church's influence was spreading both religiously and militarily, the holiday celebrated on December 25 became the most popular date in Christendom to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. A special mass was established for Christ, hence the name "Christmass" shortened to "Christmas".

Later in the ninth century, Nicholas a fourth century bishop of Myra (southwest Turkey) was canonized, and eventually St. Nicholas Day (December 6) became a popular pre-Christmas holiday, especially in northern Europe. The name St. Nicholas was corrupted to Santa Claus and he became associated with the Christmas tradition in Protestant countries. In the Roman church, the adoration of the Magi is celebrated twelve days after December 25 on January 6 and called "Three Kings' Day" or "Epiphany". Traditionally in Roman Catholic countries the children await the "three kings," rather than Santa Claus, bearing gifts on January 6. This celebration dates to the fourth century. January 6 is when some of the Eastern orthodox churches celebrate the birth of Christ.

In 525 A.D., a Roman Catholic monk named Dionysius Exiguus, erroneously calculated the year of Jesus Christ's birth to be the 754th year after the founding of Rom. Designating that year at the start of a new ear. Dionysius renumbered subsequent years fromt hat time and labeled them as years ab incarnatione Domini, "from the incarnation of the Lord". This term was later simplified to anno Domini, "in the year of the Lord", and is now simply abbreviated "A.D." (I heard that's possibly changing). Thus, modern time reckoning came to place the birth of Christ in the year 1 A.D. Historians have long since proved Dionysius' calculations regarding the year of Christ's birth to be wrong, though we must credit him for centering on Jesus Christ as the pivotal point of all history. Dionysius; system of reckoning time has remained in use as a matter of tradition and convenience.

Jesus Christ was born on the Hebrew day corresponding to our sunset September 11, Wednesday. Therefore Jesus Christ was born on Wednesday, September 11, 3 B.C. between 6:18 and 7:39 P.M. Palestine time. There's a massive amount of historical and astronomical evidence which when put together with biblical truth will prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt. But hey who really cares about truth and accuracy when it comes to God huh. I do and maybe one of these days I'll convey this evidence. But for now, I'm pretty much done freaking y'all out.

Sometimes things can look really bad

I know what you're thinking. Yah so! Right? Well you have NO idea! But no I'm not gonna sit here and tell you about all of my troubles, obstacles and challenges. Instead I'm just going to say that we can overcome anything. We can! But there's a key to it. We can't live in this world and expect that anybody or anything in it will ever be perfect. Nor can we depend on anything or anyone to help us. So what do we do? There's only one thing we can do and that is to go to God. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. No matter what man says or does, nothing can change this. No matter what man believes, this is still the truth. So no matter what you think or don't think or believe or don't believe, the truth is the truth. God wants all men to saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, but not all men will be. Those of you die hard unbelieving "Big Bang" theory believers can never prove what you believe. God's Word has been proven over and over.

It's funny because everything that man believes to be real is not. What you see is not what it is. Those things that you believe to be fact are either theory or lies. But go ahead and believe what you want. God is where it's at. He is real. He is fact. He is eternal. He has no beginning. He has no end. And some of us will get to meet him one day and to live with him eternally. What happens to you. You cheat, you lie, you steal, you get rich, you deceive, you cry, you sorrow, you hate, you laugh, you love, you enjoy, you have fun. The list goes on and on. Than what? You die.

This world is a temporary place for those of us who know the truth. We have a hope. Not hope, "The HOPE". The Hope of Christ's return. When that day comes, most will know the truth and it will be too late. While we live in this world, we do our best. When the new heaven and earth happens, we will never have to struggle again.

It doesn't matter

I registered with a site called "Xomba". It's for people who like to write and you can earn money doing it. I submitted what I and others considered a "very good" article. It was in fact a sharing on the Word of God in total truth and accuracy. I know that what I wrote would have blessed a lot of people. Does it hurt to hear truth. It doesn't, but so many people don't want to here it.

I was denied. The problem is that they did not tell me I was denied. They never informed me either by way of email or on my page or inbox. So I wrote them asking about my submission and was told that I was denied. The email included a link to the result of my submission. However, the link didn't take me anywhere but to my page. I couldn't find any information concerning my submission. So I wrote another email asking if I could see why I was denied so that I could resubmit the article. We'll see what happens. While doing all of this, I came upon the featured writer in the category I submitted to. His writings were complaints and bashing of people and then taking some verses from the bible and interpreting them to his liking ultimately never coming to the loving conclusion that the bible always offers. It was horrible to see that this writer has over two million followers and readers. I came to the conclusion that what they want is bogus bull that doesn't make any sense and absolutely doesn't share truth and accuracy. So if I can't submit truth and accuracy I won't be writing on Xomba anymore.

I registered in the first place because I'm trying to make some money. I work my butt off and have for over 20 years without ever getting a pay check. When I was married, my husband brought home the paycheck. It was a mutual agreement. Please don't make any judgments, it's a long story and I don't wanna tell it right now. Anyway, when he abandoned us, I had nothing "in the world". I of course, relied upon God and He came through so far beyond what I could ever have expected.

