THANKSGIVING 2013

Give thanks with a grateful heart.
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son.....

That's #1 on the 'thanks' list, but there is soooooo much to be thankful for - in spite of difficult and unpleasant circumstances in life.

This morning in our Thanksgiving morning worship service our pastor challenged each of us to think about  something unusual that we are thankful for - - something beyond the norm of family, friends, a home, food, etc.

I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit speaking, nudging, guiding, reminding....  God promised me several years ago "No weapon fashioned against you will stand."  And - He reiterated that to me recently in the midst of disappointing developments that would try to deter me.   I'm grateful for that today.

I learned years ago that it is impossible to defend oneself against untruths and innuendos, so there is no value in trying.  I am commanded to 'pray for those who despitefully use you' so I will.  God is big enough to work things out.  To change hearts.  To bring clarity.  And if He doesn't, He is big enough to walk with me through the fire without my even smelling like smoke.  

...And now, let the weak say "I am strong"
Let the poor say "I am rich because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give Thanks!

Thank you, Lord....

I don't always appreciate the circumstances, but I appreciate knowing You walk with me through them.

Love

Lola

Singing Psalms

All summer I have been reading from the book of Psalms for my devotions.  They are yet another proof that God speaks to us through His Word - - that what was penned by the various Psalmists ca. 1000 years before Jesus was born is relevant today and made real to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Insights that invite us to His feet to worship.  Insights that resonate for where we are.  I love God's written Word.  It is alive with truth and the opportunity to discover who we are in God's kingdom.

One of the songs in my children's musical is 'You Got Ta Read Da Word'.  The repeated message of the song is "You got ta read da Word if you want to grow."  It is foundational.  I want to keep growing!

CREATION - 5774 YEARS AND COUNTING....

The Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah is a visible reminder of the span of time as recorded since time began being recorded following creation.

Sunday I had the joy of telling the story of Creation and The Fall as recorded in the Bible in Genesis chapters 1, 2 & 3 to the Kindergarten through 5th Grade Kids at my church.  It was a lot of territory to cover in 15 - 20 minutes so I didn't go into eras of time that could have been spanned in each 'day' of creation.  I believe God's Word  -  that God created the heavens and the earth, and I don't care if He chose to do it over eons or spoke creation into being eons-old in a single day.  The account in Genesis could easily be just face value that God spoke and whatever He spoke came to be.  I prefer to think of it precisely that way - - but, as I said, it doesn't matter.  What matters is that He did it!

The current focus of the story for me is the difference in how He created all other facets of creation but man.  Light from dark.  He spoke and it was done.  Waters divided.  He spoke and it was done.  Sun & Moon.  Planets.  Galaxies.  Dry land.  Seas.  Fish.  Sea life.  Earth. Plants/trees/vegetation of all sorts.  Animals.  He spoke and it was done.  But He got His hands dirty with man.

Our triune God said, "Let us make man in our image...."  Then he took the dust of the earth and formed it into the shape of the very first male.  I used to make mud pies.   It's dirty business....creative...and very personal.  When God had everything shaped just the way He wanted, He blew His breath into the man and man came alive.   Adam had a while to name all the animals and have a little 'cave' time; and then God performed the very first surgery.  He put Adam to sleep, removed one of his ribs, and used it as the beginning piece for His most beautiful creation:  Eve.  And God saw that it was very good!

Prepping for that lesson was the first time that the difference in creation between everything else and people struck me so indelibly.  I'm glad God got dirty to create us.  He can still handle our dirt - - and He sent His Son to prove it!

Rosh Hashanah 5774

Sundown tonight is when Rosh Hashanah begins.  Evening at sundown is the beginning of each new day for the Jewish faithful.  It was always so, but I didn't pay attention until my first visit to Israel.  Their day goes from sundown to sundown - - and any part of a day is considered a day.

This is a little aside - - but knowing that helped me sooooooo much.  When preachers talked about Jesus being dead for 3 days, it didn't track.  Friday afternoon at 3 p m to Sunday morning before dawn was not 3 days.  If the Bible writers couldn't even get that right what else were they wrong about?  I knew what God said was always right - - but perhaps man in the middle had muddled it up....  Then I learned that any part of a day was considered a day.  I don't know why that one single clarification made such a difference to me - - but it did!  Part of Friday  + All of Saturday +  Part of Sunday  = 3 days the way Jews reckoned time.

Of course, learning about the Jewish calendar has also helped me understand things I didn't previously understand.  There is so much to discover.  Even paying attention to the account of creation in Genesis is clarified....the evening and the morning were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., day

When we were in Israel in 2011our guide told us that the Messiah would come at Rosh Hashanah - - and that if Jesus is the Messiah, that is when He will return.   It makes each Rosh Hashanah a time of anticipation!  Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.

