Why you need copy editors and proofreaders… and regarding ads

It is much easier to spot someone else’s errors because your brain will not as easily assume what the author meant to write. I do try to check my posts, but sometimes things will get by me and I do not have a proofreader. So, please show mercy if you see an error. Just make a note in the comments section and I will fix it.

This former copy editor and proofreader thanks you for your understanding.

By the way, I know there are ads showing on my blog. I have no control over them or over their content.

Prayer for Our Nation 10-25

Dear G-D, I have seen the plans they have laid out for this election–before, during and after. They are not good and may frighten many people if they succeed. I am praying they will not succeed. May the traps laid by those who are evil be traps they fall into themselves.

Should some of their plans to disrupt our nation succeed, please keep people calm. Please help them to turn to You and receive Your peace.

Please protect the many good people who just want to see our nation come together and be a place of prosperity for all.

Please open our hearts and minds to loving and understanding one another.

Please tie the hands of the powers of darkness that are striving to prevail over our nation and over the world.

Please open the eyes of all of us who are deceived that we may see the truth about what is going on.

Please help us to recognize the spiritual nature of the battle.

Please help the wicked to wake up and surrender their hearts to You.

May Your will be done in this country…not the will of any person.

May divisions cease.

May distrust and hatred cease.

May love and compassion abound.

May we see in each and every other person the image of Yourself that You have placed on each one of us.

May we look to do good to others and think less of what we can get for ourselves.

May we educate ourselves as to the real issues.

May we stop seeing one another as people who have less or more melanin. May we see each other as all Americans…all humans…all made in Your image…all valuable and precious.

May we stop making assumptions about what other people feel or think or believe.

May we stop assuming the motives of other people’s actions.

May we ask questions with open hearts and minds, recognizing the potential for both good and evil exists in ALL of us.

May Your will be done in each of us, in our nation and in the world as a whole.

Watched Over By the Shepherd

We all need to know we are being watched over. In these times it is even more critical than ever. G-D is the Shepherd of our souls and lives… if we will allow Him to be. I am very blessed to have had a real relationship with Him since as far back as I can remember. And right now, I am leaning into Him more than ever.

He has undershepherds — spiritual leaders who are supposed to watch over His flock. They are supposed to lead and guide, support and heal, strengthen and comfort, teach and correct. Make sure you have an undershepherd who is truly loving the flock and leading them in much humbleness.

I have experienced some wonderful under shepherds. I have also experienced some not-so-good ones. In both instances I grew and so I appreciate both, although the devastation that I’ve seen that comes from the not so good undershepherd is heartbreaking.

I have learned not to lean on people, not even undershepherds. I am to look to The Shepherd, first and foremost, and walk along side of the undershepherds while respecting their authority. But I will not put them in the place of G-d and I will not do anything they tell me to do if I truly believe it goes against what I understand G-d wants from me.

I hope and pray you have good earthly shepherds who are true to their calling as servants of The Shepherd of all.

No longer a “Christian”…

Although I don’t have the same backstory as in the article posted at the end, my reasons for no longer being “Christian” do overlap a little. Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah who came through the Jewish people of Israel. The original followers of Yeshua belonged to a Jewish sect called “The Way” (HaDerech), as mentioned in the book of Acts (9:2). They did not stop being Jews, nor did they stop obeying Torah!

Romans 11 tells me I (as a non-Jewish follower of Yeshua) am grafted into the olive tree (the people of Israel aka the Jews). They did not leave Israel to start something separate from the heritage of the Tanakh/OT that speaks of Messiah.

Ephesians 2 tells me I am no longer excluded from the commonwealth of Israel or a stranger to the covenants of promise through the sacrificial blood of Yeshua shed for all who will accept Him. He has broken down the spiritual wall of separation between Jew and non-Jew.

Does that make me Jewish? No. So far as I can see, I have no Jewish DNA (although Dave does). I “might” have some hidden within the Iberian, but that is only speculation. I am a non-Jew who is grafted into the Israel of the Tanakh/Bible/OT. (I could call myself an “Israelite”, but don’t because it would cause confusion and could be mistaken as a replacement theology stance which I absolutely, 100% reject.)

I am a non-Jew who chooses to live, as best I can, as I would have lived grafted in to the HaDerech Jewish sect of first century Israel.

EDITING IN: I also prefer not to use the title “Christian” because the Jesus I see being taught about in the Christian church looks very different from the Yeshua (Jesus) I see in the Scriptures. I have studied this for many years and the deeper I go into the Bible, the whole Bible–not just the back end–the more I gain a better understanding of it. It is important to understand the culture, the language, the teaching styles and how it would have been understood by the people of the time. The Jesus I see being taught in most Christian churches just does not represent the Yeshua I see in the Bible.

In the end, I fully embrace Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah, as G-d’s Son. I do believe all the Apostolic Writings (NT) teach us. That has not changed one iota. It is my understanding of how He lived and what He taught that has changed. I DO consider Christians to be my brothers and sisters in Messiah. I do not judge them. I have a big enough beam in my own eye to keep me busy for a lifetime.

https://www.rabbierict.com/post/the-day-i-quit-being-a-christian

Just some thoughts…

Our nation has deteriorated in many ways. Different people have different ideas as to what that deterioration looks like and who’s to blame. In reality, we are all to blame, collectively.