There's a lot of in between info but not now. Currently I'm trying to make money online because no one will hire me. It sounds bogus but it's true and I'm not exaggerating. I've applied to dozens and dozens of places both online and in person and no one will hire me. I don't have a college degrees, but I'm talking McDonald. Burger King, etc. I'm 56 years old. Back then, no one encouraged college and I was down with being a homemaker and Mom. It's how I was raised. It was and is a HARD job. But I never really got a pay check. So I wanted one, besides I need to pay my bills. Not that I'm negating that God is my sufficiency. I know He'll take care of things. Even if He never had I would still believe that because God is God.

Anyway, point is that even online I can't seem to find anyone to hire me. I registered at Care.com, a place you can get a job or hire someone in care giving of kids, pets and the elderly. I've applied to quite a few jobs on that and even requested that if they weren't interest that they let me know what drove them away or what I didn't say that they needed to hear. Ya know some suggestions as to how I can get hired. They won't even do that.

I know where this is all coming from and it makes me even more adamant about never giving up. I intend to keep on keeping on and keep on trying. God will guide me to the exact place where it will be the best for me and where I will find those who want freedom, joy and peace and everything that living for God has to offer. The hell with the rest of the world. Yea, I'm angry, but I won't let it get to me.

No Matter What

My circumstances at this time, and situations I've found myself in, both due to my ignorance and being afflicted by others (the adversary), are not so great. That's putting it as mildly as I can manage. I'm in a terrible position at the moment and there have been days when I thought I couldn't handle it. But for the most part, I've been spending my time renewing my mind to those truths in God's Word that completely override the the worst thoughts one can have. Such as: Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? and; II Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; and: II Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

God is our sufficiency in everything. He is our heavenly Father. He loves us. We just have to believe that. There's no way He'll let us down because He can't lie, He's all love, He's all light and if that's not enough: I Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. He'll make a way for us to escape the troubling situation or circumstance to the point where we can bear it. And we're not the only one suffering the attacks. Isn't that neat? He tells us we're not the only ones that get the pressure, and then tells us that He'll make a way out for us so we won't have to suffer. AND there's so much more that God has made available to us through the power He's given us and His Word.

WOW what an amazing Father we have! How can we wallow or worry or doubt when we have everything we could ever need from a Father that is so far beyond awesome?

Today I've been bathing in the magnificent truths in God's Word and realizing that no matter what the world throws at me, regardless of what kinds of stupid mistakes I've made or make, my Heavenly Father is there for me. He will never leave or forsake me {Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.}. As long as I trust in Him, believe His Word and maybe cast my care on Him {1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.}, He'll take care of things. He'll show me the way {Proverbs 3: 5&6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.}. He'll supply all my need {Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. - Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.}, and I will bask in the magnificence of His love, His mercy, His power and His grace. I love you Daddy!

True Friendship

In my younger days, friends never really meant a lot to me. I had plenty of them, but it didn't matter. I've had best friends and good friends, special friends and just friends. I used to say that if you needed friends, it meant you didn't really enjoy being with yourself so much. To a degree, that's true. But that does pertain to the "needing" part. I supposed "wanting" friends is a bit different. It's a great thing when you have true friends and I have had those in my life. It is certainly a great blessing.

Over the years though, I've stuck to my guns about liking being with yourself and I always have. I guess I do like me. I never mind being alone. Sometimes, I get lonely, but it never lasts and for the most part I am a loner, I guess I always have been. I like people, and I like forming relationships, but when it comes down to it, you have to like yourself.

I knew someone once that just couldn't stand to be alone. He had to be around people all of the time. If he wasn't he would watch TV shows that would make him feel like he was a part if something. He never did manage to like himself. He wound up freaking out and screwing up his entire life. He lost everything that ever should have meant something to him. But because he never learned to like himself, he never learned how important people were and he managed to become so selfish that he destroyed lives including his own.

Cooper is so smart!

This dog is so smart, I am blown away. The other day, I took a bit of an ice cream treat I had. Dog lovers are gonna hate this, but trust me, it is not the norm for me. I am a hovering Mama and watch everything that happens around my pets. BUT we all screw up and anyway, a teenie tiny little piece of the chocolate shell fell on the floor. Now, normally, Cooper will pick up anything that drops and bring it to me. That includes food. I know! It's amazing, but he is so awesome. Anyway, that's what he did. He tried to pick it up but oops he ate it. It was microscopic. Still I was angry at my messiness.

Back to the story. Today I took another bite (of that same treat - I'm disciplined) and he stood by me and was looking at the floor around me to see if he could again find another piece of that delicious thing that had dropped yesterday. I can't believe how smart this dog is.

When he hears me say something he's never heard his head turns all the way sideways as if to say, hmmm never heard that before what could it mean? He is so awesome.

Oh don't worry, I know that chocolate is very toxic to dogs and I have never done that before, and I assure you I will go out of my way to try to never do it again.