Hello to you this quiet Friday afternoon. I hope this finds you well. There are a lot of people not doing well – living some kind of tragedy and my prayers are with all of you. I wanted to mention that my Aunts granddaughter is giving me a stationary bike tomorrow which will help me in my goal of getting more exercise! So grateful!
This morning was an early one as I joined my Aunt Ruth and several ladies from her church that they call The Sisters of Grace. We enjoyed bell players and a very powerful testimony of one of their members. There was lots of good food to include a coffee cake my Aunt made from scratch. The testimony was from a woman named Eliza and I could tell it was hard for her to tell some of it. She was a victim of generational trauma and had been involved with drugs, gangs, trafficking and even spent some time in prison before completely turning her life to Jesus. Now she and her husband lead Celebrate Recovery and a Deliverance and Healing Ministry. The chains of trauma have been broken for her and her children.
I always am moved almost to tears when I am with these women. Most of them are retired and many are widows. This fellowship helps all of us. The times I feel most like crying is when we sing together. There is something about it that makes me think of what heaven may be like- a collection of dear friends gathered singing eternal praise to Jesus. I get that way at church too – especially when I hear children singing along with the grown ups.
Matthew 18:20New International Version
20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
Hello to you! I hope this finds you well. My prayers are going out to a lot of places these days. The latest area is Southern California and the fires. I hope they get some rain soon!
My thoughts about today’s prompt are if I get to live a long life, there will be many more hello’s and goodbyes- at my current age of 56 there have already been many! I look at my Aunt who just turned 80 this past November. She has lost many friends to cancer and has held grandchildren and great grandchildren and more are on the way! She has had to say goodbye to family for various reasons to include old age and sickness. If I get to live as long as she has I wonder if I will be alone as it doesn’t look like there will be a new man in my life anytime soon! Part of me doesn’t want to get real old. I see the elderly around me in a constant state of repairs and pain. It’s like having a new car and the warranty runs out and you have to keep going to the shop to get something fixed! If I knew now when I was younger I would have been kinder to my body.
Here are some Bible verses from the New International Version (NIV) about healing:
Psalm 107:20: “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave”
Luke 8:50: “Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed'”
Mark 5:34: “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering'”
Isaiah 40:29: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”
Psalm 147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”
Jeremiah 17:14: “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise”
Psalm 103:2-3: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases”
Isaiah 53:5: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed”
Hello to you! Hope this finds you well. So much of the world seems to be in some sort of calamity. I sometimes feel guilty for having such a good life. May be God is giving me a break from calamities and drama!
Todays prompt is thought provoking. As I review my current life, I think I could be more active. I have been trying to lose weight and the scale is just not budging. I think that’s because cutting back how much I’m eating and what I’m eating is not enough. Part of the problem is the medication I’m on. Depakote is known for contributing to weight gain. I’ve been thinking about getting a treadmill or stationary bike to help me be more active. The only problem is I live in a very small home and would have to make room for these items. I walk Link once a day and have been thinking about starting to walk an additional lap after I get him around once. It’s been about 2 almost 3 years since I’ve been able to walk a lot like I used to. Something happened to my system when the police tased me! I haven’t been the same since. I really believe they short circuited my system. I have had to push through and some days it’s so hard. My Aunt and I talked about this yesterday. I want Jesus to heal me as there is no cure for what is going on with me. She made a prayer card for me – everything helps! I think of the episode of The Chosen where I think of when James asks Jesus why he hasn’t healed him :
I keep thinking he could heal me but for some reason he hasn’t. Is it like with James? Would I become like I was before surrendering myself to his care? Would I need him less? Is there something he wants to do through me just as I currently am? So many questions I have for him some day when I meet him face to face!
Hello there! How are you? Hope this finds you well. I went to church today and there were a lot of good messages. What resonated with me was the word of the year: Connection and how God uses people in our lives to do what he cannot tangibly do. I had been struggling with a decision about whether or not to join my Aunt in a Bible study. She reassured me today when I went over to her and Uncle Johns place to visit that Pastor Jayson’s message was for me! First of all there were hugs! I’m so grateful for those! It couldn’t be more loud and clear! So I’m planning on joining her for the Bible study I just won’t order the workbook – they tend to be a waste of money for me. Some days it’s a real struggle to get out of my own head! She also filled out a prayer card for me to pray for healing from the balance issues I have that make it difficult for me to do most anything physical. I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful support system. Sometimes I feel so alone but like what happened today reassures me that I am far from it. My family and my church friends are there to fill the void in my life. Link can only do so much!
Part of the reason I am reluctant to be gone a lot and hold back from connection in my life is I don’t like leaving Link by himself a lot. This is a dilemma common to pet owners. I know what it’s like to be alone without him around and it’s almost unbearable! I have always had a problem with being away from my animals or leaving them in someone else’s care. That’s probably why I don’t know if I will have any more after Link journeys on. Part of my thinking that way is I don’t know if I can take having my heart broken again!
