Wow I have missed being able to get onto my blog to write! I had computer issues - - too much info saved - - and had to get that resolved....but now I'm back!
Ben Franklin (1/17/1706 - 4/17/1790) had a lot of amazing sayings.
My Grandma Rice quoted these often:
"A stitch in time saves nine."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
My dad quoted these:
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see."
"Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today."
"You can do anything you set your mind to."
"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail."
But there were many others - - among them, these:
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."
"There never was a good war or a bad peace."
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead."
"They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
"Never ruin an apology with an excuse."
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are."
"How many observe Christ's birthday! How few His precepts!"
"Well done is better than well said."
"Lost time is never found again."
"Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle."
"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority."
"Life's biggest tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
"I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves and became richer."
"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
"Whoever would would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."
"While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic."
"Security without liberty is called prison."
"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
"Fish and visitors smell in three days."
"Those things that hurt, instruct."
"No one cares what you know until they know that you care!"
"A good example is the best sermon."
And on, and on, and on....what a wise and wonderful legacy of wisdom he left for us to peruse.
Thanks, Ben.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Share the Truth with Grace
November 7 I received the following from FOCUS ON THE FAMILY. It is stated perfectly. It is what I have tried multiple times to convey - and whomever wrote this stated it perfectly!
Share The Truth With Grace
Are Christians really
"intolerant?" That charge is often made in
today's society, but there's a
vast difference between "intolerance"
and simply taking a stand for the
truth as one understands it.
Others are free to disagree when
we assert that Jesus Christ is
the only way to the Father.
However, they can't deny that this is,
in fact, the central message of the Christian faith.
And we as
believers are compelled by Jesus
Himself to share the "good news."
But that doesn't mean that
Christians are out to impose our beliefs
on others. Our job as disciples
is to simply bear witness to the truth
in word and deed. Only God's
Spirit can convince another person to
receive that message.
That said, we can't forget that
human beings are created in the
image of God (Genesis 1:27) and
are thus deserving of respect.
We must always keep in mind the
"Golden Rule"—"treat others the
same way you want them to treat
you" (Luke 6:31). As Paul
instructs us, "Let your
speech always be gracious, seasoned with
salt, so that you may know how
you ought to answer each person"
(Colossians 4:6). Loving others
involves graciously sharing the truth
as we understand it, and prayerfully letting God take it
from there.
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Monday, September 29, 2014
Crisis Request for Prayer because of horrors of Isis/Isil Northern Iraq
Note from Lola:
An email was sent out to Seventh Day Adventist Prayer Warriors on September 23. My cousin who received it, sent it on to me to expand the prayer partnering:
"We lost the city of Queragosh. It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically. This is the city we have been smuggling food to. ISIS has pushed back Kurdish Forces, and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working. Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night. The UN evacuated its staff in Erbil. Our team is unmoved and will stay. Prayer cover needed!!!."
Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of people of northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians in this area."
Note added by the original recipient:
May I plead with you not to ignore this email? Do not forward it before you have prayed through it. Then send it to as many people as possible.
May I plead with you not to ignore this email? Do not forward it before you have prayed through it. Then send it to as many people as possible.
Send it to friends and Christians you know. Send it to your prayer group. Send it to your pastors. Any one you can think of. We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The Feast of Trumpets/ Rosh Hashanah Year 5775
A couple of years ago I wrote about the Feasts commanded by G-d, and used the information I found online as fact. That worked OK for the first 4 feasts. Their obvious fulfillment in Yeshua/Jesus are absolutely on track. But - I have learned that my earlier writing about the 5th Feast is likely in error, which would mean my source of information was inaccurate. I am not ready to declare that with absolute certainty - - but I am leaning that direction.
Last Spring I asked God if there really is a 'rapture' of the saints separate from His Second Coming, which is when He will return to earth, and very specifically to Jerusalem.*
God's response was immediate. He told me, "Study the Feasts." I started reviewing them from the beginning - - and found that the first 4 were in perfect alignment with the earlier research I had done, and that Jesus fulfilled them perfectly - - and on the exact day they occurred in the year of His crucifixion and resurrection. But then I got to the 5th Feast and had such strong caution about what I had previously accepted as fact, that I got stuck.
I've chuckled a bit at God's telling me to study the Feasts.... I am not a scholar - - but I do love Bible study, and I love discovering nuggets of truth and uncovering tidbits I hadn't previously paid attention to.