DAVID HAD ABSALOM

I don't know how I so successfully manage to place Biblical 'heroes' on a pedestal - - but I do.  Specifically at this moment I am thinking of King David.  A couple of days ago in a 'discouraging' moment over a fragile relationship God reminded me that David had Absalom.  His own son tried to kill him, and took over David's rightful place as King.  What is truly remarkable is how David reacted.  He loved his son, in spite of Absalom's behavior.  That is agape love - - loving when doing so doesn't make sense - - when vindication would be warranted....   I want David's heart in difficult circumstances!

ANOTHER HEIR TO THE THRONE

A new 'ROYAL' has been born in England.  So much anticipation!  So much hoopla!  So many paparazzi!  A little prince, 3rd in line to the throne!

I couldn't help comparing it to another birth ca. 2007 years ago.  The Lord of lords and King of kings came into this world not as a conspicuous 'royal' but as a baby born to non-royals...born in a cave that housed animals, laid in a cattle manger 'cradle'.  However, no one has had a more prestigious birth announcement!  A myriad of angels appeared to a few lowly shepherds keeping watch over the flocks by night on the hillsides just outside Bethlehem, and announced the birth of the Messiah with unparalleled fanfare.  And (possibly as much as 2 years later) Astrologers from the East came bearing gifts to honor Him, for the stars proclaimed His birth!

My prayer is that the little prince grows up to know the King who is King of kings!

Can Islam Coexist?

I want to offer a disclaimer before you read what I believe is a very important piece to pay attention to.   I have very precious Muslim friends who are peace-loving and I have always defended them when anyone references the beliefs and behaviors of Muslims radicals.  But, there is a foundational issue of the beliefs of Islam that needs to be paid attention to.  I believe this commentator addresses that very well.  So - with some trepidation, I am posting Bill Warner's comments as food for thought.  

Lola

April 24, 2013

Islam Coexists?

By Bill Warner

There is an enormous irony contained in the Boston Marathon bombing. When the jihadi Tsarnaev brothers carjacked a Mercedes, it had a Coexist bumper sticker.

The Coexist bumper sticker is the religious symbol of the multicultural crowd -- you know -- all religions are the same. Well, the leading symbol of those who want to Coexist is the star and crescent Islam. And exactly how well has Islam coexisted with all the others? What kind of neighbor has Islam been over history?

Start with Mohammed. We know an enormous amount about Mohammed as a neighbor to Kafirs (non-Muslims), pagans, Jews, and Christians.

When Mohammed was in Mecca before he became a Muslim, he was a good neighbor who was prosperous and helped to settle disputes. But, that all changed when he became the prophet of Allah. Once he became a public preacher of Islam, he became an irritant to his neighbors. You see, not only did Mohammed know what was right, he demanded that everybody do everything his way, Allah's way. He was a neighbor who was always right and you were always wrong. Not only were you wrong, but your parents and grandparents were wrong. Mohammed no longer settled arguments; he created arguments. After 13 years of this, the Meccans told Mohammed to leave Mecca.

So he went to the town of Medina, which was half Jewish. And what kind of neighbor was Mohammed to the Jews? Put briefly, two years later, Medina was Judenrein (cleansed of Jews). When he arrived, there were three tribes of Jews. In rapid order, the first tribe was driven out of town, bereft of its goods. Then the second tribe of Jews was exiled. They were lucky. The last of the Jewish tribes suffered the most. The women were enslaved and sold wholesale for money to purchase horses and arms for jihad. For the rest of his life, Mohammed used slavery to help finance his jihad. The children were kidnapped and adopted into Muslim families to be raised as Muslims. Then the 800 male Jews were all beheaded.

But wait. Mohammed was not through coexisting with the Jews. Later he left Medina and went to Khaybar and attacked them. Mohammed crushed them, took their wealth and put them to work under the Sharia s dhimmis and give him half of what they earned.

That was how Mohammed coexisted with the Jews.

But Mohammed was not through with coexisting with the Arabians. He attacked the Meccan caravans. His jihadists killed, kidnapped, stole, assassinated and fought the pagan Arabs at every turn. Mohammed's coexistence policy with the Arabs was jihad. This went on until every Arab became a Muslim.

After Mohammed made every soul in Arabia convert to Islam, he turned his coexistence policy to the Christians north of Arabia in Syria. He attacked the Christians, with the losers becoming dhimmis just like the Jews.

Dhimmis are the way that the Sharia allows Kafirs to coexist within a Muslim society. The dhimmi is a third-class non-citizen who pays special taxes and has no real civil rights. A dhimmi cannot testify against a Muslim in court, for instance.

Look at how Islam coexisted with Africa. A clue as to the nature of that coexistence is that Arabic has one word, "abd", that means both black slave and African. Context must supply which meaning is used. Islam ran the slave trade on the West coast, East coast and Mediterranean coasts of Africa. Islam sold every slave that was brought to the Americas. Conservative estimates are that 120 million Africans were killed in the jihad that produced all of the slaves in Africa.