Part of the New Year Messages for today that resonated with me
Psalm 86:11New International Version
11 Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
Hello to you. Just got back from walking Link on this sunny Saturday afternoon. In so many ways he is a gift! He gives me cuddles, time and unconditional love. There is a reason dog spelled backwards is god! Someday he will break my heart as all pets do eventually. I try not to dwell on that too much!
I would say Jesus Christ is truly the greatest gift of all time. He is always there for you no matter what and he puts people and animals in your life to do what he cannot (tangible expressions of love like hugs). He gave the gift of his life for our salvation. I firmly believe that he has done that for me and I see him working in those he has surrounded me with. Sometimes I doubt his presence and then circumstances will happen in my life and my faith is restored. There have been hard times, the valleys, and he has restored me.
James 1:17New International Version
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Hello to you! The reason behind the question mark is because of all the stuff that has been happening already in this new year! Terrorism, weird particulate fog and more people driving into crowds like in New Orleans are just a couple examples. People have just lost their damn minds and we are barely into the new year! The fog with small particles was reported in Florida and now it’s all over and it’s causing respiratory problems.
Similar experiences have also emerged from parts of Canada and the UK, sparking widespread concern.
Conspiracy theories are running rampant with people suggesting the fog could be a kind of chemical weapon or is related to the drones that mysteriously plagued the nation in December.
‘Well weren’t there drones that sprayed something? I seem to recall some videos of that somewhere… No idea of the validity though,’ asked one X user.
A Texas woman shared on X that her dog has been ‘acting strange’ when it goes outside.
She] keeps smelling the air,’ Sandra Jenkins Webb posted, adding that she was experiencing burning eyes, a mild cough, stomach aches and headaches.
Another woman in Kansas shared that there were ‘massive amounts of chemtrails’ over the area in a week, followed by a dense fog.
And a California resident shared on X Monday: ‘Here in SoCal, unusual fog the last few days. Strange smells, but I’ve been noticing the smell for months now, burns my nose. Seems like an all-out assault from the skies the last few days.’
David Bamber, from St Petersburg, Florida, shared a TikTok video of himself walking through the dense fog.
He explained that fog typically dissipates later in the day, but the the current natural phenomenon lingers into all hours of the night.
‘The weirdest part is the taste and smell,’ said Bamber. ‘It’s smells like after you set off a bunch of fireworks and the taste of the air is toxic. It is super weird.’
However, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a dense fog advisory for multiple states, suggesting there could be a scientific explanation behind the bizarre reports.
While the particles may seem unusual, fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth’s surface.
Shining a light in the fog makes these particles visible.
As for the ‘chemical’ smell people have described, the fog can absorb and trap polluted air near the Earth’s surface, acting as a carrier for car exhaust, industrial emissions and other airborne chemicals.
‘When fog forms, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and other polluting gases are taken up or ‘scavenged’ by fog water droplets,’ explained Rudolf Husar, a Washington University atmospheric scientist, in an article for NASA Earth Observatory.
What’s more, smells become more potent in humid air because the water droplets trap the odor-causing molecules and allow them to linger for longer and remain concentrated.
This is not unusual for this time of year.
Fog forms when the temperature cools to the dew point, or the temperature at which air can become completely saturated with water.
Much of the fog currently hanging over the US is likely advection fog, which typically forms in winter when warm, moist air flows over colder land.
This is commonly seen over the southern or central US, where many affected states are located.
(There is more to this article to include video if you use link)
So what are my biggest challenges? One of them is staying on a regular sleep schedule. Another is not wanting to eat junk food and sweets so I can lose weight. One of my biggest challenges is getting out of my small little world I share with Link. Since I don’t like to drive that much it makes it hard for me to have a social life.
I want for this in my life. Sometimes it feels like my faith alone is just not strong enough:
Psalm 34:4New International Version
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears
Hello to you. How are you? I hope well. Today’s prompt is pretty easy. The answer is no. My life today is nothing like I could have pictured a year ago. A year ago I still had fear of going places and doing things and that limited me a lot. Just this past year I have learned to ask for help more when I need it. Asking for help is something I have always struggled with. For example driving at night. This year I have started to ask for rides versus just not going places when I have been invited.
Psalm 145:18-19New International Version
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. I don’t know if you have been following the drone sighting reports but they are showing up everywhere now. I stumbled onto a Dr. Steven Greer who is saying this is all part of some kind of psyops operation. He says he has people who know what’s really going on that will be coming forward if they are not assassinated first. He has a film out The Battle For Disclosure that you can pay to see on Amazon Prime. I believe with the near hysteria about this that some of the sightings are explainable but some videos I have seen do not resemble anything of this earth. I am hoping the real ones will eventually allow for contact! Imagine the advances we could make in this world – free energy and a cure for cancer for example. We could truly have a Golden Age as a planet. 🌎
In answer to today’s prompt I would have to say it’s been a long time since I have learned anything new as far as a skill or lesson. Once you get to my age you start to get set in your ways! I try to remain teachable. The last time I really was learning something new was when I was following the Keshe Foundation. My kitchen became a lab and I was exploring making copper coils. I made healing wands as a variation of what I learned from Keshe. It’s been about 5 or 6 years since I was doing that. I was also really into making orgonite both with epoxy resin and then later with natural ingredients that I shaped into bowls. One of the bowls I made even gave off a measurable electric signature. Then there was the stuff I was doing with translating words into numbers – I got so fixated on that and was manic. I haven’t been doing that anymore! I have huge books of notes of my work that I don’t think I could read anymore.