I have browsed throughout the summer - - but felt overwhelmed by tackling something so beyond me - - until I realized that I don't have to enter the challenge with an expectation that I will come out the other end with any final answers. I was just told to study them - - not provide answers. And so, study I will.
My nugget for the day is the trumpet. I had assumed that since 'shofar' is often translated 'trumpet' that the final trumpet blast would actually be the blowing of the shofar - - but I found something 'new to me' today that lends credence to the trumpet blast announcing Jesus' return actually being a trumpet.
In Numbers 10, Moses was instructed to make 2 silver trumpets, which were to be blown at the time of their feasts and gatherings to summon the people. I was a trumpet player, so that caught my attention. I don't care if the trumpet he blows is a silver trumpet or a shofar - - but it piqued my interest. I had never noticed that specific detail before.
The other thing about today is that it is the last day of the Jewish Civil Year 5774. At sundown tonight begins Year 5775. Tishri 1 is the beginning of the Calendar's Civil Year for the Jewish people, and is the celebration honoring the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, which marks the beginning of measured time. (It is the 7th month of their religious calendar, but the measurement of time is based on the Civil calendar.)
Tishri 1 is the Feast of Trumpets /aka/ Rosh Hashanah. I firmly believe that in the year Jesus returns He will come at the Feast of Trumpets. The Bible says we will not know the day or hour - - and that is true, because we won't know which year His return will be - - but we will know the season! With all that is prophesied about the end of time - - wars and rumors of wars, disasters in diverse places, knowledge increasing, men calling good evil and evil good, being lovers of pleasure instead of lovers of God, the love of many waxing cold...it sure feels like the season.
Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.
May the trumpet blast this year be a reminder of His soon return. The Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of 10 high holy days - - days of introspection and repentance - - and will end with The Day of Atonement on Tishri 10.
As the Jewish faithful shout each year as part of this celebration, "Next year in Jerusalem!"
The trumpet shall sound! The dead shall be raised! Raised in the twinkling of an eye.
(As part of their New Year's tradition, Jews around the world will eat apples dipped in honey to welcome 5775.)
*When He returns, Jesus will enter the Golden Gate in the Eastern Wall of Temple Mount, a gate that has been sealed shut since 1517 when the Turks conquered Jerusalem. Their reason for sealing it shut: they heard that the Messiah would return through it and they sealed it to prevent that from happening. They also made a cemetery just outside it for added security, as they believed no devout Jewish rabbi would go through the cemetery, for fear of being defiled.... Don't you wonder at man's goofy reasoning?
In the first few verses of Ezekiel 44 you can read the prophecy that the gate would be closed and not opened again until the 'prince' - - the Messiah - - comes.
Last Spring I asked God if there really is a 'rapture' of the saints separate from His Second Coming, which is when He will return to earth, and very specifically to Jerusalem.*
God's response was immediate. He told me, "Study the Feasts." I started reviewing them from the beginning - - and found that the first 4 were in perfect alignment with the earlier research I had done, and that Jesus fulfilled them perfectly - - and on the exact day they occurred in the year of His crucifixion and resurrection. But then I got to the 5th Feast and had such strong caution about what I had previously accepted as fact, that I got stuck.
I've chuckled a bit at God's telling me to study the Feasts.... I am not a scholar - - but I do love Bible study, and I love discovering nuggets of truth and uncovering tidbits I hadn't previously paid attention to.
I have browsed throughout the summer - - but felt overwhelmed by tackling something so beyond me - - until I realized that I don't have to enter the challenge with an expectation that I will come out the other end with any final answers. I was just told to study them - - not provide answers. And so, study I will.
My nugget for the day is the trumpet. I had assumed that since 'shofar' is often translated 'trumpet' that the final trumpet blast would actually be the blowing of the shofar - - but I found something 'new to me' today that lends credence to the trumpet blast announcing Jesus' return actually being a trumpet.
In Numbers 10, Moses was instructed to make 2 silver trumpets, which were to be blown at the time of their feasts and gatherings to summon the people. I was a trumpet player, so that caught my attention. I don't care if the trumpet he blows is a silver trumpet or a shofar - - but it piqued my interest. I had never noticed that specific detail before.
The other thing about today is that it is the last day of the Jewish Civil Year 5774. At sundown tonight begins Year 5775. Tishri 1 is the beginning of the Calendar's Civil Year for the Jewish people, and is the celebration honoring the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, which marks the beginning of measured time. (It is the 7th month of their religious calendar, but the measurement of time is based on the Civil calendar.)