How did Islam coexist with the Buddhists in what is now Afghanistan? Jihad annihilated every single Buddhist and their libraries and monasteries.

There is a massive database of the coexistence between Islam and the rest of the world at thereligionofpeace.com. It catalogs more than 20,000 jihad attacks around the world since 9/11 2001. Here is a chart of the data of the top 4 nations as victims of jihad:

(The original document from the internet has a graph showing the number of attacks between 2002 and 2012 against 4 countries.  Please go to the internet article to review.  It would not paste.)

Put another way, this is how Islam coexists today with Jews, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. It practices jihad against all non-Muslims -- Kafirs.

The idea of "coexist" has a social ring to it: we're all one big happy family. But how do we talk about all religions and not get into which one is right or best? Well, there is an easy way to do it. If you are not a member of a religion, the only thing you care about is how you are treated by those who belong to that religion. In short, you only care about the ethics and character of the adherent.

All of the world's (other) religions have an ethical code that is rooted in the Golden Rule. Islam does not have a Golden Rule. Mohammed's life is the perfect example of how not to be a good neighbor. How do you coexist with a neighbor who has the ethical choice of jihad -- of murder and deceit?

What do religious leaders in American think about coexisting with Islam? They love it. "Coexist" is the mental mush that fills the heads of the useful idiots that go to the Family of Abraham religious dialogues. The ministers and rabbis who go to these dialogs know as much about Islam as can be found on the Coexist bumper sticker. Their ignorance is astounding. They are there to coexist and the imam is there to dominate. Dhimmi Christians and Jews want to tie, the Muslim wants to win.

But the mental mush of coexistence is not just in the heads of the dhimmi religious leaders, it also fills the heads of law enforcement and military. Under Bush and Obama, all of those who actually know something about Islam inside the military and law enforcement have been eliminated. FBI and military training files have been purged to satisfy the Muslim Brotherhood. So our protectors are forbidden to study the war doctrine of political Islam. They are prevented from naming the enemy and studying them.

There is only one way to coexist with Islam over time. Islam must submit to Kafir civilization and we must never submit to Islam, not even in the smallest detail. This means we must all know the smallest details of Islam and that begins with the knowledge of Mohammed and his wars against all Kafirs.

Bill Warner is the director of the Center for the Study of Political Islam

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/islam_coexists.html#ixzz2W1GtgS6l

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HE IS RISEN!

MAJESTY

by Lola Cain

“A King who ruled in majesty”

That’s what people wanted him to be!

No crown of thorns or whip of shame

No cross on which to bear our blame

No nails, no spear, no agony

No death upon a criminal’s tree

No burial in a borrowed grave

…No resurrection power to save!

Thank God for his eternal plan

for justifying fallen man

By providing the atoning sacrifice –

Sending his Son to pay the price.

Coming incarnate to earth to die

He redeemed His created from Satan’s lie

Thank you, Sacrificial Lamb

…for overriding the will of man.

The veil was rent!  God’s plan complete!

We now can worship at his feet!

We enter his presence unafraid

by the blood that Jesus shed to save!

Thank the LORD, he rose again

victory over death to win

Thank Father, Son and Holy Ghost

…the anthem sung by the heavenly host!

“He’s risen,” we shout.  “HE’S RISEN INDEED!

The cornerstone of our Christian creed

And coming once, he’ll come again

God’s promised victory over sin

“It’s finished,” his final words on the cross

Our redemption sealed.   Our salvation bought.

Now he reigns eternally

…what both God and man wanted him to be…

“A KING WHO RULES IN MAJESTY!”

Thank You, LORD!  Love, Lola

AWAITING RESURRECTION

I just went back and read my Lenten blog entries from 2010 and 2011 for the Sabbath day when Jesus' body lay on a stone-cold slab encased in spices and burial cloths in the  cave-like tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.  I am sooooo grateful for Joseph - - that someone was there in the midst of the pain and rejection to honor Jesus as He should be honored.  What Joseph did took courage.  I want that kind of courage!

I've missed not writing a Lenten journey blog this year....  My entries from the past are a reminder of the amazing spiritual journey where studying, thinking and writing took me in prior years....  On our recent road trip I was in the desert physically and 'in the wilderness spiritually' while in the desert.  I'm grateful for the lessons learned - - but I am ready for a new beginning!

The reminder of what Jesus did, and where He was at specific times has come to mind multiple times over the past few days.  I'm ready for the Resurrection!  I'm ready for His victory!  I'm so grateful we know the end of the story!

Hosea & Peter

In our 'small group' - - which is in reality an adult Sunday School Class called Understanding the Times, we just started a study of the book of Hosea.