We have checked our brains and our hearts at the door. We have allowed ourselves to be so focused on self and entertainment and things that please us, that we won’t put in the hard work to research out the truth. There are organizations that have lied to us for so long and indoctrinated us in schools for so long and we just swallow it all…even when logic alone could so easily show us they (and we) are wrong.

We idolize people and we listen to them talk about things they’re ignorant of and we believe them. We’re lazy, too lazy to do the hard work of digging up the truth, too lazy to do the hard work of learning and applying logic.

We have sacrificed our hearts and our souls on the altar of convenience and me, me, me. We have allowed our neighbors to suffer. We have allowed the most innocent to be victimized. We have allowed the murders of people in the inner cities. We have allowed lousy education for some, while denying school choice. We have allowed the butchery of the unborn in the womb. And we are unrepentant.

Many of us go to places of worship. Maybe we cry out to God about the things we see. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we just ignore it all as an inconvenient truth…or, worse, not truth. But of all those who are crying out (whether in places of worship or not), how many actually put feet to doing something about the things we see? How many of us are tormented by our inability to do more and asking G-d to show us how/help us to be more effective? How many of us are sitting comfortably ensconced in front of our TV sets, our computer screens, and our phones allowing ourselves to be entertained into zombie pawns? How many of us are actually living versus being the mind and heart walking dead?

The wolf is at the door and has been for a long time. When are we going to wake up and do something about the wolf?

We are so busy fighting each other, we ignore the real enemy behind all this. We have a spiritual adversary that has been trying to take us down since the very beginning. And that adversary plays dirty. He will use any tactic at his disposal to turn people into his pawns and to turn people against each other. While we’re busy arguing and bickering and fighting with each other, he is in the background snickering at us and enjoying his success.

I knew it was coming…

Facebook has put restrictions on me. It was only a matter of time. The dark side of our nation has publicly broadcasted their plans. While accusing our President of planning to refute the election results and not concede, they are actually planning to do that themselves. I find it funny they want him to concede when they have refused to concede the 2016 election!

Well, I am pretty outspoken. People have to speak up and tell the truth! “Someone” complained, got offended, whatever, and FB told me a few days ago I cannot go live or boost a post for 30 days. Of course, that is well after the election. They have me pegged.

The plan the Leftists have broadcasted is to challenge the election and block all posts shouting the obvious results. They are using fake voters, mass mail-in ballots (not to be confused with verified and legitimate Absentee Ballots) and pre-election censoring to help sway the election. There are bombshells coming out about Biden and, yet, try to share that.

So, I have already started a CloutHub and a Parler account. No censorship there, unless you want to troll. Open discussion and dissent are allowed. Trolling and being there simply to disrupt…no. There have to be some guidelines for the sake of civility, after all.

Are We the Hands of G-d?

Today’s world is becoming a pretty scary place. Divisions. Chaos. People fighting one another and hating one another. Riots. Murders. Crime going up.

Yet, in all of this, there are people who are shining a bright light. People who are reaching out to help others, to encourage others. People who are being loving instead of hateful. Do you see them? Look for them! More importantly… be one of them!

Even though evil entities want to bring (and are bringing) evil and chaos upon the world, Creator G-d has an alternate plan. But it is a plan that will only come about as we surrender our willfulness and inclination toward selfishness and self-centeredness to Him.

G-d is moving in many ways through many people. Look for it. Participate in it! Be His hands to a hurting world! Bring His Light into the darkness. His order into the chaos. His love into the indifference. His peace/shalom into the anger and hatred. We CAN make a difference–IF we allow ourselves to be used by Him for His good will and purposes.

How to Get Through Tough Times & Tough Things

A lot of people are getting hit with tough things in life. We are no different. Everyone seems to have something. Although it may be something different for each one of us, I think it can still have a similar impact.

We may find ourselves fighting feelings of helplessness leading to hopelessness. Of sorrow leading to depression. Of feeling overwhelmed. That is life and it will hit all of us at some point.

The world today is facing some huge issues and events. I truly believe we are at a turning point. Yet, the solution is the same as it has always been. First and foremost, we need to turn to Creator G-d and seek a relationship with Him above all else. He knows what is going on and can help us through it.

When I find myself struggling with life, I know it is imperative that I take that time out with just Creator and me. I sit quietly with Him. I start to express my gratitude for the good things–the blessings–in my life. I praise Him for who He is and the many good things He has done for all of us and for me/us in particular. I alternate between sitting and listening for His voice and enjoying His presence and sharing my heart with Him. I also read from His Word–the Bible.

That helps to turn my attitude around. When my attitude is turned around, I am better able to face the struggles and difficulties of this life. There will always be challenges. And, yes, I so long for the world to come! But I know, so long as I have breath in this life, I have a mission, a calling, some job still to do. Someone needs me to be here. So, I practice contentment.

Contentment is NOT easy. But I find it gets easier the more I do it. It can be a struggle and a decision of the will many times. But once the will is conquered, the heart follows. At least it does in my case. I am determined not to allow my emotions to run my life. I choose to be led by the spirit being led by His Spirit within me.

Other things that help are paying attention to the beauty around me throughout the day and thanking Him for it. Just expressing appreciation for all the little things around me really makes a difference. Ya’akov/James tells us every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights. So, I thank Him for every good and perfect little thing in life.

What a difference all these things make when I am going through tough times.