Tishri 1 is the Feast of Trumpets /aka/ Rosh Hashanah. I firmly believe that in the year Jesus returns He will come at the Feast of Trumpets. The Bible says we will not know the day or hour - - and that is true, because we won't know which year His return will be - - but we will know the season! With all that is prophesied about the end of time - - wars and rumors of wars, disasters in diverse places, knowledge increasing, men calling good evil and evil good, being lovers of pleasure instead of lovers of God, the love of many waxing cold...it sure feels like the season.
Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.
May the trumpet blast this year be a reminder of His soon return. The Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of 10 high holy days - - days of introspection and repentance - - and will end with The Day of Atonement on Tishri 10.
As the Jewish faithful shout each year as part of this celebration, "Next year in Jerusalem!"
The trumpet shall sound! The dead shall be raised! Raised in the twinkling of an eye.
(As part of their New Year's tradition, Jews around the world will eat apples dipped in honey to welcome 5775.)
*When He returns, Jesus will enter the Golden Gate in the Eastern Wall of Temple Mount, a gate that has been sealed shut since 1517 when the Turks conquered Jerusalem. Their reason for sealing it shut: they heard that the Messiah would return through it and they sealed it to prevent that from happening. They also made a cemetery just outside it for added security, as they believed no devout Jewish rabbi would go through the cemetery, for fear of being defiled.... Don't you wonder at man's goofy reasoning?
In the first few verses of Ezekiel 44 you can read the prophecy that the gate would be closed and not opened again until the 'prince' - - the Messiah - - comes.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Daniel 4
I love the story recorded in Daniel 4. After seeing God's protection of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (recorded in Chapter 3), it would have seemed that King Nebuchadnezzar would have been thoroughly convinced of who the One True God is - - but nope, he had to have Chapter 4! It is such a dramatic story. Daniel is more than a little uneasy about telling Neb the interpretation of Neb's dream. I can certainly understand why! He'd seen the results of Neb's temper and power in the past, and Neb was a man one didn't want to cross!
I love that God loved Neb enough to warn him of what He was about to do, agonize that Neb ignored God's warning, and thrill to the conclusion. The story in between could be a movie. It is graphically written and I am visual, so the drama plays out easily in my imagination. And at the end of it all, after Neb has come back to his senses, he worships the One and Only God.
And so it is for us. God loves us enough to lead us to a place of complete reliance on Him where we learn that He alone is worthy of our praise. He deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.
Praise you, Lord, for you are worthy of all wealth and power and wisdom and strength, all honor and glory and praise.
****
The Lord of Heaven and earth came down to earth as a man - fully God and fully human - to become the final sacrifice ever needed so we could be restored to Him in the perfect relationship that existed before Sin entered the garden of Eden. A thought occurred to me a couple of days ago that had never previously entered my mind. As fully God in human form, when He looked up at the stars He had created He knew their names. An amazing reality! I cannot even conceive what an incredible sacrifice it was for God to become man to save us. "He humbled Himself and carried the cross"....the words to the song have even more meaning to me this morning. "Love so amazing!"
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
The opportunity for salvation is there for all humanity - but it is up to us to reach out and accept the gift.
He who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son, does not have life.
The Bible has made the way very clear.
I love that God loved Neb enough to warn him of what He was about to do, agonize that Neb ignored God's warning, and thrill to the conclusion. The story in between could be a movie. It is graphically written and I am visual, so the drama plays out easily in my imagination. And at the end of it all, after Neb has come back to his senses, he worships the One and Only God.
And so it is for us. God loves us enough to lead us to a place of complete reliance on Him where we learn that He alone is worthy of our praise. He deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.
Praise you, Lord, for you are worthy of all wealth and power and wisdom and strength, all honor and glory and praise.
****
The Lord of Heaven and earth came down to earth as a man - fully God and fully human - to become the final sacrifice ever needed so we could be restored to Him in the perfect relationship that existed before Sin entered the garden of Eden. A thought occurred to me a couple of days ago that had never previously entered my mind. As fully God in human form, when He looked up at the stars He had created He knew their names. An amazing reality! I cannot even conceive what an incredible sacrifice it was for God to become man to save us. "He humbled Himself and carried the cross"....the words to the song have even more meaning to me this morning. "Love so amazing!"
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
The opportunity for salvation is there for all humanity - but it is up to us to reach out and accept the gift.
He who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son, does not have life.