When something captures my attention, I can get rather obsessive about it and it becomes all I think about!
As of late, like the past couple of years, I have been learning about Christianity. For example I learned that baptism when we are infants isn’t the same as doing it later in life- consciously choosing to be baptized. At some point I will choose to be baptized! Every Sunday there is a new lesson but sometimes it takes me awhile to get it. I have started to actually use the bulletins and write down things – I hadn’t been doing that before. I retain things better if I write it down.
This past Sunday we explored the garden of joy as it was near the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest and where he rose again:
John 19:38-42New International Version
The Burial of Jesus
38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[a]40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
It was a very dramatic thing when Jesus died:
Matthew 27:51New International Version
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split.
This scripture from Matthew is what we think of when we think of the birth of Jesus:
Matthew 2:10-11New International Version
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
This scripture from John illustrates the true joy of the garden! He fulfilled his promise and prophesy:
John 20:1-17New International Version
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,“Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothersand tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?
Hello there! How are you?! I’m doing ok. I’ve been watching the news reports about objects they claim are drones flying over New Jersey and other parts of the world for weeks now. They had a hearing about it just yesterday and the FBI claims to not know what they are. One news report I heard today is there is an Iranian mothership bought from China in the ocean where these are allegedly coming from. It’s so bizarre because they are not the normal size of most drones people have access to. Some have been reported to be the size of a small SUV! With the recent hearings about UAPs and our being told we are not alone – that we are in fact being visited by beings or objects from other worlds or dimensions, I think it’s all connected somehow. I don’t think we are alone and I have been waiting all my life for the truth to be revealed! In yesterday’s hearing they were asking why if they are drones and a possible threat to the security of the citizens they are flying over they aren’t being shot down. I don’t think they are sure what to do about this! They didn’t have a definitive answer. They have put zero dollars in the budget for this sort of thing. Some people suspect these are not of this world but being put out there to act like something we already know so we won’t be afraid when the truth comes out. I saw a report of a man in New Jersey taking matters into his own hands and shooting at one of them as it flew over his house – he was arrested. People are alarmed over this! Something is happening and I hope it’s not just smoke and mirrors to distract us from matters affecting all of us. This year is definitely closing out on a weird note!
Whew! Now to today’s prompt! The one physical activity that I enjoy is walking even if it’s hard for me to do with the Mal de barque syndrome going on. I force myself to go with Link at least once a day. We go around the block. I am winded but we do it and it’s good for both of us. There was a time in my life, well most of my life, that I was really active. I ran, played volleyball, worked out at the gym, danced, road bike and did yoga as just a few examples. Now that I have put on so much weight and have balance issues with the Mal de barque syndrome – walking is really all I can do along with sit-ups and arm exercises. Slowly I am losing weight.
This passage from Ezekiel and messages in Revelations makes me think that people writing about these experiences back then were much like people of today trying to describe what they are experiencing in New Jersey and other places in the world right now. Sometimes words aren’t enough!
Ezekiel 10-11New International Version
God’s Glory Departs From the Temple
10 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord.5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty[a] when he speaks.
6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about[b] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River.Each one went straight ahead.
Good evening to you. Hope you had a good day. Today was another day of inversion – a frosty fog everywhere. Link and I still got out for our walk. I was going to stay in but decided we needed to go. I’m feeling better thankfully so no excuses!
I was watching a live streamer, Daniel Cruz, who was trying to take us to see the Rockefeller Square tree lighting tonight but it was taking too long and his phone battery was low. He wasn’t going to wait til 10 pm in freezing cold temperatures! So late for such a thing – especially families with kids! I’ll tune into the NBC live later to see it.
I really enjoy live streamers. I get to live vicariously through them ! Just today I was on the Celebration cruise ship, visited Ireland and New York. Tik tok is a good platform for live streamers and people like me that are interested in seeing other parts of the world without actually going there myself!
So five things that I’m good at: 1)writing 2)singing 3)dancing 4)baking 5)taking pictures not necessarily in that order but those things came to mind! Something else that I have done that I wasn’t too bad at was drawing and painting t-shirts by hand.
One of my favorites – don’t know what happened to it!
As we near Christmas its a good time to reflect on Jesus’s origin story:
Matthew 1:18-25New International Version
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d](which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
To be 