It had never occurred to me before how reluctant Hosea might have been to obey God's command - - or how he would look to his friends in his obedience.  What a hard thing - - to marry someone who had all of the makings for being unfaithful; then name your children birthed by her such horrific names as messages to the people he prophesied to - - the chosen, the children of Israel.

Because of having just read the names of 2 of his children:  translated "No Mercy" and "Not my people", yesterday when I was sorting through the plethora of emails which accumulated during our 6-week absence, I found one of the "Love Notes From God" that quoted 1 Peter 2:10 in the KJV:  "Which in time past were not a people but are now the people of God:  which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

My interest was immediately piqued!  Peter was writing very specifically to the people who had been mentioned in Hosea - - those who once were "No mercy" and "Not my children" who were now children of God - - His people!  And now recipients of His mercy!  I loved the timing of the connection.  I love God's WORD!

HAPPY NEW YEAR LETTER: 2012 in Retrospect

12/30/12

HAPPY NEW YEAR THE CAIN CLAN – 2012 IN RETROSPECT

I really wish I had written my annual missive on 12/12/12.  But I didn’t….  2012 was a year for which a few pictures would be better than a thousand words…but I’ll hit a few of the positive highlights.   

The first few months of 2012 Al recuperated from his 12/21/11 total shoulder replacement surgery.  I’m happy to report that went well, and he no longer has pain.  While he doesn’t have full range of movement because he waited too long to get it repaired, he is able to do everything he wants to do – including a lot most younger men wouldn’t attempt.   

April 6 he turned his little Farmall Cub tractor over on top of himself and was pinned under it for about an hour….  Everyone who might have heard him was gone, including me.  Our son-in-law, Tom, just happened to come home that afternoon – and it just happened to be a nice day out, so he had his window open and heard Al’s yell for help.   Al was very fortunate.  You’ll have to get the whole story directly from him….

Al and his chain saw have been very busy!   An ice storm accounts for most of that!  Between ameliorating the effects to our property here, he has done a lot of work at our 5 acres in Graham – with the awareness of the need precipitated by one of our maple trees getting hit by lightning, catching on fire, and creating a bit of excitement for the neighbor!   Most of the time I join him when he heads to Graham.   It’s been fun working on that project together.   We made lots of piles, which we burned one at a time as required once the burn ban was lifted – and in the process had the joy of getting better acquainted with the neighbors there.   

Kami and I took a 5-day trip to Oahu August 11–17; and Al and I hiked up to Spray Park on our 42^nd anniversary August 21.   We didn’t take any long trips this year.  But – we progressed a long way toward making the 5 acres at Graham park-like!

The biggest news for me in 2012 was completing the written phase of my long-term children’s musical project.  A Letter from G. O. D. has been in print since October. I’ve been working on it for several years – and it is a relief to have that phase of the project completed!   I still have to do a simple CD so people can hear the tunes – and complete editing the choreography – but the actual musical is done!  Hooray!   I couldn’t have done the project without Kami’s computer expertise.  We spent many hours editing and refining.  Even before the final edits were completed my friend Mary Beth directed it at Grace Foursquare Church in Centralia in April.   That was a special joy! 

Some of the other highlights of the year included various family events, wonderful theatrical productions our grandkids performed in, soccer and swim meets; the special visit of my niece and her family from Utah; involvement in worship team music, being one of the storytellers for children’s worship and being part of an amazing adult Sunday School class; and for Al – hunting, woodworking and flint-knapping.  (This year consumed way too much time in politics for my liking!  I’m still recuperating!)

Remembering the good of the year diffuses other memories – and is a reminder that whatever is good, pure, lovely and of good report is what we are admonished to think about!  We are very thankful for our kids and their families – our greatest joys!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 from the aging-but-not-old-yet Cains! 

Lola & Al;  Lola & Bud;  Yo & Pa

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I love new beginnings....  Starting over....  A clean slate....  Clear pages....  Hope....  Possibility....

What will be written on the pages of this year?  I don't know.

I'm glad for the fresh start, but I also face this year with palpable apprehension,  rooted in things that are unresolved from the past year, personally and nationally.  For my part I purpose to move forward, with the Lord as Comforter, Guide and Source.   As for the direction of my country, I have to leave that in God's hands and center on Him and His direction in navigating what lies ahead.

As much as I'd like to just leave the challenges of 2012 behind, it is impossible.  So - - I haul them with me onto the new pages of another new year.  2013.  Will this be the year of the Lord's return?   I don't know, but I know I want to live it intentionally, faithfully and with eyes open to clearly see what God is doing.  I want to spend more time in prayer and less time being worried about the direction my government is heading.  I want to resist the resultant apprehension and focus on the JOY the Lord has in store.   New pages.   New days.  New possibilities.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!