The Bible has made the way very clear.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
DANIEL 3
I am re-reading the book of Daniel. Today was Daniel 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace. What leaped out most saliently to me today in reading the story again was that their assertion to King Neb was that their God would deliver them from his hands. They didn't proclaim they'd be saved from the fire - but they'd be saved from Nebuchadnezzar. That salvation could have just as easily come through their death. The fire was so hot that the men who threw them in were killed - but the 3 faithful Hebrew children were spared. One like a 'son of the gods' - Neb's description - walked with them in the flames. The cords that bound them fell off, but they were not touched by the flame. They didn't even smell like smoke.
What an amazing reminder that God has our back. It is true that He doesn't perform conspicuous miracles every time we ask. If He did, no one would ever die - and it is appointed to man (because of the sin of Adam and Eve) that we will one day die. The only exceptions to that 'rule' are those who are alive at Jesus' return. Then those who are dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive and yet remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the sky - to be forever with the Lord. (The only other recorded exception is Enoch, who was translated without dying, and his death may come later as one of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation.)
There is a ton I do not understand - and that God has not cleared up for me - but His Word provides enough history and clarity for me to trust the future to Him. Like the 3 men who were faced with a fiery furnace death, we too know a God who is able to deliver. I love that they were spared death as a testimony to those who witnessed the event - and I love the 180 degree turn around the King made in His view and his proclamation of which God would be honored! I know God frequently works through circumstances - - but I love it when there is no other way to explain what just happened except that He showed up in power.
Thank you, Lord, for the history of your amazing intervention. When I walk through 'the fire' You are with me. Thank you for Your love and care.
What an amazing reminder that God has our back. It is true that He doesn't perform conspicuous miracles every time we ask. If He did, no one would ever die - and it is appointed to man (because of the sin of Adam and Eve) that we will one day die. The only exceptions to that 'rule' are those who are alive at Jesus' return. Then those who are dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive and yet remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the sky - to be forever with the Lord. (The only other recorded exception is Enoch, who was translated without dying, and his death may come later as one of the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation.)
There is a ton I do not understand - and that God has not cleared up for me - but His Word provides enough history and clarity for me to trust the future to Him. Like the 3 men who were faced with a fiery furnace death, we too know a God who is able to deliver. I love that they were spared death as a testimony to those who witnessed the event - and I love the 180 degree turn around the King made in His view and his proclamation of which God would be honored! I know God frequently works through circumstances - - but I love it when there is no other way to explain what just happened except that He showed up in power.
Thank you, Lord, for the history of your amazing intervention. When I walk through 'the fire' You are with me. Thank you for Your love and care.
Friday, August 22, 2014
DEATH STINGS
We lost a friend last night, and I have spent today remembering shared joys. She was a delight to be with - a good conversationalist - and she had even more opinions than I do!
She loved her family deeply, lived life to the full, and was a woman of character. She had several wonderful collections that I enjoyed looking at with her, and she had a warm and generous heart. She was direct and stated her views openly.
And she loved humor. A couple of years ago at Christmas she sent me a story I will share that is representative of her enjoyment of humor.
She loved her family deeply, lived life to the full, and was a woman of character. She had several wonderful collections that I enjoyed looking at with her, and she had a warm and generous heart. She was direct and stated her views openly.
And she loved humor. A couple of years ago at Christmas she sent me a story I will share that is representative of her enjoyment of humor.
A man in Florida calls his son in New England the day
before Christmas and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to
tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."
"What are you talking about?" the son screams.
“We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the
father says.
"We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about
this, so you call your sister in New Hampshire and tell her."
Frantic, the son calls his sister who explodes on the phone,
"Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts. "I'll
take care of this."
She calls Florida immediately and screams at her father,
"You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get
there. I'm calling my
brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then,
don't do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.
"Okay," he says,
"The children are coming for Christmas and paying their
own way."
Laughter is good like a medicine.
My favorite story about her goes back to when she got pregnant with her last child, and at dinner at their house she told me, "I don't know how this happened." And I quickly replied, "You're a nurse." I was pretty sure she could figure it out. Of course that wasn't how she meant what she said - but it was what she stated - and we had a good laugh.
The thing about traveling down memory lane is that the joys are bathed in current tears, but JOY comes in the morning. That's the Lord's promise, and I know from experience it is true. But right now I agonize for her family - and for us. We share the loss.
Rest in peace, Ann. It was a joy to have you in our lives. I wouldn't ask you to suffer longer, even though I feel cheated by not getting to see you to say our last goodbye on this earth in person.
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